31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
36 ... if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Bad news: you are a slave to sin. Good news: you can be set free.
Whatever your situation is. It is not beyond God's power. Habitual sin you just can't stop? Destructive and dysfunctional relationships? Situations were you feel trapped and helpless? Deliberate disobedience? God can set you free.
Jesus says that if we abide in his word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. We are set free by a person, not a system - that's Jesus, not churchgoing or moralism or behaviour modification. You can be free, but it’s not going to happen anywhere other than Jesus.We grow in our understanding and love for Jesus through the Bible. Abiding in the word is more than just reading it; it's thinking about it, studying it, meditating on it, talking about it, putting it into practice. As we see who Jesus is more clearly, our love for him grows and our desire for the things that enslave us loses it's power.