Truth For Life

Guest (Male): What is God doing with me? That's the question Alistair Begg helps us think through today on Truth For Life. Jesus, in his high priestly prayer, asked God the Father to sanctify his disciples. So what does that word mean and how does it happen? Let's find out.

Alistair Begg: Let me invite you to turn to John chapter 17. And as we prepare to look there, we look to God. And we say from our hearts individually and corporately, make the book live to me, O Lord. Show me yourself within your word. Show me myself and show me my Savior. And make the book live to me. Amen.

We have, for a number of Sundays, been able, as it were, to go behind the curtain as we listen as Jesus, the Son, prays to God the Father on behalf of his disciples. Disciples who clearly were in earshot of this prayer, so as to be able to record it and to give it to us that we might have it for our own benefit. He's praying for his disciples that are immediately present, and he's praying, as we find in the prayer, for those who will become his disciples as a result of the work that his disciples, in turn, do.

He has most recently prayed for them for their preservation in verse 15: "I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." And so, asking for their preservation, he then turns and asks for their sanctification. And there in verse 17, we have our text for this morning: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." Now the word that is used for "holy" earlier in the prayer, where on this strange occasion—one of the very few occasions—Jesus refers to his Father in this way.

He refers to him as "Holy Father." That word there, that adjective and the verb "to sanctify," both of them derive from the same root word. And so while the text simply says, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth," we might equally well say, "Holy Father, make them holy in the truth." And what we actually have here in the space of just nine words is what the Bible has to say concerning the doctrine of sanctification.

In an unplanned way, at least from our perspective, the study of last Sunday helps to lead us into the study of this morning. Inasmuch as we were taught from Romans chapter 8, verses 31 to 39, succinctly that God is for us. And the reason that God is for us in Christ is because he has justified us. He has made us his own by grace and through faith. Well, in that same passage and just a couple of verses before that, Paul has pointed out to his readers that while God is for us, so he has made us in order that we might be for him.

And in the 29th verse, just quoting it for us so that we make no mistakes: "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." If you ask yourself this morning the question, if you are a believer: What is God doing with me? The answer actually is very simple and very plain, and it is true for every single one of us in Christ. God is seeking by the power of the Holy Spirit to make us more like his Son, Jesus.

And when Jesus is praying here, "Father, sanctify them in the truth," he is praying right along those lines. Now we only have nine words in our text, but the doctrine of sanctification is important. And so I want to address it in a topical way this morning and hopefully to our health. I want us to consider first of all what it is, defining it biblically, and then to understand that it is displayed progressively, and then thirdly and finally, hopefully with time, to recognize that it is discovered submissively.

All right, so first of all to come to some kind of definition in relationship to what the Bible has to say. When we read the Old Testament, we discover that places, people, priests, utensils, buildings are described often as holy. And the thing that makes them holy, that distinguishes them as holy, is that they are set apart from one use in order to be set apart for another use. So for example, a utensil that was to be placed within the temple or in the ark, it would be a routine utensil that was taken out of its routine usage and set apart for this particular usage in the framework of God.

And it was thereby designated holy. I want to ask you to run through this with me, but for example, when a man dedicates his house as a holy gift to the Lord, he's saying, "This is my house and I give it to you; it's to be holy." That's in Leviticus 27. "You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation," speaking of his people in Exodus. Again in Leviticus, "Every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord." So when you see this word "sanctify," when you think in terms of sanctification and what is being said and being done, it is along these lines.

Now we begin there because the disciples read the Old Testament. The disciples would not have been caught off guard by what I've just said to you. They would have looked at one another and they would have said, "Well, that we understand that perfectly." And then they would pause perhaps and realize: and so Jesus is praying that we might then increasingly be holy as God is holy. Now he has given to us the privilege of getting an insight into this. It is a most remarkable prayer.

And we've already seen how Jesus has spoken to his Father, verse six, and he says to them, "You have given them to me and they have kept your word." You've given them to me and they have kept your word. And now he's going on to say, "I'm going to leave them." And having asked you to keep them, I'm now asking you to make them increasingly holy and useful, that they will be distinctly set apart from and set apart to. Now again, that is what Paul is referencing in Romans 8 in a different way. You have chosen us in Christ and your purpose is to conform us to the image of your Son.

