Romans 12:2 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.
There is a very disturbing and growing trend in the church today. Increasingly, it is more and more difficult to tell a difference between those in a church that are active church members and those that are just visiting and have rarely, if ever, attended. Whether it be due to the way they dress, the way they talk, or simply their attitude toward the things of God, we are seeing less and less of a gap in the general differences between the church and the world.
In our key verse today, Romans 12:2, we see a pleading by the apostle Paul to the church at Rome. He asks them to "be not conformed to this world". We all know that the word conform means to 'fasion like' or 'to pattern ourselves after something'. The word that caught me off guard in this verse is world. My first thought has always been the 'things' of this world. But in looking up the meaning I found that it had to do with a time period more than physical things. The apostle was telling the Roman church to not take on the customs of the days they were in just to fit into society. Don't allow the lowering of social norms to have an affect on the way you live your life.
In stead, they are told to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. And while I know this verse explicitly says 'mind', I cannot tell you the number of times I have read and quoted this verse and thought of the word 'heart'. But that is not what is meant here. He is not calling for a change of heart in this particular instance. What he is calling for is a transformation of the way you think. This has nothing to do with emotions or will. This has everything to do with how you process your thoughts. We are to bring every one of them into captivity to examine it and compare it to the standards written in God's Word.
So, are you making a difference in the world around you? Do you look different than the world? Or do you fit in all too well?
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