I'm going to read verses 1 and 2 because they
flow together. Our thoughts will be focused primarily
on verse 2. I urge you, therefore, 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. And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect. We have studied together
that God looks to us as priests during this age.
to offer unto him spiritual sacrifices which
are acceptable. One of the sacrifices that we
offer is the sacrifice of our bodies. In verse
1, the Apostle Paul urges us, as those who are
the recipients of the mercies of God, to present
our bodies, that is our total selves, all of
our capacities, our powers, To present ourselves
to God as a living and holy sacrifice. That is
well pleasing to God. And we are to do that in
such a way that it involves every part of our
being. We should know what we are doing. It is
not to be an empty ritual. But it is to be something
that we do fully conscious of what God is asking
of us. We are to do that once and for all, it
seems to be the thrust of the verb present. But
you and I well know that whereas we do that initially
in a once and for all sense, that every day after
that we are challenged by our spiritual enemies
not to live up to that commitment. I think of
our spiritual enemies. of the world system, the
flesh, the devil. If you and I are going to keep
that commitment of the sacrifice of our total
selves, it is going to take the power of God
to enable us to do it. If we want the power of
God to sustain us in that commitment, there are
two responses that we must make. Those are given
to us in verse 2. Today we're going to look at
the first one. Literally, the apostle says, stop
being conformed. Next week we will go on to understand
what he means when he says, continue being transformed.
This message is one of those messages that...
began to swell in my heart as the week went along.
Have you ever seen those little sponges that
some people give away as promotional gimmicks?
They look like a piece of paper, but you put
them in water and they swell. And that's the
way this message is. When I drew out the outline,
it was a little piece of cardboard, and now that
my heart has been in it a while, it has swollen,
and it's gotten too big for one Sunday. So we're
going to look today at the first half of it.
You're welcome back next week for the second
half. He says, stop being conformed. And the
way that he says that, he means stop something
that is already right now in progress in your
lives. So to some degree, to some extent, these
people were already being conformed to the world.
We can identify with that, can't we? Because
I would have to say that to some degree or extent,
every person who's a Christian in this room today
is in some way conforming to the world. We're
going to talk about that. What is it that's bringing
pressure upon us? It is the world, he says. Stop
being conformed to the world, to this world.
The word world here is not the normal Greek word
that you think of. When you see the word world
in the English, that word is cosmos. It's the
opposite of chaos, which is what your home probably
looked like as you rushed off to church this
morning. Cosmos is what you wish you were going
home to. Cosmos means everything is in order.
It's an arrangement. Everything is systematized.
And the word means that this... world around
us is organized, it is systematized in its rebellion
against God. And the one who has organized it
is none other than Satan himself. 1 John 5, 19
pictures Satan as having the world system in
his arms, rocking it like a parent rocks a little
baby. He cuddles the world system because it
belongs to him. He originated it. And so he protects
it. He has had experience over the thousands
of years since the creation as to how to be effective
in organizing the world's rebellion against God.
That's the cosmos. The cosmos is very intellectual.
It is scientific. It is religious. Yes, but it
is above everything else opposed to the truth
of God. That's the cosmos, but that is not the
word used here. The word that is used here and
is translated to the world is a word that is
ion. It means age. So literally he says, stop
being conformed to this age. Now there's not
a great deal of difference between the two. But
the word age seems to emphasize, as Bishop Trench
has stated, a Greek expert of another generation,
that mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations,
hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time
current in the world. Did you get all that? He
wrote for a different age, didn't he? Basically
what the bishop is saying that this Greek word
means is that it's the peer pressure that you
and I face out there in the unregenerate society
around us. It's peer pressure. It's the way of
thinking. It's the ideals, the motives, the aspirations
of people who are unregenerate. We might say
it's the current fads, not just in dress, but
in everything. It's what is current at the particular
time. You see, ages change, situations, ideas,
conduct changes. And so this word age, or ion,
or world as it is here, refers to whatever may
be current when you're around. Now he says we
are to stop being conformed to the ways of thinking,
the standards of conduct, the lifestyle, which
is adopted by the unregenerates. They are a part
of this age, of which Satan is its God. 2 Corinthians
4 .4. In Galatians 1 .14 he says, evil age. The
reason that we are not to be conformed to this
age is because we are part of the age which is
to come. We are not actually citizens of this
world. Therefore we are not to adopt the ways
of this age in which we live. This age then is
the atmosphere of the unregenerate society that
is around us. Now the word conformed is an interesting
word to look at. It refers to an outward molding
which does not represent what one is on the inside.
