JOHN 8:31-32 NKJ
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Many people are afraid that God's Word will put them in bondage -- because of the rules they think they will have to follow. But Jesus said God's Word would make you free.
Abide means to live, to continue, or to spend time somewhere.
If you continue to spend time in Jesus' Word -- you will know the truth.
When you know the truth, you will act on that knowledge -- and acting on the truth will make you free!
The Bible, especially the message of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, will set you free if you continue in it.
We are not guaranteed instant results, although sometimes they do happen. Freedom is certain, however, if you stick with God's Word. Jesus gave His guarantee!
If you are not enjoying freedom in any area of your life -- you have not continued in God's Word enough in that area. Feed it in: speak it, sing it, read it, write it, think it, dream it!
JAMES 3:2-5 NIV
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
Your tongue steers your life. Words spoken by your tongue determine the direction of your life, just like the rudder of a ship determines the direction a ship will go. Words may not cause you to arrive at the destination immediately, but they head you in that direction, and eventually, if you continue in that direction, you will arrive there.
MARK 11:23 NKJ
23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
Jesus said you will have what you say, if you believe it. But He never said you will immediately have what you say. He is telling us that the words we say set the course of our life.
What you say determines what you get in life. It did for the people of Israel. And the Bible says the things which happened to them are lessons for us (1 Corinthians 10:11).
ROMANS 10:10 NASB
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Salvation (meaning deliverance) results from what our heart believes and our mouth says.
The more strongly you believe and express your words, the more power is behind them propelling you to that destination more quickly.
But even words you don't fully believe, but only express in jest, may still steer your life in that direction. Because the devil is like a crooked lawyer watching your words, looking for any legal loophole giving him the right to bring stealing, killing, and destruction into your life.
Words spoken by your tongue express your beliefs and release authority in your life. This works for everyone, whether they realize it or not. The words you speak steer the course of your life.
Now that you know this truth, act on it. Ask the Lord to help you always speak the right words to steer your life to victory.
LUKE 22:67 NASB
67 "If You are the Christ, tell us." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe;
No one can force anyone to believe anything. Each one of us chooses whether we will believe something, based on our evaluation of the evidence presented to us.
Faith and belief may have different English meanings, but in the New Testament they are different forms of the same Greek word. Believe is the verb and faith is the noun for the same word. (Like think and thought are in English.)
JOHN 20:25 NASB
25 The other disciples therefore were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
Note that Thomas said, "I WILL NOT believe."
Many think seeing miracles would cause people to have faith. But the only ones who believe as a result of seeing miracles are those who choose to accept the miracle as sufficient evidence for them to believe. It is still a choice.
JOHN 12:37 NET
37 Although Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs before them, they still refused to believe in him,
I used to think faith was difficult to pin down with certainty -- something like a feeling or state of being. But now I understand that once we make the decision to believe, we are in faith, no matter how we may feel.
At its heart, faith is always a decision. No one can force you to believe in anything. The choice is yours.
However, we cannot believe or have faith in anything without evidence. We must have evidence that convinces us before we can believe something.
The primary evidence God has given us so that we may have faith in Him is His Word. God is not a liar; He can be trusted. Whatever God says, always comes to pass.
So if someone says they don't have much faith, the solution is for them to see the evidence from God's Word on that subject, then choose to accept what God said as true. Then they will have faith. At that point they may not feel anything, but they have faith.
The primary action of faith toward God is speaking in agreement with God's Word. Jesus said if you had faith you would say. So we express what we believe by the words we speak. And then we stand in that position of faith, regardless of feelings or circumstances.
God's Word is medicine — for any weakness or sickness in body, mind, finances, family, marriage, etc.
Whatever sickness or disease you suffer from, God's Word can cure it. God's Word is effective for any condition. It works as a preventative as well as a cure. There is no cost and no danger of taking an overdose.
Like any medicine, God's Word must be taken to be effective. It will not work sitting on the shelf. And it has to be taken according to the directions.
But if you will follow God's directions as faithfully as you would follow the directions of a human doctor, you will see wonderful results.
Here are the directions:
PROVERBS 4:20-23 NKJ
20 My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
In verse 22 the Hebrew word translated health is translated as medicine in some translations.
PSALM 107:20 NKJ
20 He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
God's Word will heal. It is full of God's power and carries the authority of God who spoke it.
JOHN 8:31-32 NKJ
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
You have the guarantee of Jesus — His Word will produce freedom.
But, you must abide, or continue in His Word. You must feed it in until you know that you know that you know the truth. Then you will act on that truth — and it will make you free.
God's medicine works by taking His Word into your being. You do that by listening to the Word, reading the Word, and speaking the Word.
You must fill your thoughts with the Word of God. The more of God's medicine you take, the better off you will be.
1 PETER 4:11 NIV
11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. . . .
When you speak what the Bible says, you are speaking the very words of God. Anything contrary to what the Bible says, should never be spoken by a Christian.
EPHESIANS 4:29 NIV
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
JAMES 4:11 NKJ
11 Do not speak evil of one another . . . .
TITUS 3:2 NKJ
2 to speak evil of no one . . . .
You are responsible for what you say. If you cannot say something good, the Bible is clear: keep quiet.
John 8:31-32 NRSV
31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Notice carefully what Jesus actually said. It is not those who "start in the word" or "try the word for awhile" who will be made free. You must continue in Jesus' message -- His Word. It must be His accurate message -- not just someone's idea of it, or tradition.
Some translations use the word "abide" instead of "continue." Abide means to stay somewhere continually. Either way, the meaning involves staying with it.
Note that Jesus said in verse 32, "and you will KNOW the truth . . ." Just hearing the truth does not necessarily make you free. You must KNOW that it is the truth. When you KNOW something, you will act on it. If you are not acting on something, you do not yet truly KNOW it. You act on what you know.
Hearing the truth is not enough. Loving the truth is not enough. Even speaking the truth is not enough. You must continue until you know that you know that you know that you know. Only then are you at the point where truth will make you free. The reason is that only then will you be able to act with faith and boldness on God's Word.
The devil is against you and is intent on keeping you in bondage. Only when you KNOW where you stand will you act in faith and overcome the strategies of the devil.
You may ask, "How can I KNOW the truth? I just have weak faith."
Jesus gave the answer: continue in His Word. As you continue in the Word of God you will become convinced -- you will know -- you will have faith. When you reach the point of knowing something -- you will act on that knowledge. In this way the truth will make you free.
This works in every area of life: your relationships, your health, your finances -- everything. Continue in the Word of God in any subject -- and you will eventually see the fruit of freedom in that area of your life.
God gave you His Word for your benefit -- not for His benefit. He already knows the truth, and always acts on it. You are the one who needs help. Because God loves you, He gave you His Word.
JOSHUA 1:8 NKJ
8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
God's Word never changes. What God promised would work for Joshua will work for you, also. The problem with most of us is that we are just too busy to put God's Word first like we should. But we are not too busy to work trying to get ahead. Explain that.
God never lies. Follow His instructions given above and you WILL have prosperity and good success. Maybe not in 10 minutes. Maybe not even for 10 years. But you will. God promises it.
Notice that Joshua 1:8 does not just say to think about God's Word. No -- the Word must continually be in your mouth! Words!
1 PETER 3:10 NKJ
10 For "He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile;
Speaking and thinking in line with God's Word will cause you to prosper and succeed. If you would like to see good days, the Bible admonishes you to watch your words!
Never confess defeat. Confessing Jesus as Lord of every situation brings glory to God.
