“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:19-20 CSB]. This is the charge we who follow the Risen Saviour have received; and this charge was delivered with the promise of Christ’s presence for each one who would follow the Master. This charge, known to us as the “Great Commission,” ensures that we Christians are sent on mission with Christ the Lord; and as we are on mission with Him we are assured that He is always with us.
The presence of the Risen Lord Who has given us this charge, promising that He would be with us always, was given so that we would know that His power is continually revealed through our labours as we serve Him. The Risen Saviour promised that He would be with His children so that they would be assured that whenever they do what He commanded they could know that they would succeed in the work they performed. Christ’s presence is promised to the people of God individually—you, as one who is born from above, can be assured that the Son of God is with you in every endeavour. And His presence is assuredly promised to His people gathered into congregations. Each time we meet in assembly, we can be certain that the Spirit of Christ is in our midst. Even now, as we gather to sing praises, to pray, to hear His Word read, and to receive the teaching of the Word, Christ is in our midst observing us. This charge was not kept in reserve until after the resurrection of the Saviour, it was integral to discipleship from earliest days.
As was true for the twelve, the responsibility of each Christian in this Age of Grace is to be on mission with the Saviour. And this responsibility is not incidental to the Faith—it is integral to the Faith. Being on mission with the Christ is not optional for His follower; being on mission with the Christ is mandatory. Nor should anyone imagine that being on mission with the Master is a tedious, dreary labour that drains us of all joy. Christ Himself is with us, guiding us in our labours and empowering us to fulfil His command. Surely, this is the promise we who follow Christ have received when we read, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” [PHILIPPIANS 4:13].
The message in this hour is encouragement for all who name the Name of Christ to receive the call to mission. I am not using the term “mission” to mean that we must each travel to distant lands or that we must learn a new language to communicate the message of life; I am using this term to remind each follower of Christ that she or he is now working in concert with the Risen Saviour to fulfil the command of Jesus. Each of us is now on mission with Jesus. We are now equipped and prepared to tell our family of the salvation we have received through faith in Christ as Master over our life. We are now prepared to speak with colleagues, giving the reason for the hope that is within us. We are now appointed and responsible to tell others of the life that is ours in Christ Jesus.
THE FATHER SENT THE SON — “As you sent me into the world…” [JOHN 17:18a]. Just before He prayed this high priestly prayer we are studying in this hour, the Lord attested, “I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father” [JOHN 16:28]. After He had been raised from the dead, Jesus appeared to His disciples on multiple occasions. On one of those occasions the Risen Saviour iterated the truth that He did not come to earth on His own initiative. At that time Jesus testified, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” [JOHN 20:21]. Jesus consistently testified that He was sent by the Father.
Focus on the fact that Jesus came from the Father. Throughout His days in the flesh, Jesus repeatedly spoke of the closeness He had enjoyed with the Father. As He spoke, it was indicative that this was not mere bluster, but that He had enjoyed this relationship even before His birth to Mary. For instance, we witness Luke telling of a prayer Jesus offered on one occasion, when He said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” [LUKE 10:21-22].
It will not be possible to note every instance when Jesus spoke of the intimacy He had enjoyed with the Father, but we should note a few. John’s Gospel provides the following insight, which supposes that Jesus Himself spoke these truths. “He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” [JOHN 3:31-36].
Challenged on one occasion by religious leaders, Jesus had this to say. “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” [JOHN 5:19-29].
The words Jesus spoke at that time undoubtedly provide a strong testimony to His relationship with the Father, but what followed that initial salvo against these pious Jews was stronger still! “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent” [JOHN 5:30-38].
Throughout His ministry among the Jews, Jesus repeatedly spoke of being sent by His Father. We read, for example, Jesus plainly stating to the religious leaders, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” [JOHN 6:37-38].
On yet another occasion, Jesus testified, “Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me” [JOHN 8:16-18]. This was an “in your face” testimony concerning Who He was and from whence He came. Confused because they could not dispute what He said, the religious leaders blustered, but were otherwise unconvincing in the reasons they might give for their refusal to believe Him.
In what may have served as the final incident to drive the religious leaders to their conclusion that Jesus must die, these pious leaders confronted the Master, only to realise that He was not cowed by them. As He spoke in their presence, Jesus boldly testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So, there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father” [JOHN 10:7-18]. And Jesus was just getting started! The religious leaders were confused and uncertain what He was saying, but what He would say next settled the issue forever.
