The Truth Shall Set You Free

The title of this article is a portion of scripture from the Gospel of John.

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.
John 8:32

This scripture is often taken out of context and used to persuade someone to be honest. While that is not the purpose of this scripture there are plenty of verses in the Bible that deal with honesty. One such verses is from the Sermon on the Mount.

Simply let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no”, “no”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Matt 5:37

It is a Biblical truth that over-explaining oneself is an indicator that something is wrong. In this section of His sermon Jesus emphasizes the need to have integrity and not “swear” by anything to prove a point. When we hear someone make the comment, “I’m telling the truth… I swear,” it will naturally raise suspicion.

Let’s shift our focus back to John 8:32. This chapter of John contains some intense dialogue between Jesus and the religious leaders of the day. There was a large crowd gathered as He was being challenged by the Pharisees regarding sin and salvation. In the midst of this dialogue Jesus turned to those that believed in Him and said, “If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). This statement gets lost in the ensuing, heated debate that ends with the religious leaders picking up stones and Jesus concealing himself to slip away.

A time later (six chapters later) during the last supper, Jesus makes the comment to His disciples…

“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6

Jesus is the truth. If you hold His teachings you will know the truth. Jesus will set you free.

Jesus frees us from two things. First He gives us salvation. We are free from the sentence of eternal death because of our sins. Secondly, He frees us from the Law as a method of salvation.

Being free from law doesn’t mean we can do as we please. I would invite you to search our archived articles for the July article “Freedom through obedience.” In that article we discussed how our deliverance from sin doesn’t mean we can do as we please.

Being free from the law means salvation doesn’t come to us by being good or acting in a certain way. There are more than 600 laws in the Old Testament. If you break one of them you are sentenced to eternal death - forever. If you ever told a lie, even one, you have broken the law. Nobody can keep all of God’s laws.

Isn’t it comforting to know that our loving Father has provided us a wonderful gift? Hold on to the teaching of Jesus and allow Him to set you free.