Good morning, everyone. Certain hymns we sing really make me wish that I could sing a lot better than I can, and that's one of them. I can play the radio and I can't carry a tune in a bucket, so I wish I could. Thank you, Marty and Diane. Sanctified in Truth is the title of our sermon this morning. You may remember that two weeks ago as we were continuing through our study in the High Priestly Prayer, John 17, you may remember comments I made in regards to how it's broken apart best and how best for us to digest it and how many sections and all that kind of thing. And as is typically the case, man makes his plans, but God directs the ways because I made a comment that I thought the best way to digest it was in a four-part look at the sermon or the prayer. And I stopped short by three verses a couple of weeks ago. So guess what? It's going to be at least five instead of four sections. The interesting thing about that, though, is as I've said so many times, the providence of God is on display even more because I've had two weeks. Of course, we had the sermon last week about the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. but an extra week of thought and contemplation and studying and preparing definitely showed to me that God's way is much better than mine because there's way too much that I want to cover in these three verses. Otherwise, I would have rushed through them in about a five-minute time span, and y'all gonna get the fullness of those three verses, or as closely as I can get to the fullness. I won't be able to exhaust everything here. So the Lord, in the note I made for myself, the Lord saw fit to make us chew on this a bit longer. To get our mind back, though, acquainted with the High Priestly Prayer, I know we only stepped out of it for a week, but if you're like me, sometimes a week is all it takes to get our mind off of where we were. A brief overview before we turn back to the Word. With the 11 present, Judas has been dismissed way back in John 13, the 11 listening, Jesus goes to the Father in prayer. This is the very night or probably, quite probably, within hours of him being arrested, but early morning hours probably. We're probably well past the 12th hour. We're probably well past midnight. So the sun would not come up again, or the sun would not set again, I'm sorry, before our Lord would go to the cross. The sun would not set again before the Lord went to the cross in this prayer that he's praying. Early morning hours. We know it's still dark because when they would come to arrest him, as we will read about shortly in the next upcoming chapter, they will be coming with torches. So that tells us it was still dark early in the morning probably. He'll be arrested. He would face three mock trials and he would be crucified. And in these moments, these last few moments, he goes to the Lord in prayer, the Father in prayer, and he does so with the 11 present and listening to this prayer. He begins by speaking of the time being fulfilled and his desire to return to the Father. That was the opening of this prayer, if you remember, the first couple of verses of John 17, of his desire to go back to the Father, and that his work was nearly done. on this earth, at least. He then moves into praying as the high priest for all the elect, a true intercessory prayer, and he makes a comment of not for the world, but for those that he will call to himself. Third, and what we looked at two weeks ago, we see the prayer specific for those 11 listening. But that would extend to us, but immediacy would demand that it's for those 11 present. And then we stop short. We stopped short of where I had thought I would go to. And today's text, verses 17 through 19, prepares us, prepares them, prepares the prayer for the transition from those 11 alone to all the elect for all time that we will explore a little more next week, Lord willing. But a sneak peek of verse 20, which is the verse after what we're covering today, says this. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, the 11 present, but for those also who will believe in me through their word. So this prayer is speaking to us today, 2000 years after the prayer. So with all that said, me fighting off a stomach bug I've been fighting, we might as well just jump right into the word. Verse 17 of John 17. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also send them into the world. For their sake, I sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. Let's pray. Father God, we come to this text, this familiar prayer to many of us. We have been looking at it deeply, but not nearly deeply enough. God, thank you for pulling the veil back and giving us a glimpse into this relationship, this Trinitarian relationship, this mighty prayer of our high priest, this intercessory prayer, this glorious communion between Father and Son and Spirit would be present as well. Lord, we thank you that Jesus prayed for us 2,000 years ago and continues to pray for us today, that continues to make intercession for us today. Father, we need that. We are needy people. We need a lot, but we definitely need that. Father, I ask that you would be with us, be with your people as we study your word today. Lord, I pray that if someone here today does not know you as Lord and Savior, that today would be the day of salvation. That today would be the day that you remove that heart of stone, replace it with a heart of flesh, and