John 8:31-36 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
John 8 begins with a woman brought to Jesus that was caught in the act of sin. The Bible says she was caught in adultery, but sin has no levels. Sin is sin. Billy Graham once said, “A sin is any thought or action that falls short of God’s will. God is perfect, and anything we do that falls short of His perfection is sin.”
This woman had an encounter with Jesus and was made free. No matter what our sin, Jesus has come to set us free. There are two promises in John 8:31-36 for those who come to Christ, which are you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
Psalm 119:160 says the entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
You cannot know the truth of God’s Word nor hide it in your heart if you are not spending time in the Word! Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland is a Christian discipleship program that offers over 50 biblically based classes introducing residents to the truth of God’s Word.
As residents study the truths of His Word and receive those truths into their hearts, the second promise comes, which is the truth shall make you free.
The Truth shall make you free…What is the truth?
John 1:14 says And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Jesus is the Word, Jesus is the truth and Jesus is the ONLY way! At a recent community meeting, Tracie Davis, a Teen Challenge graduate and staff member, shared her testimony and she said with boldness, “I have been delivered; whom the Son sets free is free indeed!”
If you have made Jesus Lord of your life, do you then tell people, I am a sinner but I have not sinned in a year?
Of course not!
If we believe, if we commit ourselves to have faith in and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and follow the Word of God which is truth, He promises that we will be free. I will never be in bondage to substance abuse again because I have been set free, delivered, transformed, not just made sober.
These residents have chosen Teen Challenge because it is a Christian Discipleship program and they want to be made free, not just sober. They want to tell people they are no longer addicts, but they are children of God; not someone who is in recovery, but someone who has been redeemed. If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Pastor Tim McLauchlin
Executive Director