BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."  (Romans 12:1, 2).

St. Paul issues a solemn exhortation to the church in Rome in this twelfth chapter of Romans.  He warns them not to be conformed to this world, but instead, to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.  The Greek word that is translated "conformed" in this passage means to conform oneself to, or fashion oneself after, another's pattern.  I have often thought of this conforming to the world as meaning that we should not copy the evil practices of the world.  The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life are clearly "of the world" and to be avoided; but there is something much more insidious that Christians are in danger of conforming to.  That thing is religion.  Most Christians have had the experience of fashioning themselves after a pattern or doctrine that has been given them by a church or another group of Christians just to fit in.  It doesn't matter whether or not the Holy Spirit has changed their heart in a certain area - if the group says to conform, then they conform in order to be a part of the group.  

There are also those folks who are very careful to maintain an outward display of holiness, but are cruel and unmerciful toward others who they don't think measure up to their standards of righteousness.  They slice and dice others with their malicious gossip and merciless judgments, never trying to see into the hearts of those they slander.  They have become blind to their own spiritual need, and have grown cold-hearted to the very ones WHO need their love and compassion the most.  They have begun to lose the ability to hear the Holy Spirit as He tries to reveal the nature of Jesus to them so that they might be changed.  For a believer to be in such a state is, in one sense, even worse than if he were fallen away from the Lord altogether and living in blatant sin.  If he has fallen away, at least then he knows that he is in need of a Savior; and God can deal with him.  However, if he is satisfied with just the illusion of righteousness, and doesn't realize his own need, then it is impossible for God to deal with him until his eyes are opened.  The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' day were good examples of these.  To them He said, "For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.  And some of the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, Are we blind also?  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."  (John 9:39-41).  They would not acknowledge the truth even when it was standing right before them in the form of the Son of God.

It is the way of the world to try to improve oneself from the outside in - conforming to an exterior image.  Even using Jesus as the pattern - please understand what I'm saying here - and merely trying to make ourselves into the image we see is not productive if our heart remains untouched.  There are those who have not experienced the new birth and yet try to follow Biblical principles because they feel they are good and right.  Before I was a Christian, I would sit with my friends and have discussions about becoming "Christ-conscious" as we were smoking grass and taking LSD.  Those discussions never did bear any lasting fruit because one can only be changed from the inside out.  It takes a transformation begun by a revelation of our need to change.  Paul writes these words to us: "Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!'?  These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.  Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence."  (Colossians 2:20-23 NIV).

The Greek word that is translated "transformed" in the KJV is metamorphoo, and it means to change into another form, to transfigure.  From this Greek word comes the English word metamorphosis, which is used to describe the process by which a worm changes into a moth or butterfly.  There could not be a more fitting illustration than that for what happens to an individual as he becomes transformed into the image of Christ by the regenerative power of the Word of God and the blood of Jesus Christ.  It starts when man's spirit is reawakened and reborn, and the channel of communication with God is opened which had been shut since the time of Adam's transgression.  He is immediately changed from one thing to something altogether different and wonderful.  His outward man begins to change because his innermost man is changed as it beholds the image of the Savior.  In this way the believer's life begins to "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God," and not just his words.

When our goodness is only a matter of conformity, then it becomes not so good when the fire of difficulty or temptation tries it.  When we allow this transformation process to take place in our life it doesn't matter what adversities we encounter: they cannot affect us because we are no longer what we were - we are new creatures.  Our inner man is strengthened every day by the Word, but our outer man becomes a living sacrifice as we learn to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord.  We renounce the things long hidden away in our carnal nature as the glorious light of the gospel breaks into the darkness of our soul.  As the Word reveals Jesus to us in all His goodness and holiness, we see a true image of ourselves, and not just one we have made ourselves up to appear like.  When this happens there is only one way in which we can become just, and justified, before God: by faith.  The moment that we believe that we can be righteous because He is righteous, we are transformed.  None of this struggling for years to overcome sin only to fall over and over.  If this is our experience, then there is something elementally wrong with our understanding of the gospel.  Beloved, we have been delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God!  We must learn to live as citizens of that kingdom, and not be shackled to the rudiments of this world.  Conformity will always lead to failure and dissatisfaction.  Transformation will always lead to joy - it will truly give your soul wings!

"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).