Pastor Welton Watson, Central Baptist Church
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36. “Indeed” is defined as: in reality; in truth; in fact; certainly; without doubt.
In verse 34, Jesus is dealing with the subject of sin and the servant hood and bondage that it places us in: “Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” Romans 6:16 says it like this: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Nobody wants to be known as a sinner, but in reality, according to the Scriptures, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and “there is none righteous, no, not one.” That puts all of humanity in the same boat floating down the same river toward the same end: death, destruction, and judgment.
This, then, brings us to the age old question that Job asked so many years ago: Job 9:2, 20 “I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? 20. If I justify myself, mineownmouthshallcondemnme: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.” The Philippian jailor was under deep conviction of sin and fear, when he asked Paul and Silas the same question, but in a different way, “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling,andfelldownbeforePaul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30, 31. We all have a sin problem, and it must be dealt with before death because, “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.”
There is forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, and only through him. The text verse says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Without any doubt whatsoever, you are free from the burden and penalty of sin. We will not be delivered from the presence of sin until we enter into heaven’s portals at death, but at the moment we trust Christ by grace through faith, we are free from the power (domination) of sin. Romans 6:11, 12, 14 makes it clear: “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” This does not mean that we are incapable of sinning, it just means that we no longer are bound by sin’s grip, and we strive to do those things that please God, knowing that if we mess up and fail in our desire to please God, there is forgiveness. John 1:9 gives us hope andpeace: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If you have put your faith in Christ and are trusting him completely to save you, you can have the same confidence Paul had when he said in 2 Timothy 1:12 “...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” So, Christ says again, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free Indeed.”