Conformed or Transformed

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This is a sermon that is based on Romans 12:2 and it speaks about the need for Christians to avoid the typical thought patterns and philosophies of the world and be truly Christian in our minds. 

Written Excerpts:

Romans 12:2 ^(NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Introduction:

One of the challenges facing Bible Christians is the daily task to rise above the thinking and attitudes of the world around us and purposely live by biblical principles. I think we all understand the constant battle we face in overcoming the attacks of our spiritual enemy. We battle temptations, and we endure suffering as well as other trials that threaten our faith and our faithful obedience to the Lord. All of these are usually very blatant and recognizable as the Devil “seeking to devour” each one of us.

However, there is a much more subtle and sinister way that the enemy attempts to divert our allegiance away from closely following Jesus as a true disciple. This more subtle and sinister way is the constant pressure to conform to a worldly way of thinking and a worldly system of values that will inevitably impact our conduct and lifestyle. The Scripture that was read earlier contains a verse in which the Apostle Paul urges believers to not be one thing, but instead become something else. He urges them to NOT be conformed to this world, but to BE transformed by the renewing of their minds.

With the help of God’s Spirit I want to explore the meaning of the words Paul uses and then speak about the kinds of ways our thinking must be different than the world that is without Christ.

I.     What does Paul mean?

In verse 1, Paul has just urged his readers to make a dramatic offering of themselves to the service of God.

(Expositor's Bible Commentary, Revised) – Whereas v.1 has called for a decisive commitment, v.2 deals with the maintenance of that commitment.

“conformed” – fashioned with or conformed to. Lit. stop being fashioned into… Conveys the idea of being fitted to a pattern.

Romans 8:29 (KJV) For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Rather than fitting into the patterns of this age, we are to be fitting into the pattern of Christ’s image.

“world” – lit. “age”; not talking about physical world (creation), or people of the world per se, but the spirit of the age, the values, attitudes, philosophies, goals and aspirations. That which is in direct contrast with the “coming age.”

Mark 10:30 ^(NKJV) who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come (KJV, “world”), eternal life.

Ephesians 1:20-21 ^(NKJV) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Galatians 1:4 ^(NKJV) who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

“transformed” – μεταμορφόω, pres, impv, mid/pass verb, a compound word “meta” and “morphoō”; to fashion with; change form or transform. It is akin to our similar-sounding English word, “metamorphosis,” which is used to describe the process a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.

This is also the same word used to describe the change that occurred with Jesus on the “Mount of Transfiguration.” His form was changed and the disciples saw Him in a different form than they had been seeing Him. It is such a drastic change or transformation that what follows doesn’t seem to be much like what preceded.

“renewing” – (anakainoō); renovation – renewing (Strong’s); a complete change for the better (Thayer).

This concept reminds me of renovating a house; improving it for the better.

Colossians 3:9-10 ^(NKJV) Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, ¹⁰ and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

“mind” – νοῦς, probably from the base of (ginōsko); the intellect, i.e. mind … by implication meaning: mind, understanding. (Strong's Dictionary)

(Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament) He uses it to throw into sharper relief the function of reflective intelligence and moral judgment which is expressed generally by καρδία heart.

The key to its Pauline usage is furnished by the contrast in 1 Corinthians 14:14-19, between speaking with a tongue and with the understanding (τῷ νοΐ), and between the spirit and the understanding (v. 14).

If the believers are to be transformed (changed) by a renovation of their understanding (thinking), then it seems that the meaning of “conformity to this age” has more to do with the mind (understanding, thinking) as well.

So, Paul is urging believers to:

a) Don’t allow yourselves to be patterned after the evil age we currently are in.

b) Keep on being changed by the renovation of your understanding and mind to conform to Christ.

(Expositor's Bible Commentary, Revised) – The two processes [i.e., not being conformed and being transformed] are viewed as going on all the time, as the present tenses indicate – a continual renunciation and renewal.

II.  How do we make it happen?

So how does a person avoid being fitted according to the patterns of this present evil age?

Donald Grey Barnhouse, Sr. was the pastor of Tenth Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia for over 30 years during the mid-1900s. He said: Some years ago, musicians noted that errand boys in a certain part of London all whistled out of tune as they went about their work. It was talked about and someone suggested that it was because the bells of Westminster were slightly out of tune. Something had gone wrong with the chimes and they were discordant. The boys did not know there was anything wrong with the peals, and quite unconsciously they had copied their pitch.

