Set Free in Life and Death (John 8:31-32)
- Keri Folmar
- Aug 31
- 3 min read
..."If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." —John 8:31-32
Ugur was a Kurd who had never known a Christian. But as he realized the futility of its rituals and rules, he no longer believed Islam was true. So he used his university years to search ancient and modern religions for truth until a liberally minded professor suggested he read the Bible, too. He said that as he read the gospels, “The Truth jumped out at me. It was Jesus.” Ugur stopped searching. He had arrived at the Truth, and it set him free from the rules and rituals of a religion that would never make him clean.
God reveals himself on the pages of Scripture. It is there that our eyes are opened to the truth. We see the Father through the Son and rejoice in the glorious gospel. Knowing Jesus sets us free from the chains of the law, the bondage of sin, and ultimately the power of death. As we continue to cling to the good news of Christ crucified for our sin and raised from the dead, we prove that we are the disciples of Jesus.
The world, the flesh, and the devil entice us toward empty human philosophies. They constantly lie that God is not enough and urge us to come back and be enslaved once again by the pleasures of sin. But Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The Scriptures are the sustenance of the Christian life. Dear disciple, set your mind on the truth, the truth of God’s word:
Read it daily: meditate, memorize, apply, delight, and obey.
Commit yourself to saints who speak it to one another.
Gather with them regularly to hear it read, prayed, sung, and preached.
We need the regular renewal of God’s Word to set our minds on the truth of Christ, replace our worldly passions with heavenly desires, and conform us to the likeness of Christ. Jesus is the treasure worthy of our all. Satisfaction is found in Him alone. He is the source of eternal pleasures and fullness of joy, true freedom forevermore. And we find Him in God’s Word.
Ugur was a man who abided in Jesus’ word. He read his Bible in front of his shop every day and invited others to read with him. He so delighted in the truth that he worked in a Bible distribution center so he could get the Scriptures into the hands of others in his country. Men who hated the truth attacked the center and stabbed Ugur to death. They thought this was the worst punishment they could inflict on him. But now Ugur is truly free. He is freed from suffering and sin, and freed to live eternally with the Truth face to face. This is the destiny awaiting all of Jesus’ disciples. We will eternally worship the one who was bound to a Roman cross to make us free.
For Reflection
How is freedom from the chains of the law, the bondage of sin, and the power of death a reality in your life?
What spiritual disciplines do you use to remind yourself of gospel truths? What fruit has this born in your life?
How can you prepare to share the truth with others in your family, neighborhood, and workplace? How can you help those in your church set their minds on truth?
Keri Folmar has lived for 20 years in the United Arab Emirates, where her husband is the pastor of the Evangelical Christian Church of Dubai. She has recently written The Good Portion: Delighting in the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit as well as The Gospel of God an inductive Bible study of Romans. She also co-hosts Priscilla Talk, a 9Marks Podcast.
