I love the way that the series The Chosen depicts John 3
Lets look at 8:31-36 for a moment
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” -John 8:31-36
Do you believe in Jesus? What did Jesus come to save His people from?
Sin.
The angel told Joseph that he was to name Him “Jesus” because He would save His people from their Sins(Matthew 1:21). Above we just read where Jesus says that if He makes you free you will be free indeed. In essence the Jews who believed in Jesus were asking Him, “Free From What?” Jesus’s reply was to tell them that they were slaves to Sin and that they need to be made Free from Sin by Him.
People often quote John 3:16 out of context claiming that the whole Gospel is summed up in belief in God to save us just because He loves us and that He sent Jesus to die for us in order to prove that. But they have missed both the Bad News and the Good News. The Bad News is that you in Adam are a SLAVE to Sin as Paul described in Romans 7:14-25 but the Good News is that you can be Born Again in Christ.
Look at what Jesus told Nicodemus.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” -John 3:3-8
Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be Born Again. That is not something that happens only by Faith. Faith without action is dead faith(James 2:17). Now I am not saying that you must do something in order to earn perfection. You cannot work towards perfection, but the result of true Faith is complete perfection = Freedom From Sin. And that requires Faith / Trust / Surrender.
Note that John told us in 1 John 3:9,
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
John just said that if you are Born of God = you CANNOT Sin. Why not you may ask?
Not because you revolt out of your slavery (self made man / works) or because you are only “set free” (as if He unlocks the door and lets you choose to go out) as some modern translations say and/or imply but simply because when you Surrender to and die with Jesus, He “makes you” “Free Indeed”, as we read in John 8.
Freedom From Sin is a free gift that He gives to those who Repent of their Sins and Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ to Save them FROM their Sins being Born Again of water (Baptized) and of the Holy Spirit.
Do you remember what the Jews asked Peter at Pentecost when they believed that Jesus was the Messiah and that they had crucified Him? Do you remember what Peter said in reply?
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” -Acts 2:37-38
And so I ask you with the Disciple Ananias, “why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16)
There are only 2 things that I would caution you with before being Baptized and give up your Free Will to the Holy Spirit.
1. Have you truly Repented (turned your back on Sin)?
2. Do you Believe in / Trust in Jesus with all your heart to Save you from your Sins?
These are the things that can prevent you from being Born Again when you get Baptized. We see this in the book of Acts. Simon the Sorcerer never Repented of his Sins and Philip told the Eunuch of Ethiopia that he must Believe with all his heart (Acts 8). This excludes infant Baptism because Repentance and Faith in Jesus require a level of understanding of sin that infants do not yet have.
Do you have #FreedomFromSin
