Set Apart: Calling a Worldly Church to a Godly Life

by R. Kent Hughes

"The church must be distinct from the world to reach the world."
- From Chapter 1 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God's] own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, ESV). Holy and dedicated to declaring the excellencies of God-this is the church, or is it? Can we really call the church holy? Evangelical Christianity is becoming increasingly worldly. Materialism, hedonism, violence, sexual misconduct, pluralism, and divorce are becoming as common within the church as without. As a result the church is losing its distinct identity as a people set apart to reach the world. In this book, R. Kent Hughes builds a case for godliness in the church-a case that echoes the biblical call to holiness. The church can reach the world only if it keeps itself from being ensnared by the world. Hughes is not simply urging Christians to say no to worldliness-he is calling the church to say yes to Christ and to his call to reach our lost world.

Genres: Christian Living, Christian, Theology, Church, Ecclesiology, Christianity, Spirituality

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 16, 2003

About the author

R. Kent Hughes (DMin, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is senior pastor emeritus of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and a visiting professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hughes is also a founder of the Charles Simeon Trust, which conducts expository preaching conferences throughout North America and worldwide. He and his wife, Barbara, have four children and an ever-increasing number of grandchildren.

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author covers some good topics, but I felt that he needed to go much deeper into each topic he mentioned. THere is no doubt that these topics need to be addressed in the church today,I did not like the fact that his Scripture references were taken from the ESV. His chapter on Hedonism relied heavily on John Piper, which did not impress me, nor his positive reference to C.S. Lewis. I didn't feel that his chapter on the Lord's Day was as definitively written as the other chapters, even though I agreed with what he was saying. The last chapter "The Unending Yes" was basically a review of the rest of the book. The appendix "The Gospel-Old and New" was helpful in clarifying exactly what the Gospel is, but I felt like he went a bit too far indicating that the Gospel needs to be the center of the church's teaching. I would use this book as a reference, but would onlyrecommend it to a discerning, mature Christian.

[JD Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set Apart: Calling a Worldly Church to a Godly Life by R. Kent Hughes, the author of The Disciplines of a Godly Man, is one of the best books I have read on the subject of Christian separation and holiness. It is very practical and hard-hitting, confronting Christians with their love for the world while maintaining a positive, encouraging spirit.

Hughes begins with the story of Lot, a righteous man who, though vexed by Sodom’s worldliness, still allowed it to drag him and his family down. He points out that though Lot was influential in Sodom, he could not and would not impact Sodom for good because he was worldly. We, like Lot, cannot reach the world unless we are distinct from the world. God’s plan is for us to be “a people set apart from the world to reach the world.”

Hughes then identifies nine different areas in which the church today must recognize their worldliness and correct it:materialism, hedonism, sensuality, violence and voyeurism (vicarious participation in sin), sexual conduct, modesty, pluralism, marriage, and the church and the Lord’s Day. In each of these areas the church is pointedly confronted with her sin and called upon to repent. Yet, Hughes deals with each of these areas very tastefully.In addition Hughes does not lapse into negativity. Instead he focuses on the blessings that result from obedience in these areas.

In the last chapter especially, Hughes describes the “unending yes.” He states, “There is no power in the no. . . . A people set apart merely by the noes have no power. . . .The power is in the yes because all the yeses are yeses to Christ: yes to his riches, yes to his pleasures, yes to his mind, yes to his peace, yes to his relationship, yes to his clothing, yes to the cross and the covenant and Christ, yes to him as the only way, yes to his body the church, and yes to the Gospel of God.” There is great joy and blessing in separation unto God.

Also in the final chapter, Hughes issues a call to return to historic fundamentalism. He says, “the instincts of early fundamentalists were right in their attempt to maintain theological orthodoxy and separation from the world, but that movement was sidetracked . . . into a shallow separatism. What is needed today is a new old fundamentalism. . . that while being in the world is morally separated from the world and that unashamedly preaches the Gospel.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment, and I am very encouraged to hear it. I do have a couple of minor disagreements with the book. In connection with the chapter on materialism, Hughes strongly emphasizes tithing as mandatory for believers today. I believe that the tithe is not taught in the New Testament – having a giving heart is emphasized instead. A tithe may be a good standard to go by, but cannot be imposed as law upon Christians. Similarly Hughes conflates the concepts of the Old Testament Sabbath with the Lord’s Day.

