John 8:31-32
Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on Him, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
We have all heard this scripture, or at least part of this scripture, quoted. Most of us have used it ourselves to claim freedom from sin or deliverance from some stronghold. Yet, I wonder if we have really understood what the real meaning of the text is.
We all go off on the, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” part. Jesus did say that didn’t He? But, that is not all that He said. He made that statement in the midst of making a larger and fuller statement. There are conditions to be met in this text for the promise of freedom to be realized.
If you will notice, Jesus first said that we must continue in His word and then we will be one of His disciples and then, the truth will be revealed and will make us free. The often neglected fact here is that for the truth to be known and to work to set us free, we must first be His disciple. How do we become His disciple? That is a very good question, and there is only one way to be His disciple, that way is that we must continue in His word.
The very definition of the word disciple means one who is a learner,a follower or a believer. Therefore, before we can be classified as a disciple, we must be actively learning of and following the teachings or words of Jesus. We must be being obedient to that word that He is teaching. We must be giving ourselves completely and willingly to the Word of God and then following daily Jesus in our lives.
Are you struggling with freedom in your life? Maybe the reason you are is that the conditions for freedom are not being met. You must first, continue in His word, then you will be His disciple and finally, you will know the truth and the truth shall make you free.