This sermon is a companion to two previous sermons: Be Not Conformed to This World (Part 1) - Romans 12:2
Be Not Conformed to This World (Part 2) - Romans 12:2
Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
In Romans 12:1 God the Holy Spirit pleads with us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. Then in verse 2 God the Holy Spirit gives us two commands that we must obey if we are truly to present ourselves to live unto the Lord our God. The first of these two commands is found in the opening portion of the verse – “And be not conformed to this world.” The word “conformed” means “to be formed together,” that is – “to be made into the same form, or to be brought into agreement.” Brethren, we are not to have the same form as this present evil world; and we are not to be in agreement with this present evil world. We are not to think like this world thinks, feel like this world feels, behave like this world behaves, talk like this world talks, or look like this world looks. We are not to have the same philosophy, the same priorities, the same purposes, the same desires, the same interests, the same habits, or the activities that this world has. Brethren, we are not to make our decisions or have our mind set like this world does. We are to “be not conformed to this world.”
Yet the question might be asked – Why are we not to be conformed to this world, and how important is it to our Christian lives that we not be conformed unto this world? God’s holy Word reveals a great number of answers to this question. Already in the first two parts of this message (see above), we have considered six of these answers. We are to “be not conformed to this world” (1) because this world stands opposed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, (2) because this world stands opposed to true Christianity and the true followers of Christ, (3) because this world is willfully without God, (4) because this world is under Satan’s deception, (5) because this world is following Satan’s direction, and (6) because this world is evil and wicked by nature.