Do you remember your days in High School?
Do you remember being asked questions on tests and you didn’t know the answer?
What did you do when that happened?
(Some left the space blank, others made it up)
Well, here are actual answers given by High School students to real test questions.
I want you to notice how creative they got with their answers.
Q: Briefly explain what hard water is.
A: Ice
Q: What ended in 1896?
A: 1895.
Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow.
Q: What is the fibula?
A: A small lie.
Q: What is a seizure?
A: A Roman emperor.
Q: What does the word "benign" mean?
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized?
A: The body consists of 3 parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity.
The brainium contains the brain,
The borax contains the heart and lungs
And the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Now my point here is that sometimes people don’t know the answers… so they get creative. Some students have even found that the more impressive the answer the more likely others will believe they actually know what they’re talking about.
That is especially true when it comes to theologians and Bible words.
Our word for today is “Sanctification”.
For many people, this is a very intimidating Bible word.
And there are two reasons for that.
1st – Theologians have muddied the water by making word like this complicated, and the more complicated their explanations, the more intimidating it becomes for the rest of us.
One theologian (for example) explained sanctification this way:
“In a doctrinal sense, sanctification is the making truly and perfectly holy what was before defiled and sinful. It is a progressive work of divine grace upon the soul justified by the love of Christ. The believer is gradually cleansed from the corruption of his nature, and is at length presented "unspotted before the throne of God …."
I’ve always hated stuff like that!
I don’t know anyone who TALKS like that
I don’t even know anyone who THINKS like that.
Now, I’m sure this theologian meant well, but his explanation is way too complicated.
As Scott (our associate) said recently:
“They try to give $20 explanations to a 50 cent world.”
Now, let me to let you in on a secret here:
The word Sanctification is NOT that complicated.
Sanctified simply means: “set apart” or “separated”
ILLUS: For example, the people back in the sound booth are sanctified… they are separated from the rest of us in the worship area. When I’m up on stage, I’m sanctified… I’m set apart from the rest of you in the auditorium. And while we are all seated in this building, we are sanctified… we are separated from everyone else in Logansport who aren’t here now.
Separated and set apart – that’s all sanctification means.
It is not that hard a word to understand, but it has become intimidating because theologians have made it that way complicated.
The 2nd reason Sanctification seems intimidating to us is because the original Greek/Hebrew words for sanctify are translated so many different ways in the English Scriptures.
The Hebrew word for sanctified is “qadash” and the Greek is “hagios” (you don’t care and I don’t care, but I put them up on the screen to impress you).
When you find those Hebrew/Greek words translated in our English Bibles you’ll find that they are translated:
“Sanctification”
“Sanctified”
“Consecrated”
“Holy”
“Hallowed” and
“Saint”
No matter how it’s translated though… it’s all the same idea.
It doesn’t matter if we’re talking sanctification, consecration, being holy or becoming a Saint - it’s all about us being SET APART for God.
Now, this sanctification thing is a two-step process
The 1st step of the equation is that God sets us apart.
Back in the OT, God told the Israelites: “Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD WHO SANCTIFIES YOU.” Leviticus 20:8 ESV
In the New Testament, Paul tells us about all the people who won’t make it to heaven and then he writes: “… that is what some of you were. But you were washed, YOU WERE SANCTIFIED, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11
God sanctifies His people.
He sets us apart from the rest of the world.
When you and I were baptized into Christ, God picked us up out of the sin of this world and set us down in His Kingdom. (Colossians 1:13)
When we were saved we were sanctified.
We were SET APART.
We were set apart to receive God’s forgiveness, His blessings, His love and His promise of heaven.
Now I could preach a whole sermon on how God has set us apart/sanctified us, but I want to focus on something else this morning. I want to focus on the 2nd of the two parts of sanctification.
1st God sets us apart from this world, but…
The 2nd part of this equation is that God expects US to sanctify ourselves from this world.
That’s what Peter is talking about in our text this morning.
