A Time for Non-Conformity
Posted on August 16, 2007
Filed Under Christian Growth, Denominationalism, Weylan Deaver
by Weylan Deaver
On one occasion, the Lord remarked, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times†(Mt 16:2,3 ESV). How many people does that describe? They are caught up in events and carried along by them without ever stopping to look at the big picture, failing all the while to accurately assess what is happening around them. Thus, instead of being transformed into something better than what the world offers, they end up conforming to the values, beliefs and expectations of a far lower common denominator—the status quo.
Yet, God has a much higher standard for His children. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers†(Rom 8:29). Rather than taking on the likeness of the world, we are to be re-cast in the image of Jesus. Paul wrote also, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect†(Rom 12:2). The word conformed is from the Greek συσχηματίζω and means “…to conform one’s self to another’s pattern†(The New Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, p.608).
We can follow either the pattern of the world, or the pattern of Christ. In fact, to reject the latter is to choose the former. The devil labors tirelessly to entice us to the domain where he reigns supreme over the gullible folk who “cannot interpret the signs of the times.†Pressure is brought to bear against Christians because they tend to stand out from the crowd—and, the more evil the crowd, the starker the contrast between sinner and saint. Peter described the reaction of the world to the behavior of Christians when he penned, “With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you†(1 Pet 4:4). No matter the maligning received, today, as much as ever, is a time for Christians to absolutely refuse to conform to the world around them. Consider three areas where this must be the case.
NONCONFORMITY IN CONVICTION
The world’s values are a far cry from Christ. Their convictions are hollow lies growing out of diabolic deception. The Bible speaks of “those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false†(2 Thess 2:10,11). To reject truth is to embrace a lie, there being no alternative. But a lie cannot get a man to heaven. So, the devil has foisted on society lie after lie. Satan says that one belief system is as good as another and none should be excluded (pluralism). Satan says that life on earth began eons ago at the concoction of a primordial soup afloat in the sea (evolution). Satan says that God does not exist (atheism) or, if He does, that we cannot know it (agnosticism). Satan says pleasure is life’s goal (hedonism) and is attained, in part, by the accumulation of things (materialism). Satan says that religious belief should be based on emotions (romanticism) rather than grounded in a firm “Thus saith the Lord.†Satan says that one church is as good as another (denominationalism). Basically, Satan does not care what we believe as long as it is not the gospel—the one area wherein belief is crucial (cf. Jn 8:24). As George Bernard Shaw observed, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.†The New Testament enjoins us, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus†(Phil 2:5 NKJV). If there is any area where our thoughts, attitudes and beliefs do not reflect those of Jesus, then we need to change our minds. The more our minds are shaped like Christ’s, the less conformed we will be to this world.
NONCONFORMITY IN CONDUCT
Because behavior begins in the heart (Mt 15:19), and because the world does not have the heart (i.e. mind) of Christ, the world’s conduct is not in step with the ethical standard set in God’s word. Therefore, we must take note of “the signs of the times†and not be conformed to society on a number of fronts.
First, we must not conform to the world’s dress. When the sun is hot and more and more bare skin goes on public parade, can people see that you are different? God’s children will clothe themselves in a manner that is modest, appropriate to the circumstances, and which does not stress outer appearance above inner beauty (1 Tim 2:9; 1 Pet 3:3,4; etc.).
Second, we must not conform to the world’s speech. You have but to turn on a radio or television, or go to a movie, or read a novel, or listen at the mall to hear the most obscene language imaginable. Are people so inept with English, and so incapable of controlling their emotions that the only means of self-expression is a curse, a four letter word, a blasphemous use of the divine name? (One wonders whether God’s name would be less abused if it were longer than one syllable, and, therefore, beyond the ability of some to pronounce). The Lord’s name is holy and to be spoken in reverence (Ps 111:9). It is He who tells us, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear†(Eph 4:29).
Third, we must not conform to the world’s version of entertainment. Hollywood, on a screen bigger than life in front of a captive audience who paid to subject themselves to it, glorifies fornication, blasphemy, lewdness, innuendo, disrespect, dishonesty, hedonism, perversity, and practically every vice the mind can conceive. Will we be shaped by those who do not know Christ, or will we be molded by Jesus into His image? The Psalmist wrote, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless†(Ps 101:3).
NONCONFORMITY IN COMPROMISE
Finally, we must not conform to the world’s all too often tendency to compromise. Then again, if the world has cut itself loose from the Bible—the only sure mooring in a safe harbor—it is no wonder strongly held, uncompromising convictions are hard to find. Where is the man who would volunteer to be fed to the lions if it furthered atheism’s cause? Where is the man who would sacrifice his health and fortune to preach a message of hedonism? Where is the man who would gladly be burned at the stake before renouncing Darwin’s theory? Where is the man who had rather die than compromise? Ours is a land of confused appeasers. We are confused by the devil’s plethora of competing and contradicting messages, and we want to appease everyone, making sure we never say anyone’s belief is absolutely, categorically wrong. As Winston Churchill said, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile—hoping it will eat him last.†You can take an uncompromising stand for the truth of God in this life and be rewarded eternally in the next. Or, in an effort to satisfy everyone, you can compromise yourself nine ways to Sunday and, in the end, be swallowed by the crocodile (or, in this case, the devil, depicted as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour [1 Pet 5:8]).
The Lord’s church brooks no compromise with error (Eph 5:11). “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people’†(2 Cor 6:14-16). Jesus loved God’s truth. He taught it when it was not popular and lived it when it cost Him dearly. Never once did He compromise a single piece of divine truth, whether it meant losing a friend, losing a reputation, even losing His life. To have His mind—to be conformed to His image—is to mirror that same unwavering devotion to the gospel.
Surely, today is a day for nonconformity when it comes to the world. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance†(1 Pet 1:14). None could put it better than inspiration itself, when the Lord says, “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you†(2 Cor 6:17).
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