Thread: "And do not be conformed to this world..."
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"And do not be conformed to this world..."
Posted : 26 Nov, 2010 09:05 AM
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
Romans 12:2 NASB
Are you living conformed or transformed today? Conformed is to be fashioned after or to become like. It also is to be molded the shape of an object. The way we live our lives will display our form. When you place silly putty in a certain form and then leave it in another object of a different shape it will eventually take on the form of the object. The same is with our lives in that we become like how we live. If we live in sin we will take on the appearance of sin in our lives. This is because even though we may being living in the secret of the sin, it will always come to light. The Bible says that our sin will be found out.
Have you ever gone into a place, spent some time there and then upon arriving home realize you have the smell of the place you had been? Of course you may be used to the smell having driven home with it and not even noticed it. Then you walk in a place and someone who loves you enough tells you about it. That is how our lives are as we live for Christ, they have an aroma to them. The world smells the aroma on us too. When we are conforming to the Lord we take on a sweet aroma. We become as incense to the Lord and how sweet it is to be walking according to His good and acceptable and perfect will. Is your life permeating with the aroma of the Lord.
When we are in the world and not in the word we will take on the smell of the world. Spend enough time and we start to smell pretty bad. We will eventually need an ammonia tube broke open under our noses to get back to reality. We have to be woken up to the sweet grace of the Lord. The Holy Spirit can become like the ammonia tube under our noses. Does this mean we actually become something other than new creations in Christ. No, just as the silly putty is still silly putty even though it is like the shape of an object, so we are in Christ. We may be grieving the "Holy Spirit of promise" whom has sealed us though. The Lord is faithful and we will have the loving conviction on our hearts speaking to us and drawing us near to Himself.
We are clothed in His righteousness and there is no need to try to clothe ourselves with the world. We are told in 2 Corinthians 6:17 "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord." We are to be salty to the taste and light in the darkness. We are to let our light shine before men in such a way that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father who is in heaven (Matt 5:16). When we are living the sanctified life daily and picking our cross daily we will see and show forth the will of God in our lives.
So in not being conformed, but transformed by the renewing of our minds, we should be filling ourselves with that which will renew us day by day. That is of course His wonderful word, His love letter to us his Children. We are being transformed also known as transfigured into the glory of the Lord (2 Cor 3:18). By Christ renewing our minds is to do two things. First it is to transform our very thinking. Our likes of today become our dislike of tomorrow. Our hates of today become our loves for tomorrow. Second our goals and direction become matched up with the creator of the universe and are positioned toward His glory.
When we came to Christ in a moment of time our hearts became filled with light and our hardened darkened hearts became softened, moldable and usable peace's of clay in the hands of the Master craftsman. He then molds us and makes us into a beautiful divinely changed peace of art. We then prove by the change in our lives to others what the good, acceptable and perfect will of God is.
To see men's lives changed into something wonderful with the result of perfection already seen by God as an artist already sees a finished painting in his mind. Have a blessed day in Christ as you live to His glory. Renew your mind every day by His word.
It is my prayer that you would be encouraged in your day-to-day walk and
Yeap, we become like the company we keep. That is why it is so important if you are going to live in the world to make a difference for Jesus you MUST be spending time with Him!
We are in this world and cannot shun the sinners because they need to smell, feel and touch the great Shepherd. I see so many people that think we should "separate" ourselves from all ungodly people, but if that were the case, Jesus Himself, would have sat in a circle of followers and never mingled. He went to the lost daily, and let them experience Him. Some are taught to only go around them to "witness" and then get away from them. To me, witnessing to a person without the leading of the Holy Spirit or letting that person experience unconditional love in daily life, is not wise.
And I do understand that we are to fellowship with other sheep, of course.
I will mingle with unsaved people with an attitude of "Amazing grace that saved a wretch like me" ♫ ~and behave myself by that grace. I don't mean hanging with them 24-7 either. In fact, the ones we are warned not to keep company with are, sinning "brother and sisters"~
Cited from the: New International Version (�1984)
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
�And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, �How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners? When Jesus heard it, He said to them, �Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.� Mark 2:16-17.
Jesus spend many long hours with the Father. He was IN the world and not OF it. So, we must act according to His example.
Not to hide ourselves underneath bushels. And where does the world need light more than in it's darkest places. Yet we are not called to be of the darkness but rather to be The Light for the darkness...in order for those in the dark to be able to See!
Just as a battery will run down...so too do we need to be recharged by Christ so as to be able to Shine once again.
im going to go off a bit with what margo said, Jesus hung out with tax collectors and sinners, but he was neither a tax collector or a sinner. i think part of the reason for this post (ive only skimmed through it quickly, and this is my take on it) is why are christians nowadays hanging out with sinners and acting like the sinners around them? i mean like watching/listening/doing/saying/believing the same things that they are. if we are called to be so different then why arent we? i have noticed that the world/culture has influenced the church (by church i mean the people mostly) alot (and very subtle in some/most cases) instead of the other way around. and yes there have been major christian impacts on the culture now and again, but they tend to last for a few generations before it goes back to the way it was (or worse).
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