From the moment we, along with every human, were born into this world, we had a sin problem. Indeed, when Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world by committing the first sin in Genesis 3, sin invaded and impacted everything. Sin disrupted humanity’s relationship with God and set us on the pathway toward death. Left on our own, there is no way to escape sin’s hold on us. Praise God that He did not leave us alone in our battle against sin! At just the right time, He sent Jesus to rescue us and offer freedom from sin to all who place their faith in Him. If we have placed our faith in Christ, we have been freed from sin. The question is, will we live like people who have been freed?
What evidence do you see of the impact of sin in our world today?
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1. Read John 8:31-35. Describe sin’s impact, based on this passage of Scripture.
John 8:31-35.
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33“But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” 34Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 35A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.
2. What did Jesus teach about freedom, according to this passage of Scripture?
3. Read Galatians 4:4-7. How did Jesus bring freedom to all who place their faith in Him, according to this passage of Scripture, and what are the implications of our statuses as sons and daughters of God?
Galatians 4:4-7
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.
2. Read Romans 6:12-14. What does it look like to live in freedom, according to this passage of Scripture?
Romans 6:12-14
12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
1. Look back over the Scripture we studied today. What particularly brings you hope as you think about the freedom that Christ brings?
2. What things in our world today keep us from living like people who have been freed from sin?
3. How have you experienced the freedom in Christ that our Scripture reading today described in your own life?
Divide up into groups of two or three. In your groups, share an area of your life where you are struggling with temptation or sin and live according to your sinful nature rather than as someone who has been freed from sin. Pray together that God would help each of you say “no” to temptation and turn away from sin. Ask Him to help all of you live like people who have been freed. Commit to praying for each other throughout the week.
We were reminded during the weekend message that when Jesus spoke about the freedom that He offers in John 8, the Israelites immediately must have been reminded of the slavery in Egypt that their ancestors faced centuries earlier, which is recorded in the Old Testament. To better understand Jesus’ teaching in John 8, let’s take a moment to look back at that time in the Israelites’ story.
We learn in the book of Exodus that the Israelites grew in number so vastly that the king of Egypt became threatened by them. As a result, he forced the Israelites into slavery. Things were brutal for the Israelites under Egyptian slavery. Read about this tumultuous time in the history of the Israelites now.
1. Read Exodus 1:1-14.
Exodus 1:1-14
These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there. 6 In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation. 7 But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land. 8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.” 11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. 12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.
1. Why did the king set out to make the Israelites slaves in Egypt?
2. Describe the state of the Israelites under Egyptian slavery.
3, What evidence in this passage of Scripture do you see of God at work in the lives of the Israelites, even amidst the difficulties they faced?
As they lived their daily lives under Egyptian slavery, the Israelites must have felt hopeless. Indeed, their situation was bleak. On their own, they were without hope, with no way out of the slavery they had been forced into in Egypt. Things may have felt hopeless, but they were not without hope. God was still working, and He set out a plan to rescue them. He appointed Moses to lead them out of slavery to a new land that He had promised them. He called Moses to go to Egypt and command the king of Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery. When the king refused, God sent plagues over the land of Egypt, the final one involving the death of every firstborn son in Egyptian homes, until the king of Egypt ultimately relented. Read about the moment when God led them out of slavery now.
1. Read Exodus 12:31-36, the moment when Pharaoh told Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Exodus 12:31-36
For Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested. 32Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.” 33All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!” 34The Israelites took their bread dough before yeast was added. They wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks and carried them on their shoulders. 35And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold. 36The Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!
2. What stands out about the king of Egypt’s command to Moses in this passage of Scripture?
3. How did the Egyptians’ and Israelites’ roles reverse in this passage of Scripture?
4. How do you see God’s hand at work in this passage of Scripture?
When the Israelites left slavery in Egypt, they set out on a journey toward a new land where they would live that God had promised them. During this time, the king of Egypt changed his mind, and the Egyptian army chased after the Israelites in an attempt to bring them back to Egypt. Miraculously, God rescued them from the hands of the Egyptians once more. As they continued their journey to the new land God had promised, they encountered a problem: they needed food. Instead of trusting God, who had miraculously taken care of them, to provide the food they needed, they complained to Moses and longingly looked back at their lives under Egyptian slavery. Read about this moment in Exodus 16 now.
1. Read Exodus 16:1-5.
Exodus 16:1-5
Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. 2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. 3 “If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”
2. Describe the extent of the Israelites' despair in this passage of Scripture.
3. Why didn’t the Israelites need to fall into despair?
4. How might remembering God’s past faithfulness have impacted their trust in Him in this moment?
Take a moment to reflect on your Scripture reading and the story of the Israelites. Their story is a reminder that we have a faithful, rescuing God who stops at nothing to save His people.
1. How does the story of the Israelites in Exodus provide a picture of our struggle under slavery to sin?
2. How was God’s rescuing of the Israelites from slavery a picture of what was to come, rescuing the whole world from sin and death?
3. The Israelites failed to trust God to provide for them in Exodus 16, even though God had miraculously rescued them from slavery in Egypt. How do we at times respond similarly and struggle to trust God, leading us to turn back to our old lives under slavery to sin?
When we remember how God has provided for us and taken care of us in the past, we cannot help but trust God and leave our old lives as slaves to sin behind. Take a few moments to share how God has miraculously taken care of you and rescued you in the past. How does God’s past rescuing and provision for you help you to trust Him with the future? Share your answer to these questions with your group. After everyone has shared, pray together, thanking God for how He has graciously and miraculously provided for each one of you.
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