John 8:31-32 (NIV) To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Jesus came for the express purpose of setting us free from a lot of things, starting with the power of sin in our lives. Jesus broke the power of sin when He took on our sins and the punishment for them on the cross. Now, we are free from its power, but that freedom along with every other freedom that we have in Christ is conditional.

In the passage of scripture above, Jesus is talking to believers. These are people who had professed to believe in who He claimed to be. There are many people today that profess the same thing. They say that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is the promised Messiah. But it kind of ends there, with a few rituals (such as going to church) thrown in the mix just to keep themselves believing that all is well with them. But Jesus put a condition for being free on the people who said that they believed Him in His day and that condition holds true for us as well. He told them that they were His disciples only if they held to His teaching. That was the distinguishing mark of a true follower of Jesus. A true follower of Jesus not only hears what Jesus has said, but he also obeys what He said.

Think about it for a moment. Jesus spoke the truth with His words. His words are true because He is the Truth. Now if something is true, then it would be a good idea to live by it, otherwise, you would be living a lie. For example, what if you were driving and someone told you that the bridge ahead of you had collapsed. You could say that you now know the truth that the bridge is no longer functional, but it would do you no good if you kept going toward it and eventually tried crossing over it anyway. This would be an example of the truth not setting you free from disaster. As silly as this example sounds, that’s exactly how many Christians live their lives. They hear the Word on Sundays and perhaps even read the Word for themselves but when it comes to applying it, they don’t and therefore, they are not free. Notice that they may have heard the truth and even read the truth, but they still are not free. Jesus told the believers in this passage of scripture that it is those who obey His teaching who are truly His disciples. In other words, those that follow the truth and live by it are His disciples. It is then, when they obey the truth that they have heard, that they will know the truth and that the truth would set them free.

How about you? Are you free, or is living as a Christian a big struggle for you? While we are in the fight of our lives (we’re fighting the good fight), we should be free while we are fighting it. We are not fighting for freedom, but from a position of freedom if it is that we are holding to the teaching of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Enjoy the blessing that comes from knowing and following the truth. It is then that you will be free indeed.

Pastor Joey Vazquez