To sanctify means to be set apart for God. To be separated from the world and the lies it sells. We are set apart by knowing the truth. That truth is the Word of God. If you know the promises God has made in His Word, then you will know the lies when they are whispered into your ear. These are the words of Jesus:
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8: 31-32 (NIV)
Free from what? From the lie of depression. From the lie that God made a mistake with you. From the lie that you can be loved better if you only looked different. From the lie that you need to escape this reality. God's Word sets you free from this world beloved. After the Jews objected to this statement, Jesus explained:
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8: 34-36 (NIV)
Amy Winehouse was a slave to the world and the lies it sold her. She tried to escape from that bondage through drugs and alcohol and all sorts of dysfunctional and destructive behaviors. She did not buy the truth. The second part of that key verse is after you have bought the truth don't sell it! What does that mean? Why would you sell the truth once you know it? I believe this speaks to the compromises we allow into our lives even once we are saved. We know the truth but we keep stepping back into the slavery. We dabble here or there. We know the drink is not good but we rationalize it as only one little drink. We know in God's presence is fullness of joy but we allow our soul to be downcast within us. We know the truth but we sell it off, a little bit at a time. That is how the enemy develops a stronghold in our life. A stronghold is an area of thinking we have that is contrary to the Word of God contrary to the truth. In Christian circles we like to use the phrase backsliding to describe someone who was once sold out to the truth but now is slipping back into old bad habits. The reality is that the backslider has sold a portion of the truth he or she once knew.
The key verse ends with applying the same standard of buying and not selling to wisdom, instruction and insight. Knowing what the Word says is often not enough. Wisdom refers to knowing how to act because of knowledge. True wisdom defers to God:
Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3: 7 (ESV)
Instruction in the Word also must be valued. We need to actively seek the
knowledge that sets us free. Remember, the world doesn't give up without a
fight. It will keep on fighting even once you are saved. The more selling of
the truth the enemy can get you to do; the less effective he makes you for the
Lastly when buying the truth we must address what the world believes and what God has said about eternal life:
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14: 6 (ESV)
