I’ve been thinking about the biblical concept of being set apart for God. In the Old Testament Abraham set apart

perfect lambs for his offerings, Moses told the people of Israel they had been set apart to the Lord. Israel was set apart from other

nations and the Levites were set apart from the other tribes as priests to the Lord. In Psalm 4 David is set apart as a faithful servant and

Jeremiah speaks of being known by God even before he was born and set apart, appointed, as a prophet. In Acts Barnabas and Saul (Paul)

were chosen to travel and share the news about Jesus and in Romans Paul speaks of being set apart for the Gospel.

So the concept of being set apart is about being chosen, being special, being holy and having a purpose in God’s Kingdom. It is not

something to be taken lightly. But what does it mean for us as individual believers today? I often have an uncomfortable feeling that today’s

believers, and especially Evangelicals have taken “set apart” to mean they have a corner on all truth. They’ve already arrived at a perfect

understanding of what it means to follow God. It’s easy–just read the Bible and believe it and do what it says.

Well, we do know the truth of the Word and we do have years of experience living as believers. But let’s be honest, we’re so entangled in our

culture we can’t see where our own belief system is dictated and limited by it. If you’ve ever traveled to a place very different from America,

you’ll have dealt with the questions of what it means to be a believer outside of American culture. We find that our political and social views

are impacted by our narrow experiences of life in a wealthy nation.

Here are a few of the questions I’ve been asking myself. I’d like to get your responses to them.

  • What does it mean to be set apart for God? What does it mean to you?
  • What should my attitude toward unbelievers be? Am I set apart from them, from their beliefs?
  • If I’m set apart, how do I relate to a world so filled with troubles, pain and want?
  • What misconceptions do we have about being set apart?
  • What behaviors are Christians exhibiting in today’s political and social climate that are counterproductive to spreading the Gospel?

Jump right in, people.