Being Set Apart

I am currently leading Beth Moore’s The Patriarchs on Wednesday evenings at my church. In week one, Moore emphasized Abraham’s being set apart, both as being chosen by God and by his isolating himself from the wicked cities of the valley. In class, we briefly discussed what it means for Christians to be set apart. Following are a few of the verses we discussed.

I Peter 1:15-16
…but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

I John 3:9-10
No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious; anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodes a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Scripture makes it clear that there is a standard of conduct for believers that differentiates us from nonbelievers. However, since our class discussion, I have been thinking about other ideas related to being set apart that are important to understand as well.

I. Provenance
The first thing we must understand about the initial act of our being set apart, i.e. our salvation, is that God does it. Just as God chose Abraham to initiate his plan of redemption, God chooses us for His kingdom (Ephesians 1:4). One who is dead in his trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and who is an enemy of God (Romans 5:10) cannot set himself apart. Colossians 1:13 says, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son…” God rescued us, and God transferred us.

II. Process
The term we use for being made like Christ is "sanctification." The original Greek word is "hagiasmos," which means consecration or purification. It is encouraging to know that scripture often refers to us as already having been sanctified (I Corinthians 1:2, I Corinthians 6:11, Hebrews 10:11). Hebrews 10:14 makes it clear that our having been sanctified was completed in Christ.

However, anyone attempting to live the Christian life can attest to the fact that being conformed to the image of Christ in His purity is a process. I Thessalonians 4:3 says, “This is the will of God, your sanctification.” And Philippians 1:6 supports this as well, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Just as a sinful human being cannot initiate setting himself apart, neither can he make himself like Christ through the process of sanctification. He began the good work, and He will carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6. NIV). This does not mean we are passive in the process. We can choose not to cooperate. Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” We must determine to walk by the Spirit.

A couple of years ago, when my small group was studying Galatians, I began praying that God would show me how and enable me to walk by the Spirit. I have since concluded that this something at which I will never “arrive.” Learning what the Bible says about how I am to live and think and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring it to my mind and to direct my actions is something to which I must continually submit. I expect to see progress in my willingness to submit and in the mortification of sin in my life, but I will only be completely holy when I am no longer encumbered by my sinful flesh.

III. Purpose
Holiness is not an end unto itself. As those who claim the name of Christ we most definitely want to reflect His character and to bring honor to His name. However, we are also sanctified to be useful to the Master and to complete the good works that He has prepared beforehand for us to do. II Timothy 2: 21 says, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.” And Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

The concept of being set apart is rarely taught in churches today, as evidenced by the number of so-called Christians whose lives are not substantively different from the rest of the world. I encourage you to make pursuing holiness a priority in your life. If you have not read the book, The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, I highly recommend it.