that you would call that lost sheep to yourself. Father, I pray you would remove me anywhere I might be a stumbling block to the clear proclamation of your word and what you would want your people to hear this day. Lord, today as I endeavor to feed your sheep, I pray that they are fed. In Christ's name I pray, amen. Now, I don't know when you read these verses if you think as I thought of, and there's a lot there. The word sanctification, sanctified, is brought up a couple of times. And Christ having just prayed for their protection, the prayer continues at this point. The specific prayer for these disciples is this, about their sanctification and their purity. And all future disciples, by extension, as we already know what verse 20 says, we took a sneak peek, we know that he was saying not just for these alone, but for all the others that will come. Now, when we come to this word of sanctified or sanctification, most of our thoughts typically turn to being conformed to the image of Christ. I think that's where most of us go when we hear that word or words. And I believe that is also that thought of what our role looks like in that sanctification process. That in the order salutis, the Latin term that means the order of salvation, in sanctification, we have this thought or this feeling or this compulsory pulling to look at our work in the sanctification process. Now think about some of the others in the sanctification, in the salvation process, the links of salvation. Election, predestined, regenerated, born again, adopted, called, justified, glorified. I think if we take an honest assessment, we realize how much the sovereignty of God is involved in all those, right? That's the sovereignty of God. It's the sovereignty of God. It's the sovereignty of God. Heavy on the sovereignty of God. Then we come to sanctification. And sometimes we might think, ah, here is where I most contribute. Maybe you think that, maybe you don't, but I think that's probably the general thought process. We are also active participants in believing in Christ Jesus. Now he must give us the faith to do so, but we're active participants. We do have a role to play in our sanctification, so don't misunderstand what I'm about to say, and I hope this is interweaved pretty well for you. But let's consider what scripture says about being sanctified or sanctification. Because perhaps it's because we think so much of sanctification being progressive, which it is. We are growing in sanctification, but there's also a declaration of sanctification. There's also a prayer about, we just read God sanctifying us. How do all those things mix together with our thought process of our contribution and what God is doing? When I say progressive sanctification, what I'm talking about is that we are moving towards something and that we're growing in sanctification. Whereas in the other links of salvation that we just talked about, those are declared, decreed, promised, or an immediate event, right? And yet the literal translation for sanctify is to set apart. That's the literal translation of sanctify, to set apart. These verses before us also focus on the Father sanctifying us, do they not? Additionally, that Jesus sanctifies himself. He didn't say that they would sanctify themselves, though, does he? I think God was quite gracious to stop me two weeks ago. There's too much here to unpack. Now, you might be grateful to know that I have two or three less pages of notes than normal, so we'll see how that works itself out, but I didn't want to tell you that on the front end. But I would have been very tempted to rush through these verses had we plowed through. because we were up against the clock. The man-made, in-our-head clock of, we need to stop, it's time to stop, so let me stop short, it's a good place to stop. But, praise God, there was much more reason for that, I believe. Now, I hope I'm not setting you up way too much to think, boy, he's about to blow our socks off today because it's, that's not my intent. I'm trying to tell you how my mind has been working the past couple of weeks is thinking through these verses. Let's zero in on this a bit. If you think about Jesus, I just pray that the Father would protect us. That he had been with them, right? And he was about to return. Father, protect them. Watch out for them because I've been doing it physically. and how that protection, often we're thinking, is connected to the outside focus or the outside worldly pressure and the outside worldly persecution that was yet to come. Yet they would face all of that, would they not? Jesus told them they were gonna face it. By the way, he told us we're gonna face it too. Now he turns to their conformity to his image and sanctification to be set apart. having been cleansed in regeneration. Jesus gave a hint to this all the way back at the Lord's Supper in John 13. Having been cleansed in regeneration, justified, declared just. now to be sanctified, to be set apart. Remember at the outset, you may not remember, but if you didn't, I'm not gonna redo the whole sermon from John 13, the Lord's Supper, but at the outset of that discourse, that's where this discussion began, basically with just these 11 from there forward to where we are now, the Last Supper, what does Jesus do? He washes the disciples' feet, right? As he's preparing himself, Peter says, no, Lord, you can't do this to us. Jesus said, but I must, and he