I highly recommend this book for any Christian. It inspired and encouraged me, fueling a greater desire for holiness.

[Joel Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very easy to read but challenged me in a number of areas. From what I can tell, it was adapted from a sermon series. Sometimes those books frustrate me—I feel like I can always tell that they were meant as sermons rather than books. I didn't have that frustration here.

On the contrary, I felt like this book was one of the better written equivalents of preaching that I've read. In other words, I was getting preached to, but it was good writing. Hughes focuses on 8 areas: materialism, hedonism, viewing sensuality, violence and voyeurism, sexual conduct, modesty, pluralism, marriage, and church / the Lord's day.

In each area, Hughes demonstrates that broader evangelicalism is hardly out-performing the world. He then works through the biblical prescription—why our conduct must be different. All of this rests on the conceptual framework that we won't successfully reach the world until we are actually different from the world.

This was a quick read but made me far more conscious of areas I need to do better in. This book was very personally challenging and pushed me to think about how I'm striving in practical ways to follow God. Very helpful.

One big surprise—he directly attacks and repudiates the invisible church. Didn't see that one coming.

Other notes [from Kindle—sorry about the formatting]

But in contemporary evangelicalism there has been a deficiency of cultural awareness and a resulting lack of discernment regarding how the world has overwhelmed the thinking and behavior of Christians. This book is my contribution to the attempt to correct the imbalance.Read more at location 75 • Delete this highlight
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It is possible, then, for a believer to be distressed by the world while willfully clinging to the world.Read more at location 102 • Delete this highlight
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Additionally Lot’s lifestyle had done nothing to loosen the culture’s grip on his wife. She left her heart in SodomRead more at location 110 • Delete this highlight
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We see, then, that it is possible for believing people like us who are truly distressed by the course of this world to live lives that are so profoundly influenced by culture that Sodom is reborn in the lives of those we love the most.Read more at location 127 • Delete this highlight
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We must lay this to heart: A worldly church cannot and will not reach the world. The church must be distinct from the world to reach the world. We must set ourselves apart to God if we hope to reach the world. In a word, the only hope for us and the lost world is a holy church.Read more at location 160 • Delete this highlight
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John Stott once said that our blindness to materialism is similar to the western culture’s blindness to the sins of slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today we look back in amazement that Christian people could not see it for the evil it was. And likely, thinks Stott, future generations, should they look back, will regard our day with the same perplexity: How could they not have seen it?Read more at location 307 • Delete this highlight
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Do we give? On the average it isn’t much—less than 3 percent. Tellingly, only 8 percent of born-again Christian adults tithe their income to their church.4 Christians spend seven times more on entertainment than they do on spiritual activities.5Read more at location 312 • Delete this highlight
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Christians spend seven times more on entertainment than they do on spiritual activities.5Read more at location 313 • Delete this highlight
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There is, then, a proper fear of being rich. There are disadvantages to having wealth—primarily what it can do to your soul.Read more at location 360 • Delete this highlight
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every time Jesus offers an opinion about riches, it is negative. Each time he teaches on wealth, he advises giving it away.Read more at location 370 • Delete this highlight
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“Money makes a good servant to those who have the right master, but it makes a terrible master itself.... Money may be temporarily under my control. But I must always regard it as a wild beast, with power to turn on me and others if I drop my guard.”8Read more at location 378 • Delete this highlight
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Wealth deludes people into imagining that they are of superior value—“I have more money than other people—therefore I am better.Read more at location 391 • Delete this highlight
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It can even make you imagine that you are charming, because it can buy hearers who will laugh at your jokes.Read more at location 395 • Delete this highlight
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the answer begins by understanding that money doesn’t belong to you.Read more at location 406 • Delete this highlight
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Theologian Jacques Ellul says that the only way to defeat the godlike power that money seeks to impose on our lives is to give it away, which he calls profaning it:Read more at location 411 • Delete this highlight
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the art of giving is at its core irrational. It destroys the aura of worth surrounding money... giving flagrantly sets it free.”Read more at location 427 • Delete this highlight
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I believe that our generosity ought to be to such an extent that it affects our lifestyles. Such giving means there are things and pleasures that we joyously forego,Read more at location 430 • Delete this highlight
