Conformity
Scripture: Romans 12:1-2 | I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
At the age of nine my parents answered God’s call to the foreign mission field and moved our family to Brazil. Even though it was almost five decades ago, there are things that my mind will never forget. I have many memories of those early days as a child growing up in a foreign country, learning a foreign language and a foreign culture. Because Brazil was a less developed country than United States, there were things that we had gown accustomed to that were simply no longer available to us.
In preparation for our journey, I can remember going to the department store and buying a lot of blue jeans, to ensure that I would have clothes to wear while serving a five year term in Brazil. I can imagine the difficulty that must have been for my parents, trying to visualize my height and weight for the next five years. Needless to say, there were some years when I wore jeans that were either too short or too long. I also can also remember my mother spending hours sewing clothes for our family. She would purchase a piece of cloth, lay it on the floor in their bedroom and pin a pattern to it. Then she would follow the lines that were clearly marked on the pattern, cutting the cloth to match the pattern of whatever she was about to sew. Her first attempts were somewhat short of perfection, but I must admit that over time she learned to develop her skill as a seamstress. There is a pattern we are to emulate, His name is Jesus.
Our phrase under consideration today simply states: “Do not be conformed to this world.” The word conform comes from the root word that means to fashion like, to pattern after, or to be conform to an appearance of something or someone. The verb used here is in the present, passive and imperative. The passive indicates the individual being conformed is allowing the conforming process to happen. They not only have sufficient power to stop this process, they have the ability to switch to a new and better pattern, standard, and alliance. It indicates that those who are in Christ have both the choice and the power necessary to influence this conforming process (1Cor.9:27; 2Tim.1:7). The imperative indicates a command not a suggestion. It’s as if God were stating that we are by no means or under any circumstances allow ourselves to be fashioned, patterned or influenced by the world. The world is simply that which does not reflect or represent who we are in Christ. We are not to fashion ourselves, mimic in any way or put on the appearance of a world that is filled with everything that defiles the believer and rejects God.
God’s purpose is that every believer will be conformed into the likeness or the image of Christ. He boldly declares that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2Cor.3:18). The glorious transformation God has foreordained for all believers will only be complete when we reach our final destination. God’s word declares that “those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom.8:29). Until then we are to present our “bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1).
LIFE APP:
1. God commands Christ-followers not to be fashioned by the world.
2. God has given the believer ample power to resist worldly influence
3. God has set a better standard and pattern in Christ
PRAY:
1. God, reveal the glory of YOUR Son as my pattern/example
2. Forgive me for not resisting the pattern of this world
3. Spirit, show me where I am choosing compromise – I will repent
4. Transform/conform/shape/mold me to look more like Christ
5. With your help I commit to YOUR pattern – I’ll resist worldly influence