Now let's just think about it in terms of ourselves, if we have come to trust in Jesus. When we believe the gospel, a number of things happened to us. And one was that we were transferred. We by nature live in this world, we are creatures of this world, we are children of Adam. We are by nature sinful. We have no capacity to remove that from ourselves. That takes the intervention of God. And when God comes and intervenes in a life, he removes us from one sphere and he puts us in another sphere.

That we are transformed from the domain of darkness—this is Colossians 1—and transferred to the kingdom of his beloved Son. That's Colossians 1. And when you read on, you realize that the reason that God has done this is in order that he may present you sanctified, holy and blameless in his sight. The same thing when he writes to the Corinthians concerning what has happened to us in Jesus: he has made us new in order that those who live may no longer live for themselves, but for him who for them died and was raised.

Now again, if you think about it in terms of last Sunday morning, if last Sunday morning was to remind us that God is for us, then this morning is to make us aware of the fact that because he is for us, we are to be for him. For him. That those who live should no longer live for themselves, which is our nature, but for him who died for us and was raised for us. In other words, that our response to these things is a response of awe, it's a response of gratitude, it's a response of thanksgiving as we will see.

Now let me just say a number of things succinctly concerning sanctification. It's important we understand that sanctification is the fruit of being set apart in Jesus. It's the fruit of his having set us apart in Christ. Sanctification is not that we have been justified and now we've got to try and fix everything by ourselves. Sanctification, when we read it in these terms, is about living in ways that are consistent with what we have become in Jesus. Both justification and sanctification are distinct, but they're not separate from one another.

Because when Jesus saves us, he provides us not only with justification but also with sanctification. And here's the issue. Because you will meet people—and I hope you are not one of them—who has determined that you can be justified without being sanctified. You can't. For the only people that God justifies are those whom he sanctifies. And the idea that somehow or another you can pray a little prayer, do a little something, and you're all set and all bets are off from that point, you can't get to that by actually reading the Bible carefully.

Because the same grace of God that sets us apart to him is the same grace that makes us increasingly like him. It is, if you like, just a continuum. That the work of regeneration whereby we are born anew puts us in a new position before God, justified and being sanctified. And so I say to you again: if you've wondered what God is doing with you as a Christian, then I can tell you what he's doing. He is making you more like Jesus. He is making you more holy. He is making me more holy.

Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Well then, it's imperative that the same grace that sets us apart by justification is at work in our lives in order to complete the work which he has begun. Because otherwise, we will never see the Lord. Now we could prolong this and I won't, but it's important that we understand this. Often again for me, my childhood nailed these things in song for me. We used to sing a song: "Things are different now. Something happened to me since I gave my life to Jesus. Things are different now. There's a change, it must be, since I gave my life to him.

Things I loved before have gone away, and things I love far more have come to stay. Things are different now. Something happened to me since I gave my life to him." That's a Christian testimony. Jesus is making me different. It's not that I anticipate being in a new domain; I am in a new domain. If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. And he is taking this creation, this new creation, and he is fashioning it in such a way that it might become all that he intends for it to be.

Sanctification, we might say, is the process of being made less like myself and more like Jesus. Less like me and more like Christ. Our wives could justifiably say, "I wish you were a bit more like Jesus, Alistair." But I echo that. You know, we sing the children's song "I want to be like Jesus," and the final verse goes, "but I am not like Jesus." What is the gap? Well, John Owen says that sanctification is the universal renovation of our natures. Renovation of our natures by the Holy Spirit into the image of God through Jesus Christ.

It's a work of renovation. If justification is the building of a whole new building, then the work of sanctification is putting the building together in a way that is fit for the residency of the Holy Spirit. Well, that's enough on trying to say something about defining it biblically. Secondly, we need to notice that it is then displayed progressively. Progressively. That God is at work in our lives, and that's what Jesus is praying here. Don't forget that our text is 17:17 of John: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."

God is at work changing us from what we were to what he means for us to be. Now our standing before God as justified sinners is not a matter of degrees. You can't be more justified or less justified. By distinction from that, sanctification is a matter of degrees. Justification is a legal statement, as we saw last time, that God has declared because of the work of Christ we are not guilty. There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. It's not a matter of a question. However, that is legal and external.

