Jesus Prays for Sanctification

So far we have broken Jesus’ prayer into 2 Key words- Glory and Unity. Today we add a third word to our list- Sanctification.

In order to understand why Jesus prayed for our sanctification, perhaps it would be good to make sure we have a firm grasp on what sanctification is.

Sanctification is the process of becoming more Christlike in your life. It is how we are transformed- as Paul said- from glory to glory.

The Baker Bible Encyclopedia says that sanctification is “ the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of his holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it is begun in regeneration; and that it is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer and Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means—especially the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer”

In 1 Peter 1:14-16 we read “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Sanctification is the process of becoming Holy.

You see, holiness is not something that we are given, it is something we participate in. The Scriptures do speak of holiness given to something in an instant. For example, throughout the OT we read of things like the utensils in the temple being consecrated and set aside as holy- or to be used only for the service of God.

There is a part of this that is involved with our sanctification as well. When we confess our faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us we are given a piece of holiness and placed on the path of sanctification. Think of it like Monopoly, you are given some to start the journey, but the point is to get more.

You see, when we say yes to Jesus, we are not just saying yes to salvation- we are also saying yes to a process. A process of walking with God and growing in likeness of Jesus.

C. S. Lewis wrote, We are all.…under construction. Naturally, there’s unfinished lumber showing here and there -- protruding nails and unsightly scaffolding -- but it’s still clear that a work is in progress, that the Builder has committed Himself to bringing this building into conformity with the “blue-printer“.

Jesus’ thoughts and prayer of sanctification start at the baseline of his word. He says as much in v14- he has given us his Word. The ministry that Jesus did on Earth was far more than just die- Jesus lived a life to model holiness for us, and taught the things we need in order to walk that path with him. The teachings of Jesus are just as much a part of salvation as his death and Resurrection.

That is why Jesus prays “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” in v 17.

I am going to let you in a a little secret that some people in the church might be aware of- especially Jennifer- I am a horrible speller. I tend to be the person that spells things exactly how they sound and let spell check do the rest. I am almost 36 years old and I do not think I have properly spelled the word necessary right on the first try one time in life! Probably the most used tool in my house is spell check!

The problem is that many people approach holiness like I approach spelling- just do something that sounds good. Holiness, for them, is completely objective. It has no rhyme or reason other than what sounds or seems good in the moment. That is why holiness becomes a moving target that seems to be altered every generation or so. If there is nothing to anchor our definition of holiness to, then it can move and shift with ease. This is why Jesus is so adamant in his prayer that we be sanctified in the word of God- because it is our anchor that keeps our thoughts and expectations of holiness tethered in one place.

As one person once said, you cannot get to Jesus through holiness, but the only way to be holy is through Jesus.

But let’s talk some more about holiness, because that is connected to Jesus’ prayer here.

What is holiness? Well, John Charles Ryle, Anglican bishop of Liverpool in the 19th century speaks of holiness. He says, "It is not knowledge...nor great profession...nor doing many things...nor zeal for certain matters in religion..." He continues that holiness is not "morality and outward respectability of conduct, nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers, nor keeping company with godly people. These things alone are not holiness. A man may have any one of them, and yet never see the Lord.

Holiness means to be set apart- it is a place of dwelling in the Lord.

Jesus asked God to set us apart- not take us away. I have often dreamed about what it would be like to raptured- taken away in the blink of an eye by God. I’ve even thought about how life sure would be a lot easier if Jesus were to whisk us away after our confession of faith- off to heaven in the following moments. But that is not the will of God for us. Jesus could easily take us to Heaven at any moment- but his prayer to God implicitly states “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” Jesus not interested in seeing us taken from this place, but he is interested in us being projected from Satan. Why? So that we are safe. So many people think that Christians are just no fun- that we frown upon sexual impurity, alcoholism, greed, and the typical laundry list of sins because we are just being stiff necked sticks in the mud, but that is not it at all! We frown upon those things because our Lord wants us to be protected from Satan, and those behaviors push us towards evil, sin, and the Devil.

And then Jesus reveals why he chooses to not take us immediately- because he sends us out. Now, think about this for a moment, because this is huge!

Jesus asks us to be holy- set apart- and not set above. Too many Christians adopt an attitude of self righteousness, and I am just going to be blunt- a self righteous person is highly unlikely to be used by the Lord. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is rooted in humility, and the moment that we begin to place ourselves in some kind of morally superior role to the people we are called to minister to, we start to unhinge the Gospel. We cannot share Jesus with those that we feel are inferior to us. Jesus did not call you up- he called you out. He is not interested in an arm of self righteous Christians that have drank the poison of arrogance- no, Jesus need humility, because if we are filled with self righteousness there is no room for mercy.

And second, Jesus’ prayer shows us that evangelism is not optional- it is a fruit of our sanctification.

In 2008 A 4-year study funded by the Lily Endowment designed to identify and analyze highly effective examples of evangelism by congregations in 7 mainline denominations reached two primary findings: (1) Of the 30,000 churches that qualified for the Mainline Evangelism Project, only 1/2 of 1% (.0005%) are baptizing a significant number of adults (conversion baptisms). This translates to 150 churches of a qualifying survey pool of more than 30,000

Jesus is sending us out to the world. Why? To take the message of the Gospel. Remember these three truths-

1- You were not saved by yourself- there is nothing you can do to save yourself other than accept the sacrifice of Jesus

2- You were not saved FOR yourself- You were saved for the glory of God. Jesus wanted you back. Salvation is not based in the fact that Jesus wanted to save you from Hell as much as is it that Jesus wanted to keep with him always.

3- You were not saved to KEEP IT TO YOURSELF- One of the fruits of your salvation is evangelism. If you find a good resturaunt, do you tell your friends? If you have a great experience, do you post it all over your social media and fill everyone in? If you get a great deal on something, don’t you encourage those closest to you to take advantage too? Why should it be any different for our faith?

I once heard a leaders say that every church should aim to grow 10% every year- I am not sure if I would attach a number to it- but I do pray that our church grows every year- because I believe that we are a good, joyful, Bible believing congregation that will love people and nurture their faith, but can I tell you; churches do not grow by accident, they grow on purpose. They grow because the people are passionate about sharing their faith and inviting others to know Christ. The same can be said for us, we usually do not share our faith by accident. We share our faith by intentionally placing ourselves in situations that open opportunities- do you?

We often think of the question Jesus will ask us when we get to heaven- what did you do with what I gave you? What if we thought about that question in terms of evangelism. What did you do with you salvation? Did you share it? Did you hide it? Did you passionately give it to others? What did you do with the 10 years I put you in that coworkers life in order to show them the truth of my grace? Did you show them? What did you do with those new neighbors I brought into your life? Did you show them the path to Christ?

Friends, I hope we take advantage, and use the gift of sanctification in our lives to share Christ with a world that needs him so.