Does the Truth Really Set us Free?

The tweet asked if the truth really sets us free. I know Jesus said it does in Jn 8:32, so it must be true. But in what sense did He mean it?

The Truth Could Cause Panic

I’m currently working on a book about my father’s childhood. (As of this update, the book is published and has won awards.) In it, his father is diagnosed with a terminal disease, but the doctor doesn’t tell him. Neither does his wife. Until fairly recently, this was common practice.

After I gave birth to my first, I had a life-threatening event. When I asked the nurse what was happening, she said what I was experiencing was normal. I believed her– until the pain grew too great. I told my husband I was dying, he got the nurse, and I was rushed into surgery. In these cases, would the truth have set us free, or would it have caused panic?

The Truth Could Hurt

When I was a teenager working as a waitress, the cook wanted to date me. Costas was good-looking and had an awesome accent; I was young with stars in my eyes; my parents forbade it, incurring my wrath. Why? Because they’d made inquiries with his brother, my boss, and found Costas had a wife and two young children back in Greece. They told me, but what if they’d written and told his wife? Would the truth have set her free?

The Truth of Slavery

In Bible times, slavery was common and accepted. It does prohibit mistreating enslaved people, but I’m pretty sure that what they really wanted was their freedom. Would the truth have set them free from being slaves?

What is Truth?

I guess the first step in dissecting this is to figure out what truth Jesus was talking about. In John 8, Jesus is conversing about who He is—”the Son of Man,” a term that refers to being a human and the exalted heavenly One or Messiah (Daniel 7). He then goes on to explain that those who believe in Him are set free from being slaves to sin and permanently adopted into God’s family. So could the truth be the Truth—that is, Jesus (Jn 14:6)?

The TRUTH Sets Us Free

Personally, I’ve found that the Truth has set me free. That is, knowing I am loved, forgiven, and accepted by Jesus means I can face my sins and hurt, gradually being freed from their effects. I’m still living in a body that will die one day. Another believer may still be dealing with an unfaithful spouse. And others are still enslaved. But we all have the dignity of knowing Who we belong to and the joy of knowing that one day we will be free indeed.