Freed By the Truth

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:31-32

In a world where "truth" is becoming more and more abstract as time goes by, it is freeing itself to know that there is such a thing as truth, and that it's solid.  To Jesus, whereas everyone is influenced by their surroundings, upbringing, thought processes, etc., there is such a thing as truth.  It's a real thing that exists, is foundational, and is the standard by which all other understandings and thought will be (and already are) judged.  Most people think they know 'the truth', but when they come across someone else who thinks differently than they, their defenses show that they understand how unstable their stance actually might be.  Further, many people believe a certain thing, but when presented with an appropriate opposing argument ("appropriate" meaning 'strong enough to trump their original stance'), they'll change their mind easily.  I recently was in a conversation with another Christian about the Bible's stance on a certain 'lifestyle', and when it came up that I believe the Bible clearly condemns said lifestyle, he got defensive and told me I needed to watch a Lifetime movie that changed his mind about the whole thing, in hopes that it would also change my mind.  Apparently to him Hollywood understands humanity better than the God who created humanity.

But here Jesus tells us that there is such a thing as "truth", and that regardless of our leanings, biases, and influences, it exists.

And He tells us three more things about "the truth":
1.  It's knowable.
2.  It's realized by abiding in his word and being his disciple.
3.  It's freeing.

1.  First, it's knowable.  This thing called "truth" can be known.  To "know" something means to be so well acquainted with said thing, one can refer to it with a certain advanced level of intimacy.  "I know the back of my hand" means that I see the back of my hand more than anyone else does, so I know it better than anyone else.  I know it's texture, color, etc. well enough that if blindfolded and held down and asked "What's the back of your hand like?" I could easily give a sufficient answer.  On the other hand, I've met a couple of famous people, but it would be unfair to say "I know them", because I've really only met them.  Mat Kearney the singer (whom I've met a couple of times, for example) is only an acquaintance.  I know the back of my hand.
Jesus says that those who follow him and abide in his word will know the truth.  This is a major statement, especially in our world where it appears that truth, as mentioned earlier, is appearing to become a more and more abstract concept.  Jesus is making an authoritative statement by saying that truth can certainly be known.  Whereas some think they know it, others think the first group is wrong and that they themselves are right in their understanding of truth, and there are still others who think the first two groups are idiots because THEY know the truth and the others don't--in the midst of this, Jesus is saying THE truth is knowable.
So the obvious question is this: "How can we know what this truth...THE truth...is?"

2.  It's realized by abiding in his word and being his disciple.  As though it wasn't an authoritative enough statement  for Jesus to say a) there IS a truth, and b) it IS knowable, this statement is even more authoritative.  Jesus says you will know this truth by abiding in Him and being His disciple.  What a promise!  As in many other places, here Jesus is as cut-and-dry as can be.  If you'd like to know the foundational truth that is back of and underneath all the universe and humanity and thought and logic, you must come to Jesus.  John 1:1 calls Jesus 'the Word', which in Greek is 'logos' from which we derive english "logic".  'Logic' is defined by dictionary.com as "the science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference", with another definition being "inexorable truth or persuasiveness".  In essence, 'logic' can be summarized as bare understanding itself.  Perhaps, the ability to think--thought itself.  John tells us that this is Jesus.  Since all things are created through Jesus (John 1:3, 1 Cor. 8:6, Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:2-3), He Himself is foundational not just to the material of creation, but to the thought and understanding present in creation.  This is why He can say "I am the truth" (Jn. 14:6)--in essence, "without me, you're left up to yourself, your understanding, and your experience...and good luck with that!"
Jesus had also said, "Come and learn from me" (Matt. 11:29)--though He is the foundation for all things seen and unseen, he's invited all who would come, to come to him, with assurance that he's a teacher and a good teacher at that.
Learning from him who IS the truth, one learns the truth.  But why would one want to?

3.  It's freeing.  As Bonhoeffer used to put it, "the truth" is much less an 'it' and much more a 'who'-->it's Jesus.  And knowing Him--He who is the standard by which the world is judged (see Acts 17:31)--is the most freeing and liberating 'knowledge' there is.  Notice there in John 8, later in the conversation after "the truth will set you free" Jesus says "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed".
How is it freeing to know Jesus who is the truth, as he teaches us and guides us into understanding truth in our world?  There are many ways, but I'll just hit one for now:  It's freeing to come to Jesus for the truth, because we know that we're starting in the right place.  Whereas most worry and anxiety arises out of our outward circumstances appearing bigger than the unseen God we believe in, the claim that Jesus is preeminent and sovereign can shut up our worries and anxieties because, being united with him, we have nothing to fear.  Our greatest fears are still underneath the banner of his Lordship, so whereas right now we are not completely free of worry, it's nice to know that He who is our Lord is also Lord over our situations--and this is the beginning of freedom.  Whereas Christians hate their own sin and despise themselves for their constantly returning to it even though they really do love Jesus and strive for repentance (see Rom. 7:11-25), in Christ-the-Truth the Christian finds the kindness of pardon and forgiveness (see 1 John 2:1), the assurance that Jesus has already begun working on this sin to bring us to victory (John 8:36, Heb. 9:13-14), and the power to overcome it (Rom. 7:24, 8:9-11)--(and truly our hate for our sin comes from our being united with Christ in the first place, as well).  Perhaps the greatest of all is the freedom in knowing that even though the world (and sometimes, the Church) compromises so much that it appears there is no standard anymore whatsoever by which to work from and infer that which is right/wrong, true/false, good/evil, Jesus being the truth and THE standard lets us know that no matter what others will say or what direction the world will move in, He's the Logos that is foundational to our and their very existence.  And it is He who claims us as His own.

 As Paul rightly said, "The natural person can not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14).  What we are claiming to believe about Jesus is completely unacceptable to those who judge without God Himself as the starting point.  But if we begin with God--the Holy God of the Bible--we realize how insignificant we are and yet how great our sin is.  And this humbles us by putting the greatest fear there is, IN us.  But then we hear the invitation from Jesus who claims to be THE Truth, "Come and learn from me."  And as we learn from him we learn that we MUST be taken into one-ness with He and His Father, and we gladly accept the gift of adoption that is in him, because we can honestly say "What other choice do I have?  Who else am I going to trust in?  Mankind, government, sports, MYSELF?  What else do I have but Christ who has availed Himself to me?"  And coming to him finally, He who is truth, He who frees, He who loves, and He who is knowable, we can learn the truth, know the truth, and finally be free.