John 17:18-19

Just as Jesus was sent on mission into the world by the Father, Jesus’ followers are sent on mission into the world by the Son. This is not a trite statement from our Lord lips and is not meant to be taken lightly, indifferently or nonchalantly (indeed, none of Scripture is to be taken as such!). Christ came as God’s Messenger and we are to be our Lord’s messengers. Believers are the Lord’s witnesses to the world and as such should be blameless and spotless so as to shut the mouths of all accusers. Our lives are to reflect our Master just as Jesus reflected His Father. We allow the world much ammunition when we blend and behave as they. It is therefore of utmost importance that we be holy as He is holy. It is to this end that our Lord specifically prays for our sanctification. Peter puts it this way:

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 2 Peter 3:14 (NIV)

“‘Be ye holy’ is the great and fundamental law of our faith.” Matthew Henry

Paul also tells us in Ephesians we were chosen to be holy and blameless:

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Eph 1:3-6 (NIV)

“O God within me, give me grace today to recognize the stirrings of Thy Spirit within my soul and to listen most attentively to all that Thou hast to say to me. Let not the noises of the world ever so confuse me that I cannot hear Thee speak. Suffer me never to deceive myself as to the meaning of Thy commands; and so let me in all things obey Thy will, through the grace of Jesus Christ my Lord.” John Baillie

It is the Holy Spirit’s high priority to give believers the guidance and power to be holy – to be set apart – to be sanctified. It is the Spirit’s desire for God to reign in the heart of every believer - to make the kingdom of God the treasure of our hearts. We would do well to remember that while flesh is fully capable of simply falling into sin, we must actively pursue holiness – it does not just happen. Jesus - the Holy One - in our verses for today, states that it was for our sakes He sanctified Himself. The perfect One did not mean He would become more perfect and holy and righteous – how can perfection be made more perfect? The meaning rather refers to His consecration as a Sacrifice and a Priest in order that His disciples may be sanctified by the Truth and made a holy people set apart for God’s specific and eternal uses. Christ ever looks beyond our justification to our sanctification. We are to be wise in the way we live – it matters both presently and eternally. Indeed, this was one principal reason for His sacrificial death. Christ gave Himself to redeem us from wickedness and to purify us for His very own. Paul confirms this in Titus when he writes:

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)

It is God’s desire therefore for believers in the Lord Jesus to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives – choosing us to be holy in Christ, cleansing us by the washing with water through His Word. This washing or cleansing of rebirth is mentioned in Titus as well:

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus 3:4-6 (NIV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17 (NIV)

“The true Christian cannot be hid, he cannot escape notice. A man truly living and functioning as a Christian will stand out. He will be like salt; he will be like a city set on a hill, a candle set upon a candlestick. But we can also add this further word. The true Christian does not even desire to hide his light. He sees how ridiculous it is to claim to be a Christian and yet deliberately to try to hide the fact. A man who truly realizes what it means to be a Christian, who realizes all that the grace of God has meant to him and done for him, and understands that, ultimately, God has done this in order that he may influence others, is a man who cannot conceal it. Not only that; he does not desire to conceal it, because he argues thus, ‘Ultimately the object and purpose of it all is that I might be functioning in this way’.” Martin Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.