Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” Jesus was asking the Father to “Set Apart” His apostles and disciples for the work of God. He was also asking the Father the same about us. In John 17:20, Jesus prayed, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.”
Let me ask you to put your thinking caps on for a moment. Jesus prayed that we might be “Set Apart” by God and for God. The way we are “Set Apart” is through His Word. (John17:17 & 20) So if we are sanctified, “Set Apart” by His Word then His Word must be very important to us. Not only are we sanctified, “Set Apart” as we ask Christ to save us by admitting we are sinners and need Him, but each day we are being sanctified, “Set Apart” by His Word (the Bible) as we study and strive to become more Holy as He is Holy. We study and live out the Word of God to show the world Jesus Christ through our lives. Romans 12:1-2 asks us to give our very lives and daily walk to Jesus. We are to be a living sacrifice.
So then, if
1. it is impossible to please God without faith, Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him,”
2. and we are saved by FAITH, Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
3. and FAITH comes by hearing the Word of God, Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
4. and the Word of God is truth, John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”
then you can’t get saved, “Set Apart,” equipped, do the work that God has for you or even please God apart from the Bible.
Unfortunately most people, even Christians, put very little time into reading and studying the Bible. You will NEVER be all that God has planned for you apart from your daily study and reading of the Bible. What does that say to an unsaved world? What does that say to an unsaved child? What does that say about the followers of Jesus?
WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOU?
Ol God help us…Psalm 119:11 – “Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I might not sin against You.”
Gary