Do not be Conformed to This World. Romans 12:1-2 Part Five

Transcription

1 Do not be Conformed to This World Romans 12:1-2 Part Five

2 Romans 12:1-2 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 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.

3 Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world (NAS) Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world (NIV) Romans 12:2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world (NLT)

4 Romans 12:2 Do not model your behaviour on the contemporary world (NJB) Romans 12:2 and be not conformed to this age (YLT) Romans 12:2 Don t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold (Phillips)

5 The world has its way of thinking about and doing things, and there s always pressure on believers to conform to it. However, every believer is indwelt with the Holy Spirit and, therefore, possesses what is necessary to be transformed into the image of Christ.

6 Are we being conformed to the world around us, or are we being transformed into the image of the one within us? Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? We will need to rely on the Lord to examine our hearts, minds, and actions.

7 1 Corinthians 4:4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Two key words to look at: The first word is translated with the phrase be conformed to in the NAS.

8 Suschēmatizō (sü-skhā-mä-tē'-zō) means to shape on thing like another. Our English word scheme comes from the Greek word schema (skhā-mä). Schema is actually part of the word suschēmatizō. Our English Bible translators translate suschēmatizō as to conform to or to copy the pattern of another.

9 We are not to fall for, or get engulfed in, the schemes of our world (or age). In Romans 12:2, suschēmatizō is modified by the word not, or me (meh) in the Greek text. Me is a verb that s both passive and imperative.

10 The fact that me is passive tells us that conforming to the world is something that we allow to be done to us. Romans 12:2 Don t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold (The Phillips Translation) We can allow the world to squeeze us into its mold.

11 The fact that not (me) is an imperative verb, means that this statement is a command, not a suggestion.

12 The English word world is found eleven times in the NAS version of the Book of Romans. Nine of those times, it s translated from the Greek word kosmos. Kosmos is a word that can refer to either the earth itself, the inhabitants of the earth, or even the universe.

13 Once in Romans, the word oikoumenē (oikü-me'-nā) is translated as world. Oikoumenē has to do with actual inhabitants of the earth.

14 The third word that is translated world in the NAS is the Greek word aiōn (ī-ōn). Instead of referring to the physical world, or particular inhabitants of the world, aiōn refers to an age or a period of time.

15 The third word that is translated world in the NAS is the Greek word aiōn (ī-ōn). Instead of referring to the physical world, or particular inhabitants of the world, aiōn refers to an age or a period of time.

16 It refers to the age that we are currently living in, or our present worldly system. It emphasizes the prevailing mindset that permeates our world.

17 R. C. Trench describes aiōn as that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, (and) aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitute a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale.

18 This aiōn (or age or world) that we live in can be very difficult to define. That s not to say that Christians throughout history haven t tried to do exactly that. Unfortunately, more often than not, those efforts end up evolving into some type of legalism.

19 There are clearly things in the Bible that are identified as sin. However, many believers go well beyond the things that the Bible calls sin and come up with their own lists of dos and don ts. Once we take our convictions and try to impose them on someone else, we are practicing legalism.

20 Romans 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Romans 14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-- not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

21 Not conforming to the world may not mean what you think it means. Where do we draw the line? Obviously, those things that are called sin in the Bible should not be a part of our lives.

22 But, there are also a lot of things in the Bible that are matters of conscience or conviction. But, there are also a lot of things in the Bible that are matters of conscience or conviction It s very easy to use Romans 12:2 to classify things as sinful, which are never called sin by God.

23 But, there are also a lot of things in the Bible that are matters of conscience or conviction. But, there are also a lot of things in the Bible that are matters of conscience or conviction.

24 It s very easy to use Romans 12:2 to classify things as sinful, which are never called sin by God. However, we also don t want to go too far the other way either. How can we find that fine line?