“…just as (God) who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be HOLY, because I am holy.’” I Peter 1:15-16
Now, if you’ll remember – holy, sanctified and saint – they’re all describing the same concept. They all come from the same root Hebrew/Greek words.
Holy is when somebody or something is set apart… BY God or FOR God.
In this verse we’re being told WE need to sanctify ourselves. WE need to set ourselves apart for God. God declares “Be HOLY because I am holy.”
Now (of course) the question is this: how do I do that?
How do I “set myself apart” so I please God?
Well first… you identify with Jesus. Peter writes:
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
If you want to sanctify yourself with God then you need to be courageous and blunt about WHO you belong to.
In the Old Testament the High Priest dressed distinctly different than anyone else in camp.
He even dressed differently than all the other priests of God.
Now someone might say - well he’s just dressed differently than everyone else but that doesn’t mean anything. And they’d be right - it was more than that.
Every day of his life the High Priest dedicated himself to serving God.
And when you LOOKED AT HIS FACE there was no mistaking who He belonged to.
And do you know why you could look in his face and see that?
Because fixed to his turban - on a golden plate - were engraved these words:
“Holy To The Lord”.
This man was a walking billboard for God.
Everywhere he went there was a declaration on his forehead that he was set apart for God.
ILLUS: Now, we can similar things - like bumper stickers and t-shirts and signs in our yard. And that’s all good stuff. But Jesus tells us that there is more powerful way to be that walking billboard for HIM.
Jesus tells us there’s a way for people to look us in the eyes and know who we serve.
“Let your light so shine before men that they might see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
Why should I do good deeds?
So that God will be glorified.
But many people do good deeds so that THEY get the credit.
So that they will be noticed an appreciated it.
So that they get a pat on the back and people notice THEM.
But not the Christian who is “holy”.
The Christian that is “holy” (or set apart unto God) will do their good deeds so that God gets the credit. So that people will notice Who they belong to.
And when that happens – when our deeds point to God and acknowledge Him - then God says “Alright”!!!! Now they get it! They’ve acknowledged ME.
Jesus said: "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32
So the 1st step toward sanctifying yourself is to be courageous and blunt about your love and commitment to Jesus.
2ndly – we sanctify ourselves for God by how we live!!!
I Peter 1:14 tells us
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”
In other words… don’t go back to your sinful ways.
Now, this is a central concept in the idea of holiness.
That which is holy doesn’t dabble in sin
After all, sin was what God separated us from.
And not just the sin itself… but also from consequences of that sin.
Even the world understands this concept.
If the world sees a “Christian” being mean, cursing, getting drunk, sleeping around…etc. etc. what does the world call such a “Christian”????
(Hypocrite)
Why would they call them a hypocrite?
Because they are being sinful rather than sanctified.
As I was reading Scriptures in preparation for this sermon, I stumbled across 2 Chronicles 29:5 which tells us about the time King Hezekiah told the Levites!
“Now SANCTIFY yourselves, SANCTIFY the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the HOLY place.”
If you’re going to sanctify yourself… you gotta do some housecleaning once in awhile. You got to get the rubbish out of your life/house.
If you’re prone to saying mean spirited things/cursing…get it out of your lives.
If you’re prone to abusing alcohol… get it out of the house.
If you’re prone to sexual immorality (pornography… sleeping w/ someone) carry out the rubbish!!!
So, sanctification is about how we live our lives.
But being Holy isn’t just about what we DON’T DO in our lives… it’s also about what we DO.
Psalm 15 says it this way
“Who shall dwell on your HOLY hill? (In other words, who is going to dwell in that place that is “set apart” as special for God?)
He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
Psalm 15:1-5
Notice, David not only spoke of the things we shouldn’t do, but also about what we “should do” to be on that Holy Hill.
You see, sanctifying yourself is about more than what you DON’T DO.
If sanctification (that pleases God) could be done by just being keeping rules/“sinless” the Pharisees would have been on God’s All-Time Hit Parade Of Heroes. They’d have been shoe-ins for heaven. They had all the rules down. They knew exactly what they “shouldn’t do”… but they didn’t love people or care about the condition of others’ lives.
