We live in a world of misinformation. That’s a nice way of saying we are bombarded by lies. This constant river of deceit can become very discouraging.

And yet Jesus Christ promises freedom to His people. We can be free of discouragement and deception.

Notice what He said in John 8:31-32: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Knowing and doing the truth of God makes us free! So we have to know God’s truth as a first step. How can we know what God’s truth is? We have to study our Bibles.

Have you thought of Bible study as your path to freedom? It is!

God is Creator of all that exists (John 1:1-3). And the Bible is our Maker’s instruction book for who we are, what our potential is, and how to achieve that potential. Lesson 1 of our free Bible correspondence course notes, “The Bible is simply God’s divine revelation of basic needed knowledge that man is not capable of finding out for himself by any other means.”

The Bible doesn’t contain all knowledge, but it is the foundational knowledge that is revealed by God. If our knowledge isn’t based on the foundation of the Bible, then it isn’t true knowledge.

While many people own a Bible, or several Bibles, very few understand it. Why? God gives the answer in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Paul shows us the many purposes and benefits of Bible study. As Bible students, we have to use all of these tools. But included in these purposes of the Bible is reproof and correction. If we refuse to let God’s Word correct us, we will not understand it.

Remember, Christ said in John 8 that His disciples would continue in His Word and know the truth, which would make them free.

The breakdown often comes when a person reads something corrective in the Bible but doesn’t make the necessary changes in their life. A true Bible student will use the Bible for reproof and correction. A person who is willing to be corrected is a free person.

Notice how effective the Bible is for correcting us. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The Bible discerns even the intents of the heart! That can be an uncomfortable situation, because Jeremiah 17:9 says our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked! A true Bible student will use God’s Word for a lot of correction—and repenting of sin brings true freedom!

Sadly, few really let God’s Word correct them.

“And so men began, centuries ago, to interpret the Bible. As a result, the Word of God has become twisted, wrested and perverted, with almost every false and counterfeit meaning imaginable being read into it. Instead of teaching and expounding the plain, simple, intended meaning, we now have hundreds of human interpretations of the Bible” (Herbert W. Armstrong College Bible Correspondence Course, Lesson 1).

Refusing to be corrected by God’s Word is why there is so much confusion over the truth of the Bible. People will try to justify almost any evil behavior by saying the Bible is out of date on that point or it doesn’t really mean what it plainly says. Put simply, many people don’t want to be corrected by the Word of God. And so they remain enslaved to sin and cannot yet be free.

Psalm 111:7-8, 10 state: “All his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. … The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments ….”

The psalmist wrote, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).

You, too, can begin to understand God’s Word and be free. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 to prove all things. God wants people to study the Bible, believe what He says, and then apply His words in confidence.

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind [that is, without prejudice], and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).

So study your Bible without prejudice, but be careful to prove all things as the Bereans did—search the Scriptures whether those things be so! Read and study your Bible daily—check up for yourself and see what it really teaches. Don’t just assume that what you have always heard and believed is the truth of God.

If you are willing to put in the exciting daily work of studying your Bible, and then seek to let it direct and correct you, you will continue in God’s Word, you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!

To help you in your path to freedom, please enroll in our free Bible correspondence course.