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In a similar vein, Derek Kidner comments on “the paradox of hedonism”: “the more you hunt for pleasure, the less of it you find.”9Read more at location 637 • Delete this highlight
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a casual pickup with a stranger is rare—especially exotic strangers.Read more at location 725 • Delete this highlight
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this culture is “not as obsessed with sex in [their] private lives as [they] are in popular culture.”Read more at location 728 • Delete this highlight
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In the spring of 1991, researchers for the American Family Association noted that sexual activity in prime time favored sex outside marriage thirteen to one.Read more at location 747 • Delete this highlight
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between the age of six and eighteen the average child will watch fifteen thousand to sixteen thousand hours of TV.12 And during the first twenty years of a child’s life, he or she will see some one million commercials at the rate of one thousand per week!13 The television is on seven hours and fifteen minutes daily in the average home, and the average person watches it over four hours each day or about thirty hours per week.Read more at location 794 • Delete this highlight
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the Council of Trent’s denunciation of those who denied that virginity was superior to the married state. Accordingly, the Roman church kept adding days in which marital sex was prohibited—until more than half the days of the year were excluded.Read more at location 1147 • Delete this highlight
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Modern dance moves imitate sexual intercourse. But they are as old as Babylon.Read more at location 1395 • Delete this highlight
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Parents must take back the responsibility for modesty. You can’t expect someone who has lived only fourteen or fifteen years on this earth to know when and where to draw the line. Certainly some of your daughters can do it, but most will need your help.Read more at location 1544 • Delete this highlight
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But such tolerance does not mean that we are to be intellectually tolerant, acting as if another’s ideas or beliefs are true simply because people hold them. Pluralistic toleration does not mean that we do not try to convince others that they are wrong.6Read more at location 1656 • Delete this highlight
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In both, progress upward is conditioned on good works in this life. Aside from the falsity of this doctrine, given the true depth of human sin, the only possible reincarnation for humans would be a downward spiral.Read more at location 1724 • Delete this highlight
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Embarrassingly, self-designated atheists and agnostics are well below the born-again norm at 21 percent.Read more at location 1847 • Delete this highlight
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Listen to this “great” advice from Divorce: How and When to Let Go: “Letting go of your marriage—if it is no longer fulfilling—can be the most successful thing you’ve ever done. Getting a divorce can be a positive, problem-solving growth-oriented step. It can be a personal triumph.”11 Amazing! By making self-fulfillment the guiding principle of life, you can call failure success, disintegration growth, and disaster triumph.Read more at location 1889 • Delete this highlight
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Because of this, I ask every couple who asks me to do their wedding ceremony that if they discover after marriage that the other is not what the spouse expected, or due to accident or sickness or dementia undergoes radical change and becomes radically altered—if this happens, do they imagine that there is a way out? Because if they do, I cannot conduct the ceremony.Read more at location 1973 • Delete this highlight
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In fact, the lack of visible devotion and commitment may well mean that a person is not a Christian at all. The doctrine of the invisible church is after all unbiblical.Read more at location 2099 • Delete this highlight
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Second, as the Church we meet angels : “You have come to...innumerable angels in festal gathering.” Moses tells us that “ten thousands of holy ones” attended the giving of the Law (Deuteronomy 33:2), and from Daniel we hear that “a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him” (Daniel 7:10). David said, “The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands” (Psalm 68:17). In the church we come to these dizzying thousands of angels, all of whom are in joyful celebration. Recently I was with Wheaton College president Duane Litfin, who at one point waxed expansively about the wonders of corporate worship and about how the angels join us in worship. As a result, he said, we need to awaken to this stunning reality when we gather as a church. He recalled that this was the awareness of the church in its early centuries. Angels are everywhere—mighty flaming spirits, “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14), passing in and out of our lives, moving around us and over us, just as they did to Jacob of old. In the third century Origen observed, “I do not doubt that angels are even present in our assembly”; there is “a double church present, one of men, the other of angels.”2 Poet-preacher George Herbert advised believers to observe Sunday carefully and “think when the bells do chime, ’Tis angel’s music; therefore come not late” (“The Church-Porch,” stanza 65).Read more at location 2121 • Delete this highlight
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Whereas the Sabbath distinctive is corporate rest in ceasing from labor, the Lord’s day distinctive is corporate worship of the risen Lord.Read more at location 2254