A major part of being sanctified is in WHAT you DO and WHO you do it to.
Jesus told the Pharisees:
“You give a tenth of your spices— mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law— justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Matthew 23:23
The Pharisees had all the rules down… but they didn’t show love to others.
Sanctification more than WHAT you DON’T do.
It’s ALSO about WHAT you DO and WHO you do it to.
ILLUS: What I admire most about our congregation is that people here DO just that. People don’t bother to ask my permission before they call on the sick, visit hospitals, write letters of encouragement, or give away their own money to help the poor. They invite folks over to their homes to eat and fellowship without having it on the church calendar.
And I usually hear about 2nd hand.
That’s COOL! That’s what it means to be sanctified!
(PAUSE)
Now, something else caught my attention as I looked thru the 1000 or so scriptures on sanctification. I found that there’s a couple very powerful of reasons WHY we should we sanctify ourselves.
The first one is found in Hebrews 12:14 “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; WITHOUT HOLINESS no one will see the Lord”
Does this mean if I’m not holy I won’t make it into heaven?
Yeah… pretty much.
(Pause) Whoa… that sounds kinda mean, how could a loving God keep people out of heaven just because they weren’t “holy?”
ILLUS: Well, think about it this way.
Let’s say a multi-millionaire comes to your house next week and he says – “I’d love to have you come live in my mansion. You can eat my food, sleep in my beds, swim in my pool. You can drive any one of my 50 cars, boat in my yacht, and take my Lear jet to any location on the planet.”
What would you say?
You betcha. I’d love to do that.
BUT then, you lay down a few conditions for you acceptance.
You don’t want to eat with him. You don’t want to spend any time talking with him. You don’t want to even have him in the same room.
How’s that going to over?
Not very well.
Essentially you would have been saying – I want your stuff, but I don’t want you.
And someone who wants to get to heaven without setting themselves apart for God is telling God the same thing – I want heaven, but I don’t you.
To which God will reply: “Sorry. It’s a package deal. You can’t get heaven without Me. If you want to get to heaven, you have got to have Me at the center of your life.”
So yes… without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Folks who aren’t holy, who don’t set themselves apart for God, won’t be going to heaven.
That’s the bad news.
But here’s the good news (And I never saw this one before).
In Joshua 3:5 (NKJV) Joshua said to the people, “SANCTIFY yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
Did you catch that?
Once they sanctified themselves God planned to something spectacular amongst them.
And you know what that means?
It means if you take this idea of setting yourself apart for God seriously God’s gonna do something spectacular in your life as well.
And this isn’t the only time in Scripture we receive that promise.
II Chronicles 16:9 tells us “the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…”
God’s LOOKING for someone who will be FULLY committed to Him, so He can do something intriguing in their lives.
What’s He going to do? I don’t know.
Could be in your job.
Could be in your relationships.
Could be in your personal life.
BUT GOD’S GONNA DO SOMETHING!
That doesn’t mean everything is going to go well in your life.
But in subtle but powerful ways God will bless you.
In fact, God tells us we don’t have to worry about a thing, because His grace is sufficient for us.
And it’s from His grace that God does mighty things for us.
But even the strongest believers have trouble accepting that sometimes.
CLOSE: Spurgeon was a highly respected preacher in the 1800s. There’s a story about the time he was riding home was feeling weary and depressed. It was during this time that the verse "My grace is sufficient for thee" came to his mind.
His thoughts drifted until he visualized a small fish in a large river fearing lest in drinking so many pints of water each day, it might drink the river dry. Then in his mind's ear he heard the river say "Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee."
Then he thought about a little mouse that might have lived in the great granary bins of Joseph when he was in Egypt. He could picture the mouse being afraid lest, by consuming the corn he needed, he might exhaust the supplies and starve to death; when along came Joseph and, sensing the mouse's fear said, "Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee."
That’s the promise God is making to you today.
His grace is sufficient for you.
All we need do is sanctify our lives for Him.
But first you must belong to Jesus to receive that promise.
INVITATION
