fbpx
Categories
Christian Living

The Truth Will Set You Free

Embrace the Absolute Truth Found in the Bible

The idea of truth is under attack today. Many reject the notion of truth. They dismiss Jesus’s teaching that the truth will set you free (John 8:32).

Instead, they insist there’s no such thing as absolute truth. They assert that truth is a personal decision, with each person able to determine what is true for themselves. Does this sound familiar?

The people who lived in the time of the judges often had this same perspective. In those days, many people did is they saw fit (Judges 17:6 and Judges 21:25). The result was unfathomable perversions in their practices and distortions of justice.

This rejection of truth as a moral compass didn’t work well for them then, and it certainly isn’t working well for us now.

When society rejects the notion of absolute truth, they plunge themselves into moral chaos. Everyone makes their own decisions about what it’s right and what is wrong—for themselves.

This is a tenet of postmodernism, where one person’s determination of truth can differ from someone else’s.

It’s no wonder that many people struggle in our world today. Without truth, they grapple over their identity. They wrestle to discover their purpose. And they strain to determine meaning for their life.

They are like ships without rudders. Much of the book of Jude seems to address their plight (Jude 1:8-13).

Too often their conclusion is to give up.

If only they would embrace absolute truth. Everyone needs to base their life on something bigger than themselves. Otherwise they egotistically slide into a self-centeredness that results in dissatisfaction and ultimately leads to their destruction.

We all need to build on a firm foundation that exists outside of ourselves. We find this foundation in the Bible. This is “the truth that will set you free.”

Yet when people make truth to be whatever they want it to be, they end up making God into their own image.

Instead, they should look at Scripture to guide them into finding their identity, purpose, and meaning for life. They need to embrace Jesus’s teaching that the truth will set you free. Only then can they truly live and truly be free.

Unlimited and unfettered options in the pursuit of self-determination does not provide lasting peace or purpose. Instead, the permanence of absolute truth can provide an unwavering stability that everyone truly craves.

Not only did Jesus say the truth will set you free, he also proclaimed that he is the truth (John 14:6). If truth will set us free, and Jesus is the truth, that means Jesus will set us free.

We have true freedom when we follow Jesus. In doing so, we find identity, purpose, and meaning for our lives.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

​Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.