On the night of his betrayal, Jesus
prayed to the heavenly Father for his disciples, ‘Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth’ (John
17:7). The word of the Lord is perfect.
Some years later, the apostle Paul
instructed husbands to love their wives like the crucified and risen Christ,
who ‘loved the church and gave Himself for her to make her holy, cleansing
her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to
present the church to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or anything
like that, but holy and blameless’ (Ephesians 5:25-27, HCSB). The word of the
Lord is pure.
These passages
certainly relate to us truths about the inerrant infallibility of Scripture,
but their emphasis is primarily on the impact of the God-breathed word in the
Christ-follower and the local church. The word of the Lord is powerful. Even as
the word of the Lord is perfect, so it is perfecting. Disciples are sanctified in
the word as it is applied to their lives, setting them apart from the world and
aside for God. Even as the word of the
Lord is pure, so it is purifying. The church is cleansed and washed so that
having been set aside to be made splendid, it might actually enter the presence
of the Lord in splendor.
No piece of literature
is at all comparable to God’s word. It stands alone as fully and finally
authoritative in shaping belief and sanctifying behavior. Yet is it not true
that we are sometimes prone to rest in
the words of men – whether they are pastors and preachers or our peers – rather
than test the words of men (1 Thess.
5:20-21)? I do not mean to disparage the useful things people might have to say
but rather to encourage searching the divinely given texts to discern what is
true and what is false. Referencing some of the greatest theologians in
Christian history, the Victorian preacher C. H. Spurgeon said
They may quote Irenaeus or Cyprian, Augustine or Chrysostom; they may
remind us of the dogmas of Luther or Calvin; they may find authority in Simeon,
Wesley, or Gill – we will listen to the opinions of these great men with the
respect which they deserve as men,
but having done so, we deny that we have anything to do with these men as
authorities in the church of God, for there nothing has any authority, but "Thus saith the Lord of hosts".
Read God’s word. And read it again.
The more time you spend doing so, the more you will see through the lens of
Scripture, think and speak through the filter of Scripture, and act in
accordance with Scripture. Sometimes we sing an old song that asks ‘are you
washed in the blood of the lamb?’. If so, then you are positionally sanctified,
considered righteous in the sight of God. But we might also ask, ‘are you
washed in the word of the Lord?’. If so, then you are being progressively
sanctified, cleansed for righteousness by the Spirit of God for joy in Christ
and the glory of the Father.
This was printed in the worship bulletin of Grace Baptist Church (Wood Green) on 23 March 2014.
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