“Join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes.” Nehemiah 10:29
I wanted to revisit this verse today, because it has a powerful truth we must not fail to see. As the people of God, we need to be separate from and live differently than the world. There needs to be something clearly different about us as we live our daily lives.
After the Israelites vowed to always follow and remember the Lord, they made vows to live life differently than the people around them. Nehemiah and the people of Israel said, “We will not join our lives with the lives of those who do not know our God.”
In the same way, Christ calls His followers to live sanctified lives, set apart from the unsaved world.
But there’s more to being set apart for Christ than just refraining from certain activities. Too many Christians are known for what they don’t do instead of for their love, compassion, and service to others.
Sometimes we become so focused on avoiding things that displease God that we forget to do the things that please Him.
Being separate from the world is a call to live such holy, blameless, and God-honoring lives that people are drawn to Christ as they see Him in us. Separation is not keeping away from the rest of society, but an active, decisive process by which we make a positive impact on the world around us.
If your desire is to live a set-apart life for Christ, I commend you. Now let me ask you, are you making an impact for Him in your world? Commit yourself today to be a positive, attractive influence for Christ!
CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE KNOWN FOR WHAT THEY DO, NOT JUST WHAT THEY AVOID!
