Perhaps you’re thinking of words Jesus spoke on one occasion to some of His followers. They had put their faith in Him only recently, and He knew they faced great pressure to go back to their old ways. He urged them, however, to listen to His teachings and follow them faithfully, because “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

You’re right, up to a point; God does want us to be free. But free from what? The Bible is clear: God wants us to be free—free from sin, free from our slavery to destructive habits, free from fear, free from hopelessness, free from bad decisions. God knows what is best for us, and because He loves us, He doesn’t want us to be slaves to our lusts and pride and selfishness.

Instead, God wants to free us from all these, and remake us into the people He created us to be. Parents who let their children do anything they want, and never teach them the difference between right and wrong, don’t really love them. And neither would God, if He simply let us do anything we wanted. Eventually we’d destroy ourselves.

Don’t be deceived, and don’t follow the wrong road in life. Instead, turn to Jesus Christ and submit your life to Him. Then you’ll discover the truth of Jesus’ promise: “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Do you have the freedom of knowing Christ?