Jesus plainly stated, “The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” [JOHN 10:25b-30].
This was too much for these religious men to tolerate! They charged that Jesus was blaspheming; clearly, they understood that He was equating Himself with God. Jesus responded to their determination to kill Him, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods?’ If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’ If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” [JOHN 10:34-38].
I understand that some may think that the multiplied verses I have just read surely amount to overkill. Jesus spoke often of His relationship with the Father and how He had enjoyed this relationship from before the foundation of the world. What He was saying on those multiple occasions when He spoke of His relationship with the Father defied human experience. No one who heard Him had ever mounted up to Heaven. No one had ever known someone who had done so. To be sure, everyone would agree that Enoch had been snatched up to Heaven, but that was so long ago in the past as to be irrelevant in the mind of those hearing Jesus of Nazareth speak. You would have been hard pressed to find anyone who would deny that Elijah was caught up in a fiery chariot. But again, no one hearing Jesus speak had witnessed any such thing in their lifetime. After all, even those who had been in the School of the Prophets were unconvinced about Elijah’s disappearance—and they had been close by! No, people didn’t just spend time in Heaven and then suddenly come to earth with a story about God as Father!
Beside all this, all of them knew Jesus, and they knew His family. That this was an impediment to believing what He said is evidenced by an incident recorded in Mark’s Gospel. Here is the account in question. “On the Sabbath [Jesus] began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.’ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them” [MARK 6:2-5].
On another occasion, confronted by a crowd that had been present when He had fed a multitude, the crowd demanded that He feed them. They were less enthusiastic about what He had been teaching, but filling their stomachs with food—well, that was something they could readily get behind, and they wanted Him to feed them right now! Jesus gently rebuked them, saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal” [JOHN 6:26-27].
Jesus invited them to set their sights on obtaining the Bread of God, but they were focused on their desire to be forever free of the requirement to provide for themselves. Thus, they demanded that He give them bread right now! Jesus, knowing the selfish focus of their lives and recognising their lack of understanding, replied to their self-centred demands, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” [JOHN 6:35-40].
Well, that did it! Who was He to be speaking in such stilted terms? Therefore, these pious souls began to grumble, grousing among themselves and complaining. People who are offended by individuals who are clearly morally superior, and not merely individuals holding an exalted opinion of themselves, almost always resort to seeking affirmation of their position by seeking affirmation from others whom they suppose will support their self-exalted supposition. That is what was happening in this case.
The crowd who had come to Jesus immediately resorted to their familiarity with Jesus. They had known Him since childhood, just as they knew His family. Thus do we witness them saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’” [JOHN 6:42]? They couldn’t get past the fact that they knew Him! They knew the parents who had raised Him! They had played in the streets with Him, just as they had played games with His brothers and sisters! It would not do for Him to try to convince them that He was anyone other than who they determined Him to be! They had known Him for a long time, and their familiarity became a sticking point for them. They could not allow themselves to even think that He was more than a mere man—He was just like them!
Jesus came into the world. He came with a mission, a mission that was not recognised or authenticated by those of this world. The Father sent the Son, and His coming revealed the love the Father has for His creation, a love that would require the sacrifice of His dearly loved Son. We witness a blunt hint of this divine mission when an angel of the Lord confronted Joseph. Matthew writes of what took place, informing us, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel’
(which means, God with us)” [MATTHEW 1:18-23].
You may recall that Paul speaks of both the mission Jesus came to fulfil and of the response of the world to Christ’s coming when he writes, “I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” [1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-8].
When he speaks in this manner, the Apostle Paul is but iterating what John would write. You will no doubt recall that John testified as he opened the Gospel that bears his name, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.”’) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” [JOHN 1:14-18].
The Son of God did come into the world! Jesus, identified as the Messiah long promised to come, did come into this world with the mission of presenting Himself as a sacrifice for sin. Jesus, the Son of God sent by the Father, would take upon Himself the sin of all mankind, receiving in Himself the punishment we deserve because of our enmity against Holy God. This is prophesied when we witness Isaiah writing,
“Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
[ISAIAH 53:4-6]
THE SON HAS SENT HIS DISCIPLES — “So I have sent [My followers] into the world” [JOHN 17:18b]. Jesus was speaking of His disciples as He requested the Father’s answer to His request. This is evident as we read the words He spoke as He prayed that are recorded in verse six. There, we witness Jesus saying to the Father, “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word” [JOHN 17:6].
