“The weakness of so many modern Christians is that they feel too much at home in this world.” -A.W. Tozer
All of us are in a flux to form our individual nature or character depending on the choices we make in life. These choices can be Biblical or worldly. The Bible exhorts us to not conform to this world, but be transformed like the master, the Messiah.
As we journey, we all will be the sum total of the choices we make.
2 Cor. 3:18 (MSG)- “All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.“
If we are not being transformed, then it is the world that is squeezing us into its mold (even without our knowledge). This squeezing is slow, but steady. We will never know its impact until the every part of us is changed and is fit to be thrown out as unfit for the Kingdom.
The way to God is through sacrifice. The walk with God is by separation. Now two basic questions arise in our minds:
- Whose sacrifice? Mine or some one else?
- What are we to be separated from? And to whom are we to hold on to?
The Old Testament’s sacrifices are only a shadow of the reality. Jesus is the Lamb- the perfect sacrifice of the perfect (sinless) person. This sacrifice is for my sake, since I am alienated from God. Jesus did it all. Now I need to believe this “korban” and “walk His talk” and “talk my walk” to the world around me.
Paul wrote about God’s great plan for all of us and summarized our role in two verses. We are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice as follows:
Romans 12:1 (MSG)- “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”
Let’s stop to ponder so we can embrace and adhere what God does for us.
Romans 12:2 (MSG)-“Don’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.”
We must put in our “all” so we can resist the temptation to conform to this culture. Present, ponder and put in all is the need of the hour.
We all have a natural tendency to conform to the world around us, since sin is attractive. This pressure is high in every awakened moment of our life. This is the reason that the broad road and gate that leads to destruction will have many in it. It is the easy path. The pleasures of sin are attractive. It is the ingrained habit of comparison, compromise and comfort that drags us to the world.
Young and old face this pressure and succumb. We are like frogs in a kettle and the heat is increasing slowly. Initially, we feel the warmth and comfort, but ultimately we realize that we are trapped. There is not any way to reverse the process. We have the choice to “jump out” and escape the wrath of God by seeking Biblical insight. The earlier we do this, the better!
We have many worlds in this unique world. Let me list a few:
- Materialistic Physical World
- Comparative Social World
- Emotional Sensual World
- Prideful Positional World
- Indulging Appetite World
- Possessing Greedy World
- Ritualistic Religious World
These are all broad roads and big gates with dead ends. However, we have the narrow road that leads us to life and godliness. This is the Biblical and Eternal World (usually referred as the Kingdom of God). This is a caring and comforting world. This is a relational and loving world.
Romans 14:17 (MSG)- “God’s kingdom isn’t a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness’ sake. It’s what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy.”
The Kingdom of God’s values and the world’s values are opposing each other. As Jesus launched His public ministry, He made this clear on the Sermon on the mount (Matt. 5:6-7). We can not be in two boats. We have to make a calculated choice. This deliberate choice is the essence of godly living.
In 1 John 2:16, the “world” is defined we are called upon to reject it.
1 John 2:15-16 (MSG)- “Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world–wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important–has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.”
· I want my way!
· I want it all!
· I want to “appear” important!
The three phrases above are the ”world” appearing to us as Satan, sin and the flesh. It shows its ugly face in all of our activities and phases of life. It has entered in religion, politics, academics, administration, research and recreation. We have formed our religious subculture and denominational divisions pretending that our group is free from the “world” and insists people in joining them. Some of these Christian subcultures have more of the “world” in them, than some of the so-called worldly places of the world.
We are in the world, but we are not of the world. It is heartbreaking to state that lots of evangelical organizations, full Gospel and fully anointed denominations emphasizes the need for leaving Egypt. Yet, they do not understand that they have carried a little bit of Egypt into the “Promised Land” and they are continuing the pursuit by “inhaling” more Egypt. Some have gone to the extent of making a golden calf to “worship,” revel and rejoice.
It makes me sad and mad to realize that so many “Aarons” are fully co-operating to make this possible.
No wonder God had to eliminate Nadab and Abihu for using “unauthorized fire.” Worship and work is to be as it is written in the Word of God. There is not any room for flesh and charisma.
Lev 10:1-2 (MSG)- “That same day Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s sons, took their censers, put hot coals and incense in them, and offered "strange" fire to GOD–something GOD had not commanded. Fire blazed out from GOD and consumed them–they died in GOD’s presence.“
Many “Eli’s” are not able to discern whether or not Hannah was in tune with God (and was praying for a prophet in Israel). He thought that she was drunk, since her pattern of prayer was not in conformity with what was followed in the “congregation.” The form is often more relevant to people than the functions. God ,who sees the heart, answered her from Heaven.
The Christian sub-culture and the believer’s beehive are all guilty of conforming to this world. We can not blame our children for not finding this so-called “separation” meaningful.
There has to be an awakening in order to see the Biblical view of a separated life. Jesus came eating and drinking. The “non-conforming” Jewish world could not see the real non-conforming Jesus. They called Him a “glutton and drunkard.”
A. W. Tozer raised his tone to proclaim the following: “I will pay any price to keep myself away from that which prototype me to this world. Indeed a non-conforming life is simple, abundant and rewarding.”
It will be good for all of us that claim to follow the narrow path to evaluate how wide we have made it for easy, cozy and comfortable travel!
Now the time has come to “jump out” from the cultural and traditional waters that we are presently in. We are smoothly wind surfing, but before too long we will end up corpse for the fish. Certain corrections are to be timely and drastically!
Matt. 5:30 (MSG)- “And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.”
Certainly a non-conforming life will be costly, but that is our call!
“Are you sure you want to follow me” Jesus asked.
A great many turned away. But Peter said, ‘’Lord to whom shall we go?” (John 6:66-69).
And, the crowd that would not turn away was the crowd that made history!