Role of Men in the Church

Session 6 Study Questions - Man as Set Apart

Genesis 6 - 8

"I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them…So make your self an ark…Go into the ark, you and your family, because I have found you righteous in this generation" Genesis 6:13, 14, 7:1

"Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens, and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 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." I Peter 2:10 - 12

1. Commentators have noted that it is difficult for people, and especially for men, to truly set themselves apart. This seems strange given the emphasis upon individualism in our society. Do you believe this to be true? If so, why do you believe that some believe it is difficult to truly be different, to be set apart?
2. List some reasons we may find it difficult to feel different in our society.
3. List some scriptures which make it clear that the Christian is to be set apart in the world.
4. Commentators have also suggested that persons who attend church may find it difficult in our society feeling and believing that they actually are in a unique environment. Do you view this a true? If so, why? If not, why not?
5. In what ways did God set Noah apart? Was Noah different than those around him before God selected him to be set apart? What was Noah's response to being set apart?
6. Are men (and women) typically somewhat different in the world when they accept Christ and baptism? Have they already set themselves apart in some fashion? If so, how?
7. Some have suggested that God "drew a circle" around Noah and his family. Does God draw a circle around Christians? Should the church help define that circle?
8. We are described by Peter (I Peter 2:13) as being "aliens and strangers in the world". What does this mean to you? How does this shape the way we work with the men in our congregation?