I believe it vital to point out that in making this statement as He spoke with the Father, our Master was not making a casual statement. In fact, He was affirming something that He would state again as He prayed. Jesus would continue, praying, “I am praying for [those who follow Me]. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one” [JOHN 17:9-11].
I suppose there are some who think themselves blessed with greater insight than others and who wish to argue that Jesus did not have in mind those who would be disciples after those initial men who followed Him had passed from the scene. However, carefully reading the remainder of Jesus’ prayer relegates such thoughts to the trash heap of history. In His prayer, we witness the Master praying, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” [JOHN 17:20-21]. Jesus was praying for all who believe in this day, just as He prayed for all those who had followed Him in the Faith since His resurrection. Jesus’ prayer was for all who would believe throughout history. Child of God, Jesus made this request for you; Jesus asked the Father to bless those who would believe, sending them into the world!
There is a point that I believe is valuable to those blessed souls who are twice born. Jesus asserts of those whom He claims as His followers, “Yours they were, and You gave them to Me.” Those who follow Jesus belonged to the Father. When did the followers of Jesus belong to the Father? The answer to that question provides rich comfort for the one who is born from above. Writing Titus, Paul testifies, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior” [TITUS 1:1-3]. Eternal life was promised before the ages began, though it was manifested only at the proper time.
What Paul reveals in this statement is strengthened and made clearer still when we see him writing Timothy in the second missive to be included in the New Testament. Paul writes, “Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” [2 TIMOTHY 1:8-10].
Look carefully at his words, noting that we who follow the Christ are saved and called because of God’s own purpose and grace. And the salvation and grace we have received was given us “in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus.” Before the sun, the moon, and all the cosmos were ever set in motion, God saved us and called us. Don’t leave me just yet, because there is more to come. And what is revealed is not simply exciting, it is marvellous. Before the earth was formed, God made provision for our salvation! Before sin ever entered the world, God provided salvation for those who are saved!
Though I’ve cited this passage in the Ephesian Encyclical in previous messages, please look once more at the opening words of that missive. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” [EPHESIANS 1:3-6].
Again, focus on what is written, noting that we who are saved were chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world.” We were “predestined … for adoption to [the Father] as sons through Jesus Christ.” We belonged to the Father by His sovereign choice before ever time began. It is enough to cause us to fall on our faces in praise to our God. Surely, He has done all things well. Surely, He is worthy to receive praise, and honour, and glory, and majesty.
Throughout this prayer, the Son of God testified to the Father that those who were chosen long before the ages began were given to the Son to the praise of His glory. Those given to the Son belong to the Father, and the Father entrusts them to the Son. However, the Son asks the Father to keep them, to protect them, to watch over them. Because I am in Christ, I am kept safe in this world. And I am sent out into the world to do the work that the Master has assigned me to do. This truth applies to each one who is a follower of the Risen Son of God.
And each follower of Christ Jesus is sent into the world to proclaim the Gospel. Each mother is appointed to proclaim to her children that Jesus Christ is Lord, demonstrating the power of Christ through a holy life. Each father is appointed to proclaim to his family that Jesus Christ is Lord, revealing His power through living a holy and a righteous life. Each worker is appointed to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord to those with whom he or she works, revealing the power of the indwelling Christ as that Christian lives a holy and righteous life.
We are not to be as the follower of Christ who was going out to stay in camp. He would be gone for an extended period and he was deeply convicted that he should be a witness for the Lord, but he was afraid that he might be ridiculed because of his faith. He asked his church to pray for him, and they did.
Some time later he returned to the church. During his first service, he was asked to tell the congregation how things went. He stated that he was deeply concerned that the men would learn that he was a Christian and that he would be ridiculed as naïve and simple. However, he said he had a particularly good experience since no one found out he was a Christian. Don’t be that man. Be bold, fulfilling the charge you have received. If you are a follower of the Christ, you are now sent on mission. And He has given you His Spirit to ensure that you will succeed in the responsibility you have been assigned.
