Marks Of The True Church: Truth Series

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” [1]

Truth is in short supply in our world. Tragically, truth has been largely sacrificed for what has come to be known as “truthiness” in our world today. Perhaps that has always been the case, but it is certainly apparent that this is the case in this present day, at least here in North America. Modern Canadians have been conditioned to be more concerned that the narrative they spin matches their expectation rather than being made uncomfortable by the necessity of altering their expectations to meet reality.

The response of government during the covid crisis—a crisis that was engineered by medical and governmental leaders for their own devious ends—served to kill any possibility that a citizen could ever again trust government leaders without verifying their claims. And now we have Mr. Science himself—admitting in testimony before the United States House of Representatives that the six-foot rule of social distancing was based on nothing. This rule was at best a concession to untrained and panicked people who decided they could manipulate the populace for their own selfish purposes. As with many of the rules and regulations put in place during the Covid pandemic, regulations adopted throughout Canada and regulations that are again being foisted on a supposedly compliant public, this rule was based on nothing! [2]

After this abject failure by the experts, the wise citizen will be reluctant to believe what government functionaries say. The Covid pandemic saw even highly educated physicians and scientists lie to the public, revealing that they were willing to sell their integrity to self-important, highly paid bureaucrats, saying whatever they are commanded to say in order to maintain the narrative. Politicians and bureaucrats lied, claiming that the lies they told were for our own good. And an unthinking public was panicked into compliance with a demand that they surrender integrity and the ability to think rationally, giving up freedom for which prior generations had sacrificed so greatly.

Every politician claims to speak truthfully, though it is likely that most politicians have been trained as lawyers and are thus well-versed in the use of weasel words. Nevertheless, you know very well that something dreadful happens to every politician that drinks from the Ottawa River. Their speech changes and we soon witness them claiming to have done what has not been done and promising to do what we know they will never do. And what is done in Ottawa is but an expression of the Oprahfication of our world. Western society has imbibed deeply of the wells that lead most within this present world to claim that “our truth” is what truly matters. And the greater tragedy of this societal transformation is that many of the professed churches of our Lord have adopted this language of the world—language built specifically to advance a lie.

When the faithful cease speaking truthfully, what hope is left for society? If I cannot believe that the elders of my church or that the deacons who serve my congregation speak truthfully, how can I trust that God is with them? And if my neighbour cannot trust me to speak the truth, how will that neighbour ever be able to believe the truth concerning the love of God revealed through the sacrifice of Christ the Son of God? Ultimately, the only thing we have that cannot be taken from us is our integrity. This is the essential reality that must not be jettisoned for a mess of potage.

CHRISTIANS ARE SANCTIFIED! “Sanctify them” [JOHN 17:17a], Jesus pleaded. Jesus requested the Father to sanctify those who believed in Him. And as we read His request of the Father, it becomes obvious that His prayer was not limited to those who believed Him at the time He made this request of the Father. Jesus was praying for all who would follow Him throughout this Church Age—and that includes us who follow Him today.

There seems to be considerable confusion among us who are called by the Name of Christ as to what is meant by the term “sanctify.” Because this is the case, it is essential for us to take time to ensure that we understand what we are talking about when we speak of being sanctified. We who are saved are now sanctified as result of Jesus’ request of the Father. However, we are being sanctified as we move toward eternity. In this present life, we are charged to do whatever is necessary to be sanctified for Christ’s sake. We will be sanctified wholly at the return of our Master.

Opening his first letter to the Christians gathered in Corinth, Paul writes, “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-3].