As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:14-16
So what is a Christian? There are several ways we could answer that question. A Christian is someone who has turned from sin to believe and follow Jesus (Mark 1:25). A Christian is someone who has been born again by the Spirit into new life in Christ (John 3). Or, based on the passage we’ll be looking at this morning from John 17, we could say that a Christian is someone whom Christ has redeemed out of this world into a new relationship with Himself! I think more than anything, that’s what should describe the life of a Christian! We are people who belong to Jesus. That is our first and most important identity.
So you might be black or white. You might be Asian or Hispanic, male or female. But above and beyond any of those things, you are a person who belongs to Christ. Something He has done has separated you from the life of this world in rebellion against God, and anchored you to Him for a new life centered on Christ now and forever!
It is this sense of separation from this world and dedication to God that we were taking about last time as we looked at John 17:14-15. And the word for that separation “from” and “to” is “holiness” (or its synonym “sanctification”). As I Peter 1:15-16 (above) makes clear, a Christian is called to a life of holiness – a life that is separated more and more from the sins that rule this world so we can be dedicated more and more to the God who rules our lives!
That’s the theme we want to continue to explore this morning as we once again listen in to the prayer of Jesus in John 17. What is it Christ wants for your life more than anything else? That you would be truly and joyfully His. At heart, that’s what holiness is – a life centered on and shaped by the presence of God.
Praying we will learn to be holy and happy in Christ!
Pastor Scott