So do you see why he chose that word? It means
to mold yourself so that outwardly you are not
appearing what you really are in your being.
So he says, you Christians, who are children
of God, who are sons of the age which is to come,
stop outwardly adopting the ways of this age.
Because that doesn't represent what you really
are. Maybe a good illustration of this is a chameleon.
Have you ever seen a chameleon? It's a little
lizard that has the ability, the God -given ability,
to change its colors. It's part of its defense
system. It's hard to tell, listen, how many of
those poor little lizards got eaten before evolution
got around to changing all of that. God made
that little lizard so that it had the ability
to defend itself from its predators by changing
its color. So if you put it on a leaf, that lizard
will change itself outwardly to look like the
leaf in color. It's camouflaged. It doesn't mean
that the lizard has become a leaf. It's still
a lizard at heart. But he outwardly adopts. the
appearance, the color of what's around him. That's
an illustration of what he's talking about here.
Maybe one that will be more meaningful to some
of you is Mr. T. I see you. Some of you have
no idea who Mr. T is. Maybe you're better off,
I don't know. Mr. T is one of the hottest things
around Hollywood these days. Mr. T was a bodyguard
for Muhammad Ali, if you can imagine him needing
a bodyguard. But today he's a television star.
And he is a cool dude. He has a chest that comes
out here about this far. His arms are about that
big around. He has a stripe of hair that comes
down the middle of his head. He has this ornate
jewelry hanging from his ears and from his fingers,
and he's tough. But did you know that outward
appearance is not what Mr. T really is? He is
a very religious person. I have heard he is a
born -again Christian. I have never heard him
give a testimony, so I wouldn't want to judge
on that. He is at least a very religious person
and loves to play with children. He has a beautiful
smile, which you very seldom see in public, because
that's not his image, you see. That's not what
he wants to portray. What he portrays in his
image is not really characteristic of what he
is on the inside. Now that's this word conform.
He says, do not mold yourself after the world
system because if you do, your conduct, your
way of thinking, your ideals will appear to be
something that they should not be because of
who you are in the inside. Don't adopt the world's
ways. What do we mean when we talk about peer
pressure? or the pressure that the world puts
upon us to be conformed to its mold. Well, there
are four areas that I would particularly like
to zero in on for our thoughts this morning.
These are not by any means all -inclusive, but
I think you will get the idea of what I've been
talking about as we see four philosophies or
ideas which are a part of this age and which
this age tries to push upon us. One is sensualism.
Now, I looked that word up in the dictionary,
which is occasionally a good thing to do with
words, and I found that it means the belief that
pleasure of the senses constitutes the greatest
good. That's what sensualism is. Now, please
understand something. Pleasure in itself is not
necessarily wrong. As a matter of fact, God gives
us the ability to enjoy pleasures. He gives us
the need for pleasure. One of Satan's favorite
tactics is to take what God has given and which
is good, therefore, and to distort it or to twist
it so that it becomes evil. Doesn't he love to
do that? And this is a prime example. God has
given us all things richly to enjoy. God wants
us to enjoy living. God wants us to have pleasures.
But when pleasure becomes an end of itself or
pleasure is found in a way which God has forbidden,
then that pleasure becomes sinful. And that's
the way that our world primarily seeks pleasure.
In ways that are displeasing to God. Let me give
you an example of that. We have in our day an
emphasis upon personal choice. Whatever you want
to do is what you should do. Whatever pleases
you. The effect upon somebody else is not so
important as to whether or not you are fulfilled
and you are able to realize yourself in those
things. Personal. Fulfillment and pleasure, self
-actualization. It involves the casting off of
restraints which God has put upon us. Today we
are told that, for example, homosexuality is
a perfectly acceptable lifestyle. And our society
is gradually, progressively working that direction
of saying it's okay to be gay. And that, of course,
is one of the favorite statements of those people.
