3 Ways the Truth Will Make You Free

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Jesus’ words, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” are one of the most often quoted verses of the Bible.

Right up there with “Judge not that ye be not judged.”

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “What truth will make me free?”

In an era of AI deepfakes, fake news, and historical rewrite, this is a very important question to ask, because it is becoming harder and harder to find the actual truth.

So, how do we find the truth that will make us free, and how do we know that what we’ve found is the actual truth?

What I love about the Bible is that it is not very complicated.

While Jesus spoke in parables, His words were actually so simple that even a child could understand, and I believe that is one reason why He warned that unless we become like children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

As adults, we have a tendency to complicate things that are not very complicated.

And when it comes to discovering truth, it’s actually quite simple, but it does require cultivating a love and desire for the truth, which for many will prove to be quite hard.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:31-32

The answer to the question, “Where do we find the truth that sets us free?” is in John 8:31. “If you abide in my word….”

Verse 32 begins with the conjunction “and”, meaning that it is a continuation of the previous thought.

If we abide in God’s word, we are Jesus’ disciples, and by being Jesus’ disciples, we shall know the truth, and that truth will make us free.

Jesus went on to say in verse 36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

3 Ways the Truth Will Set You Free

We’ve seen in the movies where the main character gets the upper hand over the villain, and at the climax, with an air of victory, quotes, “And you shall know the truth and the truth will make you free!”

But Jesus wasn’t just talking about the truth of a matter. He was talking about the truth. He was talking about the only foundation of truth that exists for the entire human race.

Until we know that truth, we will never be truly free.

1. We must abide in the Word of God

The first thing Jesus said was that we must abide in His word. You may be thinking right now, “I read the Bible every day”.

That’s a good start, but it doesn’t mean that you are abiding in His word. The Greek word for “abide” or “continue” is to tarry, to dwell, to stay.

In this post, I talk about the difference between visiting God and walking, or dwelling, with God.

The same principle applies here.

We may visit the Bible each day, reading a few verses or even a whole chapter a day, and then close our Bible, tick off the “Read Your Bible” box on our checklist, and then go about our day.

That was visiting, not dwelling.

Dwelling in the Word of God means that throughout the day, we meditate on what we’ve read.

We ask ourselves how we can adjust our lives so that our lifestyle and worldview align with what we’ve read.

We take steps to live according to what we’ve read.

Dwelling in God’s Word will require much more from us than just reading the Bible each day. It will require dedication to it and personal responsibility for what we’ve learned.

2. We must become disciples of Jesus Christ

Jesus goes on to say that when we dwell in His word, we are His disciples. A disciple of Jesus is a student and someone who follows His teachings.

This is so much more than just calling ourselves “Christian”, a believer, or even saved.

Have you noticed that everything is Christian these days? Music, t-shirts, mugs and tumblers, pencils, journals, and even your car if you have the fish sticker on it.

The title “Christian” has become so watered down that even inanimate objects are considered Christian.

When I lived in Texas, my boss, who drank, partied, did recreational drugs, and slept around on the weekends, was in church on Sunday. He considered himself a Christian.

A disciple is on a different level.

A disciple knows Jesus’ words and not only lives them out, but his belief and adherence to them are radical.

He is utterly and completely given to them with his whole life.

Is this you? Are you so completely surrendered to Jesus that you would die for Him if need be?

Let’s put this into everyday scenarios:

Are you so given over to Jesus that if He said to get rid of your TV so you have more time to study His Word, you would do it?

Are you so given over to Jesus that if He told you to leave your career and drastically lower your standard of living so you could go into full-time ministry, you would do it?

Are you so given over to Jesus that you are willing to obey Him in literally everything, or are you still calculating the cost of following Him?

Jesus’ disciples didn’t count the cost. They left everything behind to follow Him.

3. We must receive a love for the truth

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 [emphasis mine]

In this passage, Paul was talking about the last days.

And my sister, we are indeed living in the last days. I would dare say we are living in the last moments of the last days.

One of the signs of the last days is that there will be those who will have a strong delusion. They will believe absurd lies. And it will be for this reason:

They did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.

Paul talked about this in Romans 1 when he described those who refused to retain God in their knowledge, and so they were given to vile living and uncleanness.

We must love truth more than we love anything else.

We must love truth more than we love entertainment that portrays perversion, immorality, and witchcraft, so much so that we will walk away from it and lay down higher standards.

We must love truth more than we love our coworkers, friends, and family members, so much so that we will stand for truth even if it means we stand alone.

We must love truth more than we love our devices, so much so that when God whispers to us to shut everything down so that we can spend time in His presence, we gladly do so with joy and anticipation.

This kind of love is a love that must be cultivated.

It is not imparted by the laying on of hands.

It is not a gift you receive when you go forward for prayer after a sermon.

It must be cultivated and grown by daily making those intentional decisions in secret, when no one is looking.

This is when a love of the truth begins to grow in your life.

And dear sister, when we do these three things, we will know the truth. We will know the truth. We will know it so well that we can spot a lie for a country mile!

And that truth will set us free – because we will know the source of that truth:

Jesus Christ, who is the Word made flesh.

“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36