[James]

A good book about Christian holiness. This book uses the story of Lot as it's primary example. It is convicting to see how Christians are not distinct from the world in many areas. It talks a lot about seemingly obvious things which pertain to a large Christian audience, but it is relevant to our church just as much. I remember reading with a whole-church view in mind so it's not as personal as other books. This is a good book to convict people of sin and complacency. It's a quick read but there's a lot in there.

[Jason Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review was originally posted over at my website.

There is little in this book that sets it apart from how a moderate fundamentalist might handle the subject of worldliness and separation. That is both a compliment and a criticism.

R. Kent Hughes sets the stage for his book by pointing out that if we had only the Old Testament account of Lot's life, we wouldn't suspect he was truly a believer, yet the New Testament tells us that Lot was a righteous man and was distressed by the sin of Sodom. Hughes concludes "though Lot was revolted by Sodom, Sodom was in his soul. It is possible, then, for a believer to be distressed by the world while wilfully clinging to the world" (13). Hughes draws a direct link from here to Lot's lack of spiritual influence on those around him and introduces his main point: "A worldly church cannot and will not reach the world. The church must be distinct from the world to reach the world. We must set ourselves apart to God if we hope to reach the world. In a word, the only hope for us and the lost world is a holy church" (17).

In the chapters following the introduction, Set Apart addresses a series of areas in which the author feels the modern church is prone to worldliness: materialism, hedonism, viewing sensuality, violence and voyeurism, sexual conduct, modesty, pluralism, marriage, and church and the Lord's Day. The high points in this discussion, in my view, are the chapters on materialism and pluralism. I would consider the chapters on violence and voyeurism and church and the Lord's Day to be the low points of the book.

Hughes closes the book by emphasising that Christianity is not primarily about saying no over and over again, but is rather an "unending yes" to God.

The ups

Probably the biggest win for this book is that it attempts to address worldliness at a heart level rather than simply addressing a set of cultural taboos. In other words, it tries to focus on what you love instead of on what you do. The degree to which it succeeds in this pursuit is a matter for debate, but the intention is clear and commendable.

Another significant win for this book is its repeated warnings against "bootstrap moralism." The author constantly seeks to bring Jesus Christ and his gospel into the picture.

Application would be a strong point in this book as well. If you are a new believer and have difficulty applying biblical principles to the areas addressed in this book, you'll get a lot of helpful insight on application.

Kudos to the publishers for including a general topic index at the back of the book and for using chapter endnotes. While I prefer footnotes to endnotes, chapter endnotes are much preferred to having to flip to the back of the book to find a note.

The downs

This book tends to read like a manual for the Moral Majority political movement in the United States. Not only is it very ethnocentric (even quoting a British minister as if he referred to an American context), but at times it feels more conservative than Christian. There were too many moments when the writing was reminiscent of an elderly fundamentalist preacher talking about how bad the world is becoming. While this may be true in the context of the United States in the last century (note: "may"), it tends to be blind to the broader world context and to the broader historical context.

