Jesus’ words in John 8:31-32 are something I’ve spent much time pondering. He tells the Jews who had believed in him, ““If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Ok. Great. I know the truth. I can recite the Bible verses and summarize a wide breadth of more general Gospel truths. Why am I not completely free from things I’ve struggled with for decades? What am I missing?
Hold to my teaching
The word that the NIV translates as “hold to” the ESV translates as “abide in.” It shows up throughout the New Testament when talking about faithfully staying with or obeying a command or truth. So, when Jesus says “hold to my teaching” he doesn’t just mean agree with what I say or keep it in mind or something along those lines. Instead, he means you align your life with what he’s saying. Live according to it. Obedience is how you get to know the truth.
Know the truth
The knowing that Jesus is talking about here isn’t knowledge that comes from studying theology, reading the Bible cover to cover, or going to seminary. If it was, then most likely Jesus would have spent significantly more time educating his disciples on the details of Biblical history and proper trinitarian theology. It would mean that those who spend the most time studying scripture and theology would be free from their besetting sins, which, based on the consistent moral failures of eminent theologians and pastors, is clearly not the case.
Note the order of Jesus’ statement here: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Holding to – obeying and aligning your life with – Jesus’ teaching precedes knowing the truth. If you want to know the truth that sets you free, you need to live according to Jesus’ teachings. The knowledge that brings freedom is a knowledge born of experience, not study; of practice, not education.
In a practical sense, this means that we must be intentionally putting into action the truth that we hear from Jesus. When we read God’s word it must at least nudge the patterns of our lives into a different form. Those changes will likely be small and incremental most of the time, and occasionally massive tectonic shifts, but there must be change. And as we change we will discover that we are increasingly free, just as Jesus declared.
The truth will set you free
What does this freedom look like? Take a look at Jesus, the ultimate example of human freedom. He was free to say no to sin. He was free from shame and fear. His choices weren’t determined by what other people thought, which freed him to befriend people radically different from himself and to rebuke the religious and political establishments around him where they were out of line with God. He was free to be radically generous with his time, heart, and skills. And, perhaps most powerfully, he was freed from any lasting fear of death.
That’s the kind of life I want to live. I want to hold to Jesus’ teaching and come to know the truth. I want to live in the freedom that Jesus promised those who are his disciples. I’ve discovered that the “knowing” the truth that Jesus talked about isn’t something I can get through a quick memorization habit. No, it’s a gradual outworking of faith-directed obedience to Jesus’ words as I follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in learning to hold to Jesus’ teaching.
Will you join me on the journey?
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