(The following is the April 15 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read John 8 and pay close attention to verses 31-36.)
Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (vv. 31-32). How does God’s truth set us free?
The primary freedom Christians experience is freedom from the eternal consequences of sin. Unforgiven sinners suffer God’s judgment for eternity, but believers’ sins were nailed to Christ’s cross. This truth should change our daily lives, as Spurgeon describes: “Sincere belief in the word of Christ leads to emancipation from the tyrannical power of the evil that dwells in our members and from the dominating power of the sin that rules in the customs of the world. We will be free from our own prejudices, prides, and lusts. We will be free from the fear of others.” *
It would be tremendous if we instantly lost all sinful desires and had only pure motives and behavior after coming to know Christ, but our experience demonstrates otherwise. We have bodies of flesh and still yield to temptation. But if we remain in Christ and grow in obedience to his Word, his truth frees us more and more the longer we walk with him. As we fill our minds with Christ and the wisdom of his Word, we leave less room for darkness to dwell. Minds and hearts devoted to God’s truth flee Satan’s lies and understand the world according to a sound, biblical perspective. That knowledge and worldview are instrumental in removing sinful motives that otherwise lead us to unfaithfulness.
The world offers knowledge about limitless subjects, but only Jesus Christ provides truth that leads to forgiveness and eternal life. Choose wisely which path receives your time and attention. Only one will set you free.
Next Step:
In what ways has the truth of Christ set you free? Do you still need freedom from recurring sins that hinder your walk with Christ and your witness for him? Take such matters to God in heartfelt prayer.
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* CSB Spurgeon Study Bible, ed. Alistair Begg (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1438.
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