WE WHO HAVE BELIEVED ARE SANCTIFIED — ‘For [the] sake [of My followers] I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth” [JOHN 17:19]. Christ does not send unsaved people on mission in His Name. This is the reason we can be certain that young Mormons, wanting to be called “elder,” are not on a divine mission. This is the reason we can be certain that those benighted souls who want to identify themselves as witnesses for Jehovah, are not engaged in a divine mission. I’m not saying that lost people may not attempt to give the impression they are on mission with Christ; nevertheless, only redeemed people are charged to be on mission with Christ. And the redeemed are not sent to be on mission when serving the Master without divine preparation.
The preparation for being on mission with Christ is divine consecration. As we saw in an earlier message, the consecration we who believe have now received is given by our Lord. Before the Father, we who have believed are already set apart for His service—we are declared holy. Nevertheless, we are responsible to consecrate ourselves in this life. And we are to do so before we engage in the ongoing work of proclaiming the Good News. And yet, the Lord Jesus asked the Father to sanctify us in truth!
Christ the Lord consecrated Himself so that we who follow Him may be set apart for divine service. We who are twice born have been sanctified in truth. Sanctified! Now there is a term that is not often heard from our pulpits today, and it is a term that needs to be heard! Consecrated is another of those strange terms that is seldom used during the sermon that is delivered in far too many churches. Consecration and sanctification are concepts that are not really understood in our world today; and when the concepts are presented in the messages delivered in far too many churches in this day these two terms are often distorted to such an extent that they cannot be recognised. Sanctification implies that we are set apart for God’s purposes, and that implies that we take an active role in setting ourselves apart to Him in this present world.
I’ve stressed in previous messages that we are now consecrated before God the Father. We who are saved are now declared holy before the True and Living God. We shall be fully sanctified—body, soul, and spirit—at the time of the metamorphosis when our Lord returns. And yet, you and I who are redeemed by the Lord are charged with sanctifying ourselves for His sake. We who are followers of the Risen Saviour are responsible to work at being holy, to be set apart for His service.
Why does it matter whether we are sanctified? In a practical sense, if we are not set apart as holy before the True and Living God it implies that we must do more to make ourselves acceptable to Him. If we who believe are not declared holy in the Beloved Son, then the Word is grossly deceptive when we read, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” [JOHN 3:16]. If we have eternal life, either we are acceptable to God or we are still working at making ourselves acceptable to God, in which case we are on probation.
Either Jesus spoke the truth when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” [JOHN 5:24], or Jesus lied. Either I stand righteous and holy before the Father because I am in the Son of God, or I am still condemned. And if I am now condemned despite faith in the Son of God, then it is imperative that I be doing something to make myself acceptable.
And why should it matter whether we who follow the Saviour are sanctified in truth? To be set apart for God’s purpose implies that certain characteristics now mark my life. If I am sanctified, it means that I reveal God’s Spirit at work in my life. Though in this life I am not perfected, or otherwise I would never face death, I have a desire to be godly. Because I am a child or the Living God, twice born and indwelt by His Spirit, I no longer enjoy sin. I am miserable when I do sin, knowing that I have dishonoured my Father and disgraced the Spirit He caused to dwell in me. Therefore, to know the will of the Father, I have His Spirit living in me, guiding me in the choices I make and directing my steps so that I walk the path He has set before me, and I have His Word, which is true and accurate.
The message has been presented with the intent that it will serve to encourage the people of God to fulfil the mission we have received from the Risen Saviour. We are appointed to be ambassadors of the Risen Lord of Glory. We are not left to figure out on our own how we are to accomplish the admittedly great task we are charged with fulfilling. Our Father has given us His Spirit Who lives in us and dwells among us. He directs our steps and brings to mind what the Son of God has caused to be written down so that we know the will of God. We do not need to wonder what we are appointed to do or how to do it; we need only invest our lives in His Word and go, as He has charged.
But what of you who may listen and yet have not believed the message of life? The message we are charged to deliver reminds us that Jesus, the Son of God, was sent to offer up His life as a sacrifice because of your sin. He conquered death and rose from the dead. Now, God calls you, saying, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10].
If, somehow, you struggle to understand how this applies to you, that same Word reaches back through time to seize the promise of God delivered by an ancient Hebrew prophet named Joel. The Word of God promises all who will receive it, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. And that is the invitation we offer to all who will receive it, as many as are appointed to life. Surely, this gracious offer of life is for you. Amen.
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