These are notes on the sermon, Set Apart for Holiness, preached by Pastor Joseph Prince on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at The Star Performing Arts Centre, Singapore. We hope these sermon notes will be an encouragement to you!
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Many believers desire to live holy lives that honor God. But how do we actually do that? Some assume the answer lies in stronger discipline, greater resolve, or simply trying harder to do what is right. Yet Scripture shows us that the answer is the exact opposite and far more powerful.
Titus 2:11–12 tells us,
Notice what this verse says: It is the grace of God that teaches us to overcome ungodliness, not human instruction or moral pressure. And this grace of God is not merely a concept. It is the grace that brings salvation, none other than the person of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself!
In essence, what the verse is saying is that when we encounter our Lord Jesus and His grace, something within us begins to change. His grace accomplishes what outward instruction cannot. While rules may try to correct our behavior, His grace first works in our hearts. When hearts are touched and transformed, external behaviors will follow.
So, true transformation does not come from behavior modification. It comes from encountering our Lord Jesus and receiving what He has already done for us at the cross. This is why it’s so important for us to lay hold of the gospel of grace. The more we receive our Lord’s grace, the more it begins to shape the way we live—leading us to live lives that glorify God and fulfill His destiny for us.
Now, let’s take a look at Hebrews 3:1:
Notice how this verse describes us. Not as people trying to become holy, but as holy brethren.
For the longest time in Christendom, holiness has been presented as a goal to strive for or a destination to arrive at. But beloved, the Word of God tells us that you are already holy in Christ. Through His sacrifice on the cross, our Lord has already set us apart for God. Right now, we are the righteousness of God in Christ and counted among the saints.
This does not mean our lives are instantly perfect in every area. Nor does it mean we can live however we like. And the truth is, we will all still stumble and make mistakes despite our best intentions.
But the starting point of our journey toward holy living has been completely changed. Today, we are already holy, and we are learning to walk out that holiness in our lives.
As we grow in the awareness of who we truly are in Christ and what He has already achieved for us through His perfect finished work on the cross, we will begin to reflect this reality, leading us to live “soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”
Throughout the New Testament, believers are often addressed as “beloved.” This is not merely a term of affection. It reveals our identity in Christ. We are children of God, deeply loved by our heavenly Father.
Laying hold of this truth has a powerful impact on our Christian walk. When we are rooted in our belovedness, it changes how we face temptation and the challenges of life.
We see this beautifully in the life of our Lord Jesus. Even before He performed a single miracle or began His public ministry, the Father spoke these words over Him:
Notice the order. The Father affirmed Jesus’ identity and belovedness before any public achievement. And everything Jesus did flowed from that secure relationship with the Father.
Immediately after this declaration, Jesus was led into the wilderness where the devil tempted Him. Each time the enemy spoke, he began with “If You are the Son of God…,” challenging the Lord to prove His identity through His actions.
But here’s the thing… Although the devil seemed to be repeating the Father’s words, he left out one crucial word: “beloved.”
The Father had said, “You are My beloved Son.” But the devil only said, “If You are the Son of God.”
Why? Because the moment we are conscious that we are loved by God, the enemy’s temptations begin to lose their power.
Some people might say, “But He’s Jesus...”
Yet when Jesus walked on earth, He did not overcome temptation by relying on His divine power. He lived as a man filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, just as we are today. This means we, too, like the Lord, can overcome temptation and face life’s challenges with courage when we know we are beloved by our heavenly Father.
We see another example of the power of owning our belovedness in the life of David. In Hebrew, David means “beloved,” and knowing that his God was for him, he was able to take down the giant Goliath.
This tells us that someone who knows they are beloved can withstand giants and overcome them! When we know we are loved by our heavenly Father, we can stand firm in the face of temptation, accusations, and life’s challenges.
At this point, Pastor Prince also shared a practical tip with those who are parents. Our children need to know they are loved, not because they perform well or achieve something, but simply because they belong to us.
When children grow up secure in their parents’ love, they develop a strong sense of identity anchored on the right truths. And when their sense of identity is secure, they will find it easier to stand firm in the face of temptation and peer pressure. So parents, make it a point to affirm your children and remind them that they are loved!
Often, people form destructive habits and make harmful choices when they do not know they are loved. When someone lacks a deep sense of being valued, they may start seeking acceptance or validation in all the wrong places.
