The Truth Sets You Free (TLT Worship Help)

    "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. / Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John. 8:31,32 NIV)

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code seemed to pursue and "crack" a lot of so-called "secret codes" in the religious Catholicism. Some of them makes little sense, especially regarding to the secret groups, though he tried to hightlight them positively rather than discerningly.

Actually, one of what Da Vinci tried to encrypt in his religious paintings was the widespread contemporary homosexuality. That's why he depicted some of his male characters androgynously, injecting femaleness. Especially John the Baptist and John the Apostle in his works look more female than male, even with "pretty" smile. Michaelangelo did the same kind of thing. That's how they concealed and revealed their sins de profundis in their art works.    

Well, as a matter of fact, you are going to find rather than to "crack" two main "codes" in the gospel of John: love and truth! The writer, the Apostle John, uses these two special words or concepts with more frequency than the other three-the Synoptic Gospels. His epistles do the similar "encoding" job.

That's how John got this nickname, "the Apostle of Love". But the actual Apostle of love is Jesus himself. An Apostle is the one sent. Jesus is the Chief Apostle sent by God to show His agape love.

Jesus is also the Apostle of the truth. More than that, He himself is the truth! Jesus deals this fact in this gospel over and over again.

One of his favorite terms was "truly". He even doubles the adverb like "Truly, truly". In other versions it is "Verily, verily" or "Surely, surely". This phrase in Greek is "Amen, amen". (Amen originally was from the Hebrew.)

English speaking people often finish their formal letters with the short remark: "Truly, yours" of "Very truly yours". That shows how much they desire to show their sincerity but they lie so easily.

In case of Jesus, He said things really truly every time, because He was the truth. He said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Otherwise, He should be a liar just like anybody else. For the Bible says: "Let God be true, and every man a liar." (Rom 3:4b).

So many philosophers and gurus in the world tried to promote their "truths", but every one of them was a liar, according to the Bible. Only Jesus taught truths in a true sense.
Jesus never lied. He never commtted sins. He was totally innocent, sinless, blameless, spotless, guiltless. He was perfectly pure and holy. Do you know why? Because He obeyed to the Father God perfectly.
   
Besides, He arose from the dead, unlike the worldy great thinkers like Socrates, Confucious, Buddha, Muhammad, etc. These guys, unlike Jesus, all died in their sins. One of them was even homosexual, one polygamous! And all were liars even ignorant of that they were.

When Jesus said something, He meant He was true. Everything He said was true. Everything He prophesied was fulfilled exactly. So when He said "Truly, truly", that meant true indeed. You can rely on Him. You can trust Him any time.

Jesus said you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Before that, He had said "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples." The reason why He said so was many Jews believed in Him (John 8:30). So He said in the sense that if they continue to listen to and rely on Him, that would happen.

Well, indeed, some Jews held to Him and became his disciples. But here, these Jews who once put their faith in Him minutes ago, began to refuse Him again and even tried to kill Him at the sight throwing stones to Him (v.59)! Wonder why? Because they expected from Him worldly things out of greed: fame, food, honor, political power and independence of the nation. Those were the things they had expected from the Moshiach (messiah).

But Jesus rightly pointed to the fact that they were the children of Satan, the devil who is the father of lies (v.44). That's true, isn' it? Satan was a liar and murderer from the begining. Remember he deceived the first woman? That lie fed them enough to develop into putting the whole human race in generations in sins!

The Son of God and the Son of Man appeared to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The truth detroys lies. Satan came to lie, destroy, steal and kill. But Jesus came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. That's how the truth works.

How can we be set free?
First of all, believe in Jesus to be born again. Confess Him as your Lord and Savior.
Then the Holy Spirit comes into and stays in your heart that is your spirit.  

And then read and hear the word of God, especially the NT.
Let it stay in your heart. Meditate on it continually. Let it get deep down enough to saturate and soak your spirit.
How? Well, your mouth helps. Confess and chant the Scriptures dividing rightly into phrases. Don't try hard to memorize them but meditate on and confess: speak out and declare in faith and in Jesus' name.

It sets you free, indeed.
Jesus words set you free!
The truth sets you free!
Jesus' Blood sets you free!
It breaks every yoke of bondage.

Let the Truth set you free always and let you stay free, indeed.
In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.