goes through this, and I'm not gonna go through it all. When Peter accepts that fact, what does Peter say next? Do you remember, Lord, wash me from head to toe, wash me clean if you gotta do it. What does Jesus say to him? Glad you asked me that, John 13, 10. Jesus said to him, he who has bathed needs only to wash his feet. But it's completely clean, and you are clean, but not all of you. He's pointing to sanctification right there. You've been washed clean, you've been regenerated already. but your feet keep getting dirty because you're walking in this world. You must be cleansed on your feet, not your whole body. You're not saved again and saved again and saved again and born again and born again and born again. However, your feet get dirty in this world and you must be set apart and separated from this world. You must look different than this world. You must behave differently than this world. Sanctify in truth. What is truth? Your word is truth. Set apart from sin and falsehood and understanding what God says, God's word is the absolute truth and the instrument by which sanctification is realized. God's word and prayer, which Jesus is showing us right here, right? Our relationship to God, our commune with God is in His Word in which He's revealed Himself and in prayer in that personal relationship with Him. Throughout Jesus' ministry, He put a heavy emphasis on God's Word, did He not? Quoting it, pointing to it constantly, consistently. When Satan came to try to tempt Him, what did Jesus do? He quoted scripture right back to Him. And as we've already read, Jesus himself is the Word made flesh, the Word incarnate. John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1.14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word endures forever and will never pass away. In Paul's farewell address to the church elders at Ephesus, he said this, Acts 20, 32. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified. Church, let me tell you this. To neglect the reading, the studying, The sitting under true biblical preaching and teaching of the Word of God is to disregard Jesus' clear instructions. And it's also to disregard that which is most active in your sanctification process. In verse 15, Jesus had asked the Father to keep them and us from the evil one. Remember this from two weeks ago, John 17, 15. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. And in verse 17, he identifies what that looks like and how. Now we're leaving out a critical component, a person that we're about to bring back into this mix in just a moment. sanctified and done so by the truth of God's word. The incarnate word being Jesus Christ himself, but in the written word preserved for us for all these thousands of years that we have before us, and it's truly the word of God. Elsewhere about sanctification, 1 Corinthians 6, 9 and 11. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed, regenerated, and you were sanctified, set apart, but you were justified, declared just in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the spirit of our God. sanctified right in the center of all that. If you're familiar with that text, and I've quoted it before, so you should be familiar with it, the next set of words from Paul to the church in Corinth are in regards to fleeing sexual immorality. So he's saying God has done all this, but guess what? You're not totally off the hook, because you need to flee from this stuff when it comes. And you won't know it if you're not in the word. You won't know it if you're not heeding the direction of the Holy Spirit, who's the other person I said we're gonna bring into this mix. God is sanctifying, has sanctified, and is sanctifying, but we are active in fleeing from these things and understanding and recognizing these things because if we are set apart, if we are a holy nation, a chosen priesthood, then we identify those things. How do we identify those things? We're in his word. We're in his word. And we're trusting in the word incarnate, which is Christ Jesus. At regeneration, the curse lifted. And as God is sanctifying you, there's still this battle with the flesh. If the apostle Paul said he was fighting against the flesh, guess what? You're not getting out of that fight either. God does this progressive sanctifying work with his word and by his spirit. by his word and by his spirit. I've said it before, when you read scripture, if you were lost at one time or deceived at one time and read God's word, it makes no sense to you. And as you've been saved and being sanctified and the spirit is working in you, God reveals the truth that's in the midst of his word that you never could believe before, you never could see before, it never made sense before. And it gives you not additional truth, but it gives you different layers of the truth that's already there. More depth of that truth. So there is progressive sanctification, but there's also the declaration of sanctification of being set apart. Romans 6, 19 through 22. I'm speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore, what benefit were you then having from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification and the end to eternal life. 1 Thessalonians 5, 23 and 24. