The Truth Setting Us Free (1)

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. Eph. 4:15 But to truth in love, we may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, Christ.
(Part 1 of 3)
Do we not have the truth already? Yes, but a question immediately arises. Why is there a vast difference in what we are before the Lord and what we are in the world? The work of the cross is finished, but we are still not victorious. The Lord Jesus has changed us into one kind of person, yet on earth we still appear as another kind of person. This means
that our condition does not match the truth that we hold onto before God. This is our problem. We often do not know what the truth is. We come to God according to our own feelings and experiences rather than according to God's truth. We must realize that God's truth is contrary to our feelings and experiences. The one issue we have to resolve is which of the two is real. Is the Lord's accomplishment for us before God more real, or are our own feelings and experiences more real? Which of the two is more real? This is the question. We are often bound because we do not see what is real, what is reality. Once we see the truth, the truth sets us free; it liberates us. Let us mention a few things to illustrate what it means for the truth to set us free. We will begin with salvation. Suppose someone hears the gospel and realizes that the Lord Jesus has died on the cross and shed His blood to forgive his sins. He believes in the Son of God for the forgiveness of his sins, and he receives the Lord into him. When others ask whether he belongs to the Lord, he says, "Yes." He is bursting with joy within. However, three or five months later, he may feel a little sick, and troubles and difficulties may arise in his family. Then his joy is gone; it seems as if joy has departed far from him. He feels as if he is no longer saved and is no longer a child of God. If others ask him whether he is a Christian and whether he is saved, he may answer, "I am quite bothered. I have lost my former joy. I do not know where the Lord Jesus is anymore. I do not know what to say about this." What would you say to him at this time? If you know God's truth, you would tell him, "You may feel that you are not saved, but in fact you are saved. In reality you are saved."
(Continued tomorrow)

Freedom Experience Streams