7/29/18 - Jesus Sets You Free - John 8:31-47

In Dependence Day John 8:31-47 This week Americans will celebrate their independence. It’s the day when we declared our freedom. It’s been said that no other country values its freedom quite like Americans because against all odds, we gained it over one of the most powerful countries in the world at that time. Ever since then it seems that American's right to rule themselves has been extended to the individual. Not long ago a group of young Americans was asked to pick from a list of virtues the ones they identified with the most. I would have thought virtues like generosity and compassion would be at the top. But instead their top choice was autonomy. Autonomy is defined by freedom of external control or influence. It’s the idea that I will decide for myself what to believe. No one will tell me how to live. A little over two years ago an article appeared in the Atlantic and it simply stated that the desire for autonomy is really a desire for power. The author put it this way: “Power as autonomy is a form of power that allows one person to ignore and resist the influence of others and thus to shape one’s own destiny.” So if you think of the most powerful people the world has ever known, they are also the most autonomous. Napoleon, Caeser, Darth Vader. They act unilaterally. There’s no restraint, no outside influence that controls them or holds them accountable. So in the end, autonomy proves to be yet another expression of one’s drive for power. So what sounds virtuous is actually self-serving. In John chapter 8 Jesus says that true freedom comes in dependence upon him. You see freedom is found in a person and it's not you or me.