Freedom in God's Word

“…You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32)

 

This verse and the accompanying exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees in John 8:31-36 hold the keys to a fruitful, liberated Christian life that goes deep where the richest blessings flow. (Luke 5:4-11, Genesis 49:25)  We must know and receive in faith God’s truth, which is His word (Psalm 119:60, John 17:17) and Christ His Son (John 1:14, 14:6), to be set free from sin and death. 

The most essential truth that sets us free forever is the gospel of Christ. (Romans 5:8-9)  By perfectly fulfilling the law as our spotless Lamb, bearing all our sins on the cross, conquering death and rising again, Jesus set us free from sin, condemnation, guilt, death, and separation from God. We are justified and made righteous by Christ. (Romans 3:21-26, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 1:18)  We are set free from Satan’s false accusations and from false guilt by the truth that there is no condemnation for those in Christ. (Romans 8:1)  This truth is too powerful and wonderful to keep to ourselves, so Christ’s final command to His followers before His ascension was to go and proclaim this gospel truth to the whole world. (Mark 16:15)

God’s truth gives wisdom and discernment, which free us from Satan’s lies and from sinful strongholds in disguise, such as unholy fears masquerading as loving concern. He provides all we need, freeing us from worry. (Matthew 6:25-34).  When we or our loved ones suddenly face unemployment or unexpected financial burdens, these truths free us from anxiety. We can receive perfect peace by bringing our concerns to Him in prayer. (Philippians 4:6-7)  

His truth removes the fear of man (Proverbs 29:25), which liberates us to live for Him so that others may hear the truth and find freedom too.  His truth emboldens us to stand up for truth and righteousness against opposition because His power is greater than the power of this world. (1 John 4:4) We can rejoice under trials because His rewards far surpass any earthly suffering. (Matthew 5:10-12, 2 Corinthians 4:9)

God’s truth frees us from fear of the future. While tomorrow may seem uncertain, God knows what each day brings, and His word tells us how this story ends.  We will face battles, but Christ wins the war.  Through it all, He will strengthen, help, uphold, and deliver us. (Isaiah 41:10, Psalms 34:4) As co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), our eternal inheritance is secure.  Our citizenship is in Heaven! (Philippians 3:20, John 14:2-3) We are overcomers and more than conquerors through Christ (Romans 8:37, 1 John 5:4). So when tragedy comes and loved ones pass, when we battle infertility or scary medical diagnoses, or when elections do not go our way, the truth gives certain hope. We may be grieved and afflicted but not crushed; we may be perplexed, but are free from despair. (2 Corinthians 4:8) God is sovereign over all. He appoints leaders according to His perfect plan. He allows suffering to strengthen and refine us and to serve His greater purposes, but He never abandons us. (Romans 13: 1-7) He is all-powerful, faithful, loving, and good. His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23) Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s and He goes with us. He has removed the sting of death and obtained the victory. His eternal truth casts out fear. (Psalm 23:4, Romans 14:7-9)

God’s truth frees us from low self-esteem and identity crises.  His word teaches us who and whose we are and shows us our infinite value and eternal purpose. No one knows us like the One who knew us and predestined us before He even made us! (Jeremiah 1:5)  The opinions of others are fickle, but God’s truth never changes. By clinging to His truth and finding our identity in Him, we are set free from all the drama, emotional turmoil, people pleasing (Galatians 1:10, Isaiah 2:22), moral compromising, and ceaseless striving that accompany identity confusion.  Instead of drawing attention to ourselves for validation through the praises of men (whether by immodest dress, grandstanding, suggestive or obnoxious behavior, or perpetual performing), we are free to live authentically, fulfilling God’s purpose for us with confident assurance. 

When we understand our identity and worth, we are set free from feeling offended by different opinions or by personal attacks.  When others have hurled angry insults at me and falsely slandered me, I have found their words do not hurt me when I stand on God’s truth.  My identity is in Christ, not the opinions of others. No one has the authority to define me but God, so nothing anyone says to me or about me can ever change who I am or diminish my value. Angry hurtful words reveal the contents of the slanderer’s heart, not mine. The truth will become obvious soon enough.  (Numbers 32:23)

God’s truth also defines our position.  Our greatest deeds are as filthy rags compared to His holy standard. (Isaiah 64:6)  Before Christ changed us, we were children of wrath, enslaved to sinful desires, spiritually dead, and without hope. It is only by His grace that we are saved, not by works, so no one can boast. (Ephesians 2).  Apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5) This truth frees us from pride, self-absorption, and self-reliance.

As we grow in our understanding of who we are, who others are, and who God is, we are set free from prejudice and hate, for how can we say we love God (who is love) and hate those who He made in His image for His glory. (1 John 4:8 ) Prejudice assumes superiority over another, but God’s truth shatters any preconceived notions of our own self-importance.  When we know and experience God’s love and forgiveness, we are set free to love and forgive others. (John 13:34-35, John 15:12, Colossians 3:13)

When we find our value in His truth that never changes, we are set free from feelings of rejection or abandonment.  I was adopted into a loving home in the early 1970s when adoptions were closed and less common. During my childhood, kids would ask me, “Why didn’t your mother want you?”  Back then, I didn’t know why she placed me for adoption, but I did know that my adoptive parents had selected me as their own.  They had loved me wholeheartedly, unconditionally, and sacrificially.  While some kids felt sorry for me, I considered myself doubly blessed because I had not only be accepted, but also chosen. My birth parents’ feelings toward me seemed irrelevant because I was with the family God had intended from the beginning.  That truth was so freeing for me as a little girl and helped me better understand God’s unconditional love for me as His adopted daughter. (1 Peter 2:9) 

When I was in college, my birth mother hired a detective to find me. She was desperate to know if I had been adopted into a safe, loving home or into an abusive home like the one she had released me from by placing me for adoption.  Meanwhile, I had begun praying for my birth mother after hearing a sermon that stirred my heart to love and serve women in crisis pregnancy situations. When my birth mother first contacted me out-of-the-blue on March 27, 1995, I had just read these words from the March 27 entry of Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest: 

“God has to hide from us what He does until by personal character we get to the place where He can reveal it”.

I was no longer afraid to meet her because my identity was secure in Christ. I was ready to meet her because the truth of my position before Christ had just crushed the spiritual pride growing in m. So when she called, I calmly (rare for me) told her I had just been praying for her and asked her if she knew Jesus as Savior. The truth of my idyllic childhood, loving family, and God’s sovereignty revealed in my life, set her free from the fears that had haunted her.  Over the years, I watched God’s truth set her free in so many different areas of life just as His truth was transforming me. (We later discovered that she was baptized in another church the same day our daughter was baptized at Providence, which is fitting since God’s truth declares His providence!)

The power of God’s truth to set people free is like a beautiful domino toppling display with exponential limits. Will we be faithful to start the toppling of strongholds by learning, believing, and applying His truth in every area of our lives and by sharing it with others? 

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

God’s word gives wisdom; it opens our eyes,
And helps us discern truth from Satan’s lies.
It frees us from sin's strongholds in disguise
And offers salvation from our sins' demise
Through the love of Jesus, Heaven's glorious prize.