So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “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 ESV

The truth indeed brings freedom, and there is no greater truth than the Word of God. John 8:31,32 has been written on my heart for quite some time, finding its way into the areas where deception needed to be excised from the deepest tissues and interwoven fibers. There is a crucial part of this statement proclaimed by Jesus Christ to those who were listening then, and to those who will listen now. This portion cannot be ignored. The only way to know the truth is to abide in His Word. Only then can we truly be His disciples, those who follow the conduct to which we are called.

True freedom cannot come to us apart from Christ and His Word. Troubles arise when Scripture is misappropriated, and when this happens, bondages are inadvertently created by the perpetrator of misappropriation, not by Scripture itself. There were things I once believed, things that could not be substantiated in the Word of God. Though I believed myself to be free, I was deceived. A cage had been fashioned around me, and I had assisted in its construction. The Bible once casually read, taken out of context, and carried around like a Sunday morning accessory by yours truly would become the sustenance so desperately needed to satisfy my future state of spiritual starvation, a diet consisting of dreams, visions, corporate and private experiences, and the like. Oh, Scripture was added like a garnish of parsley to spruce up the word being ministered, but ultimately the word was self serving and had little if anything to do with Jesus Christ and His precious gospel.

I realize that this kind of talk may upset some while others will breathe a sigh of relief of understanding. I mean no ill will or malice. The lies I once believed have been overshadowed by the freedom now received through faith in Jesus Christ to save me, in the Holy Spirit to conform me, and in the power of His written Word to equip me for every good work that will glorify my Savior. What were the lies you might ask? Let me warn you now. It may offend your own sensibilities, but I am not concerned so much with that as I am pointing others to Christ and to the truth of His Word.

Great freedom has come in understanding that my will cannot override God’s will. To believe such a thing is to create a god of my own imagination, and to believe that God is limited by permission given to Him by His creation is irreverent and contradictory to Scripture. God does not need our permission to do anything. Psalm 135:5,6 says, “For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.” He is sovereign, and His will is fulfilled. We simply do not understand all of His ways. They confound us. There are things which happen to each and everyone of us for our good. We may not call them good, but He works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Another bar broke loose from the cage when I realized that the only words having power to create were the very words of God, and His written Word reigns supreme. What freedom it was to know that the Creator of the universe and all that it entails carried the weight of that authority. He upholds all things by His powerful word (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, had authority over the elements of the earth. This is why He could speak to the storms and they ceased. No one else demonstrated such authority. Many have tried and continue to try, and they fail while the Luciferian desire to be like God makes its grand entrance in these acts of spiritual flexing. Contrary to some teaching, you will not find Scripture contextually to support the notion that we can call things that are not as though they were. The One who does this is God.

The Word of God is rich with truth. It helps us as believers to understand that in these last days God as spoken to us by his Son (Hebrews 1:2) and that prophets of God in the Bible never “missed it” when prophesying. It helps us to understand that the dispensation of grace is not a pass for fallible prophecy. It was liberating to know that being Spirit filled has more to do with spiritual maturity and being conformed to the image of Christ while dying to myself daily and less to do with manifestations and experiences.

There has been so much that it would take too long to tell of the freedom now received through Christ Jesus and the everlasting truth of His written Word. Abiding in His Word is vital in the life of every believer in Christ. Without it, we truly do perish for a lack of knowledge. We will be blown by every wind of doctrine when we place more value in the words of man than in the Word of the Lord. We will believe myths and falsehoods promising relevance, goosebumps, and spiritual elevation, ensnaring us with invisible chains.

If I could tell you some things I have learned this past year, it would be this. You are not obligated to listen to false prophecy or to those who propagate it. Find solid Bible teachers who will lead you to Christ and not to themselves. Test every word and every teaching against Scripture. Discernment is not demonic. Love God and His truth more than your favorite minister. Do not live on experiences, encounters, dreams, and visions.

Stay in the Word of God daily. Read the Scriptures, and ask God to write them on your heart. Disciples abide in His Word. Disciples know the truth and are not offended by it. Thank God for His holy Word.