This is why one of the enemy’s most common strategies is to attack a believer’s identity.
In fact, the Bible calls him the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). He constantly reminds people of their failures and past mistakes, trying to convince them that their failure makes them unloved and that their identity hinges on how well they perform.
But, friend, remember that because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus, your identity is based entirely on what He has already done.
When you begin to realize who you truly are in Christ—holy, righteous, and deeply loved—your life begins to change from the inside out. That’s God’s way: your identity, once realized, shapes your performance.
We saw earlier on the enemy’s attempt to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. The enemy tried to get Jesus to prove who He was through His actions. But Jesus did not respond as the enemy desired. Instead, He stood secure in what the Father had already declared over Him at the River Jordan.
In the same way, we do not need to respond to the enemy’s accusations about us. Whenever the enemy tries to accuse you or remind you of your mistakes, simply hold firm to the unshakable foundation of what the Lord Jesus has already done for you at the cross.
Even more so today, when the enemy’s accusations no longer carry the authority they once did. Hebrews 2:14–15 tells us that through our Lord’s death, He has destroyed the one who had the power of death, that is, the devil.
The word “destroyed” here means to render powerless or inoperative. The enemy will still try to accuse you, but his accusations no longer carry power as long as you know who you are in Christ.
Notice how the same passage also tells us that Jesus freed “those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Today, we no longer have to live under that fear.
The apostle Paul demonstrated this in his epistle to the Philippians, where he stated with such confidence the authority he knew he had over whether to remain alive for the sake of the early believers or to depart to be with the Lord (Phil. 1:21–25). Paul understood that for the believer, death itself was no longer something to fear. And this is the freedom we, too, can walk in today!
When we know that the enemy’s power has been broken, it will also change the way we speak. The world is filled with language shaped by fear, defeat, and death. But Scripture reminds us that life and death are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21). As believers, we can choose to speak differently—letting our words reflect the life, victory, and freedom our Lord Jesus has already secured for us.
Knowing that our heavenly Father loves us and has already made us righteous, it is natural that believers would want to live holy lives and glorify our Father. The question is, how should we go about it?
Hebrews 2:11 tells us,
This verse holds an important truth. In it, our Lord Jesus is described as the One who sanctifies (the word “sanctify” here simply means “to make holy” or to “set apart”), while we believers are described as those being sanctified. In other words, sanctification is not something we produce through our own effort or strength; it’s something our Lord Jesus continually works in us.
In addition, “being sanctified” in the original language is in the present passive tense, which means the action is ongoing. Our Lord Jesus is constantly making us holy, and our role is simply to receive what He is doing in us.
This ongoing work is possible because of the continual cleansing power of Jesus’ blood. First John 1:7 tells us,
The word “cleanses” in Greek is in the present active indicative tense, representing a continuous, ongoing, and habitual action. This means that Jesus’ blood is continually cleansing us, continually operating in us.
Many believers miss out on this truth because they are unaware of the ongoing nature of our Lord’s work in their lives. But when we grow in the awareness that the Lord is continually sanctifying us, we begin to receive and experience the full effects of our righteous identity in Him.
Romans 8:30 tells us:
At its core, sin is falling short of God’s glory. But through Jesus, we have not only been justified but also brought back to the glory God originally intended for us to have.
The more we know that we are beloved and lay hold of our righteousness in Christ, the more we will walk in the life God has for us.
Such a life has nothing to do with appearing more religious than others or striving to meet a standard determined by the world or the people around us.
Our heavenly Father desires for us to live a life of freedom. A life free from the grip of depression, fear, worry, and anxiety. A life filled with the peace of God that guards our hearts and minds. A life where we are full of joy unspeakable and experience God’s much more blessings. A life where we get to be a blessing to the people around us and to those who are seeking to know more about the God we serve.
It is a life of victory that our Lord Jesus has already paid for us to enjoy. Regardless of what the world says or feels, we can live with confidence in our heavenly Father’s good plans for us.
And that’s what it means to be truly set apart for holiness!
We hope these sermon notes blessed you! If they did, we encourage you to get the sermon and allow the Lord to speak to you personally as you watch or listen to it.
© Copyright JosephPrince.com 2026
These sermon notes were taken by volunteers during the service. They are not a verbatim representation of the sermon.
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