God's Will For My Life-Part IV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 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. Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

We have been looking at a devotional series of how we can know God's will for our lives, and in the first 3-parts of this series we've looked at Romans 12:1-2 and so far we have looked at 2-principles for knowing the will of God for our lives.  The first was based on how we were to: 

1.    "Present your bodies a living sacrifice," 

 And the second was what it meant to be:

2.    "Holy, Acceptable to God"

In Part IV of this series, we are going to continue to look at Romans 12:1-2 and today we will begin with our third principle for knowing the will of God:

3.    "And do not be conformed to this world,"

As Christian men and women, we go through life each day making decisions.  Some of these decisions we take for granted and we don't really give them much thought.  This is dangerous because it is during these non-attentive decision making times that we can often revert back to fleshly habits or be conformed to worldly ways.  

We need to take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ (See 2Cor 10:5) and determine whether this thought or potential action serves our old nature and its desires, or whether it serves our new nature to be "Christ-like."  

The word "Conformed" that Paul uses here in verse 2 is from the Greek word suschematizo, soos-khay-mat-id´-zo.  This word refers to an outward expression that does not truly reflect what is within.  It is like one who masquerades.  The way Paul uses this word is in its passive verb text, and it indicates that our "being conformed" is something that we allow to be done to us.

I guess the easiest way to understand this is simply to say, "peer pressure."  We have all dealt with peer pressure in our lives, and we will continued to be tempted to conform to the ways of this world as long as we remain in our earthly bodies.  Every one us have suffered because of our conformity to our surroundings.  And there are many people who actually find safety in this; they are afraid to be different.  "After all, everyones doing it," some would say in justification.

But that's not what the Word of God says, and so we are not to be "Conformed" to the ways of this World, or to the practices that our society believes to be acceptable.  It is, after all, this very practice of conformity that has caused many a kingdom to be ruined (See 1 and 2 Kings).

It was once said, "A minority is powerless when it conforms to the majority."  And such is the case when we, as a minority group of Christian men and women, begin to conform to the evil practices that are so prevalent in our world today.  

I have seen non-believing people masquerading as Christians, but what is even more saddening is when I see Christians masquerading as non-believers so that they can enjoy the ways of this world.  For us, as Christians, to speak in a way that the world speaks, or to dress in a way that the world dresses; to seek to be entertained in a way that the world desires to be entertained is not presenting our bodies as a "Living Sacrifice, Holy, acceptable to God."  

It may sound narrow minded and even radical to look at the World as this evil place when so many people seek to embrace it and to live their fleshly lives within it to their fullest potential.   But we must remember that it is, in fact, a tool used by Satan to entice, entrap, and devour many an unsuspecting soul.  We, as Christians, must remember that this world is not our home; we are just passing through.  We do not need to fear this world, but wed better remember who is running it for now.

We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 1John 5:19 (NKJV)

Hey Christian, don't be fooled.  When you're looking at the World and everything it has to offer, be sure to take each tempting thought captive and ask the basic questions as to whether this thought has come from God, or has come from the enemy.  Don't be conformed to this place, because Jesus is coming back real soon.  Let's not be caught off guard; let's be busy about doing our Fathers business.  

STUDY QUESTION: What does it mean to be conformed to this world?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Can you see areas within your life where the enemy has tempted you to be conformed to this world?  Is there any trend that is being done, that you find yourself intrigued by or tempted to do that does not glorify God, or that would cause you not to be set apart from the world?

APPLICATION: Stay focused on God and His Word.  He will guide you into all knowledge, and He will make your paths straight.