Are You Conformed Or Transformed?

COVENANT COMMUNITY CHURCH

PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN

SEPTEMBER 29, 2002

KJV

SERMON TITLE:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Romans 12: 1 “I be beseech you brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. Be ye not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

I want to preach to you this morning on that question. Are you conformed or are you transformed?

When I think of that word conformed I think of the word like. To be like. Conformed means you mix right in. Paul was telling us right here not to mix right in with the world. He said we’re supposed to be transformed. When I think of the word transformed I think of the meaning being upgraded. If you’ve been saved this morning then you’ve been upgraded. This world is not a place for us. The hardest thing for Christians to learn is how to live a Godly and Christian life in this present world that we’re living in. Often times the devil throws things up and we feel in our nature that we have to be like the world and other people. That’s common. There’s nothing wrong with us thinking those thoughts because it’s our natural fleshly nature. We were born in this world and we’re used to this world and everything revolves around this world. But Paul said not to be conformed to the world but be transformed. This world is full of sin and destruction and death. But Jesus is full of Godlyness and light and eternalness. He’s got what we need if we’ll just humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. The Bible says that He’ll exalt us in due time.

Matthew 16:26 “For what has a man profited if shall gain the whole world yet lose his own soul?”

There’s a lot of people in this world that always want this and that and their looking for bigger and better things. They think the Pasture is greener on the other side. That’s just like the prodigal son. He took all the share of the goods and he went out and wasted them on ridious living. That’s what a lot of Christians are going through today. Their wasting what God’s done for them in their life. Their wasting all that God wants them to be. He wants us to be all we can be in Christ Jesus. The hardest thing for us is to live that godly life in this present evil world. How to understand and know how to live. We can do it through the word of God and through prayer. We need to be seeking the Lord Jesus Christ. But so many times we seem to forsake him.

I want to talk about three things real quick. First I want to talk about God’s relationship with the world. Second I want to talk about Jesus’ relationship with the world and thirdly I want to talk about Christians relationship with the world. I found some interesting things in the scripture.

NUMBER ONE: God loved the world. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world….” But he doesn’t love what the world does. He can only love us through his Son Jesus. Now don’t take this wrong way because God loves every sinner. But he only loves them through the body and the blood of his Son Jesus Christ. You see the Bible says that God can’t look on sin. Everyone of us were born in sin. He had to find a way that he could get them out of sin and into salvation so he sent his only son. That’s the way that God loves the world. So I want to say that God’s relationship with the world is very important. Isn’t it wonderful? How would we make it without his Son? I don’t know how people make it today without knowing Christ. They have nobody to turn to and cast their burdens on. We have somebody we can trust in and turn to. There’s a lot of people that don’t include God in it. Their living in this world having no hope. They don’t have anything. But we have something. We have God who loves us and his relationship with the world is very important because he sent his only Son to die on a cross for us.

NUMBER TWO: Then I got to looking at the relationship between Jesus and the world. I found that it far different than the relationship that God has with the world. It’s unimportant to Jesus. It was important to God but it’s unimportant to Jesus. John 1:10-13 “He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. He came unto his own and his own received him not. But as many as hath received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name which were born not of the blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God.”