Sanctify Christ as Lord in Your Heart
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Who is the master of your heart? If you are a Christian, then your heart must know only one master -- the Lord Jesus Christ.
B. This lesson in our series about the heart will examine what it means to "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts" as commanded in 1Peter 3:13-16.
1. In the context of this passage, Peter has told his readers to submit to governing authorities, for they are ordained of God to punish evildoers and praise those who do right (1Pet. 2:13-14).
2. However, in the event that any governing authority should abuse its power and persecute Christians, Peter gives this instruction in 1Peter 3:14-16:
14But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, 15but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 16and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
3. Therefore, no one, not even governing authorities, have a greater claim to rule the hearts of Christians than the Lord Jesus. Every Christian must exalt Christ to this holy position in his own heart and stand prepared to respectfully defy any lower authorities that contradict the Lord's will.
II. CHRIST AS LORD
A. To say that Christ is Lord is to recognize His authority.
1. Jesus laid claim to complete authority in the Great Commission when He said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).
2. Indeed, everyone is accountable to Him, and the ultimate exercise of His authority will come in the final judgment.
a. Jesus said that the Father "gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man" (John 5:27).
b. By this authority, Christ rules over every soul, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2Cor. 5:10).
c. At present, the Lord allows us to resist His authority, but the time (the end of time) will come when those who are disobedient and unfaithful will pay a severe penalty (2Thess. 1:5-10).
B. Christ has the right to be Lord of all.
1. By virtue of His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus has earned His place of authority.
a. Consider Romans 14:7-9 -- 7For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
b. In His death and resurrection, Jesus learned obedience and submission (Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 5:8-9) so that all men would learn obedience and submission to Him for their own salvation.
2. By this same virtue, God the Father has placed Jesus in this exalted place of authority so that every soul, sooner or later, is obligated to confess Him as Lord.
a. Consider Philippians 2:9-11 -- 9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
b. God has made Jesus to be Lord of all whether or not man recognizes Him as Lord at the present. His authority is objective, and we are all subject to Him.
c. In the end, "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Those who choose to do so now will be blessed, but those who wait until they are forced in the end will suffer punishment.
III. SANCTIFIED IN YOUR HEART
A. To be sanctified is to be separated and made holy.
1. The Greek word translated as "sanctify" (ἁγιάζω, hagiazō) is directly related to the Greek word for "holy" (ἅγιος, hagios, as in 1Pet. 1:15), which is the same word for "saint" (as in Eph. 2:19).
2. Typically, it is God who sanctifies man (for example, Rom. 15:16; Heb. 10:10), but man may also practice sanctification himself by separating and devoting that which he considers to be worthy of greater esteem.
B. Christ is holy by His nature, but each Christian must treat Christ as holy in his own heart.
1. Consider how Moses treated holy God as unholy by disobeying Him and violating His authority (Num. 20:1-13).
a. When Israel was in need of water in the wilderness, God instructed Moses to speak to the rock and bring forth water. However, Moses struck the rock with his rod instead.
b. God replied to Moses, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them" (v. 12).
2. To avoid the error of Moses, Christians must treat Christ as holy by keeping His word.
a. Jesus indicated this Himself in Luke 6:46 when He said, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
b. Any person who merely refers to Christ as Lord but does not treat Him as holy by believing and doing as He says is a hypocrite. Acknowledging Jesus as Lord is necessary, but it is even more necessary to believe and obey Him as Lord.
3. Such obedience to Christ is not merely an outward show, but rather it must arise from a heart that is fully devoted to the service of Christ.
a. In gratitude and awe, Christians will give Christ His due and surrender their hearts to Him in total faith. He has earned the highest praise and devotion.
b. With Christ thus sanctified in the hearts of Christians, obedience will naturally follow.
C. The sanctification of Christ as Lord in our hearts means that He must be the only Lord of our hearts.
1. As noted before, 1Peter 3:15 tells us not to fear the lower authorities of men, but rather we must sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.
a. A good example of this is the apostles, who, when told by the Sanhedrin (the ruling council of the Jews) to cease preaching in the name of Jesus, said, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
b. Men have many rulers with authority over them, but Jesus is far above them all. Indeed, he is "Lord of lords" (1Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16).
2. Anyone who attempts to give some other lord an equal place to Jesus in his heart will fail.
a. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
b. The Lord's words are clear: serving two masters is an impossibility. Yet many who claim to be Christians attempt this impossible feat day after day. These have not sanctified Christ as Lord in their hearts.
c. The Lord said that He must come first above all (Matt. 10:37; 16:24-26). Those who will not sanctify Him as Lord are not worthy of Him.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. To close, let us consider Romans 10:8-10:
8But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
B. Is Christ Lord in your heart? Sanctifying Christ as Lord in your heart is necessary for your righteousness and your salvation. Therefore, confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved.