“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
Today we are going to study the second verse of this passage, and what it means.
The word “conform” means “to act in accordance with expectations or to behave in the manner of others, especially as a result of social pressure.” Also, “to make similar in form or nature.”
I can remember a time at school when all of the kids tried to copy or mimic the way that a “cool” person did things; the way they walked, the way they spoke, even the way they dressed. Sometimes this person might come in the form of a “superhero,” and all of the kids tried their hardest to be just like them. You could say that they tried to “conform” themselves to that person.
Well, as Christians, we are taught to not conform ourselves to the world, meaning, to not behave ourselves in the way that is not correct according to God’s word. This can encompass a huge area, but for a quick example: A person who is not a Christian might say certain things that shouldn’t be said, or use their speech to injure, slander, lie, etc. This kind of use of the tongue is wrong, and as Christians we need to, through the help of the Holy Spirit, control our speech. We need to use our tongue to sing praises to God, to pray, and to speak lovely, nice things.
I used the use of your tongue as an example, but a person could conform to the world in more ways than in just their speech. A person’s actions or their thoughts could be used in a variety of ways to do things that are wrong and immoral according to the Bible. A person could use their hands to pull a trigger on a gun to kill another person, which is evil and wrong, or they could use their hands to hand out a Bible to a stranger somewhere. Someone could use their legs and feet to go up and kick someone, or they could help walk an elderly person across the street.
A person needs to realize that not everything that the world does is good and correct in God’s eyes, and Christians need to discern what the will of the Lord is for them. Remember, there are few that will find the kingdom of Heaven. Sadly, most of the people that you meet out in the world will not make it to Heaven. Not that they don’t have that opportunity; we all have the free gift of salvation offered to us, but not everyone will accept that gift and accept Jesus as their Savior. So, just because “everyone else is doing it,” that does not mean that it is what you should be doing. We need to keep ourselves free from the stain of sin, and not conform ourselves to the world.
When a person makes that decision to follow Jesus and turn from their former, sinful ways, the people that that person used to hang around with might not understand why they are living that way now. They might think that they are strange, or weird, and may even turn against them, speaking evil of them.
“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:” 1 Peter 4:1-4
Whereas a person may have once gone to a bar and drunk themselves into a drunken stupor, they now have learned temperance, and control what they drink. Instead of speaking lies, now they speak the truth. They have changed, they have transformed.
“Transform” means “to change greatly the appearance or form of; to change in nature, condition, or function of; to convert.”
I once wrote in a different study a few months ago that I used used to play with Lego blocks as a child. I had several sets of different Legos with different plans that could be used to make what was shown on the box. I remember one set that I had that was able to be made into a few different models, instead of just one. Starting on the first page of my instructions, I was able to eventually complete a model of a large, off-road truck. After playing with my new creation for a little while, I decided to take that truck apart, and make something different with those Lego pieces. This time, I made a boat. I had “transformed” that truck into something completely different.
That is what we need to do with our lives. From the very first second that we enter this world, what are we? Sinners. We are born into sin, and filled with what is called the “carnal” nature. The carnal nature is the feeling inside a person that they feel when they are about to do something that is wrong. A person is slapped in the face by another person, and what is the feeling that rises up in that person? What do they want to do? They want to extend out their hand and slap that person back, to avenge themselves. This is the carnal nature of a man.
But when a person accepts the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit that takes control of their actions and their life. They have “transformed” from the carnal into the Holy Spirit.
Don’t be conformed to the world and the sins in it. Don’t follow the ways of darkness. You may have once acted like that, but we are now called to a higher calling. We are called by Christ to become something different, something holy. Make that transformation!
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 