The age around us says it doesn't make any difference
what the antiquated Bible has to say because
we know that people are this way because of genetics,
which, of course, is something that we don't
know, but we are told that we know that. And
therefore, it's okay to seek your fulfillment,
your pleasure in that way, if that's the way
you are. The age around us is saying that premarital
sexual experiences are healthy. How can you know
if you really want to marry that person if you
haven't experienced all the pleasures of marriage
before you make that commitment? Isn't that what
the world is saying today? Sure it is. You need
to get experience before you get married. Nobody
wants to make a fool of himself after he's married.
So it's okay to have premarital experiences.
There's a push in our day for the approval of
There are people who are organized, trying to
remove incest as an illegal activity in our age.
They say it's a perfectly normal and healthy
expression of family love. Having affairs at
the office. is all right. I mean, after all,
you and your wife are both professionals, and
if you each fall in love with somebody else and
want to have a little affair, that's all right.
You understand each other, right? I mean, you
accept that in one another. And, I mean, you're
broad -minded. You're liberal. You're liberated.
And therefore, affairs are perfectly normal and
healthy. They broaden you as an individual. That's
our age, my friend. And don't you think for a
moment that those pressures aren't felt by God's
people who are called to purity and obedience
to the Word of God, because they are. Those pressures
are phenomenal. There are some of you that take
this stand. You say, I would never permit my
daughter to go out and shack up with some guy.
But you don't mind having Three's Company on
your television, do you? Where that whole philosophy
just comes flowing and all this rottenness right
into your living room. Where's the consistency?
Has there been some conformity to the ideas of
the world? Well, not in your profession, but
what about your actions? I can meddle all day.
When I think about sensualism, I think about
indulgence. We live in a day when people are
not concerned about commitments. They're more
concerned by the things they want to do. They're
leisure, for example, obsessed with leisure or
with luxuries. Well, I want the car that's got
the power windows and power locks. I want the
big screen television. People are obsessed with
sports. There are some men that believe that
they could never come back to church on Sunday
night and sit through another hour service. But
they don't mind going out and sitting in a duck
blind when it's raining and windy all day Saturday.
Well, the church is a little drafty, you know.
Got these fans up here. And the seats are hard.
Gotta sit there. We live in a day when our age
is forgetting the commitment of the home. We
have this abominable thing called no -fault divorce.
Sensualism, doing what pleases myself. This is
illustrated in an interview I saw on television
just last night, as a matter of fact, regarding
the stealing of television signals. by those
who have cable TV. Apparently those little black
boxes can be tampered with so that scrambled
signals can be unscrambled. And without paying
for the service, while you'd want to pay for
it in the first place is an amazing thing, but
without paying for the service, you can get the
whole thing. Unscramble what they scramble. And
they were asking people about this who had been
caught. And such answers as, well, it's okay
as long as you don't get caught, isn't it? I
mean, after all, everyone else is doing this.
One woman said, it costs me a lot to subscribe
to this thing. Why shouldn't I get all of it
for my money? Makes no difference about the contract
that she signed. One of the cable executives
who was complaining about all of this. said that
people will do in the privacy of their own home
what they would never do in shoplifting from
a store. So he's concerned about what people
do in the privacy of their own homes. Now, he
isn't in some other areas. Pleasure. Materialism
is a second one. The doctrine that comforts,
pleasure, wealth are the only or highest goals
or values. And again, it's not wrong to have
things, folks. It's not wrong to have material
possessions. But when those become gods to us,
when they become the essence of life, when what
one accumulates, the money he possesses, or the
things that he has are for selfish ends or for
pride, then materialism sets in. And that's the
thinking of our age. How much you've got, the
home that you have, the car you drive, your bank
account. Modern advertising is built on this
idea of materialism. You need this. And if you
don't have this item, you are going to die an
unhappy person. That's a hamburger. Advertising
uses subliminal thoughts. While you are watching
a commercial, there are calculated little ideas
that are placed into your subconscious so that
when you go into a store, something will suddenly
trigger you and you will want that product. Happens
all the time. We're not even aware of it. It's
a whole area of advertising. Subliminal advertising.
