Out of Bondage

Nothing could hold him down. Every chain that had bound him had been broken by superhuman strength. He roamed the mountain wilderness like a wild beast—in fact he seemed more like a beast than a man. Running naked through the mountainside, sleeping among the tombs, he may have felt he was free, but in reality, his mind and his life were controlled by thousands of demons. He would cry out the most horrific shrieks, and cut himself with the rugged stones until the blood oozed out of his body. This man, living under the open sky, in apparent liberty, was really in the deepest bondage—trapped—with no way out. But just when all hope seemed gone, Jesus came on the scene, and then everything changed.

Today’s message—Out of Bondage—takes us deep into God’s Word. Today we will discover the release God provided for this man—and the remedy for the bondage that men and women find themselves in today.

Usually, we tell this story just like the Gospel narrative—how Jesus crossed over the sea with his disciples, and while they were crossing, a storm arose and threatened their very lives. We see Jesus, asleep on a pillow in the boat, while the boat is tossing to and fro. We see Jesus standing up and calming the storm—and what a dramatic narrative that is! In fact, I’ve spoken in the past on this narrative, and the powerful message of peace that Jesus speaks into our hearts.

And it makes a great segue into this next storm—not a storm of wind and waves that disturb the placid sea, but a storm of supernatural forces that have taken over the mind and the life of this hopeless man.

Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

But in our minds, I’d like for us to imagine some parts of this story that aren’t written specifically here in the gospels. To think back over the life of this man, and find out what could have brought him to this terrible place—to be totally possessed and controlled by evil forces.

Luke 8:27 says this: And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.

Notice it says that he “had demons for a long time.” This was no recent occurrence. It had gone on for a long time, and in fact verse 29 describes how notorious this man was and how much these demons had tormented him over the years.

Now I don’t suppose this man had been born filled with demons. The Bible doesn’t tell the history of this man, but we can imagine how he came to be filled with demons from what we know about human experience. This man was once an innocent child, and likely grew to become a respectable young man. But perhaps he had some small sinful indulgence. Some passion that he failed to gain the mastery of. It opened the door to another vice, and still another, and with these selfish vices the enemy gained a foothold in his life. Remember this thought from a few weeks ago: sin is too small to notice, until it’s too big to control? This man became the poster child for a life wrecked by Satan and sin—probably a sin that started too small to notice.

But that’s not the story—that’s just the introduction. Praise God, the story is about to change!

Luke 8:28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him…

Mark describes it this way: “When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.” (Mark 5:6)

Even though this man was in bondage to the demons that controlled His life, when He saw Jesus, he realized his opportunity of hope. Jesus was already rebuking the demons in his life, and opening his mind to freedom. He throws himself at Jesus’ feet, but when he opens his mouth to speak, the demons speak through him: “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”

It wasn’t just one demon that controlled the man. Luke 8:30 says “Jesus asked him, saying, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Legion,’ because many demons had entered him.”

As we follow the story down, we see Jesus commanding these demons to leave—just as he commanded the waves to be still—and they obey. In the process of leaving, this angry legion of demons frighten a herd of swine, causing them all to rush down into the sea and drown.

The next scene to open in Luke’s gospel is almost surreal. The townspeople wander down to the seaside to see this strange visitor who has so changed the face of their community. There they see him—yes Jesus, but also the man who had been possessed with demons: “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.” (v. 35)

A man in abject bondage to Satan had been delivered out of bondage, and would soon become the first missionary to declare the goodness of Christ.

Speaking of deliverance from bondage, I’d like for us to turn to another passage of scripture that speaks of deliverance from bondage. It’s a transcript of words spoken by God Himself—spoken in perhaps the most awe-inspiring scene ever witnessed by human eyes, or heard by human ears.

Exodus 20:1
1 And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

These familiar words form the preamble to the Ten Commandments, spoken by God Himself in thunder and smoke from Mount Sinai. It is a paradox, really, because today the law of God has come to symbolize bondage and enslavement. The secular world scoff at the Bible and it’s requirements, while the Christian world argue that God’s law has been superseded by the era of God’s grace through Christ.

Both secular and Christian writers have spoken against God’s law as a form of bondage. It’s true, Paul speaks of how the law falls short of delivering us from the bondage of sin. But did God give His law to Israel to enslave them? What is God’s law, anyway?

Over the next few weeks, I want to invite you to come on a journey with me. Perhaps not an easy journey, but an important one, as we explore together the meaning and message found in the Ten Commandments, and discover how God’s law is relevant to us, today.

The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.”

The Ten Commandments are unique in the Bible. Unlike most of the rest of Scripture, which tells the stories of God’s dealing with humankind, the Ten Commandments record the words spoken by God in an audible voice, and etched into stone by His own finger. It is the eternal “is” of God’s character, and the universal “ought” for human behavior—a description of God and a prescription for us.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

God’s law was given to Israel, but as we can see, He speaks His law as a description of Himself. He introduces Himself, not with a generic title like “God” or “Lord,” but using his own special name, “Yahweh.”

He is not “a” god. Not just any god, like the many deities of the pagan tribes around, but the God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and as it says here, the Deliverer who has just brought Israel out of bondage.

This same Yahweh says in Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”

If Yahweh is the creator of the universe, and He does not change—and furthermore, if His law is a description of His unchanging character, than it would stand to reason that His law, also, is universal and unchanging. Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5:18 “till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

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“I am” therefore have no other… in other words, if you believe Me, that I am the One who brought you out of bondage, then you will not worship others. If you worship others, it’s because you choose not to believe, or if you believe you choose not to accept the reality and allow it to shape your life. That’s called rebellion—that’s called sin!