The doctrine of sanctification is making clear that what is true for us now is internal and it is subjective. So that we can grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is what Jesus is praying for his disciples: that they might exactly do that. It's a lifelong project. It will be brought to completion, but it doesn't happen overnight. And that's where in the oft-quoted metaphor from *Mere Christianity*, I find great help. And it seems appropriate to remind you of it.

This is C.S. Lewis and he writes as follows: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he's doing. Just making some basic repairs. But then he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and doesn't seem to make sense. What is the explanation? It is this: that you thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage, but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself."

What is God doing today in your life as a Christian? He is sanctifying you by the Holy Spirit. He is, if you like, chiseling away at us. Chiseling us and chiseling is probably a good metaphor again. Chiseling us into the image that God intended. Knocking pieces off of us. Realigning elements in us. Smoothing out where the friction has marred and spoiled us in different ways. But all with a loving purpose, working in a way to promote growth in our holiness, to sanctify us.

Now it's important that we understand what is true here. When we actually come to faith in Jesus Christ, you quickly realize that you brought with you your own fallen nature. That part of you that still loves the idea of sin. And as a result of that, there is immediately set up an internal conflict. The conflict that Paul references in Romans 7 where he says, "The good that I want to do I don't end up doing, and the bad that I don't want to do I find myself doing." Why is this? Well, it is because of this very thing.

That the conflict is between our new nature implanted in us by the Holy Spirit and our fallen nature that we haven't yet left behind. So I am sinful and I am rebellious, but I am also God's adopted child. Now what I want to point out to you is this: the way in which Paul addresses the Corinthians. If you know anything about the Corinthian church, to say it was a tough spot, let's put it that way. All kinds of shenanigans going on at the communion services. It was beyond comprehension really what was taking place.

Now it is to those people that he begins his letter. Look at it: "Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God that is in Corinth. To those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours." He doesn't say these people are going to be sanctified; he says these people *are* sanctified.

And because of Jesus, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So that in Christ, all of this is given to us. Sanctification is not imputed to us, as justification is. But when we're regenerated, as soon as the Spirit of God comes to live in our hearts and we are justified before God, that sets immediately in motion the reality of sanctification. Now if you have seen the little clip, the man on the middle cross, right?

And in that thing there I say that he wasn't baptized and he wasn't in a Bible study and so on. And so how could he possibly end up in heaven? And his answer was, "Because Jesus said I could come." But since God doesn't justify those whom he doesn't sanctify, then the thief had to be sanctified. And if you think about it—and I want to make sure that people when they listen to this, they don't get this wrong and I'm just correcting myself as I go—but the fact of the matter is the work of the Spirit of God in that man's heart changed him.

In the dying embers of his life, he had prayed, he had confessed his sin, he had rebuked his friend, and he had commended Jesus. All things that were indicative of the fact that the work of God's grace within his heart was immediately setting in process that which will be completed when he sees Jesus in a new heaven and a new earth and he is made like him.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Alistair Begg on Truth For Life, and we'll hear more about sanctification tomorrow. Our mission here at Truth For Life is to tell everyone about Jesus. And every so often, we come across a book that we love because it teaches sound biblical truth to children in a clear, understandable way. And that's why we're excited to tell you about a children's book titled *Jesus' Easter Journey: A Resurrection Story*.

With Easter coming up, I want to encourage you to get a copy of this book to read to the children in your extended family. In this book, children will learn the true meaning of Easter as told in Scripture, beginning with Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem to his death, his resurrection, all the way to his ascension. The book covers all the essential details in a short, tightly-packed story that will hold children's attention.

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The book gives a simple framework for using the words of the Bible as the basis of your prayers. It explains how to make the Psalms and other portions of Scripture your personal prayer book. By praying God's own word back to him, you'll pray in a way that glorifies him and is in line with his will. Ask for your copy of *Praying the Bible* when you give a donation today at truthforlife.org/donate.

Thanks for studying the Bible with us. Today we learned that sanctification is a lifelong process of growing in holiness. Tomorrow, we'll find out how it happens. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth For Life, where the learning is for living.