Starving for Truth (3)

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8.31, 32

Sanctification
We are considering the “famine of hearing” God’s Word which the prophet Amos foresaw in the eighth chapter of his prophecy. We live in a time in which, while we possess many opportunities for hearing the Word of God, there is a paucity of evidence that much real hearing is taking place. We expect to see fruit whenever the living and transforming Word of God is preached and heard, and we’re considering the specific kinds of fruit the Scriptures indicate we should be able to observe.

The first fruit of hearing the Word of God is repentance, a deep and transforming sense of the awfulness of our own sin, and a desire to turn from it and be done with it, is hardly in evidence today.

A second fruit that Scripture identifies as following from the hearing of God’s Word is freedom from sinful practices. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  Here Jesus promises a life of sanctification, which He prayed that God’s Word might bring about in us (Jn. 17.17). Sanctification, and the increasing virtues which accompany it, is the second fruit of hearing the Word of God.

Called to newness
Sanctification is the life of increasing holiness, without which no one can expect to see the Lord (Heb. 12.14). As we read and meditate on it, Scripture draws back the veil of eternity, allowing the glory of the uncreated God to shine with transforming power upon our sinful hearts, minds, and ways (2 Cor. 3.17, 18). Where that glory penetrates to the heart – where, that is, the Word is truly heard - it illuminates the darkness of lingering sin, burns away the dross of wickedness, cauterizes the wound of guilt with searing grace, and sets in place a healing power that obliterates the past and progressively makes all things new (Ps. 103.13; 2 Cor. 5.17).

By its transforming power, the Word of God calls into existence a new people, “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,” who walk no longer in the darkness of unbelief but in the newness of life in Christ (1 Pt. 2.9; 1 Jn. 1.5-7).

That we in the contemporary evangelical Church are not such a people is clear, not only to us but to everyone else as well.

Studies persistently reveal very little difference between our way of life and that of our unbelieving neighbors and associates. In the workaday world, where men and women buy and sell, trade and invest, maintain their homes and pursue their hobbies, we in the evangelical church evidence little to distinguish us from our contemporaries. Only in our peculiar habit of assembling together for this and that do we stand out markedly from this unbelieving generation.

One can only believe that, if we were more adept at hearing the Scriptures – if, that is, we were not blighted with this famine of hearing the Word of God – we might shine more brilliantly with the radiance of their glorious, liberating truth.

The demands of holiness
You cannot hear the Word of God and be indifferent to the demands of holiness. Jesus said, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Matt. 7.18-20).

Where the Word of God is taught and heard, people turn away from their old ways of thinking, feeling, speaking and acting, and they take up a new way of life, defined by increasing in Christ-likeness. As long as we continue to live like the unbelieving world around us, and to maintain our casual attitude toward sanctification, it will be difficult to conclude that we’ve really heard the Word in a transforming way. We are starving for truth, as is evident by our failing to thrive in sanctification. When we begin to hear the Word as God intends, He will bring forth in us the fruit of the Word, leading us to repentance and setting us free from sinful thoughts and ways into a life of becoming more like Jesus Christ.

As we hear the Word of God, repentance opens our eyes to the presence of sin. From there, we must turn away from sinful practices and seek the sanctifying power of God’s Word to make all things new in our lives. When that begins to be more in evidence, we will know that the famine of hearing God’s Word has begun to abate.

The Word of God demands that we bring holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7.1). We are starving for the truth if increasing in sanctification is not our daily pursuit.

For reflection
1.  What is sanctification? What is holiness? Why is the Word of God necessary for sanctification and holiness?

2.  Why should we expect sanctification to follow repentance?

3.  Can we be sanctified apart from the truth and Word of God (Jn. 17.17)? Explain.

Next steps - Preparation: Meditate on Romans 3.20 and 7.7. How can we know what sin is? What place does the Law of God have in your walk with Jesus? Can we expect to turn away from sin – to hate sin, Psalm 97.10 – if we aren’t clear about what sin is?

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.