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Transformed not Conformed
“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5” “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Romans 12:1-8 NASB
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 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
The living sacrifice. In the oldest records that can be found of the various nations of the earth, sacrifice is always found to have formed part of their religious services. But it is only when we come to faith in Christ that we find the idea of sacrifice having any influence upon our life. Very plainly the psalmist recognizes that it is the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart that is most acceptable to God. But Jesus came to teach men true faith. The worship that he demands is a worship in spirit and in truth. The sacrifice that he requires is a sacrifice of our life. He wants the activities and energies of body, soul, and spirit to be consecrated to his service. This is what the apostle means when he speaks of presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice.
The whole heart must be given up to God, so that whatever is right may be strengthened, and that whatever is wrong may be taken away. Many Christians render to Christ an imperfect sacrifice in this respect. They keep back part of their life from him. They allow themselves to be dominated by feelings which are inconsistent with his spirit and precepts. They will excuse themselves for some besetting sin by saying, “That is my nature; I can’t help it.” The evil nature is still with us, it is true; but it is our duty to strive against it, to overcome it. Moses appears to have been a man of hasty and violent temper. Yet his obedience to the Divine will, produced such a change in his character that it is afterwards recorded of him, “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men who were upon the face of the earth.”
The love of God should ever be the chief affection of our heart. The love of home—how can there be anything wrong in that? Yet there is wrong in it when it interferes with the call of duty. “He that loves father or mother more than me,” says Christ, “is not worthy of me; and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Of such complete self-denial Christ himself has given us the best example. “He pleased not himself.” Not merely in his death, but in his life, he gave himself a living sacrifice. When we think of how much we owe to Christ, any sacrifice that we can make will seem but a poor and feeble effort to show our gratitude and our love.
The two likenesses. The exhortation contained in this verse regards the human mind as impressionable, pliable, susceptible. It is especially addressed to Christians. There are two forms which seek to impress themselves upon Christians. The one is likeness to the world; the other is likeness to God.Against this the apostle warns the Christian: “Be not conformed to this world.”
If I am to choose, let me have high moral standards rather than having a conscience that sees no harm in anything.
When the Jewish people came in contact with the heathen nations, they began to imitate them, to conform to their customs. The result was disastrous to the spiritual life, and ultimately to the temporal prosperity of Israel. So it was with the Churches of Asia, Their worldliness proved their ruin. Sardis had a name to live, but it was dead. Laodicea was lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot. We may try as Christians to please the world by conforming to it, but in doing so we are unfaithful to our Lord. “The friendship of this world is enmity against God.”
The conformity of Christians to the world is harmful to the world. Some Christians imagine that they will have more influence on the world by becoming more like it. Christians are living epistles, known and read of all men. What kind of example are we setting to the world? Let us not bear the world’s likeness. “Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate;” “Be not conformed to this world.”
“But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”Likeness to God will exclude likeness to the world. The more desire we have for God, the less we shall have for the world.We cannot renew our own minds. “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” It is to pass from death to life. Old things pass away; all things become new. There is a new way of looking at things.
Things which we once took pleasure in have no attraction for us now; duties which we once thought tiresome now become our delight. This is the result of the Holy Spirit working in us, producing in us likeness to God, transforming us into his image, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ.
This transformation is to be developed by living near to God. Prayer, and the study of God’s Word, are the means of obtaining this likeness to God. It is noteworthy that the same Greek word which is here translated “transformed” is the word which is used to describe the transfiguration of Christ. And when did Christ’s transfiguration come to him? When he was on the mountain-top in prayer. Prayer is the true transformation, the true transfiguration, of the soul. Thus here on earth we shall reflect in some measure the image of God until we reach that land where “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The apostle is teaching diversity and unity in the Church.
“We have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office”. There we have diversity. There is one body. One life lives in all the parts.
“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another”. There we have diversity. There is room for diversity in the Church. So, too, in individual congregations, there is room for varied gifts and activities. There, also, we have unity. “One body, and every one members one of another.” There is the unity of the Spirit, the unity that arises from the common bond of faith in Christ and love to him, of obedience to the same Divine law, and of the inspiring hope of the same heaven.
TWO PRACTICAL LESSONS.
A lesson of humility. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly. All the members of the body have need of one another. There is a place for the humble and unlearned workers in the Church , just as much as for the wealthy and the cultured and the learned.
A lesson of concentration. Division of labor and concentration of individuals upon particular jobs is one of the great principles of modern manufacturing and commerce. St. Paul applies the same principle to Christian work. “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering; or he that teaches, on teaching; or he that exhorts, on exhortation; he that gives, let him do it with liberality; he that rules, with diligence; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
“In conclusion, we must present ourselves to God. It is our service to offer ourselves in worship to God. We must be transformed by changing our mind. It is never about us, it is always about Him in us. You each have a gift, use it in His service. Encourage one another in faith.”