Are You A Conformist

Are You A Conformist

Aug 14 2005

Romans 12:2

2And 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. KJV

2Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. The Message Bible

2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.£ The New Revised Standard Version

Prayer

One day a mouse on a farm decided to go from the barn to the house to look for some food. Upon entering the house he was disappointed to discover that there was a mouse trap in the house. Excitedly he ran out of the house back to the barn to warn everyone about the trap in the house. He first went to the Hen and said “There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house don’t go in there” The Hen Said “I am much to big for the that trap and I never ever go in the house anyway because I am much to busy sitting on my eggs I can’t be bothered with such nonsense.” Next the little mouse went to the pig and said “there is a trap in the house, don’t go in there.” The pig replied “I am to busy wallowing in my mud hole and eating my slop I don’t have time to enter into the house and even if I did surely I am to big to even be bothered by the trap.” The little mouse then went to warn the cow who said “The trap in the house does not bother me I way to big and besides why would I want to go into the house I have a perfectly good stall right here in the barn anyway.” The mouse went away dejected because no one else seemed concerned about the mouse trap in the house. The next week the farmers wife fell ill with a fever and he carried her to town to see the doctor. That afternoon he brought her back home. He then killed the chicken to make chicken soup for his wife. As the week went by she did not get any better and some people came over to sit with her to help the old farmer out. He had to kill the pig to feed all of these people. Eventually the farmers wife died and the cow had to be killed feed everyone who came to sit up with the farmer as he mourned his wife. So you see the chicken, the pig, and the cow had so conformed to the farmers will that they never ever realized that it was not the mouse trap that was the real trap it was the house that the trap was in. Ladies and Gentle men this is where many of us today are at. We are not concerned about the trap of this world. We are not concerned with the lures of this world that draws us in. We go on blithely with our lives and the poor mice are screaming out danger, danger, danger. Every pastor who discerns the word and preaches and ever Sunday school teacher who studies the word and discerns and teaches it are like the mouse they are warning everyone but few now listen I said few are heeding the warning. Many are doing their thing blinding themselves to the truth. They don’t want to see the truth because then they would have to give up something they love to do. That is why many today are not studying God’s Word because they don’t want to learn the truth and be convicted and have to give up the world that they love. But God’s Word has a message for us today and that message is found in Romans 12:2 2And 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.

What is Conformity? Conforming means to bend to the will or become like something. Many people claim that they are not conforming to this world. That they are doing what they are supposed to do. But, these same people often will do the same things as their neighbors. They use the actions of everyone else to justify why they can do something. There is nothing wrong with it because everyone else is doing it and God is not punishing them so it must be okay. There is nothing wrong with drinking that beer, or going to the casino, or watching that movie that shows more than I need to see why everyone is doing it and God is not punishing them. It is okay to have a radar detector so that I can break the law, do wrong, everyone has one so it must be okay. Oh preacher it is okay to have an addiction to smoking and tobacco, I am not hurting anyone else but myself. But we ignore God’s word when it tells us not to defile our temple ( body) but it must be okay to ignore God’s word because everyone else is doing it. Is this not the very definition of conformity when we use the excuse that ever body else does it. Are we not conforming the standards of this world when we are willing to do something because of what the rest of the world is doing.