Troublesome Topic: Set Apart as Holy

Let me remind you of what was said about the dietary laws when we covered them during our discussion of the Law. The first reason for the food laws was to teach them about holiness and what God require of them. These laws reminded them to be ever conscious of their own spiritual status, and the spiritual status of things around them. The dietary regulations required a constant vigilance about the things around them. It was the goal of all Israelites to live in a way that was either clean and holy, or eligible to be made holy by being clean and common. The principles are the same for us today. We should strive to always be holy, i.e. set apart for God’s purposes only.

In order to maintain that holy status we need to do the following things:

1. Be Committed. We should start by making a commitment to God that we will never knowingly contaminate our minds with anything that dishonors Him.

2. Be vigilant. We need to constantly be evaluating the spiritual status of things around us.

3. Be pro-active. We need to make a decision before we get into a situation that contaminates our minds. The time to decide to not watch that movie is before you start watching that movie because once you have started it you will want to finish it and you will put up with many things in order to finish.

4. Be tough on yourself. Make the hard choices necessary to live a life of purity. Let nothing stand in your way. Get rid of whatever you need to get rid of in order to achieve mental and spiritual purity.

The next lesson, about being God’s representatives in this world, is built squarely on this idea of being set apart exclusively for God.

The next lesson in all three series on Covenants is: Special Tools in God’s Hands