Jesus told His disciples, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” So, according to Jesus, one way to distinguish truth from lies is in the freedom truth gives us. If we believe something that is false, we become bound by its lies, to live by them and protect them. Truth does not come with such chains. Truth allows us the freedom to choose, knowing right from wrong. Falsehood is always condemning us. Truth supports and encourages us.
In the verse just before the one I quoted above Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” So Jesus links abiding in His Word with knowing the truth, and thereby being set free. Knowing the truth begins with knowing God, since He is the originator and embodiment of truth. In fact, Jesus said in another place, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The reason we struggle to find truth, and our purpose in life, is that we don’t start at the beginning, the source. As I quoted yesterday, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Leave the chains of falsehood behind. Believe the truth and be set free. Believe in Jesus Christ.
Reluctant Retiree 