In this text, Jesus addresses Jews who believed Him, but the truth of the Gospel had not yet transformed and freed them. Jesus puts before them whether they would abide in His words or not. It is not enough to just receive the words of Christ--we must abide in them. This does not happen by self-effort or our works, but by faith. Those who abide in Christ shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free. The power of the Gospel is the only power to set us free. Our sentence of death was nailed to the cross so we no longer need to carry the burden of guilt over sin. Christ saves us from past sin and future punishment. We can now have peace with God through Jesus. The truth actually sets us free when we experience deliverance from sin. Freedom is not just theoretical, but a reality. In Christ, we are set free from the body of sin and death. Freedom does not come through the law. We must see the power of Christ and the possibilities of grace. Christ wants to set you free! Let Him! Resistance may come against accepting the Gospel because of a pretend freedom or a denial of bondage. We must know that we can do nothing of ourselves, but also that through Christ, we can do all things. Stir up the spark of grace in you and see the power of Christ to free you. Don’t rely on your own power, but on the power of Christ. You can never free yourself from sin--only Christ can actually set you free! Believe that God is able to keep you from stumbling. Your whole self must be transformed to wholly trusting in God. This will reshape your thinking to what God can do, and not what you can’t do. Take your eyes off of yourself and look to Christ by faith!