“As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him…” John 8:30-31a
Jill was sixteen and was experiencing some troubles at home. She got involved on the internet and met this seemingly neat guy in a chat room. She left home, moved in with this guy in Toronto and was provided with drugs that made her feel so good. He turned out to be a pimp and soon she was selling her body on the busy street corners of Canada’s largest city. Parents and friends pleaded for her to come back home so they could all make a new start. But, she shot back, “look, this is a free country — I can do what I want.” Was she really free or had she become a slave to a pimp and to drugs?
Barry was a forty-year old guy — married for seventeen years with three kids. He found a secretary in the office who really understood him. She was young, vivacious and seemed to be so interested in his jokes, ideas, and activities. You probably know the rest of the story — he left his wife to move in with the new love of his life. Among many others, the pastor and the district elder tried to talk some sense into him. His response was, “Look, I am free to do what I want.” Was he really free or had he become a slave to lust, to being pampered? Was he exercising his freedom or his bondage?
This is relevant to all of us because all of us are enslaved to sin to some degree. We all have sinful addictions… patterns in our lives. Jesus does not use the word “addiction,” but He describes it when He says, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34b). A sinful addiction is a repeated yielding to sinful behaviors over a period of time. Slavery is being so controlled by something that you view it as your master. This applies to all of us, doesn’t it? All of us can have patterns of thought, speech, feelings, and behaviors that are so dominant that we see them as our master.
For example, we may have patterns of thinking that are not pleasing to the Lord and we know it – but we continually go there with our minds. God has a certain way He wants us to think about trials, our enemies, our possessions, future, and our lives, but we keep drifting away from the way God wants us to think to a more self-destructive way of thinking.
As you read this article, your mind may be swirling down into distress. You are so used to doing it that you find yourself doing it even though you don’t want to do it. You may be enslaved to anger, bitterness, worry, despair, or even self-abuse where you continually beat yourself up for being human. Your life may be swallowed up in self-pity or lust, pornography, worry, and you may not be able to sleep at night because you are so consumed with fear and worry. You are enslaved to these things.
The true definition of freedom is, “being able to be all that God meant for you to be.” Don’t you long for that? To feel fulfilled, to be able to do all that is possible for you to do and be in Christ – that is freedom. That is what we will explore in this part of the gospel of John. We are going to discover how to overcome our sinful addictions; how to experience true freedom in Christ.
The first way I can overcome my sinful addictions is when I am CONVINCED THAT JESUS ALONE CAN SAVE ME (John 8:30-31a). At the end of the Feast of Tabernacles many Jews believed in Jesus. “30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him…” (John 8:30-31a). The first step to overcoming our addictions is coming to know Jesus Christ as our Savior.
You will never find lasting freedom from your addictions until you examine the evidence that Jesus is who He claims to be. You must believe Him first, and that means examining the evidence. Hundreds of thousands of people reject Jesus without ever examining the evidence for who He is. That is why the gospel of John was written. “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31). The only condition for eternal life is simply believing in Christ alone for it. Obviously, then if you want to be free from addictions, to be all God wants you to be, you must trust in Christ alone as your only way to heaven. Not trust in Christ plus your good works to get you to heaven. But trust in Christ alone.
And the moment you do, the eternal Son of God comes to live inside of you through His Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39; Galatians 2:20). If you don’t have Jesus Christ in your life, the only changes in your life will be superficial. You may read your Bible, pray, and go to church or counseling, but you are not going to experience lasting freedom from your addictions without Christ in your life! Only Christ has the power to defeat sin in your life. Next time, we will learn more about the road to freedom from our addictions.
Prayer: Father God, my life was once dominated by sin. Over and over again, I promised myself I would never go to those dark places again, but I did. I thought I could overcome sinful patterns in my life by trying harder. But I could not. I felt so guilty and ashamed. I tried to keep it a secret. But that only made things worse. Thank You for revealing Yourself to me through Your Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus came into my life the moment I believed in Him for His gift of everlasting life, I had hope for the first time that I could find freedom from the very things that enslaved me. Thank You, my Lord and my God, for that hope which provided the foundation for my road to freedom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.