In John’s Gospel we are told: “Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’ “ (John 8:31-47).
Being a slave to sin is a type of addiction. Like a drug, we desire it even though we know that it hurts us. We should never feel comfortable in the Father’s house as long as we accept our slavery to sin. There is no sense of permanence there for us.
But the Son of the house has taken up for us. Being directly from the Father, the Son will always have a place in His Father’s house. He has chosen to show us the truth and make us free if we continue in His word and follow Him.
The Jews to whom Jesus was speaking took issue with Jesus when He told them that His Word was the truth and that His Word would make them free. They said that they were the descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone.
They questioned why they needed to be made free. Jesus reminded them that they were looking for an opportunity to kill Him because they did not accept His word, which is from the Father.
First they claimed that they were children of Abraham and that he was their father. Then they said that they had one father, God himself. Jesus told them that Abraham certainly would not have responded to God as they have. Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. “
“I did not come on my own but he sent me…You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires.” Jesus further challenges them by saying that, “Whoever is from God hears the words of God.”
As we live out our lives we too are challenged by Jesus to make our permanent home in the household of God the Father. Our behavior sometimes threatens the permanence of our residency in our Father’s house. We become slaves to other things because we are not continually in His Word and truth.
We who become slaves to sin refuse the offer of freedom. We become like the prisoner who is more comfortable in prison than he is on the outside. He continues to commit wrong acts so that he will not be released. We must choose the right place to live forever.