Articles
Be Not Conformed
According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances” (Lev. 18:3). These instruc- tions were given to the children of Israel by God during their journey from Egyptian bondage to Canaan. While in Egypt they were a separate people. They are now go- ing to Canaan a land inhabited by idolaters. God commands Israel to remain separate. In neither land were God’s people to do as the ungodly.
When a sinner hears the gospel, believes in God and Christ (Heb. 11:6; John 8:24), repents of his sins (Acts 17:30), confesses faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9-10) and is buried with Christ in baptism (Col. 2:12) to have his sins washed away in the blood of Christ (Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5), he is a “new creation” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). This one is raised to walk in a new life (Rom. 6:4). Having es- caped the pollutions of the world he is taught by God to avoid being entangled again there- in, to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world (Titus 2:11-14). The Christian is set as a light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Phil. 2:5).
God’s Word clearly draws the line between the Christian and the world (I John 2:15-17) or “Set your affection on things above not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). Attitudes and affections determine what we do. De- mas left Paul “having loved this present
world” (2 Tim. 4:10). Christians are taught to “be not conformed to this world…” (Rom 12:2a). Being different from the world is not popular. We want to be like everybody else. No matter how outrageous it may be it is not long until others are engaged in it. We “jus- tify” our actions by “everyone’s doing it” or “everyone is wearing it.” The world thinks “it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you” (I Pet. 4:4). Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19).
Many cannot endure the scornful mock- ery of a sinful world because they have failed to increase their faith and strengthen their conviction by a regular study of God’s word. These yield to worldly pressures and fall in line with the crowd. We need to re- member that Jesus taught that most people are following the broad path to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14). The world does not believe, teach or practice the way of God. Its stan- dard of conduct is contradictory to God’s way. Those who desire to live in heaven must not be governed by what the world thinks, says or does, but by what God has revealed in His Word. The Bible is the only standard to determine what is right or wrong in God’s sight. The world is constantly changing its standard to permit more lusts to be fulfilled with the approval of society. God’s children must not follow the world’s standard.
