John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
Do you realize that most people in this world are living in bondage to lies? Lies, liars, and lying: it’s so much of what defines our world. Lies about where we came from. Lies about where we’re going. Lies about who we are. Lies about what is good and lies about what is evil. Lies about sexuality. Lies about gender. Lies about what will bring happiness and lies about what will make us sad. Lies fill so many of the world’s religions. Lies fill the propaganda of governments. Lying words that twist the wrong into right. Lies from the media, the president, and the pulpit. Lies from a spouse to cover up an illicit affair. Lies about heaven and lies about hell. What a milieu of deception in which we live, move, and have our being. Where on earth can such lies lead? Surely, the answer is not anywhere good.
One such example of one who lived like this is the apostle Paul before the One whose very name is the Truth confronted him in his lying ways. Here was one who had the finest religious education his nation could provide. As such, he seemed to have a great hunger for truth. He was living a life to be proud of: the best teachers, the finest heritage, the most exemplary life. Listen to how he describes himself in these words from Philippians 3:4-6: “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless”. Here was a man so sure of himself that anyone who disagreed with him was anathema to him and deserving of death – or so he thought. He was convinced of the righteousness of his life and actions. He was “all in” in his way of life. Committed, passionate, a crusader – all were words that defined his life. But there was this problem: it was all based on lies, something he became suddenly and astonishingly aware of when the glory of Jesus blinded him. It was only then that Paul could say, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:7-11).
And it is that same experience that will happen to anyone when the real Truth opens their spiritual eyes. They may not be blinded physically like Paul was, but their spiritual blindness will astound them. They’ll wonder how they could have been so very wrong! But that’s the way it is for those living in falsehood, whose entire life has been based on lies.
And so, we have the prayer above from the lips of Jesus that we would be sanctified by God’s Truth. This word “sanctify” means to be set apart unto God and set apart from sin. It can also be rendered “to make holy,” which means exactly the same thing. It’s the effect of living a life based on “the Truth,” which is just another way of saying “the Word of God.” In this world so filled with lies, it’s God’s Word that is our one and only refuge. It tells us the absolute truth about everything that matters in this life, as well as the truth about all of eternity. It gives us the truth about God and the truth about His enemies. It’s the truth about life, death, heaven, hell, where we came from, who we are, and where we are going. It’s the truth about the past and the truth about the future. It gives us the definition of true religion and reveals the truth about religions that are false. It defines the truth about what is evil and the truth about what is good. It’s the truth about everything that matters in life and it’s all given to us from the God Who is Love.
So, do you know the Truth? Have you ever been transformed by it? Have you allowed it to expose your sin and the false ideas to which you’ve been held captive? And if you know the Truth, are you seeking to live according to it? Do you think about it, love it, trust in it, and speak it? Are you one who is “destroy(ing) arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and (are you) tak(ing) every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)? Are you sanctified by the Truth? Is that the longing of your heart? For you see, it’s the only way of living and thinking that makes any sense in the world we live in, for who can hope for anything good to ultimately come from a life based on lies?
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