“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36
Many people are “in prison” and don’t even know it. These are self-made prisons of drug abuse, sexual sin, greed, hypocrisy, pride, unbelief. They think they’re free when actually they’re ensnared by the devil, “having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26). That’s how I was before the Lord opened my eyes to the truth and set me free in Christ.
People were no different during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The Jewish people had been chafing under Roman occupation for almost a century. Before that, they’d been dominated by Greece, Persia, Babylon, and Assyria—not to mention Egypt! Yet when pressed to embrace spiritual freedom in Christ, they said with straight faces, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been slaves of anyone” (John 8:33).
Religious pride is perhaps the most subtle prison of all. We think we’re spiritually free while remaining what we all are by nature—slaves of sin. Only Jesus Christ can set sinners free to become willing prisoners of righteousness (see Romans 6:17-18, 22).
People were no different during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The Jewish people had been chafing under Roman occupation for almost a century. Before that, they’d been dominated by Greece, Persia, Babylon, and Assyria—not to mention Egypt! Yet when pressed to embrace spiritual freedom in Christ, they said with straight faces, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been slaves of anyone” (John 8:33).
Religious pride is perhaps the most subtle prison of all. We think we’re spiritually free while remaining what we all are by nature—slaves of sin. Only Jesus Christ can set sinners free to become willing prisoners of righteousness (see Romans 6:17-18, 22).
Scripture Focus
John 8:31-36
Insight
To abide in the truth is to know Christ. To know Christ is to be free, indeed!
Bible In A Year
- Leviticus 3-4
- Psalm 47
- Luke 11
