Ebenezer’s Chains

Ebenezer’s Chains

John 8: 31-36

Reformation Sunday

Hello, Today, let’s talk about Ebenezer’s Chains. The text before us is from the Gospel of St. John, the 8th Chapter, verses 31-36. This is Reformation Sunday!

INTRODUCTION: EBENEZER’S CHAINS

My wife, Debbie, and I have developed several traditions over the years. For example, every Christmas Eve we watch The Christmas Carol. We like to watch the change in old Ebenezer Scrooge as the spirit of Christmas invades his heart. 

One of our favorite scenes is when Ebenezer is first visited by Jacob Marley. Marley enters Scrooge’s boudoir as a ghost. Marley is carrying a heavy chain that has large metal boxes attached to it. Marley drags his burden over to Scrooge and explains that this is the chain that he forged in life by MISDEEDS and NEGLECT of those in Need. In short, this chain is the SLAVERY OF HIS SINS. 

“It is a most ponderous chain,” says Marley. 

Then, Marley shocks Scrooge by telling him that Scrooge HAS A CHAIN Too. It is just as weighty as the one Marley bares. But, Scrooge looks around at himself and sees nothing. INCREDULOUS, Scrooge declares, “I SEE NO CHAIN.”

The chain that Scrooge carries is INVISIBLE in this life. Scrooge is a SLAVE and does NOT even KNOW IT!

I. INVISIBLE SLAVERY

In today’s Gospel lesson from John 8, Jesus is speaking with the Jews. The Lord Jesus tells them something that they DO NOT understand. They are just as confused as was Ebenezer Scrooge when talking to Old Marley. Jesus says, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will KNOW THE TRUTH and the truth will MAKE YOU FREE.” 

The Jews respond  that they have never been enslaved to anyone. It is as if they looked around themselves and said, “I see No Chain!”

Truth be told, the Jews had been conquered and enslaved many times, over the ages.  But, what they were saying was that regardless of their circumstances, they were a Spiritually Free people. If one could look at them with SPIRITUAL EYES, one would see that they were NOT SLAVES. They were FREE. This is what their Rabbis had taught them.

But, Jesus DISAGREED WITH this TEACHING: “Everyone who commits SIN is a SLAVE to Sin.” The words of Jesus STARTLED them. “If you SIN, you are a SLAVE TO SIN.” Jesus was talking about an INVISIBLE SLAVERY with INVISIBLE CHAINS. But, this slavery was REAL nonetheless, because the CHAINS OF SIN were Real.

Paul explained this when he wrote in Romans 3: 23: “[F]or ALL HAVE SINNED and fallen short of the glory of God.” ALL who read this passage are to understand that they are in Bondage, ENSLAVED by their SIN, and they are POWERLESS to Free Themselves.

This passage is one that helped LEAD Martin Luther to a theological TRUTH that Reformed the Christian Church. Simply stated: WE CANNOT gain our Righteousness before God by means of OUR OWN Actions, Behavior, or Goodness. Righteousness before God can only be achieved by grace through FAITH as a gift from God, apart from any of OUR WORKS OR ACTIONS. 

It strikes me that MANY CHRISTIANS TODAY still THINK like the Jews of Jesus’ day. Many believe that they are basically Good people. Through Their Free Choice, they CHOSE Jesus as Savior. And, On account of their GOOD CHOICES, their many GOOD ACTIONS, they think that God will judge them to be Righteous, and one day HE will reward them with a place in heaven. 

These ideas are Popular today. But, They simply ARE NOT TRUE.  Jesus taught: “IF YOU SIN, YOU ARE A SLAVE TO SIN.” You are NOT FREE. YOU ARE A SLAVE.

We believe this and confess it in our Sunday Worship: Almighty God Our Maker and Redeemer, We poor sinners confess unto you, that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment.” In short, we are IN BONDAGE TO SIN.

II. INVISIBLE FREEDOM

But, God’s Word has worked in our hearts. Our Faith came by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ. Christ Jesus gave us faith. Now, we are JUSTIFIED by grace through FAITH. We are new creatures in Christ, born from above as children of God and inheritors of eternal life. 

BY THE WORK OF CHRIST, something absolutely miraculous has happened TO US. Though you and I cannot see it, the chains that we had carried, and the heavy weight of our sins, have been taken AWAY from us. They were removed and placed upon Jesus. Upon His holy Cross, Jesus bore the full weight of our chains, and became a Slave in our place. For this reason, we are left with NO CHAINS. We are NO LONGER SLAVES TO SIN, OR DEATH, OR THE DEVIL.

