God’s Hope for Your Heart from John 8
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE INDEED
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
In this passage, Jesus speaks to people who “believe” Him, but by the end of the conversation they are ready to stone Him to death. It’s not that what He said changed their minds, but that His words revealed the truth of what they really believed all along.
Many people may “believe” in Jesus, but ignore His word. Some may even say they have “accepted Him as Savior” but their life demonstrates they haven’t surrendered to Him as Lord. Others may follow Jesus, but only as an add-on to other spiritual practices, revealing that to them He isn’t THE Truth, simply A truth to be included with all the others.
But Jesus doesn’t work like that.
If you want to really know the Truth, Jesus says the way to do that is to abide in His word. To “abide” simply means to remain, to stay. So, if you want to have eternal life and freedom, you’ll find it by believing and remaining in Christ.
Here’s the thing. It’s not about trying hard not to slip up out of fear of being kicked out. To abide is simply to continue to let Jesus be the center of your life, and for those who have been truly transformed by Him, that kind of lifestyle is simply the overflow of love.
That’s good news, because it means that true freedom isn’t about how hard you work for God, but how deeply you trust His Son.
May you respond to God’s love today, and abide in the words and ways of Christ, because as you do, you’ll discover the hope that comes from living in this truth: THE Truth will set you free indeed.
-Pastor Phillip
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