Feb 07, 2011 Truth-Shaped Living
Originally posted on February 18, 2005
“Sanctify them in truth, Your word is truth.” John 17:17
Jesus prayed that His followers would live their lives by the truth of God’s word. He prayed for truth-shaped living.
Two thousand years later, there are two things we need to settle in our minds. First, there is something that is true. Second, there is a truthful way to live.
What is truth?
Jesus said that God’s word is truth. Complexity is often a mask for denial. If we can make the discussion of truth so complex that we end up exasperated with the search, we will eventually deny that there is truth at all. Jesus is straightforward about the issue (a quality not often appreciated in our culture). He said that what God said about Himself and His world is true and, therefore, is the Truth. The record of God’s word to us is the Bible.
What is the truthful way to live?
Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified. To be sanctified is to be set apart for a particular purpose. In this context, Jesus means that we are to live in the world for His purposes.
He also said we are to be sanctified by the truth. This means that we fulfill His purposes in life when we live by what is true about Him and His world.
To be sanctified in truth is to shape our lives by what God said about Himself.
Life at Grace
On Sundays, we are considering four life-shaping truths about God in a sermon series entitled “Our Place in God’s World”. This is also the theme of the next several Words of Grace e-messages. Here’s a look at what’s coming.
1. God is the Creator of all things, so we make the God-connection in all things.
2. God is the Provider of all things, so we participate with Him in His provision in all we do.
3. God is the Redeemer of people, so we join Him in the work of the gospel in the world.
4. God is the Consummator of all things, so we live with faith, hope, and endurance until the end.
Join us Sunday as we shape our lives by the truth.
Pastor Scott