The surest way to discover a counterfeit is to put it alongside the original. In the arena of life it is necessary that we go back to the original pattern and move out from that blueprint, using the original (I’ll call it truth) as the foundation of perspective. What Christians need more than anything today is truth. When the Lord Jesus prayed that believers be sanctified through truth, He told us what truth is – God’s Word. In fact, Jesus Himself personifies that truth.

Truth and freedom go hand in hand, for when you know the truth, it sets you free. Therefore, truth is needed for freedom. Jesus indeed teaches us “the way of God in truth”. The very beginnings of our faith stem from being “begotten with the word of truth”.

However, as the contemporary proverb goes, “Truth hurts.” How many times have you been angry with someone because he or she has told you the truth? God wants us to be set free, but His freedom cannot be obtained at the expense of truth. If we are to grow in our relationship with God, we must walk in truth. That is the supreme desire of the Lord, and it brings Him His greatest joy. David said, “Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me”. May that be our prayer and desire as well!

As the Lord works in our lives, the Holy Spirit is actively conforming us to the image of Jesus with the end result being a “manifestation of the truth”. The world system, under the rule of Satan, is continually “changing the truth of God into a lie”. The struggle that exists today comes from conforming to the lie (which results in bondage) as opposed to walking in the truth (which results in freedom).

The Spirit of the Lord grants liberty – not a self-centered liberty that gives occasion to the flesh, but a God-centered liberty that gives a genuine expression of love. Truth sets people free who have been bruised by divorce, loneliness, fear, drugs, abuse, etc., and the values of a godless society based on greed, looks, selfishness, and lies. I’m amazed that so many of God’s people are still walking “as the rest of the Gentiles walk”. The whole world system can be boiled down to “fleshly wisdom” that stems from a “fleshly mind” and feeds “fleshly lust.”

How we dearly need God’s Truth today! Jesus indeed is “Faithful and True”; therefore, He can be trusted. “Whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.” The happiness that God gives has its basis in truth; in fact, agape rejoices in truth. Truth is a very important ingredient in true worship. What a sign of our depraved nature – that God has to repeatedly tell us that He is telling the truth! In your daily life, as well as in those times when you must make important decisions, do you take into account what Scripture says and use that as your final say? Is the Word of God the final authority in your life? In your home? In your business?

Jesus Christ was the model for freedom on this earth, was He not? If we desire the freedom of God in our lives, then we must endeavor to imitate Him. What was the source of our Lord’s freedom as Son of Man? It wasn’t in His financial security, for He ‘needed’ help too. It was not in His looks, nor did it come from His popularity. No, the true freedom that Jesus Christ enjoyed came from a close relationship with His Father and a supreme desire to please Him.

If your aim in life, saint, is to know Christ better and glorify His name, then you too will enjoy the truth that sets you free and lasts forever.