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely. And may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful as he who calls you, who also would do it. You see both sides of the coin here at work. God will sanctify you and guess what? You need to be working it out too. Another verse that came to me, I woke up extra early today. My lady even asked me, what, what time did you get up? Cause I woke up really early today for some reason. And a verse, I went and opened my Bible and sat down and just turned somewhere and it's not gonna surprise anybody. I wasn't planning on going here, but I turned to Romans, but not Romans eight, nine or 10, Romans 15. Romans 15 verse 15 and 16, it's not on the board. So just, if you're taking notes, write it down and look at it later, but trust me, I'm gonna read Romans 15, 15 and 16. Here's what Paul, this is very near the end of the letter too. Very, very near the end of the letter. There's only 16 chapters in Romans. Romans 15, 15 and 16. but I have written very boldly to you on some points, so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me by God, for me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest to the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Now Jesus' prayer, back to the prayer, is in perfect union with what God will do, and yet the means is via his truth and his spirit. Now something else to consider. Verse 18, as you sent me into the world, I also sent them into the world. Remember, we saw that verse a while back when Jesus prayed that God not remove us from the world, but to protect us and preserve us. If not for the work of the Spirit, we would falter, we would fall, we would fall on our face. For us to be sent into the world, and Jesus makes it clear right here, well before the Great Commission is given after his resurrection, that he is sending us into the world. This connects the need for our sanctification as we are sent out into the world. We must be sanctified, set apart to be sent out into the world. It's also in anticipation of what he will say to them when he first appeared to the disciples after the resurrection, whenever he came into that room through the doors and he said this to them, John 20, 21. So Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, I also send you. as partakers of the heavenly gift, the glorious gift of salvation, we are Christ ambassadors on this earth. To claim the name of Christian is to claim the name of Christ and you are his ambassador on this earth. That alone should tell you that you're to be sanctified and set apart and different. Disciples are sent and to do a sanctification must have happened, it must be progressively happening for that to take place. Now, I made a little comment here at the bottom of my notes of time permitting, and guess what? Time's permitting. This makes me think of something. We're talking more individually here, are we not? Individually, how this affects you individually, how it affects the individual believer. And I think about how we are in the world. Are we truly looking like we're set apart in the world? If you're saved, you are set apart. Are you living out that lifestyle in the face of a hostile world? But there's another layer to that that makes me think, and I think I've got a verse that I'll pull in that kind of connects to this. Some of the most popular churches in the land today are those who are using whatever the worldly tactics are to gather people in. Y'all heard me use that comment of six flags over Jesus or backdoor somebody with Jesus approach? The church is supposed to look different. We don't need to use these entrapments of the world to gather people in. What are we doing? I think it was Spurgeon. I may be misquoting this. I'm gonna get it roundabout way. And it sounds like something Spurgeon would say, and I don't have it written down. So forgive me, but y'all know I like Spurgeon. If you have to put up a circus to entertain goats, you're gonna have to keep on putting on a circus to keep them there. I paraphrase that. I probably butchered it, but you get the gist of it. If you're putting on a show to get people in the doors, you're getting goats in the door, and they'll keep being goats, and you have to keep entertaining them to keep them there instead of feeding the sheep of God. But that's what people want. And we'll brag about thousands and thousands of members But what do they teach them? They may mention Jesus every now and then, maybe. Then the Jesus they offer is not the Jesus of the Bible at all. We are to be set apart. This church is to look different. Every church of God, not just this one, every church of God is to look different than the world. We don't offer the same thing the movie theater offers. We don't offer the same thing a rock concert offers. And we shouldn't. The simple preaching and teaching of God's word and singing praise and honor and glory to him. Now, I'm not against contemporary Christian music as a category. I'm against a lot of the songs that are in that category because most of them are not God honoring, but there are some that are. That's not my point of contention. When we use the things of the world to draw people in and then try to backdoor them with Jesus, We're doing a great disservice of saying that this is not powerful enough, that he is not powerful enough. And if we as preachers and teachers are trying to find some other alternative way to get people to accept Christ or to come to the building, shame on us too. We're not to be relevant to the culture. We're to be counterculture. But we're to do so with the spirit of love. We're not to yell and