So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
Where Freedom Is Found
In a Bible Study by Jennie Allen, she said they have a saying at her church in Dallas - “You have to say the last two percent.” The last two percent is the thing you don’t want to say, the mistake you made years ago, the secret no one knows about. The last two percent is the part you always hold back. But if we aren’t completely truthful, guess who owns that last two percent? The enemy’s power is in that last two percent, and as long as we hold it back, we are not free. Shame, fear, doubt, and more have no power over us unless we are not holding on to them.
The Bible tells us that the truth sets us free and that means the last two percent too. We will never know freedom until we let it all go. There is such power in confession. That doesn’t mean you have to tell the whole world your deep dark secret you have been hiding for 20 years. Confession is good and if you want to talk to someone about it that is a personal decision. But it does mean you need to confess to God and admit to yourself that sin is sin. Admit to yourself you are holding something back you need to let go of, because until you acknowledge to yourself that you have a problem, then Jesus cannot help you.
How the truth brings us freedom:
The truth gives us real - When we are hiding, we are not the person we want to be. Truth makes it real and takes the pretense away. We stop pretending and become real.
The truth gives us peace - it seems comfortable to hide that two percent. We might be able to delay having to deal with it, but we never will have peace as long as we are holding back that two percent.
The truth gives us hope - Until we deal with it, we will not have hope. Hiding and trying to figure it out on our own only leave us hopeless. A clean conscience and no more hiding will bring hope for a different future than the bleak outlook we see now.
Previous to the scripture above, Jesus was talking about the difference between Himself and those Jews listening to Him. He was telling them that without the truth, (believing in Him) they would die in their sins. And many of them believed while He was speaking to them. He went on to tell them that if they obeyed His teaching, they would truly be His disciples. When we live the truth we know, we are truly His disciples and we will truly have freedom.
Knowing the truth is not enough. Real freedom only comes
from knowing the truth and living the truth.
Abiding in His word - studying and living His word - is how we know the truth. Living out what we know means we let go of what we are holding onto. We let go of the last two percent. We let Him have it, and we run free. Even if there are consequences attached to that two percent, we will still be free. Living the truth means trusting Him to walk it out with us.
The truth Jesus offers brings freedom with it - freedom from hiding, freedom from shame, freedom from fear, freedom from sin and the bondage it brings. God loves us and wants a true and truthful relationship with Him. He already knows everything we hide anyway. We can hide from the world but we are never hiding from the one who really matters. There is such beauty and joy in the freedom we find in giving up the last two percent. Open your hands, tell the thing, let it go. He loves you unconditionally and waits with open arms.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Psalm 51:6
