Set Apart: A Life Lived for God
Set Apart: A Life Lived for God
The greatest changes in history are happening right now, in our time. The digital age has reconfigured our world. Things once thought unimaginable have come to pass, forever altering our lives. It’s estimated that our world has undergone only about 15 percent of the changes expected from the digital revolution. People everywhere feel stretched and sometimes torn by the never-ending changes we are enduring. Many are beleaguered as the digital age disorients and sometimes dehumanizes people. How do we navigate the tumult of such an ever-changing world?
Followers of Christ recognize the signs of the times and understand that God has placed us here, where we are, for a reason. We live at the tip of the spear between heaven and earth — as part of the kingdom of God and as citizens of earth. We are certainly in this world, but we need not be of it.
In the midst of our world’s uncertainty, God has given us a sure Word. He has called us to be His holy people. He wants us to live our lives in a way that is radically distinguished from the world around us — set apart with hope, wholeness, and holiness. In this study, we’ll learn how to live our lives set apart in such a way that it brings good to us and glory to God.
Live Unashamed. The emphasis in this study is on sanctification, what it means to live set apart in God and growing to be more like Christ. As our walk with Christ deepens, our lives increasingly point to Christ, the One who has set us apart. We live unashamed of who we are in Christ.
Set Apart: A Life Lived for God
Session 1 Set Apart: The Holiness of God Psalm 99:1-9
Session 2 Set Apart by Christ Romans 6:5-14
Session 3 Set Apart but Not Alone 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
Session 4 Set Apart in the Way We Think Romans 12:1-5,9-13
Session 5 Set Apart in the Way We Live 2 John 1-9
Session 6 Set Apart for the Journey Philippians 3:12-21
1. Set Apart: The Holiness of God
Question 1: What’s something you possess that you think of as unique?
THE POINT
God is holy and set apart from everything else in His creation.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
I’ve been serious about my faith since receiving Christ. Immediately after my belief and baptism, I was intentionally discipled until leaving for college. After arriving at a large state university, I took a religion class in a lecture hall with a Buddhist professor and over two hundred students from every imaginable background.
Though I was a devoted Christ-follower, I began to explore different belief systems in order to better share my faith in Jesus. This led to years of research in religious communities across the continent. I’ve had discussions about divine truth and Jesus with Hare Krishnas in a Toronto commune, Fundamentalist Muslims in a Chicago Islamic center, and Unitarian Universalists in downtown Philadelphia.
In fact, I’ve had dialogues in more ashrams, temples, and monasteries than I can remember. And against that backdrop one primary truth stands out: The God of the Bible is holy. He is utterly distinct from His creation. These traits distinguish Him from all other so-called gods. Let’s learn more about the One, True God.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Psalm 99:1-3
1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned between the cherubim. Let the earth quake. 2 The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted above all the peoples. 3 Let them praise your great and awe-inspiring name. He is holy.
God inspired King David to write the lyrics to Psalm 99. It’s now one of the most popular sacred songs in Scripture. The word “psalm” literally means “melody” in the Old Testament’s original Hebrew language. The book of Psalms is commonly called the Hymnbook of Ancient Israel.
Though several “songs” appear throughout the pages of Scripture (the Song of Moses and Miriam, Ex. 15; the Song of Deborah, Judg. 5; the Song of David’s Victory, 1 Sam. 18; Mary’s Song, Luke 1), three Bible books are exclusively comprised of sacred songs:
- Psalms include 150 songs, divided into five books, each having a broad theme;
- Lamentations is a set of five dirges, expressing deep mourning about the destruction of Jerusalem; and
- Song of Songs is a single sacred song about marital and divine love.
Psalms is also known as the “Psalter.” Psalter is a Latin phrase recognizing the book as a collection of songs to be used in devotional and liturgical settings. In other words, the psalms (and certainly Psalm 99) invite us to worship. This worship, as understood by the dual intention of the psalter, is to include the adoration of God in private, personal (devotional) situations and in corporate worship (liturgical) settings.
In Psalm 99:1-3, we see God depicted as a King, an indication of His greatness as the King of kings. As King David wrote these lyrics under divine inspiration, he had an acute understanding of the Kingship of God. After all, David himself enjoyed many of the entitlements of being a king.
Question 2: What do you find awe-inspiring about God?
During those times, it wasn’t uncommon for earthly kings and pharaohs to be perceived as divine and to receive worship. But in Scripture, God is utterly set apart from all other sources of human authority. In fact, King David exclaimed that everyone, everywhere owes God worship. David then anticipated a question that might be in the minds of people as to why the God of Israel deserved such praise. He responds with clarifying simplicity, proclaiming, “He is holy.”
