- 3 hours ago
The Wrong Schematic
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And 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.” (Romans 12:1-2)
Recently, when I was a guest on Flashpoint with my friend, Gene Bailey, the subject of same-sex marriage was brought up. It was mentioned that a significant number of Christians now believe that homosexuality and same-sex marriage are acceptable in the eyes of the Lord. None of us participating on the show agreed with this belief. We love those in the gay community, but we cannot compromise what the Scriptures teach: God created humans as male and female, and marriage is intended to be between one man and one woman (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:24; Matthew 19:4-5; Romans 1:27; Leviticus 18:22).
The drifting of the church away from a biblical worldview, accepting Scripture as the final authority for all of life, has created great harm. The Bible must be our standard for truth, period. It is the benchmark from which all issues and boundaries must be measured. A humanistic standard that says there is no absolute truth, that all truth is relative, leaves us unmoored and guided by our own wishes, lusts, philosophies, moral standards, societal norms, and so on. This is the theme of the book of Judges: “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.” The inevitable result of this philosophy during the period of the judges was chaos, violence, gross immorality, selfishness, and wickedness of every sort. In the body of Christ, it has led to heresy, a lack of power, dim lights, and savorless salt for society and our culture (see Matthew 5:13-16).
I made the statement on Tuesday night’s program that revival — millions of people being born again — will help us overcome the deception in our nation much more quickly. It took half a century to reshape Americans’ thinking away from God and biblical principles. It need not take 50 years to transform our nation back to His ways and will.
Our opening verses for today’s post are very insightful in this regard. Verse 2 of Romans 12 tells us to be transformed, not conformed. Conformed is from the Greek word suschematizo.(1) You can easily see the word schematic in the second portion of this Greek word, which is a diagram or drawing, blueprints that serve as the plan from which something is built or formed. The word carries the connotation of forming, shaping, molding, or fashioning something according to a particular pattern or design. In biblical times, it was actually used for pressing something in a mold. The prefix of this Greek word, sun (the “n” is dropped in this usage), means “together with.” Putting these definitions back into the verse, the Holy Spirit is saying, “Don’t changed from without. Do not allow the culture around you to be your schematic. Don’t allow your thinking and beliefs, and therefore your actions, to be designed and shaped together with the world around you.”
He then gives us the alternative: “be transformed.” This comes from the fascinating Greek word metamorphoo,(2) from which we get the English words metamorphosis and metamorphose. Think caterpillar and butterfly. And its important to remember that the transformation or metamorphasis that occurs in a caterpillar does not occur from without, but from within. The end result, a butterfly, is already encoded into the caterpillar’s DNA. It simply becomes…what it is! We could never take an earthworm, wrap it into a cocoon, and nurse it into a butterfly. Not in a million years. It simply isn’t in the earthworm’s DNA. But a caterpillar can transform into a butterfly, and a born-again person can transform into the image of Christ.
This verse in Romans 12 is telling us not to be shaped from without, but be transformed from within. The Message Translation says, “be changed from the inside out.” J. B. Phillips’ translation says essentially the same: “Let God remold your minds from within.” When we are born again, our spirits are made new (2 Corinthians 5:17), and God writes His laws in our hearts (Hebrews 10:16). Through this “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). As we draw near to the Lord through worship and spending time in His Word, He metamorphoses us — transforms our thinking from the inside out — according to this image of Christ He placed in our spirits when we were born again. Second Corinthians 3:18 says we are transformed, metamorphosed, into His image from glory to glory.
The “renewing of the mind” in this passage refers to allowing God to fashion our thinking and actions into what He has already created and written in our hearts or spirits. The nature of Christ is encoded into every believer’s spiritual DNA. Discipling believers and nations, therefore, (Matthew 28:18) does not rely solely on the power of information. Rather, as believers read or are taught the Word of God, this information bears witness to what is already written in their hearts. This is why I state that revival — millions of people being born again — will enable us to change mindsets in our nation much more quickly.
The heart or spirit of every true believer knows it is wrong to kill a baby in the womb. The heart of every true believer knows God created humans as male and female, and that marriage between two men or two women is unnatural. The heart of a true believer knows that sex outside of the marriage covenant is sin. Romans 12:2 instructs us to allow this truth in our hearts and in God’s Word to renew our thinking and shape our actions.
And finally, I would add that we must not allow ourselves to be intimidated by those who misrepresent our beliefs and actions. It is NOT hateful to agree with God by stating our belief in HIS standards and laws. We CAN love someone who commits sin, even as we disagree with their actions or lifestyle. We CAN love and respect those with unbiblical lifestyles, without accepting their actions as appropriate. Do not allow the world to shape you through their accusations and mislabeling. Never compromise what God teaches in His Word. Never.
Pray with me:
Father, we, the body of Christ in America, have compromised regarding Your Word and ways. We have allowed those around us to conform us to their beliefs. We are now paying a heavy price for this. We have a disoriented and confused generation. Our kids believe their bodies are a mistake, and professors, legislators, and Supreme Court justices state that they can’t define a man or woman. Children try to change their gender, doing irreparable damage to their bodies. And preachers are afraid to talk about it. Please forgive us. We repent, and ask You to help us reverse the damage. The power of a true revival will change our nation.
Send the “greatest of all revivals” You have spoken of. Write Your laws and truth on millions of hearts. Remove deception, erase lies, and restore soundness of mind. We know You will do this in love and through Christ’s redemption, not through condemnation. You said the preaching of the gospel, the good news, releases Your power to save (Romans 1:16). Raise up powerful messengers to proclaim the good news with fire and love. We ask for this in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen.
Our decree:
We declare the eternal and infallible Word of God, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
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James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), ref. no. 4964.
Ibid., ref., no. 3339.