Stop Trying To Be Good
July 5, 2026Pastor Travis Deatherage presented today's message, "Stop Trying To Be Good." A video of today's message is here on YouTube. It may help to be familiar with the message but that is not required to enjoy the thoughts below.
This was the fifth message in a summer series on the Jehovah names of God. Today's name was Jehovah Mekeddeshem (The Lord Who Sanctifies).
Let's look deeper into the notion of abiding. What can/could it mean to abide in someone or something? Webster's online dictionary suggests that most people looking up "abide" are looking for information about its use in the Bible or its use in The Big Lebowski, "The Dude abides." In both cases, the sense is "to remain stable or fixed in a state." For the Bible, "stay fixed or constant in your relationship with Jesus," and for Lebowski, some notion of constancy of Lebowski himself.
In New Testament Greek, the word in John 15:4 is meno (μένω). It can carry these meanings (BibleHub.com):
1. to remain
2. (in a place) to abide, to stay
3. (of expectancy) to await
4. (in a state) to continue
5. (in a task) to endure
6. (of a relationship) to exist permanently in, inseparably united (inhere, adhere)
Essentially, it means to stay in a place, state, relationship, or expectancy. John 15:4 that Travis mentioned, "Remain in Me and I will remain in you," suggests a reciprocal, covenantal union.
In Old Testament Hebrew, abide is shakan (שָׁכַן). Shakan carries similar meanings with an added nuance of habitation or place (e.g. to settle in/down). And in the case of abiding with God, it can go both ways: us abiding in God and God abiding in us. In the Exodus story, the notion of a place is added, the Tabernacle and later the Tent of Meeting.
BibleHub.com adds a New Testament extension to shakan: "The Gospel of John deliberately mirrors shakan: 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us' (John 1:14). The Incarnation embodies the Tabernacle idea - God pitching His tent within human experience, displaying glory and offering covenant fellowship. Pentecost extends this indwelling to the corporate church through the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), providing personal and communal realization of the promise."
The Hebrew root word for sanctify is qadash (קָדַשׁ) generally meaning set apart, made holy, consecrated, dedicated, etc. It may be helpful to see what else is set apart in the Old Testament:
Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:3, Creation)
Consecrate [make holy, set apart] to Me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal. (Exodus 13:2, leaving Egypt)
And the Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow." (Exodus 19:10, in preparation for the delivering of the Ten Commandments, plus four other occurrences in chapter 19)
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8, 11b, 5th Commandment)
Many times in Exodus 28-40 about the consecration of the Priests, the Tent of Meeting, its contents, etc..
Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you. (Leviticus 20:7, 8)
Throughout the rest of Leviticus regarding the rituals and sacrifices.
Every firstborn male in Israel, whether human or animal, is mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set them apart for myself. (Numbers 8:17)
Throughout Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." (Joshua 3:5 as the Israelites proceed into the Promised Land)
And this continues for a total of about 175 occurrences throughout the Old Testament. The commonality is "setting apart for a sacred and/or holy purpose."
The opposite of sanctify is defile. Defile was used to describe something death-related, polluted, or demeaning whether in ethics or religious practice, moral or spiritual transgressions. All were violations of God's will. The word profane carried a similar meaning. See: What did sanctification mean in the Old Testament?
Bonus
Young Washington (movie)
Lynn and I went to the movies the morning of July 4th to see Young Washington. The title describes exactly what the movie is about, a very young adult George Washington well before the Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War. As it turns out, it's about a young George Washington I knew nothing about. When we got back from the show, I had to ask "Mr. History" (my son-in-law), "Did this really happen? Was that true? Was he really like that?" Turns out, yup, the movie was quite true to reality. You'll recognize a couple familiar actors, but to me, the cast was unknown including the man who played George Washington: William Franklyn. Unless you're already well-versed in this character and this period of time, you're in for a shocker of sorts.Bonus2
The Shining City on the Hill
Commentary by Erick-Woods Erickson:
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." (Matthew 5:14)
Ronald Reagan borrowed the phrase "A city upon a hill" from John Winthrop, who borrowed it from the Sermon on the Mount.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Winthrop said it to a boatload of Puritans before they'd even landed, and here is the part people forget: it wasn't a boast. It was a warning. The eyes of all people are upon us. If we deal badly, we become a story and a byword through the world. He was telling them that being watched is a burden before it is an honor. Reagan understood that. When he called us the shining city, he wasn’t puffing out his chest. He was telling us that the light we throw off lands on other people, whether we mean it to or not, and we had better mind what kind of light it is.
Read the article: The Shining City on the Hill.
Bonus3
OSASCOMP - Order of Adjectives
This is quite a bit afield of what I usually talk about. It's a language issue that I stumbled upon years ago and found quite fascinating.
Have you ever wondered why a string of adjectives can feel prefectly fine but if the order is changed it feels wrong?
The phenomenon points to how subtle and diffcult language issues can be.
Why does "a red old family wooden Victorian large beautiful house" sound awkward, but "a beautiful large old red Victorian wooden family house" sounds fine?
It's because in English there is a "strict, natural sequence called the Order of Adjectives." Here's the order:
Article (the/a)
Quantity
Opinion
Size
Age
Shape
Color
Origin
Material
Purpose
Noun
It never ceases to amaze me how complicated language can be.
For more: Order of Adjectives in English (OSASCOMP) | Rules, Chart & Examples.