David was the human king who had brought the people under a single government through his political and military prowess. But in these verses, David is pointing to the King of kings, who was not only to be worshiped by the covenant people of Israel, but by all the tribes and nations on earth. This King, unlike David and others who ruled defined plots of real estate in the middle east, was announced as the Sovereign Ruler of the world, sitting on a heavenly throne while making earth His footstool (Isa. 66:1).
Just as these words of Scripture provided spiritual direction to the people of Judah and Israel during David’s time (around 1000 BC), they are also instructive for us today. God is presented as holy, exalted, and set apart. These truths require us to respond in the same way David instructed Israel to respond: By recognizing the holiness of God and offering a sacrifice of worship.
Psalm 99:4-5
4 The mighty King loves justice. You have established fairness; you have administered justice and righteousness in Jacob. 5 Exalt the Lord our God; bow in worship at his footstool. He is holy.
In the opening lyrics of this sacred song, the king and psalmist, David, established the incomparable greatness of God. Though he could have grounded God’s greatness in His possession of having omnipotent power, that reality was instead rooted in God’s holiness. It’s expressed in the terms of “love justice” and “established fairness.”
Earthly greatness has been perceived historically in terms of personal might and demonstrations of brute strength, especially militarily. In Scripture, God clearly possesses all strength and power (Nah. 1:7). This is best seen in His role as a divine warrior and by His biblical title as the “Lord of Armies” (1 Sam. 17:45). It is in this capacity that God was depicted as the commander of the heavenly armies and the unmatched King of Glory, something David understood very well as an accomplished warrior himself.
Scripture doesn’t direct us to God’s power as the primary reason He is set apart in His glory.
IMAGES OF HOLINESS
Psalm 99 includes beautiful imagery about the glory and holiness of God. Choose one of the images below that cause you to think of God’s holiness. Then write a prayer of praise.
My Prayer:
“As we grow in holiness, we grow in hatred of sin; and God, being infinitely holy, has an infinite hatred of sin.”
JERRY BRIDGES
Instead, David points to God’s moral authority as the basis for Him being praiseworthy. In other words, God’s fundamental identity is based in His personal character. It’s God’s holiness that makes Him great and sets Him apart from all other earthly kings and so-called gods.
One thing common to kings across the ages has been the possession of authority and the responsibilities that go along with that. Invariably, new kings were commanded to use their ruling authority to sustain the kingdom being granted to them. This included the admonition to establish peace through upholding the law and administering justice.
As king, David knew all too well the importance of establishing fairness and administrating justice. This truth remains important today. As we witness injustice and unfairness by those in positions of authority and in society at large, we’re to be reminded that this is not what God intended. David’s psalm provides the image of a Holy God, set apart and executing justice in His greatness. In the future, the Lord Jesus Christ will occupy the throne of David as the King of kings and the Prince of Peace, and He will make all things right.
Question 3: Where do you long to see justice in our world?
Psalm 99:6-9
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests; Samuel also was among those calling on his name. They called to the Lord and he answered them. 7 He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees and the statutes he gave them. 8 Lord our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their sinful actions. 9 Exalt the Lord our God; bow in worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.
Spiritual intimacy with God is something that’s unique in the Bible, especially the New Testament. One wouldn’t find examples of personal intimacy with God in the writings that other faiths consider sacred. Concepts like being friends of God (John 15:15), God identifying with our suffering (Heb. 4:15), and people confidently approaching God’s Holy presence (Heb. 4:16) are all foreign concepts in other world religions.
The Bible presents fellowship with God as a wonderful reality that obedient believers experience routinely. Even so, it’s important that we not allow ourselves to become overfamiliar with God. We mustn’t forget that despite His intimate closeness—what theologians call “immanence”—God is also set apart in His actions toward us—something called “transcendence.” A balance must be struck between these parallel truths.
Question 4:
How do God’s actions in the past give you confidence in your daily walk with Him?
Because of God’s divine otherness and humanity’s sinful frailty, people can’t approach God without a mediator. In the Bible, these mediators are identified as priests and prophets. Moses’s brother Aaron represented priests. Samuel represented prophets. God used men like these to help people establish a relationship with God or to re-establish fellowship with Him.
In His actions toward humanity, God is to be feared by the sinful but loved and obeyed by those who seek His forgiveness. Our proper response to our great and terrible God is to exalt Him and bow to Him in worship, for He alone is holy.
Question 5: Why is God’s holiness so vital to our faith?
LIVE IT OUT
God is holy and set apart from everything else in His creation. Choose one of the following applications:
Pray. Ask God to reveal any times your thoughts, attitudes, or behavior have disappointed Him. Ask God to redeem those character flaws and make you more like Him.
Reflect. Meditate on the moral attributes of God (holiness, righteousness, justice, love, mercy, wisdom). Identify those principles and ask God to help you embody those attributes in your life.
