Summary: Elite athletes understand the importance of setting themselves apart from others. To win Olympic gold you must have laser focus and total dedication to your sport. Everything else is secondary. In John 17:19 Jesus reveals the dedication of His life and death. "And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." The word "consecrate" means, "to dedicate for the purpose of something divine." The divine purpose Jesus dedicated himself for is your sanctification. Both the Old and New Testaments use the word "holiness" to describe sanctification. So why would Jesus want us to be holy? Context is everything and this is where things get interesting. Jesus is praying for his disciples and for those who will believe in Him. He wants to equip his followers in order to help them accomplish their mission of attracting people to God. Does he send them out with a ten-step booklet on reaching the world? No. Does he give them a video series on how to win people to God? No. What does he send them with? He sends them with holiness. What the people around you need the most is your personal holiness. What attracted people to Jesus? It was his joy, his patience, love and forgiveness; it was His holiness. Why should anyone pay attention to us? Because of the way we live our lives. If a sick person tries to sell you a program on how to be healthy, are you buying it? It’s the same program they’ve been using for years and yet they are dying. You’re not buying because it’s not working for them. We are made holy by the truth. The word of God is truth and looking to and acting upon God's word makes us holy. Seeing what Jesus did for us on the cross gives us motivation. One more thing should be noted...when Jesus speaks of sanctification He’s not speaking to us individually, He’s speaking to the church. Holiness is meant for the community. It's a holy people living in unity and harmony that draws attention to a holy God. People on the outside ask, "How do they do it?" So the church is not a club, we're a movement forging a new humanity for all people to see.