scream at people about it. I just know that me being saved later on in my life at 25 years old, I would have been extremely confused if I went to a church service and I could have got the same thing as I would have been getting on Saturday night going out to a club or going to a concert. It would have been confusing to me. But we seem to have torn the wheels off that bus and just went full bore into that, culturally in this country especially. MacArthur makes a comment, I'm paraphrasing again, I'm butchering all these quotes, but I've got two that aren't butchered because I did write them down word for word. He says, MacArthur says, go to your church, turn on all the lights, not soft lights, turn them on. Throw out the smoke machines, take out all the instruments, sing to God and preach and pray to God and see what happens in your church. Again, MacArthur's not against instruments, they have an orchestra at their church. The point being, the centrality is Jesus Christ and his word and being set apart from the world. The music at MacArthur's church is beautiful. And they have a full orchestra oftentimes, like I said. As Christ was sent into this world, he doesn't save his own, to be stagnant, but to go out into the world, but to not smell like the world, look like the world, stink like the world. We're called to preach to them, to teach them, to share the good news of the gospel, to show them this is not the end. If you think you're striving for your best life now, I know I make fun of Osteen all the time, but I don't really care because he needs it. Your best life now, the life to come is hell. My best life is when I close my eyes on this earth for the last time. Since I've already commented on the great commission, here's what Jesus said, Matthew 28, 19 and 20, the great commission. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of our Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. How do you know what Jesus has commanded? How do you know? His word. his word. A. W. Pink commenting on verse eighteen. I don't think I don't have this up here so y'all have to bear with me. I don't think anybody writes fast enough to keep up with my speaking much less me quoting pink, but here's the pink quote on verse eighteen. Guess I'll put it up there at least. Pink says this. This is a plea to support Christ's petition. It was as though he had said, Father, those for who I am interceding are to be my representative here below as I have been your representative. Therefore, separate them from the pollutions of this evil world. Fill them with the spirit of devotedness that they may be examples of holy living. He said, that's what the son is praying to the father right here for those 11 and for all of us. or set them apart, make them look different, drive them to holy living. Keep that in the back of your mind because that's not as simple as it sounds and it often hurts a lot to get there. Another distinction to be made here is that a major part of the sanctification process is spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity in the individual. That may be what we're most familiar with when we think about sanctification. And I can tell by looking on somebody else's faces, that is what you're thinking of most of the time when you think about sanctification, is your spiritual maturity level, as you mature in Christ. That is a part of it, but it's not the totality of what sanctification is. Let me say this about spiritual maturity though, because it's extremely important. Spiritual maturity is not married to what your age is. An 18 to 20-year-old believer can be more spiritually mature than an 80-year-old believer. A Christian that's been a Christian for five years can be more spiritually mature than a Christian that's been a Christian for 50 years. God grows us in different ways, for different reasons, for different outcomes. Our background plays a part in that, but he uses our background to mold us and make us and turn us and sanctify us and grow us in maturity. It also isn't always or usually a steady, smooth progression. God may give you a season or a year or two of growth, like, holy cow, God, you just poured this growth and maturity and knowledge and understanding on me, and then it's like, you hit a wall. You plateau for a while. That doesn't always happen, but that's often how it happens. Then you may have this other season of just God just growing and growing and growing and then you plateau. Maybe even a step back a little bit, just trying to wrap your mind around it. Paul to the church in Corinth said this, 1 Corinthians 3, 1 and 2. And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as spiritual men, but as fleshly men. As to infants in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you're still not able. They learned from Paul. And Paul said, but you still don't get it, do you? I've still got to baby you. You should have grown by now. I think that's a little bit of Paul's emotion there too, of wishing they had grown more. So your spiritual maturity is not 100% dependent on the preacher or the teacher you sit underneath either. Although it plays a huge role, a huge role for somebody that can help lead you and guide you and direct you and explain to you the word of God. But God grows. Spiritual maturity isn't sanctification, but it is a major component of sanctification. It isn't also that you've arrived at a greater head knowledge. Let's