The secret to avoiding conformity to the current age and being transformed is to “whistle to a different tune than this world plays.”

(Barnhouse continues)

So we tend to copy the people with whom we associate; we borrow thoughts from the books we read and the programs to which we listen, almost without knowing it. God has given us His Word which is the absolute pitch of life and living. If we learn to sing by it, we shall easily detect the false in all of the music of the world. (www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/w/worldliness.htm)

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The way this transformation takes place is for us to train our minds and feed our minds more on God’s truth than on the world’s lies.

We must learn to “march to a different drummer.”

We must intentionally guard what we allow our minds to accept as true, good, and noble.

This is a story that his son, Donald Barnhouse Jr., related about his father:

When he was a teenager, in Watsonville, California, one of his favorite Bible teachers was a young man named Tom, who worked with an organization called “Christian Endeavor.”  It was big at that time.   Dad liked to go hear Tom speak whenever he could, so he asked Tom to let him know whenever he was going to be speaking in the area….

One day he got a wire from Tom saying that he was going to be coming through Watsonville on his way to speak in another town nearby, inviting my Dad to meet him on the train and ride to the meeting together.  Looking forward to hearing Tom preach, Dad met him on the train.  After they had greeted each other and talked a little, Tom pulled out his Bible and settled down to a little study.  My Dad pulled out a newspaper he had brought along, and started to read.

A few minutes later, glancing over at Tom, he said to his friend, “I sure wish I knew the Bible like you do, Tom!”  Tom glanced over at my Dad and said, “Well, you’ll never get to know it reading the newspaper!” (www.donaldgreybarnhouse.com/)

What are these stories conveying?

They are telling us that we cannot spend way more time consuming the philosophies and values of this world than we do consuming the principles of biblical truth, and hope to change into a person that is the image of Jesus.

If we primarily feed our minds on the trash that is primarily produced by Hollywood, our patterns of life will pretty well match up with theirs.

III.  How does it apply?

Having talked about what Paul means, and discussed how it can happen, then what kinds of examples can we share to explain how it practically applies to Christian living today?

I remember those who argued that “worldliness” was all about how you dressed, what kinds of entertainment or recreation you did, and other strictly external evidences. I think you would agree that there were a host of people who felt like they were just fine and okay because they weren’t guilty of the specific things people were condemning, but in reality, they were still no different from the world in their patterns of thinking and their attitudes. However, if Paul says conformity is avoided by a renovation of our minds then it must be a mindset and pattern of thinking that he is primarily addressing.

Now, it is obvious that when our thinking is worldly, then it will lead us to conduct our lives accordingly. It will lead to “worldly” actions. But, if we do not address the patterns of thinking first, then worldliness will always be expressing itself in new and different ways as we change and as society changes.

What are some of the ways in which the mindset and philosophies of this present age are opposite to the thinking of Christ?

The following verses in Romans 12 give us some indication of how the principle can be applied. There are innumerable ways to distinguish between a spiritual Christian pattern of thinking and a worldly pattern of thinking, but here are a few additional examples.

a) The material world / possessions are more important than the spiritual world and eternal possessions.

“What is it profited if a man gain the whole world…?”

 “Success” is defined by what a person has acquired rather than by his/her spirit, than by relationships, etc.

b) Fun & Pleasure are more important than joy.

“People will be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”

“In Thy presence is fullness of joy.” We are creatures made in the image of God and there is nothing that can provide true genuine joy other than close communion with our Creator.

c) Self-centeredness rather than self-sacrificing love and compassion.

Conclusion:

 (Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, by Spangler & Tverberg) In our materialistic, entertainment-oriented culture, people look at business titans, sports heroes, and movie stars as people to be emulated. Our society honors those who possess beauty and wealth. But in Jesus’ time and throughout the ages, the Jewish people believed that becoming a great scholar of the Scriptures represented life’s supreme achievements. In such a culture, it made sense that the Messiah should be the great of teachers.

John 17:14-16 ^(NKJV) I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Lenski, in his commentary, says, "‘Not of the world’ means that the disciples are like Jesus; they are not of the world in the same sense as Jesus is not of the world.”

Yet, according to v. 15, they are not taken out of the world; they are still in it.

Jesus is describing a state in which the disciples are not going to be taken from this world in death (like Elijah and others in the O.T. wished for), but they do not function as the world functions. They live by a completely different set of values.

Let us close by singing an old hymn: Since Jesus Came into My Heart