In Romans 6: 22, Paul explains that, “Now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” 

SO, Here is the SUPREME IRONY. It is now, in the moment of OUR NEW FREEDOM THROUGH FAITH in Christ, that the believer finds him or herself FEELING ENSLAVED. The faithful Christian may well say: “You claim that now I am free from sin, but I experience myself as a SINNER more than Ever. The more I read God’s Word, the more I learn the truth of His holiness, the more SINFUL I see that I truly am.”

Isn’t that strange. Before a person has FAITH in JESUS, he or she thinks of him or herself as FREE. But they are NOT. They are ENSLAVED to SIN. 

BUT, Now that WE DO believe in JESUS, we feel our SIN more acutely. We FEEL Enslaved to our old sinfulness, even though Jesus promises us that in Him we are FREE. The whole process is SCROOGE-LIKE to me. The UN-BELIEVER  thinks himself FREE. But, the INVISIBLE chains of sin still ENSLAVE HIM. On the Other Hand, The REPENTANT BELIEVER feels the weight of SIN, but the invisible chains of Sin ARE GONE!

Instead of wearing invisible chains of sin and shame, YOU have been dressed in the robe of The Righteousness of Christ!!! Thanks be to God.

III. THE TRUTH

Like Scrooge, we human beings have difficulty believing what we CANNOT SEE. “I see NO CHAIN. I am not a slave.” Or the opposite, the believer MIGHT say, “I feel so sinful. I MUST STILL HAVE A chain.” BUT, Both are Wrong!

Jesus teaches us a wonderful and eternal truth in these few verses. It is true that everyone who sins is a SLAVE TO SIN, whether they feel it or understand it OR NOT. It also is true that if you have received the GIFT OF FAITH in Jesus Christ, HE has REMOVED the CHAINS of sin, death, and the devil FROM YOU. JESUS HAS SET YOU FREE from the Penalty and the Power of sin. You are no longer ITS SLAVE. 

Our problem is that we cannot see this. The CHAIN of Sin is invisible. THIS TRUTH must be received by grace through FAITH. Even so, sometimes we Doubt that we are FREE,  no longer slaves to sin. 

So, HOW CAN WE BE SURE??  

The Answer? Do NOT look at Yourself, Your actions, or even Your own Faith. Jesus teaches us to put our Faith in the SON.  “If the SON makes you free, you ARE FREE INDEED.” Here is Your only assurance: the SON OF GOD HIMSELF!

And yet, because His Word is invisible we sometimes find it hard to keep HOLD of it. For this reason, God gave us visible, tangible, Words so that we could see, touch, taste, smell, and experience our FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY!

CONCLUSION

God assures you of YOUR FREEDOM through the tangible sacraments given FOR YOU. In the waters of Holy Baptism, God gave YOU the complete forgiveness of all our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2). Your old sinful self was buried in the grave with the crucified Christ, and was raised up to new life with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 6). YOU have been saved by the waters of Baptism (I Peter 3). Each day YOU remember and return to these Baptismal waters. They are FOR YOU, the washing of regeneration (Titus 3).

In similar fashion, God has given YOU a visible and tangible sacrament in Holy Communion. Christ is Truly present in the Bread and Wine. By His Word, they are for YOU the very body and blood of Christ, given for the FORGIVENESS OF YOUR SINS and the promise of Your ETERNAL LIFE. 

Jesus has given you a VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE ASSURANCE that your CHAINS are removed and your SLAVERY to Sin, and Death, and the Devil is OVER!

The story of Ebenezer Scrooge is an entertaining Christmas story. But, IT Pales in comparison to the glorious GOSPEL of the FREEDOM of God in Jesus Christ!!! 

God sent HIS SON TO SAVE A SLAVE. This is what YOU ONCE WERE, A SLAVE in CHAINS of SIN, DEATH, AND THE DEVIL. But, by the mercy of God, YOUR SINS are Forgiven, YOUR Slavery is OVER, and YOUR Chains ARE GONE.

THOUGH, the chains of sin are INVISIBLE. And, their removal is INVISIBLE too, YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE FREE.

WHY?  

Simply This: 

JESUS SAID IT, SO it is TRUE : 

“IF THE SON SETS YOU FREE, 

YOU ARE FREE, INDEED!

Amen.