John 8.31-32:
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed 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.” (ESV)
Everything Jesus taught is truth, and the whole counsel of the New Testament is truth and is applicable to the life of faith today. So the whole of Jesus’ teaching, as further explained and elaborated upon in the New Testament, will set us free and show the way for us to live in liberty. I would like to focus on one truth of the Bible that very directly correlates to living a life of freedom. It is the verse recorded in Habakkuk 2.4, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” The last part of this verse, “the righteous shall live by faith”, is quoted in the New Testament in verses Romans 1.17, Galatians 3.11, and Hebrews 10.38. I believe that this truth communicates both that the promise of eternal life is by faith in Jesus, and the manner in which we are to live our lives on earth is by means of faith and trusting in the leadership of Jesus in our lives.
In Habakkuk the meaning of the verse appears to draw a contrast between someone who lives with pride and confidence in his or her good works. But good works are not the way of salvation. Faith is the way of salvation and with it there is the promise of life, eternal life. In the three quotations of this verse in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, it is used to build and establish the theology that a person receives salvation and eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. And it is written in such a way to establish that faith in Christ is the source of eternal life.
To live one’s life by faith, rather than based upon the never ending demand of good works – a demand that can never be fulfilled – is liberating. It sets us free.