The Truth Shall Set You Free…

One of the most quoted verses of the Bible is “…and the truth will set you free.” from John 8:32. Good words. Encouraging words. Powerful words.

And yet, completely out of context.

If you go to the preceding verse, there’s a clue: the word IF, followed in verse 32 with THEN (in NIV and others, and contextually understood in others).

So why’s that important? For any of us who ever done any programming, IF-THEN statements are major, because in order to get to the THEN statement, the IF condition has to be met. We also have IF-THEN-ELSE statements, where if that condition is not met, this other thing happens. But a THEN statement can never stand on its own.

In the case of this verse, it is in the form of  “THEN you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So what’s the condition? Check out verse 31 (in a couple different versions below):

NIV: To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
NLT: Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.
ESV: So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
Amplified: So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples.

Pretty clear what the condition is, no?

Knowledge itself can never set a person free…

One of the most quoted verses of the Bible is “…and the truth will set you free.” from John 8:32. Good words. Encouraging words. Powerful words. And yet, completely out of context. If you go to the preceding verse, there’s a clue: the word IF, followed in verse 32 with THEN (in NIV and others,…