TRUTH AND FREEDOM

JOHN 8:3

A. "AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE."
  1. In these words, by the embodiment of truth, we have the key to:
    1. True freedom.
    2. And its relationship to truth.
  2. Our Saviour spoke these words to a people that boasted of liberty while they were in bondage to sin and the Roman government:
    1. They claimed to be free men, but by their deeds they showed that they were the bond servants of sin.
    2. There are ever so many professed Christians who boast of liberty, but by their works they show that they are slaves of sin - John 8:44; Rom. 3:9-22
B. TRUTH AND FREEDOM
  1. The need for liberation makes our opening text timely:
    1. Both Jews and Gentiles are, by nature, under sin - Rom. 3:23; John 8:34
    2. Since sin is enmity against God, all sinners are, by nature, enemies of God - Rom. 8:6, 7
    3. They all are under condemnation because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God - Rom. 5:12-19
  2. The Bible speaks of a threefold bondage:
    1. The bondage of the mind - Prov. 21:27; Gen. 8:21; Matt. 15:19
    2. The bondage of the will - Rom. 7:15. The sooner we recognize this fact, the better it will be for us and others.
    3. The bondage of the conscience - 1 Tim. 4:2; Heb. 9:14
  3. It is possible for a person to be unaware of this enslavement:
    1. It may be force of habit that controls us and we become accustomed to the bondage - Ezek. 8:10, 11
    2. Sin blinds us to our true condition - 2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 3:14-15
    3. Self-conceit is the very bottom of this blindness - Luke 18:9-12; John 8:33
  4. The truth that liberates:
    1. This we know, that all truth brings liberty.
    2. There is a desire among men to be free -
      1. Some use force to get freedom.
      2. Others use legislative measures.
    3. Our Lord states plainly that only truth can set men free - John 8:32
      1. Christ is the truth - John 14:6
      2. It is He that sets men free - John 8:36
      3. The Bible is truth - Dan. 10:21; John 17:17
      4. God's law is truth - Ps. 119:142, 151
C. TRUTH, LIKE ALL OTHER BLESSINGS, IS EFFECTIVE WHEN APPLIED RIGHT
  1. We must know the truth to be set free by it:
    1. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32
    2. That was the one essential the self-conceited leaders of the Jews lacked - Matt. 22:29
    3. Paul wrote to Timothy these words, "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." 2 Tim. 3:15-17
  2. The truth must become a part of our life before it can be truly effective in our behalf:
    1. It is the truth in our hearts which helps to resist temptation - Ps. 119:9, 11
    2. Because not the hearer but the doer of the word can truly be free - Rom. 2:13; Jas. 1:22, 23
    3. But before we can have the truth in our hearts we must free ourselves first of falsehood, the enemy of truth - Mark 7:7-13
    4. Truth and freedom are heaven's immortal twins; where the one is, the other must be there also.
  3. Price of the truth: "Buy the truth and sell it not":
    1. The price of the truth is high, and many are unwilling to pay for it - Matt. 19:16-19
    2. Some bought at the sacrifice of their lives. Think of the price the many martyrs paid in the dark ages.


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