The Progression

John 8:³¹ “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” [with emphasis]

Jesus lays out a progression for us in today’s Scripture reference and it is – Believe > Obey > Know > Release. There is the believing, then there is the obeying, then there is the knowing and then there is the releasing.

The logical thing will be to know, you will obey, then you will believe [because seeing is believing], and then you will be released. Jesus says the starting point is believing because without faith it is impossible to walk with God. First believe then obey.

A lady tells a story that brings this home powerfully. She says she got to a point where she needed to forgive someone but she did not want to forgive the person. However, even though she was struggling, she knew she had to forgive the person. So, she went to God for help and God helped her. She says when she finally decided, she forgave the person and then she really knew. As in real knowledge came after obedience and the scripture came alive to her. Guess what? She became free and that is how the truth sets you free.

Your life will never change if all you do is believe. You go to church but the day after, you do not obey God because you do not practice what you have heard. And there will not be a release. In Matt.7:24-29 [please read], Jesus tells us the story of the houses two men built, one built his house on the rock and the other built his house on sand. Jesus says these houses are identical. We can liken this to two men that attend the same church and listen to the same sermon. Both of them have beautiful wives, both of them are successful but both of them also have storms. And the house that was built on sand crumbled and the house that was built on the rock was standing.

Two people can be identical but the difference comes when the storms arise. It is the storm and not wealth that is the differentiator in life. It is the storm that shows you who you are. And when the storm comes, the difference between the two people was that one obeyed God and the other did not obey God. Any foundation not built on obedience will crumble. Jesus is saying believing is useless if it does not lead to obedience.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I declare that I will be a doer and not just a hearer of the Word. I declare that Your Word will be my unshakable foundation, in Jesus Name. Amen