The Sanctifying Shield, part 2

Israel was literally isolated from the rest of the world. God arranged for Israel to be walled off from the rest of the world, to be sheltered from the influence of paganism and the outside world. And they even had a very limited contact with their Egyptian hosts: Genesis 46:33 -34 tells us, “When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you should answer, ‘Your servants have tended livestock from our childhood on, just as our fathers did.’ … for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians” NIV. God created a cultural barrier from those two groups of people. Israel ended up being largely untouched by pagan influences of the day. Thus, when God had Moses lead Israel out of slavery in Egypt, Israel was emotionally and mentally different than any of their neighbors. They were prepared to be the people of God, and of Him only.
 

Now, the truth is that God could have done that with us. Once we repent of our sins, God could whisk us away to some isolated and exotic land. Think about it: wouldn’t it be wonderful for God to take us immediately away from this world, with all its temptations and lusts? He could put us in some tropical paradise where we could just sing praises for the rest of our lives.

But that is just not what God had in mind. Jesus prayed that we NOT be taken out of the world; He prayed that we NOT be physically isolated from the people around us. As Christians, God intended us to live IN this world, but not be OF this world. As Peter wrote, God desires that we live as “aliens and strangers in the world.” 1 Peter 2:11. We live IN this world, but not OF it.

Jesus called us to be the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” God saves us, and immediately make us missionaries to the world in which we live. God has entrusted us with a very special ministry once we’re saved. But there is a danger in that. That danger is that we might become like our neighbors. There are far too many Christians who watch the same R- and X-rated movies the rest of the world watches. They look at and read the same questionable magazines and books, and listen to music that glorifies immorality and sin, just like everyone else.

The danger for Christians, then, is that, since we live IN the world, we might become like the world and think like the world. In Ephesians 4:17-20, the Holy Spirit, through the writings of Paul warns us, “I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way” NIV.
 

So, if that’s a danger, if we are tempted to be like the world around us, and God isn’t going to lock us away from this temptation, how does God protect us (as Jesus prayed in John 17)? What is our Hope? The answer: He sanctifies us. Sanctification is a $20-word that means “to be set apart.” 
 

For example, the people working in the sound booth are sanctified in the that they are physically set apart from the rest of the congregation, as are the kids in Children’s Church. When I’m up on the platform preaching (or down in front at FCI Waseca), I’m sanctified. Anyone who is separated from the rest is “set apart,” they are sanctified. That is all sanctification means.
 

But, as simple as that may sound, it’s a powerful tool that God has given to us to be protected. Sanctification, the setting ourselves apart from the rest of the world even while living IN the world, allows us to be God’s servants to those around us.
 

Now, you might ask, how does sanctification work? Let me answer that with an example. How many of you drove to church last Sunday, or will drive to church next Sunday? Your car is a wonderful thing. It helps you go to church, the grocery store, a friend’s house, work, or just a drive in the country. Your vehicle gives you almost total freedom to go anywhere and do anything. No matter the make, model or year your vehicle may be, the automobile is a wondrous invention.
 

But the reality is, driving a car can also be very dangerous. The force of your car running head on into a tree, at speeds of 55 to 65 mph, has roughly the same effect on your body as if you were to fall out of a 6^th or 7^th story window, to the ground. They tell me it’s not the fall that kills you, it’s that sudden stop.

Continued tomorrow.