As Christians we are called to be “Set Apart.‘ Does that mean we should live like the Amish? How does 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 fit in?

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

Ephesians 4:1

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

1 Peter 2:12

“We’re Nelsons and we’re different.” 

This was the “motto” my wife’s family claimed and lived by. They understood that as Christians, we are called to live differently than the rest of the world, and set forth to embrace and apply this truth. 

From Genesis through Revelation God instructs His people to live a life that is unlike the culture around them. God gave the Nation of Israel dietary guidelines, Christ called us salt and light, Paul urges us to live holy lives, and Peter says we are strangers and aliens in this world. But what does this all mean? How are we to live differently and still win people to Christ? 

First, we must remember that it’s not our lifestyle that sets us apart from the world, but rather our relationship with Christ. Hebrews 13:12. “And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.” We are made holy, sanctified or set apart not by our lifestyle but by the blood of Jesus. Regardless how good one is, their sin is never wiped away by they way they live, this only happens through faith in the shed blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:22-10:11). 

However, since we are made holy, clean, sanctified, and set apart by Christ our lives should now mirror our standing.  We are to conduct our lives in a way that matches our calling: our new positions in Christ. We are washed by the blood of the Lamb, given a new nature and inheritance, and adopted as sons and daughters of the King. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people belonging to God; thus we should conduct our lives in a way that honors this fact, not questions it. 

Yet that doesn’t mean we live without modern conveniences of life, wear clothing out of a different decade, or gather together as believers and isolate ourselves from the world around us. No. We are called to let the Word of God govern our lives. If we truly let that serve as a guide for life, we will look different and be set apart from the world around us; for what the culture says is acceptable is not what God calls acceptable. Consider the sixth commandment (regarding adultery) for example. Living by this standard of purity will set you apart. 

But what about Paul? Didn’t he say that he became all things to all men? Yes, but he was not talking about moral laws, but rather cultural customs. He never compromised God’s moral standard, but didn’t let cultural customs keep him away from share Christ. Moreover, that is why he lived this way, so that “by all possible means I might save some.”  His purpose was not to find an excuse to live like the world, but rather to win men and women for Christ.

“I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” 

1 Corinthians 9:23

Who was the oldest man in the Bible? What was the average life span of people in the Bible?

“Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years, and he died.” Genesis 5:27

Yes! The oldest man in the Bible lived nearly to the ripe old age of nearly 1,000. However, Methuselah was not the only man to live an extraordinarily long life. According to Genesis 5, many of the early patriarchs lived for hundreds of years, and had children and grandchildren who lived with them. Believe it or not, ancient secular records (such as the Sumerian King List) give similar accounts of men living centuries longer than we do today.

The Great Flood recorded in Genesis 7-8 serves as the watershed for the age to which man lives. The average age of the patriarchs (recorded in Genesis five) who from creation to the flood (approximately 1,000 years) was 912. Nevertheless, it only took 1,000 years after the flood for the life span of man to decline from Noah who lived to 950 (Genesis 9:29) to Abraham who died at 175 (Genesis 25:7). (Moses was considered old at the time of his death at 120 years - see Psalm 90:10). In fact the average life expectancy is only 70-80 years old.

There are many reasons why the life span has declined since creation: environmental changes after the flood, family genetics and mutations. However it was never God’s design for mankind to die. We were created in His image, without sin, and with the ability to live forever. God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or they would die (Genesis 2:16-17). They did not heed His Word and took and ate; consequently death entered the world and has plagued man since (Romans 5:17-19). God solved the problem of aging and death “through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” II Timothy 1:10.

For further study please consult The New Answers Book 2 published by Answers in Genesis, or visit them at www.answersingenesis.org.