Search. Search Scripture using available Bible tools in your library or online. Record examples of God’s greatness and how He is set apart from all of creation. Ask God to expand your mind to comprehend His glory, then to magnify Himself through you as you manifest His transforming power in your life.
As we seek to grow in our understanding of God’s holiness, He can do the deep work of making us holy, while increasing our capacity to grow in personal faith. Let’s commit to being holy even as He is holy.
Teacher Notes:
The holiness of God should cause you to tremble!
For many people,
“holy” refers to something highly religious; it’s sacred and untouchable.
However, holiness is first and foremost the chief attribute of God. It refers
to something that is set apart from the rest, and God is certainly set apart
from anything and everything else. As followers of Christ, we, too, are called
to be holy and set apart. “But as the one who called you is holy, you also are
to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, be holy, because I am holy”
(1 Pet. 1:15-16, CBS).
God wants us to
live our lives in a way that is radically distinguished from the world around
us — set apart with hope, wholeness, and holiness.
Psalm
99:1-3
The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth
shake. Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them
praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy.
God is
set apart by His greatness.
The Lord reigns, He
is great, and He is holy.
How are we as
Christians to show the holiness of God’s name?
Everyone should
praise God’s great and awesome name because His name symbolizes His nature. Who
He is, and His reputation. But the name of God is used so often in vulgar conversation
that we have lost sight of its holiness. How easy it is to treat God lightly in
everyday life. If you claim Him as your Father, live worthy of the family name.
Respect God’s name and give Him praise by both your words and your life.
Psalm
99:4-5
The King is mighty,
He loves justice — You have established equity; in Jacob You have done what is
just and right. Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His footstool; He is
holy.
God is
set apart by His justice.
God is also holy in His moral purity. No one
is good or righteous like Him. Again, He is totally set apart from us.
We become quite
conscious of our sin in the presence of such moral purity. That was what Isaiah
the prophet experienced in the presence of holy God. His cry was: “Woe is me!”
Comparing My
Holiness to God’s
I have these
moments when I start to feel pretty good about my spiritual walk. (It’s easy if
I compare myself to the right people.) Of course, I’m way too righteous to ever
be considered self-righteous, but then — BAM! — I am reminded of God’s holiness
and righteousness, and I am brought back to reality.
Sometimes when I’m
working on my lesson, I will burn a candle. I like the smell and the candle
also puts off light, but it sits in front of a large window that lets in the
sunlight. The puny light of that candle is no match for the output of the sun!
That reminds me in
a sense of my personal holiness compared to God’s holiness – there’s no
comparison. “Holy” means to be unique,
separate from, and set apart, and nothing or no one is holy like God. He is the
Creator; He is over and above His creation, completely set apart from
everything.
When I think of
God’s holiness, I am keenly aware of my own insignificance and sinfulness. What
amazes me about God is that, in His infinite holiness, still chooses to love
me!
God’s holiness is terribly frightening for
sinners, but a wonderful comfort for believers. God is morally perfect and is set apart from
people and sin. He has no weaknesses or shortcomings. For sinners, this is
frightening because of their inadequacies and evil are exposed by the light of
God’s holiness. God cannot tolerate, ignore, or excuse sin. For believers, God’s
holiness gives comfort because, as we worship Him, we are lifted from the mire
of sin. As we believe in Him, we are made holy.
Psalm
99:6-9
Moses and Aaron
were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they
called on the LORD and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of
cloud; they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them. LORD our God, You
answered them; You were to Israel a forgiving God, though You punished their
misdeeds. Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD
our God is holy.
God is
set apart by His grace.
God answers those
who call on His name. He gives instruction and guidance to us in various ways.
He holds us accountable for our sin, but He also extends forgiveness. God’s
grace gives us another reason to worship Him as the holy God.
How do we balance
reverence for God with a close personal relationship with Him?
Spiritual intimacy
with God is something that’s unique in the Bible, especially the New Testament.
One wouldn’t find examples of personal intimacy with God in the writings that
other faiths consider sacred. Concepts like being friends of God (John 15:15),
God identifying with our suffering (Heb. 4:15), and people confidently
approaching God’s Holy presence (Heb. 4:16) are all foreign concepts in other
world religions.
The Bible presents
fellowship with God as a wonderful reality that obedient believers experience
routinely. Even so, it’s important that we not allow ourselves to become
overfamiliar with God. We mustn’t forget that despite His intimate closeness — what
theologians call “immanence” — God is also set apart in His actions toward us —
something called “transcendence.” A balance must be struck between these
parallel truths.
Why is God’s
holiness so vital to our faith?
Conclusion
Psalm 99 speaks of
God’s presence (He dwells between the cherubim), but in His presence He reigns.
God isn’t simply there; He is a reigning king. Let the nations tremble: In the
presence of a sovereign God, it is appropriate to tremble. Even the earth can be
moved in His presence – much more so should we be moved.
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