Materialism. Buying more. Owing more, etc. Secularism
is the third idea in our age. A system of doctrines
and practice that rejects any form of religious
faith and worship. The belief that religion and
ecclesiastical affairs should not enter into
the functions of state, especially in a public
education, says Dr. Webster. In other words,
it is the extraction of God from all areas of
life. Keep God over there in the church or in
your home, but don't bring him into public. After
all, this is a pluralistic society, isn't it?
So you keep God out of politics. Don't mention
him around a public school. Don't bring God into
foreign affairs. Keep the nativity scene out
of community life. Don't mention the Bible around
science. The Bible is just religion. I mean,
science is reality, says the world. And all this
leads to the devaluing of life so that today
our society seems to be more and more accepting
abortion, the ending of the life of an unborn.
Infanticide is already here and being practiced
in some places. If a baby is born that is not
normal, the parents, the doctors can decide that
that baby should die and not live, even if they
have to starve it. Euthanasia is coming. By that
I don't mean that I foresee a day in the immediate
future when we're going to have gas chambers
and ovens for the old people instead of old folks'
homes, nursing homes. Don't mean that. But it
will come down to the economics of it, my friend.
There are laws that are right now being implemented
with some need and some good motives which could
ultimately mean that an older person who's on
Medicare and who has severe complications will
not be accepted by any hospital because the hospital
can't afford to take that patient. The government
limits them to so much money. And if they take
that patient, they're going to lose money. It's
not tomorrow. It's not even next year. But there's
this specter of the possibility of ambulances
with people, older people in them running around
the city trying to find a hospital that will
accept them while they're dying. Isn't that euthanasia?
Allowing people to die because of the economics
of it? You see, it's not so alarming when it's
disguised in certain ways. And then our society,
our age, has the idea of imperialism. We usually
hear that word in a particular context, but I'm
using it in a broad context meaning power building.
The domination of others for one's own profit
or purpose. Now again, power is not bad in itself.
It is God who gives power and authority. But
when the gaining of power becomes one's God,
then it's imperialism in its broadest sense.
There are people who are willing to compromise
all morals, hurt anybody, pay any price. to have
a prestigious position, or to control people
or things, does that affect you where you work?
Do you see that in the office where you are?
Does that make a difference in the decisions
that you make in your business? The way you do
things in your factory? I believe that today
you and I do not begin to realize how much the
way that we live, the way that we dress, the
way that we think, the way that we talk has already
been conformed to this age. What I am praying
that God will do in these weeks that we talk
about this is that he'll begin to reveal to us
that conformity, when we have begun to take on
the outside an appearance of something we're
not really on the inside. Stop being conformed
to this age, says the apostle. Don't allow this
age to set your standards. Why? Because you,
my friend, if you're a Christian, are a part
of the age which is to come. Linsky, the Lutheran
commentator, has said, There is danger that the
Christian may adopt at least some of the world's
ways, run with worldly men, especially when they
mock us if we do not. Christians sometimes imagine
that they can do this without injury to themselves,
can remain unspotted from the world amid the
worldly unchristian associations, amid worldly
and questionable practices. The resultant casualties
are many and exceedingly sad. And I'm talking
to some today. Paul warned Timothy about two
men, 1 Timothy chapter 2. He says the problem
with them is that they have set aside a good
conscience and faith. They've made shipwreck.
I'm talking to some people today who are on the
rocks. and others of you who are approaching
the rocks. And I warn you today that while there
is time, stop being conformed to this age. But
let God have his way in your life. We'll talk
about that next week. Let's pray. Father, apply
this message right where it needs to be applied
in my life and the life of every one of us. May
we not escape the point. of conviction which
the Holy Spirit desires to bring. Expose, I pray,
within us the conformity to this world around
us. And may we repent of that, repent of it,
so that then we can offer ourselves to you as
living in holy sacrifices, and it will stick.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Let's stand together.
I'd like for us to sing.