ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

Romans 12:2 - 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 pleasing.

This is quite possibly one of the deepest passages of Scripture I have ever studied. There are so many facets to it and it keeps reappearing in my life, each time with a different approach that pretty much blows my mind. Let’s break it down phrase by phrase.

Do not be conformed

Conformity is a concept that you see a fair bit, particularly growing up. It really is inherent in our society. Can you think back to kindergarten, when there was that one strange kid, the one overweight kid, or the one minority kid? No one had to teach you how to ostracize that poor kid.

Conformity has its ups and downs. If people are conformed to a set of ideals then there will be less disagreement and ultimately more can be accomplished. However, it’s conformity. People do what other people do because that’s just how things are done.

This is conformity. Strong’s Greek Dictionary looks at the word translated “conformed” and defines it to mean “fashion [one]self according to.” The Oxford American Dictionary simply states it as to “comply with standards.”

The Bible says not to do this! We’ll look at what we’re not supposed to conform to in a bit, but first I want to raise the interesting point that this is a clear and consistent call in Scriptures. If we travel back to the Old Testament we see God commanding His nation Israel two things along these lines:

Exodus 23:2
You shall not fall in with the many to do evil…

Deuteronomy 18:9
When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations.

I think it’s important to realize the relevance that this has to us today. When God chose Israel to be His chosen people, he selected a nation of people, not because they deserved it, but because God loved them. This nation was meant to go among the nations and let the glory of God shine through their lives into the rest of the world. It was a physical nation meant to glorify God.

Now, we are a spiritual nation. 1 Peter 2:9 declares that we are a chosen race and a holy nation, an Israel without physical boundaries. When Israel entered the Promised Land, they were strictly ordered not to fall in with the many to do evil. They were told not to intermarry, just as God told Christians to be unequally yoked. They were told to love God above all other things and not bow down to foreign gods, just as we are commanded today. The point is that God has always had a people who are not supposed to be conformed, and we carry that legacy to this day.

To this world

Jesus, when He prayed for His people just before being crucified, prayed this for His people:

John 17:15-16
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

ZA has discussed what the term “the world” means. But rather than making you jump to another article, let’s just go over it quickly. When people talk about ‘the world’ in the Bible, it can mean a few things. One is the physical world, the very planet we live on. Another is the natural order of things that happen in our world. Something like eating or education or childbirth would be an example of this. A third meaning of the world can refer to the corrupt spiritual world, the evil practices of our society.

When we look at this passage, the third definition makes the most sense. We have to conform to the physical world - breathe oxygen, obey gravity, etc. The second is pretty neutral too. Wearing clothes is just a natural part of our life. We don’t avoid conformity with the world by being a nudist, that kind of thing. However, the third meaning really comes into play.

So, don’t conform to the world! Just because the guys get drunk on Friday nights, just because most people cohabit before marriage these days, just because the other girls wear risque clothing, just because people aspire to drive a certain car or have a certain job, just because people laugh at certain jokes or avoid certain weirdos…none of these are valid because other people are doing them!

There are things that the world does that are okay for you to do, but we need to be critically evaluating why we do what we do. Take, for example, a brand name shirt. If one person buys it to show off their wealth or to try to fit in with a certain group, that’s different than someone else who would wear it because they like the design or it feels comfortable. Same end result, different motives.

Okay, so we’re not supposed to be conformed to the world. But does it say to be conformed to God then? To be conformed to the church? Absolutely not, and this is where a lot of people come up short. They’ll clean up their lives and learn about God, but only because other people are doing the same around them. But when the school year is out and they’re back at home with their old friends, the Bible study is traded for a party. They merely conformed to God, and that’s not what we’re supposed to do.

Be transformed

When I looked up the Greek for the word translated “transformed,” I got much more than I bargained for. First, the Greek word is transliterated as “metamorphoo.” Look familiar? Yup! It’s where we get our word metamorphosis. When I saw that, the first thing that came to mind was when a caterpillar goes into a cocoon and comes out as a butterfly. It’s an awesome visual to go with the definition of metamorphosis, which is to change completely in form or nature. While the butterfly has the same DNA as a caterpillar, it is a completely different creature, and that is what Christians are called to be.

Another interesting nuance that the Greek gave was its verb tense. “Be transformed” is in the present passive imperative tense.

I know! Amazing, right?

Ha. I guess I’ll explain. I’m glad someone explained it to me, so I’ll pass it on. Imperative means it’s a command. You MUST be transformed! Passive is what MS Word’s grammar check always nails you for. While “the dog bit the boy” is active because the subject is performing the action, “the boy was bitten by the dog” is passive because the subject is having the action performed on it. Thus, if “be transformed” is passive, it means that we’re not transforming ourselves. God is transforming us! Finally, it’s in the present, and apparently it’s got a continual sense here. That is, it’s not enough to be transformed once. This kind of bleeds into the last part I’ll address.

Renewal of your mind

In two separate letters, Paul talks about putting off the old self and putting on the new self. It’s the same idea. Just as we take off the dirty clothes and put on fresh ones, we need to constantly evaluate ourselves and allow God to transform our minds so that we don’t conform to the world.

If the butterfly hangs out with enough caterpillars, it’ll forget how to fly! Eventually, you could clip its wings and it wouldn’t even know the difference. No, the butterfly must remember that it is no longer a caterpillar and that it’s meant to fly around and look really good!

To renew is to renovate, to take something that’s gotten run down and make it new again. The greater aim of this is to discern the will of God, not just for ten years down the road but also for today.

To accomplish something spiritual and then rest on that laurel is not Biblical. God calls us to continually seek Him and seek growth through Him. We’re not supposed to merely conform to God, but have our entire way of thinking altered radically. Don’t do what the world does because that’s how things are done, but examine everything so that you might do what God wants you to do!

Grace and peace,
Brendan