Acts 16:31 “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved…”

We quote this verse as Christians, because it’s true. The heart of salvation is belief. But this might surprise you: heart of God’s true law is founded in belief. If you believe in Yahweh, you won’t worship others. “Have no other gods before Me.” They are not opposed to one another; true law-keeping results from belief and acceptance.

This first commandment is so relevant for us, today. Not only does it deal with belief, but it requires an exclusive allegiance. It’s easy to believe and assent to something, when it is one of many things. I can believe that Nero was an emperor of Rome, or that George Washington was our first president—but that is merely assenting to some fact. Yet to worship Yahweh exclusively means giving up all other worship—all other allegiance, and placing those subordinate to that one allegiance to God. And that includes our in-born allegiance to self: to our own desires, pleasure, dreams, goals, and passions. To have no other God’s before Yahweh is to die to oneself, to be dedicated to Him, and live for Him and Him alone.

The second commandment continues this description of God’s character. It’s almost an expansion of the first commandment, and some Christian traditions combine it with the first, although I believe that is a grave mistake. The first commandment deals with worshiping Yahweh exclusively—not as one of many, but as God alone. The second commandment deals specifically with what God is like—or rather, what He is not like. He cannot be compared to anything in His creation, as He is so much greater than anything humans can see, touch, or make.

Exodus 20:4-5A “You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.”

Why did it seem so hard for Israel to keep this commandment? It seemed as though they were always falling into idolatry. Always making images, and worshiping them. We may not bow down to idols, but are we really any better? Are there things in our lives that take the place of the worship of God? We addressed this a bit when I shared the story of Gideon some weeks ago, but I just want you to ponder this question: what things are idols in your life? Your job, position, influence? Your reputation? Your family? Yes, even ministry can become an idol, when it takes the place of God in our lives.

Going back to our key thought: How do we conceive of God? Do we imagine Him to be like someone we know? Perhaps a parent or parent-figure in our lives? It’s natural to think that God is like some person whom we grew up with, but God is so much more than any human could be. Perhaps some bad experience in our lives has shaped our picture of God, to where we’re not sure we could love Him. Perhaps we’ve misunderstood His Word, or perhaps a spiritual leader has painted an evil picture of God for us—can we put aside those false images of Him and allow Him to paint a picture of Himself in our hearts?

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For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

What does it mean that God is jealous? We often think of jealousy in a bad connotation. We like to think in inclusive terms: “both-and” not “either-or.” But when it comes to worship and allegiance, God is jealous of our exclusive worship. We cannot serve two masters.

And punishment? Visiting iniquity on children? Does this mean that God will punish children because of the sin of their parents? No, I don’t believe this is exactly what this text means. Consider these texts:

Deuteronomy 24:16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Ezekiel 18:20
“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

No, God is not one to arbitrarily punish one person for another’s sin. Yet it is a law of nature that children grow up in the image of their parents. They inherit the habits and tendencies of their parents, and when parents are dis-loyal to God, their children grow up in the same ungodly character. It’s a warning of the importance of following God—because our influence affects not just ourselves, but many generations to come. Yet the beautiful message of this passage comes in the last phrase, verse 6:

Exodus 20:6 “but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

This is the heart message of the Ten Commandments—that God is a God of mercy and love. Showing mercy, not just to a few generations, but to thousands—“to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Not that He doesn’t want to show mercy to all, but that only those who respond to His love are able to receive of His grace.

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God declared to Moses His merciful character of love, coupled with justice, when He passed by Moses and revealed Himself personally to him on Mount Sinai. He declares:

Exodus 34:6-7 “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Law and grace; mercy and justice. Even here in the heart of God’s law, we find His character of love & justice, mercy & truth.

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Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

In announcing the opening of His ministry, Jesus read this passage in Isaiah 61 and applied it to Himself. He would go on to declare the He is the same God Who led Israel from Egypt, and Who spoke the law from Sinai. The central pillar of his ministry, the core of His identity, was and is the God who delivers. Just as Yahweh spoke in Thunder and Smoke from Sinai, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,” so Jesus demonstrated His power on earth to free men and women from every kind of bondage. He did it for the man paralyzed for 38 years. He did it for Mary Magdalene, who was possessed by demons seven times. He did it for this madman who met Him and His disciples by the shore of Galilee. And friend, He will do it for you, too!

The Psalmist cried out, as He beheld the beauty of God’s character in His law:
Psalm 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

He says, “I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.” (Psalm 119:45)

Friend, do you want to have liberty? Are you weighed down in the chains of bondage and sin? Friend, look to Jesus. No, the law cannot save you. You cannot keep the law by trying, but as we look at these ten words, friends, we start to see a picture of Christ. If we move aside all the man-made traditions, and look at God’s word even from Sinai, we see a picture of love, grace, and mercy.

As we behold Christ, we see in His life the outworking of the law. As we look at the law, we see a picture of the heart of Christ. And when we realize His love—that He loved us so much that he delivered us—yes even before we knew the law, or could possibly keep it, he delivered us from bondage—then in response, how can we do anything but love him and serve Him exclusively, with our whole hearts?

Psalm 119:130-134 The entrance of Your words gives light;
It gives understanding to the simple.

131 I opened my mouth and panted,
For I longed for Your commandments.

132 Look upon me and be merciful to me,
As Your custom is toward those who love Your name.

133 Direct my steps by Your word,
And let no iniquity have dominion over me.

134 Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.

Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.