make sure we understand what spiritual maturity means. Or that you know all the definitions of all these big fancy theological words. It's not just head knowledge. However, it does connect to a greater understanding of the totality of God's revealed word. It does lead to a greater love for Him and shunning of the things of this world. It does sometimes lead to a greater understanding and knowledge of these big theological words and how these things fit together. It does lead to that often while being sent out into this world. There's a quote from Spurgeon that I was trying to figure out how to introduce it. I saw this for the first time a couple weeks ago and perhaps God brought it to me at a certain time for a certain reason as he often does. And I had to really look at the context of this because if I just read it, and it's not on the board either, I'm sorry, I'm not, the quotes aren't popping up today. If I just read it, it will make you question things. So I had to find out the context. Spurgeon talking in connection to the man of God, okay? The man of God, or woman of God, the person of God, says this. Listen to this close. Whenever God means to make a man great, and he means great in Christ, when God means to make a man great, he always breaks him into pieces first. When God plans to make a man great, he breaks him into pieces first. Y'all just chill on that one. Christ, as our example of physical life, did his physical life, physically, what he was going through not get harder and harder and harder and harder as he got nearer to the cross? Now this is the man who sinned not. This is truly God and truly man. People deserting him, spitting on him, turning him over to the authorities. I know some people don't always hit these struggles, but I'm telling you, sometimes I want a crowd uncle. But God knows better than I do. We're just sojourners here, guys. We are sojourners and aliens in a strange land. and we're to call out other aliens to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we must be set apart to do that. Otherwise, what are we calling them out to? What are we calling them out to? Verse 19, for their sake, and church take this to mean for your sake too. For their sake, I sanctify myself, Jesus says, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. No salvation, no sanctification. No sanctification even possible. If not for the sacrificial death of Jesus on that cross. So in verse 19, Jesus returns to that truth. acknowledging that he was about to willingly endure, to set himself apart for that task of which he was appointed to do for the foundation of the world before any human being was ever created, he set himself apart to do that task that nobody else could do. Without which no one would be or could be saved, much less sanctified. because you would still be dead in your trespasses and sins. The penalty, you would have to pay for yourself. Y'all may have heard me mention, I guess I'll just say there's a popular podcast that I listen to. And on Christmas, he dropped one, a former Navy SEAL who lived in Franklin, Tennessee. And he's been wrestling with some spiritual things. And he's had a Catholic priest on. He said, all these people on. Well, last Wednesday, he had on Lee Strobel. I mean, you gotta know who Lee Strobel is. He wrote The Case for Christ. It's about three hour long podcast, long form interview. I'm about three quarters of the way through it. There was a section in it when I was almost screaming at the radio. And I'm probably gonna write this individual an email. I've been wanting to for a while, but something that was said, because as Strobel was talking about, he went, if you've never read The Case for Christ, I strongly recommend it. I don't agree with a lot of his theology, where he's at now. But that's a good, it's a really good book. So the interviewer, I don't know if there's any kind of copyright thing, Sean Ryan is his name, the guy in Franklin, former Navy SEAL, when he's talking about the resurrection, he said that was really the sticking point for Lee Strobel, did the resurrection really happen? Because if it happened, if it's provable, then that changes everything. And he was an atheist setting out to defeat Christianity because his wife became a Christian. That's the whole premise of the book. And he got saved in the middle of it anyway. So we get through all that. And so Sean Ryan asked the question, but why did he have to die? Good question. The problem I had was that Strobel, he kept saying, well, there had to be a blood sacrifice. Sean Ryan, well, why couldn't he just, why couldn't God just forgive? Couldn't he have just forgiven? Well, yeah, but, and Strobel kept giving him, but to Sean Ryan's credit, he kept pushing, but why? But why? And he asked it like three times and Strobel never really answered it with him because he kept asking the same question. They moved on. And I'm screaming at the radio, God's justice had to be satisfied because he is just and good. and he's a good judge, justice must be rendered. Otherwise, you just forget, well, God's not just. Yes, he is just, and his justice was poured out on Christ Jesus for all those who will believe. And I'm telling you, I'm pounding the, I'm like, come on, he's asking you the right question, give him the right answer. Y'all can understand I was yelling at the radio. Only because Christ was about to atone for their sins and for all those who would ever believe in him and be regenerated is sanctification even possible. And not just possible, but guaranteed. Guaranteed. Hebrews 10, 10 through 14. By this will we have been sanctified, will have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. That's all that we'll believe. and every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But he, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God because the work was finished, church, waiting from that time until his enemies are put as a footstool for his feet, for by one offering he has perfected all time who? Those who are being sanctified. Only by his propitiatory work, justice served, can he be our high priest. In which redeemed sinners are justified, are sanctified, are being sanctified, and will be glorified. Hebrews 13, 12. Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Do you see that little nugget in there? The sacrificial lambs were killed outside the city, then brought in. Jesus was sacrificed outside the city. Just as every other aspect of our salvation is contingent, absolutely dependent on the work of Christ in his first incarnation, in his present intercessory work, and in his second coming, our sanctification is as well. We are sanctified, we are set apart, and we are being conformed to his image. Romans 8, 29, because those whom he foreknew, he also predestined, what? To be conformed to the image of his son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren. As Christ sanctifies himself, he is the means by which we are sanctified and the means by which we are being sanctified by his truth, by his word, by his Holy Spirit. Philippians 2, 12 and 13. So then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who's at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. God's at work in you, but you don't kick up your feet. You're at work too. We've spoken much about being in the word as the most important aspect of our sanctification that we can do, right? We can be in the word, we can be in prayer. As we come to the close, a couple of more quick verses that come to my mind, at least. Ephesians 5, 25 and 27, you might think, why does that text of scripture sound familiar? Well, that's the text about how husbands are supposed to treat your wives. Well, brother, that seems like an odd place to go when you're talking about sanctification. Ephesians 5, 25 and 27. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. so that he, Christ, might sanctify her, the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. Second Timothy 3, 16 and 17, what we know about the word here? All scriptures God breathed are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work. I say to the winds with these preachers and teachers that are looking for any other thing to teach or preach but what's in the word. I don't need your TED Talks, I don't need your Puff me up, build me up stuff, give me the word. Give me Christ. Jesus has highlighted his request that the father would sanctify those who believe in him. Acknowledging I hope now more than ever that this vehicle is the vehicle that's used is his truth, the truth of his word and the truth brought by his spirit. Jesus is the word made incarnate. the word preserved and presented for us in written form. We all have a copy of it. If you don't, there's one right in front of you in the pew. Take it home with you. We'll replace it. We're saved from God. I just talked about his justice. We're saved from God, for God, by God, and to God's glory. And all aspects of our salvation are inclusive and inclusive of our sanctification are part of this process. So, as we close, what does this mean for you and your sanctification? Hopefully, if nothing else, you get a greater understanding of what that sanctification looks like today. Hopefully, if nothing else, you realize how dependent you are on the Lord himself for providing that sanctification, but also that you're not to keep back in your recliner, you're at work in your sanctification as well. but your work is futile if not for the work God has done in you, because it will come to no end. Last thing I want you to think about, in what way have you been neglecting any of those things we've talked about? This is a soul-searching text for me, and I hope it has been for you too. And the last thing, if you've been here today and you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, The scripture tells us, behold, today is the day of salvation. Repent and turn to him today. Father God, we thank you for the truth in your word. We thank you for the truth incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ, who we just celebrated the birth of, coming to this earth in flesh, living the life we could not live, dying the death that we so deserve in our place. so that salvation is not only made possible, but it is actually accomplished, completed. Lord, those of us that you have set apart, let us not neglect our own personal study. But let us also not neglect the fact that you've sent us out into this world where to look different, act different, not in a harsh, hostile way, but to share the truth of the good news of the gospel. Father, I just thank you for all this that you've given to us. Your graciousness and mercy is unbelievable, incomprehensible. We've just tasted a little bit of it. Lord, I thank you for who you are and what you've done. And the promise is yet to come. In Christ's name I pray, amen.