Sanctify them by the truth

Your kindness, your keen mind, your laugh, sense of humor… 

But, enough about me…

What sets you apart, gives you distinction, what makes you "you"?  

How about for the Christian?

What makes us distinct from those who do not know or follow Christ?  Love, purity, being forgiven & forgivers... the list could go on & on.  (Hopefully, it would not merely be a list of what we do NOT do.)

At the base of our distinction would be Jesus' word:  His truth, teachings, guidance and leading for life.  Having and holding to His truth sets us apart, sanctifies us.

On the eve of His crucifixion, He prayed for His followers, including later ones – us.

Hear part of His passionate pleas for us, found in John 17:14-19:

"I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." (NIV)

Summarizing:

q  He gave us His word & the world hated us, like it did Him. 

q  Why?  Because He is not of this world, His values vary from theirs, like ours should too. 

q  We need spiritual protection as we engage as His foreign agents. 

q  His truth makes us distinct, sanctifies us and leads to more Christ likeness. 

q  This is essential, as we have been sent to this truth-rejecting, Christ-killing world.

There is no end to the implications of how having His word makes us different – the truth about Jesus, His Father, life, God's will. . .

Jesus Word – His truth – not only makes us distinct, it makes us despised.  We don't "go along to get along".  A different Drummer sets our pace & leads us to walk out of step with the world.  We can not applaud things they do, reward things they value.  This more than ticks them off – it makes them murderously mad.  Ask our brothers & sisters in India, China, Burma, N. Korea or Cuba.

Over the entrance to the library where I attended Bible College are these words:  "Thy Word is Truth".  Since it is truest Truth with a capital "T" – we need to let this Truth fully define us, sanctify us.

When His truth is grasped and guides our life, HE will set us apart and make us useful ambassadors in a world filled with falsehood and folly.

Let His truth define you more fully today – no matter the cost.

John 17:9   “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.  (ESV)