Living a Life That Stands Out

The Call to Holy Transformation

Psalm 119:153-160

In a world where the pressure to conform is immense, the Christian call to stand out shines brightly as a call to holiness. This isn’t about self-glorification or becoming an iconoclast for the sake of it. Rather, it’s a call to embody a transformation wrought by the Holy Spirit that sets believers apart for God’s purposes, reflecting His holiness in all aspects of life.

For the believer, the world and its desires should seem alien. The choices we make, the actions we take, and the thoughts we entertain ought to reflect a life that the culture cannot comprehend. The Bible calls us a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). This is not a suggestion, but a command. We are to be set apart, distinct, and holy. The Apostle Paul’s exhortation in Romans 12:2 warns us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This is a radical transformation that points to a new way of living, one that the world cannot fully understand but that God calls us to embody.

Too often, the Church has sought approval from the world, desiring to be liked, tolerated, and accepted. This is particularly true in a culture that promotes tolerance, acceptance, and compromise. However, this desire to fit in runs counter to the call to holiness. God has not called His people to blend into the world, but to be set apart, holy, and distinct. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, urging them to be separate, saying, “Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17). Holiness is not about fitting in; it is about standing out for the glory of God.

The Power of Holy Living

Consider the ultimate form of evangelism: holy living in the midst of adversity. The Scriptures make clear that a transformed life is the most powerful testimony to the gospel. The Apostle Paul exhorts the church in Philippians 2:15 to be “blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” This transformed life, lived according to God's will, is a witness to the world of the reality of the gospel.

Regrettably, many professing believers have not experienced true transformation. Too often, we seek to emulate the world, desiring its approval, rather than seeking to reflect the character of Christ. The Apostle John reminds us that we are “to walk in the same way in which He walked” (1 John 2:6). We are not to blend in with the world but to be distinctly different—set apart, holy, and transformed.

Psalm 119:153-160 offers profound insights into this process of transformation. In these verses, the psalmist repeatedly cries out, “Give me life!” This is not a plea for worldly ease or comfort but a yearning for the life that God alone can give, a life lived according to His Word. Let us explore three petitions for life that illuminate the call to holy transformation:

1. “Give me life according to Your promise” (v. 154)

This is a prayer for restoration. Amidst trials and suffering, our instinct may be to pray for relief, but the psalmist teaches us a deeper prayer: that God would sanctify us through our struggles. God does not always remove us from affliction, but rather, He uses affliction to refine us. The Puritans spoke of affliction as a means by which God shapes His children, making them more like Christ. We are to pray for sanctification in the fire, trusting that God’s promises will sustain us.

2. “Give me life according to Your rules” (v. 156)

Here, the psalmist prays for spiritual renewal. He acknowledges that salvation is not just an event but a process. The once-dead soul has been made alive in Christ, but it requires continual renewal through God’s Word. This is in line with the Reformed understanding of sanctification—a lifelong process whereby the believer is progressively conformed to the image of Christ. Each day, we must ask God to renew us, convict us of sin, and empower us to live in accordance with His righteous commands.

3. “Give me life according to Your steadfast love” (v. 159)

This is a prayer for preservation. The psalmist recognizes that it is only by God’s steadfast love that he can endure. The Christian life is not one of self-sufficiency but of dependence upon God’s grace. We are constantly in need of His sustaining love, particularly in the face of temptation and the pull of the world. The love of God is not only the source of our salvation but also the source of our ongoing sanctification. It is by His love that we are preserved.

The Christian’s Response to a Fallen World

The world’s rejection of God’s Word should grieve us. The psalmist expresses this grief in verse 158, where he says, “I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep Your commands.” This is not a call to self-righteousness or condemnation, but a recognition of the gravity of sin and the beauty of God’s truth. The Christian’s love for God’s precepts should be so profound that it causes us to lament the spiritual blindness of the world. It is a love for truth that compels us to pray for the lost and to live in a way that demonstrates the difference Christ makes.

Conclusion: A Call to Progressive Holiness

The sum of God’s Word is truth, and His righteous rules endure forever (Psalm 119:160). God’s Word is the ultimate standard by which we live, and it is through His Word that we are sanctified. Therefore, our response must be one of obedience and submission to His will.

We are called to stop adjusting our lives to the culture and to embrace the transformative power of God’s Word. Holiness is not about perfection but about progress. It is a lifelong journey of being conformed to the image of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit. This transformation should be evident to those around us, serving as a testimony to the power of the gospel.

In light of this, we must ask ourselves:

• Am I allowing God to transform me, or am I still trying to conform to the world?

• Do I love God’s precepts so much that the ways of the world cause me sorrow?

• Am I willing to be seen as “peculiar” for the sake of Christ?

Sanctification is not a passive process but an active one. It requires our cooperation with the Holy Spirit, our daily surrender to God’s Word, and our commitment to living according to His will. As we embrace the call to holy transformation, we will reflect the light of Christ in a dark world and bear witness to the life-changing power of the gospel.