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 his letter to the Romans.  He warns them not to conform themselves to this world, but, instead, to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.  The Greek word that Bible scholars translated "conformed" in this passage means to conform oneself – one’s mind and character – to someone else’s pattern.  I have always thought that these verses warn us not to copy the evil practices of the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are clearly "of the world" and we must avoid them.  There is something much more insidious however, that Christians must avoid conforming to. 

 

The “world” in these verses is not referring to the planet we live on, but the system of interdependent and interwoven institutions that make up life as we know it on earth.  All commerce, politics, governments, values, culture, and even religion: we can comprehend them all as parts that make up “the world.”  Although God made this planet upon which we live, along with the rest of the universe, it was man who devised the system that God refers to as the world.  This system was developed by man after his fall, however, and not before.  Earth would be a much different place if Adam and Eve had remained faithful to God.  Satan exploited their weakness to convince them that they could be as gods, understanding right and wrong, and exercising their free will - but also their self-will.  The system that Satan engineered was based on human works, and human will.  It exalted man above his Maker, and the works of the flesh above faith.  Satan became the “god of this world,” pulling all the strings in the background unbeknownst to man.  The Apostle Paul writes, “In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  It is no wonder that John also warns us saying, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17).

 

We should note that the original Greek word that scholars translated “world” in the English KJV Bible is “aion.” This word means “a period of time, or an age.”   This indicates that right now, in this season and dispensation, the current system appears dominant, but it won’t be forever.  God has marked this world and all it has become for ultimate judgment.  There is a day coming when all that we see will burn up with a fervent heat that will even melt the very elements down to their core.  “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2 Peter 3:10).  Out of this devastation, God will create new heavens and a new earth where righteousness, peace, and joy will prevail.  In that day there will be one God, one King and one Kingdom.

 

What we see around us, including so much of man’s religion, is based on his own works and not the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.  There are those folks who are 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 God might change them into His likeness.  For a believer to be in such a state as this is, in one sense, even worse than if they fell away from the Lord altogether and were living in blatant sin.  If he has fallen away, at least then he knows that he needs 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 the Lord opens his eyes.  The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus' day were good examples of this.  Jesus told them, "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 outward image or pattern.  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.  What Paul said of his unbelieving countrymen is also true of some Christians today.  He said, “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:3).

 

The Greek word that is translated "transformed" in the KJV is “metamorphoo,” and it means to “change into another form,” or “to transfigure.”  From this Greek word comes the English word metamorphosis, which describes the process by which a worm or caterpillar changes into a moth or butterfly.  The worm willingly spins itself inside its cocoon and dies to its former life so that its’ Maker can transform it into something better.  There could not be a more fitting illustration 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 his channel of communication with God is opened which had been closed his whole life.  He is immediately changed from one thing to something altogether different and wonderful.  He becomes a new creature: old things begin to disappear, and everything becomes new.  His outward man begins to change because his innermost man is renewed by God as he 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 unstable when the fire of difficulty or temptation tries it.  When we allow this transformation process to take place in our life however, it doesn't matter what adversities we encounter: they cannot affect us because we are no longer what we were - we are new creatures!  The Word of God strengthens our inner man every day, but our outer man becomes a living sacrifice as we learn to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord.  As the glorious light of the gospel breaks into the darkness of our soul, we renounce the things long hidden away in our carnal nature.  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 our response must always be to believe in what Christ has already done, and not in what we need to do.  The moment that we believe that we can be righteous because He is righteous, we start down the road to transformation.  Beloved, God has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son!  We must learn to live as citizens of that Kingdom and not allow the enemy of our soul to shackle us 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).

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