So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (Joh 8:31-32)

I just sat down to write another blog post entitled “Ab-Users are Users.” I will write that one soon, but I feel that I need to address something that is even more important than exposing the tactics and evils of domestic abusers. That something is in regard to our personal growth in Christ.

It is very important that we all grow in our knowledge of evil, of Satan’s tactics, and how his servants operate. Only then can we come to understand the bondage that RASNs (revilers, abusers, sociopaths, narcissists) put us in. But we dare not remain in this stage of the discovery of evil and end up focusing our energies and attention on, for instance, domestic abusers. To do that is to remain stuck in a rut – a rut that is actually still short of true freedom.

The beginning of our journey must be, of course, coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Being born again. Being made a new creation by Him. We must be, in other words, Christians. In Christ. God’s true children. You must be born again. And that is only something the Lord can do. Our part? The tax-collector’s prayer answers that question – God, be merciful to me, the sinner.

But then, when we know that we are new creations, that we are no longer who we used to be, that God in His mercy through Christ has granted us faith and repentance and a new mind and heart, the journey has really just begun. To grow in Christ, to advance in holiness and Godly wisdom, we must apply ourselves to certain disciplines which are often called the means of grace – prayer, the study of God’s Word, fellowship with true Christians. (If you cannot find a true church or a fellowship of genuine Christians, email me and I will tell you have numbers of Godly people have joined us here at Christ Reformation Church even though they live far away). But it is here where so many people who profess to be Christians drop the ball.

Let’s focus on the vastly important discipline of reading, studying, and knowing God’s Word – the Bible. Over and over again I tell people to be certain that they apply themselves to scripture. That they open their Bible, read it carefully, and find a Godly teacher to help them in this work. God has given us pastors and teachers for this very thing. We have to find a real one (there are many false teachers), but we must find true Bible teaching and apply ourselves to it. I cannot think of a better one that Martyn Lloyd-Jones. You can buy his books. You can go online to the Martyn Lloyd-Jones trust site where there are hundreds of his sermons and lectures – each one taking us carefully through God’s Word.

And this is also my reason for putting my own sermons and Bible studies online at our Youtube channel, Light for Dark Times, Jeff Crippen. There is a full series there on the Gospel of John, on First John, on Ephesians, and I am now up to the 141st lesson on Romans. There are also many sermon series there. You sit down, open up your Bible, and be taught. Much of what I teach I have learned with the help of Lloyd-Jones. It is there. You must use this or MLJ’s channel – but you must buckle down and step by step go through the Bible.

Only by putting yourself to the task will you grow. The alternative is to remain like the people the Apostle to the Hebrews rebuked for still sucking on a baby’s milk bottle. Infancy is real life is dangerous. Remaining a baby spiritually is a thousand times more dangerous. Professing Christians are falling by the thousands and thousands today because they are lazy, they aren’t being good soldiers of Christ, and the enemy comes along and scoops them up.

Don’t be one of those. Your task as a Christian is not to give your entire energies and life to the subject of domestic abuse. It is to know Christ, to know His truth. Because in the end, real freedom only comes from that truth.