Session 11

True Freedom

From Understanding and Applying The Bible

John 8:31-28

31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,  32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  33 They answered him, "We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, 'You will become free'?" 
34Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.  35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.  36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

You might not know...
If you see red letters in your Bible, that is Jesus talking. Also, when you see the phrase “Truly,Truly” that means Jesus wants us to listen because He is about to spit. 

What does it say?
Jesus is having a conversation with people about what's real and how to experience true freedom. Jesus is saying that His words are the truth we need to experience true freedom.

What does it mean?
The truth is Jesus' word, so if we abide in His word ("abide in" just means "be close to") we will know the truth and experience true freedom. 

So the only way we can experience true freedom is by being close to the truth, which means following Jesus and doing what he says. True Freedom = following Jesus.

What does it mean to me?
When I feel overcome by sin in my life, I can experience freedom by following Jesus. Not just a temporary freedom, or a freedom that lasts only a couple of days, but a freedom that can last me an entire lifetime. And that freedom is only found when I focus on Jesus and I cling on tight to what He says. 
I always find all of the freedom I’m looking for when I open the pages of the Bible. There I can know truth, be in close relation with Jesus, and experience true freedom from whatever sin I'm dealing with.