Be Not Conformed

“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)

This is probably a passage you are very familiar with, but as I listened to a sermon recently, I was struck by the point the preacher made: that you and I are not just called to be neutral towards the world, but are instead to be actively seeking to not be conformed to it.

This is revolutionary thought to mainstream Christianity. Growing up, the church we were in seemed to try to embrace the world as far as it could, even to the point of having a special “contemporary” service to appeal to the younger generation that didn’t want to sing the hymns because they were “boring.” This ended up dividing the congregation and creating an undercurrent of bitterness between the “old-fashioned” and the “contemporary.”

Looking back, I can now see that the root of the problem wasn’t preference of worship style, or even difference of taste: it was a clash of basic doctrinal philosophy.

Those who wanted to bring in the world’s style of music and sought to make the preaching more “relevant” were attempting to win the world by looking like it, while those who clung to the traditional hymns and preaching style wanted to hold on to the distinctiveness from the world which the church had championed over many years of its history.

As a teen, I vacillated between the two camps, sometimes siding with one, and then with the other, unable to make up my mind. As I have studied the Bible more, the issue has become much clearer: we are not called to embrace the darkness in order to reach the benighted world, but rather to shine the light of Christ into that darkness so that the lost will see the way to Christ.

That having been said, what does it look like to not be conformed to the world? The rest of Romans 12 gives us some ideas:

Humility

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (v.3)

Unity

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that I given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.” (v.4-8)

Purity

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (v. 9)

Kindness and Consideration

“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” (v.10)

Diligence (Not Lazy)

“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (v.11)

Christlikeness in Response to everyday life:

“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of the saints; given to hospitality.” (v.12)

Forbearing/Longsuffering

“Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” (v.14)

Compassionate

“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one to another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.” (vv.15-16)

Peaceable/Forgiving

“Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” (vv.17-21)

The theme continues in Romans 13, concluding with the all-encompassing statement,

“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (13:14)

A Biblical understanding of what it means to live unconfirmed to this world requires that we be “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” in other words, that our thinking be brought into alignment with the Word of God. This means saturating our minds with Scripture, and choosing, with the Holy Spirit’s empowering, to obey what it says.

So how about you? If you look through the traits above and are still unsure if you are being conformed to the world, ask yourself—or better yet, ask God:

1.     Am I making it easy to fulfil the lusts of my flesh?

2.     Do I look like the unsaved in any area of my life?

3.     Am I thinking or acting like the unsaved?

4.     Am I allowing the world to define who I am?

It all comes down to who we are pleasing. Are we living to please ourselves, our peers, or God? Let’s make a choice today to actively seek to “be not conformed to this world.”

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” 

Matthew 5:16