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12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 NKJV
Conform to the world or be transformed into wanting God’s Will for your life? This question is one of the most important that you will ever answer.
THE WARNING
Paul implores us in this passage that we present our bodies to God as a sacrifice, living though it may be. We are to keep our bodies holy, and fully pleasing to God. This is a reasonable request. After all, God in His Infinite Mercy toward us has given us these bodies which house His Spirit. We are the Temple of Our Holy God. He lives within us and we are His as believers.
THE WORLD
The world is constantly shouting at us to conform in one way or another to the measure of the world.
We are pressured to talk, act, think, and style our behavior as well as our apparel to the standards of our society. When that society becomes evil and lives for the world and the devil, we sadly might mimic that evil behavior in our lives as well.
MIRRORING THE SIN
Intentional or not, we often mirror the sin around us.
Eventually, it could become part of who we are if we let our guard down.
Many others have become evil to match their evil surroundings.
Evil finds a place within. Worse is that some have welcomed evil back into their lives and souls.
WHEN WE ARE HIS TEMPLE
The Temple of God can never house anything but good or it is no longer a Temple of God.
The opposite of conforming to the evil world around us is to be transformed into a Temple of God’s Spirit.
God alone helps us, unworthy though we all are, to be cleansed by Christ to become His Temple when we are believers.
HIS SPIRIT WITHIN
Your mind will be renewed when you have His Holy Spirit within you.
God will give you the will to seek Him in all choices.
You prove and test in your life what is good and what is not with God’s help.
This process of keeping and adhering to the good instead of the evil is vital for believers in Christ.
GOD’S HELP
It is done by using the wisdom and discernment God gives us when we ask. God Himself will help us transform our minds into things of beauty that hold His Word. With it, we will choose those things that are good and acceptable to God. We will be seeking always to follow the perfect Will of God.