Additionally, and related to the previous point, this book seems to spend a lot of time on specific cultural applications. This may be a plus as noted earlier for new believers and is perhaps more helpful to the broader evangelical audience the author had in mind, but for Fundamentalists, it may feel like beating a dead horse.

Finally, the amount of weak and invalid logic in this book is not what I would have expected from this author or this publisher.

Conclusion

R. Kent Hughes offers a clear and convicting call to personal holiness. While this book probably has less value for some, particularly in the fundamentalist stream, it will certainly be helpful to others. If you are a new believer just learning personal separation, if you are a young fundamentalist trying to discern legalism from licence, or if you have doubt that a new evangelical can take personal separation seriously, then I would encourage you to read this book.

[Robert Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend and I found that this book was a good tool for our time in discipleship. Meeting weekly for discussion in the book encouraged both of us. The conclusion and life lesson of saying no to worldly pursuits and yes to God’s desire for life is given in a quote from the author in the last chapter:

“So we see in all of this that the divinely ordained noes give birth to a life of affirmation—an unending yes to the excellence and benefactions of God. The no to materialism is a yes to the riches of God. The no to hedonism is a yes to the pleasures of God on earth and in heaven. The no to sensual fixations is a yes to the mind of Christ. The no to violence is a yes to the peace of Christ. The no to the reductionist view of sexuality is a yes to the deep wells of Scripture that place Christ at the very center of life. The no to immodesty is a joyous yes to the image of God and the clothing he provides. The no to pluralism is a yes to Christ as the way, the truth, and the life—the only way to God. The no to divorce is a yes to marriage and the cross and the covenant and Christ. When we say no to self and individualism, we say yes to the church and the dizzying excellence of Zion. When we say no to saving ou8rselves and yes to the Gospel, we receive a salvation that is all of God. ‘He who did not spare his own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will he not also with Him graciously give us all things?’ (Romans 8:32).”

For us reading Hughes’ book led us into personal conversation on the issues of the day that could distract us and even divert us from a godly walk with Christ. The book was published over 12 years ago. The present environment is much more decadent than what is described in ‘Set Apart’ yet the scriptural principles are just as valid today. Praise be to God…

I recommend this book not only as a disciple-making tool but for personal reading for the edification of the reader.

[Jeanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 2012 favorite. This is not about moralism but about saying Yes to Jesus. We first must say Yes to Jesus first before we can even attempt to say no. That is the only way as Christians we will be able to be set apart. The book started with the story of Lot. He knew that what was happening in Sodom was against the grain of God, however, he had no influence, even over his own family. The influcences of culture is no different now then what it was then. It is only when we are set apart, that we can influeunce others for Christ. "Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; There is no other.

[Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kent Hughes does a fantastic job tackling the biblical perspective on several social issues. The book is a call to holy living. After the initial chapter, which is a general call from scripture, he author deals with much more specific instruction and wisdom in American society today. The topics covered are extremely relevant to common everyday life for the average American, and he is hard-hitting and bold in his language. Highly recommended read for any Christian.

[Jaison Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did this for a small group study, and it was great. It was incredibly thought provoking and led to several great discussions. Several chapters covered topics that wouldn't have even crossed my mind, like modesty and violence, and how Christians need to be set apart in these regards. Highly recommended, whether for your own personal study or for a small group Bible study.

[Matt Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you write a book that slices deep and exposes sin and yet does it w/o leaving the gospel behind? Ask Kent Hughes, or just read this book. To end the book with a chapter called The Unending Yes was surprising and refreshing.

[Noelle Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great reminder that as Christians we are in this world we are called to a different standard. It is convicting and practicle. I must read if you are desiring to deepen you convictions or have new victories in righteousness.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but needed look at the absence of Biblical Christianity in America and a call to turn from the false version of it, back to Christ.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read, very good book all around

[Allen Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping call to faithful obedience to Christ and He Word. Excellent.

[Kevin Vigneault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful book focused on scripture and Biblical Godliness, not simply man-made standards. He speaks to the heart... Only downfall is that it's a bit dated; that being said, good read especially for small groups etc.