“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
John 8:34-36 NLT
The old Bob Dylan song lyrically exposed the dilemma for mankind:
“You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody”.
The same dilemma accompanies sinful man – we are either slaves of sin or we are slaves of righteousness, there is no grey area or other option. Of course, this applies spiritually, and our default state is as a sinner. No-one is ever born a righteous person. Romans 5:12, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned”. So Jesus makes a truthful statement in that sinners are slaves to the sins they commit. Mankind has to face the reality that, without some action, they will remain slaves to sin for all their lives, until there comes that point when it is too late to implement a remedy. To the Pharisees in the crowd, there wasn’t a problem, because they were ancestors of Abraham, and had never been slaves of anyone. But as we know, Jesus was talking about a spiritual principle. Paul, an ex-Pharisee, got it, and put it very well in Romans 5:18-19, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous”.
So how does the Son set us free from our slavery? The answer came in John 3:3. In His conversation with Nicodemus, “Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God””. If a natural birth results in a sinful existence, then we have to experience a second spiritual birth, into the righteousness of the Kingdom of God. John 3:5, “Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit””. There are two births for every child of God, and Jesus told the crowd around him that they were all enslaved in their lives of sin. However, there was a remedy – by believing in Him they would be released from their slavery.
These were timeless words from Jesus. They applied when He first made them as He was surrounded by a hostile crowd, resistant to any form of change or correction or alternative to what they believed. But His words have hung in the air ever since, fruit to be plucked by a sinful soul desperate for freedom. That was us pilgrims one day, but we must never forget those truthful words of Jesus, in case we look back and see the sinful world beckoning. The devil won’t give up, ever.
Father God. Thank You for Your escape plan for sinful man. It’s all about You, Jesus. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 