The Liberating Power of Truth

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 8:31-32

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 

NKJV

The truth Jesus is talking about in John 8:31-32 is the truth of His word and since Jesus is part of the trinity and therefore God, he is telling us that the truth of God’s word will set us free.  True disciples of Jesus are those who study and live their lives according to the Word of God.  I therefore urge the freedom loving individuals reading this to take time out of each day to study the Word of God and strive to live their lives according to the wisdom God’s Word contains. 

When we make a decision to order our lives according to the wisdom contained in the Word of God, we will experience the liberating power of the Word of God.  We will initially experience freedom and salvation from our sins with the reward of eternal life (John 3:16).  As we study deeper into God’s Word with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, we will experience freedom from various other things in our lives that hold us back and slow us down (Hebrews 12:1).

The campaign season is once again upon us and with it comes a plethora of campaign ads.  In each ad, the candidate will tout how they are the best one for the office.  If we were just to take the ads at face value, we would have to vote for every candidate.  However, the law only allows us to vote for one of the candidates so it is therefore up to voters to select the one telling the truth. 

Unfortunately, there is no defined standard of truth amongst the majority of voters.  As such, voters often vote for candidates based upon their looks, name recognition, skin color, or gender.  Unfortunately, these are surface issues and tell us nothing about how a candidate will govern once winning office, which is why voters must take the time to dig deep into a candidate’s history in order to determine the truth of his or her values, beliefs, and qualifications.  This digging deep into the candidate’s history will help us arrive at the truth thus liberating us from electing unqualified candidates with values and beliefs in opposition to the values of the nation as expressed in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. 

As Christians, we do have a standard of truth with which to judge candidates for office, the Word of God.  I there want to challenge Christian voters this election to

1)      Study the Word – I know many of you already spend time in the Word but I want to challenge you study more intently so that the Word of God becomes a more vital part of your life.

2)      Compare the candidate’s values and philosophy against the Word of God – Using this standard means we prefer a candidate that is a believer.  However, we will settle for a candidate who may not be a believer but who vows not to sign or vote for any legislation violating the Word of God and our constitutionally protected Christian values.

3)      Show up at the polls – Last election many stayed home (1) and according to Presidential candidate Ted Cruz, many of these absent voters were evangelical Christians.  (2)

Between now and Election Day, we have an opportunity to begin the process of changing the heart of America.  Many in our nation are coming to realize that the current politicians in Washington promise one thing but once in office do not deliver on what they promised.  Voters are tired of politicians lying to them and want truth out of their elected officials but we must insure they have a solid foundation of truth from which to judge candidates. 

I believe Jesus’ words in John 8:31-32 ring true today.  Unfortunately, however, we live in secular society whose education system, and media are dominated by the philosophy of post modernism.  (3)   This philosophy has relegated truth to be whatever each individual believes it should be.  It is this perverted definition of truth that has led to people losing their businesses (4)  because their belief in the truth as expressed in God’s Word that marriage is between a man and a woman (Genesis2:21-24), does not agree with the beliefs of five Supreme Court Justices.  This perverted definition of truth also believes the CEO of a company should lose his job because he contributed to a ballot measure defining marriage as between a man and a woman.  (5)  Now, this perverted belief in truth has led to a public official going to jail because her religious belief prohibits her from signing marriage licenses for gay marriages.  (6)  This perverted definition of truth is not liberating but divisive and creating conflict in society. 

What society needs is more of the liberating truth of God’s Word for it is this truth that forgives men and women of their sins.  It is this truth that teaches men and women to place their trust in God and not some government official or program.  It is this truth that promises eternal life in the presence of a loving God. 

That is where we as believers come in.  We must,

1)      Pray for those deceived by the secular definition of truth.  Pray that their eyes are opened to the truths as contained in the Word of God and that God will send someone their way to share this truth with them.

2)      Live our lives in obedience and service to God.  This includes taking a biblical stand on issues but we must also remember to love those that have been deceived.  Let the way we live our lives loving them while taking a stand demonstrate that those with strong beliefs in God have the strength and peace they want.

3)      Boldly share the Gospel when God provides the opportunity. 

We have the liberating truth society seeks.  The question is, are we willing to live it and declare it. 

1. Griffin. What went wrong in 2012? The case of the 4 million missing voters. www.redstate.com. [Online] Red State, November 14, 2012. [Cited: July 12, 2015.] http://www.redstate.com/diary/griffinelection/2012/11/14/what-went-wrong-in-2012-the-case-of-the-4-million-missing-voters/.

2. Woods, Mark. Ted Cruz appeals to evangelicals in campaign launch – but they may not be enough to get him elected. www,christianitytoday.com. [Online] Christianity Today, March 24, 2015. [Cited: March 28, 2015.] http://www.christiantoday.com/article/ted.cruz.appeals.to.evangelicals.in.campaign.launch.but.they.may.not.be.enough.to.get.him.elected/50645.htm.

3. Post Modern Psychology. Postmodernism and the Academic Disciplines. www.postmodernpsychology.com. [Online] [Cited: December 12, 2014.] http://www.postmodernpsychology.com/main_topics/PM_and_academic_disciplines.htm.

4. Smith, Samuel. Oregon christian Bakers Ordered to Pay $135K After Refusing to Work Gay Wedding; Told to Stop Speaking About 'ObeyGod, Not Man'. www.christianpost.com. [Online] The Christian Post, July 3, 2015. [Cited: August 26, 2015.] www.christianpost.com/news/oregon-christian-bakers-ordered-to-pay-135k-after-refusing-to-work-gay-wedding-told-to-stop-speaking-about-obeying-god-now-man-141137/.

5. Hannity, Sean. Was Mozilla CEO Ousted For Stance on Gay Marriage. nation.fox.com. [Online] Fox News, April 8, 2014. [Cited: August 26, 2015.] http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/04/08/was-mozilla-ceo-ousted-stance-gay-marriage.

6. AP. Kentucky Clerk in Gay Marriage Case Ordered to Jail. www.6abc.com. [Online] ABC 6, September 3, 2015. [Cited: September 7, 2015.] www.6abc.com/news/kentucky-clerk-in-gay-marriage-case-ordered-to-jail/968407.