Four Steps to Freedom

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 ESV)

We live in a world of fake news, relativity, and social media highlight reels. I mean, come on, do you really think your “friend’s” lives are as #blessed as their Facebook and Instagram feeds say they are?

What happened to reality?

What happened to authenticity?

What happened to the truth?

A recent Google search on the topic revealed 994,000,000 results of websites claiming to have answers to these very important questions. The dictionary defines truth as a fact or belief that is accepted as true.

So how can we know what is true and what is not? God gives us the filter of His Word. It provides and reveals the truth in every area of our lives. Today’s verse gives us the four step framework to answer this very important question.

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.”

Step #1 – Abide in my word.

The word abide is defined as continuing without fading or being lost. To abide in the word means we need to continue faithfully believing what Jesus has said, and then put this faith into action by consistently walking in obedience to His Word. This leads us to Step 2.

Step #2 – You are truly my disciples.

To truly be a disciple of Christ, we need to continue to trust Jesus’ word and obey him on a consistent basis. We need to die to ourselves in every moment and live our lives as a living sacrifice fulfilling the calling he has on our lives. This will ultimately lead to His honor and glory.

Step #3 – You will know the truth.

The amazing promise in this passage of scripture is that if we abide in His Word and obey His commandments, we will in fact, with zero relativity, know the truth.

Step #4 – The truth will set you free.

Close your eyes and recite that truth with me, THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE. Isn’t that awesome? The Creator of the universe has revealed ultimate truth to us through His Word. We have been delivered. We have been set free from relativity, guilt, and sinful behaviors that oppress those who do not abide in Him.

We live in a world that is at war with the truth of His Word. As believers, we have been given a gift, a roadmap to freedom. To know truth, we must abide in His word and obey His commandments.

Are you abiding in His Word daily? Are you faithfully trusting and obeying His commandments? If not, I would encourage you to develop a new truth habit. Make the decision today to commit to consistently abide in His Word and faithfully trust and obey His teachings.

Written by Rohn Gibson — Business Mentor & Co-Founder of ChurchSpring