Monday, January 16, 2006

The whole conforming thing

Rom. 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

...1Cor. 9:22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some...

We are faced with a paradox: to conform, or not to conform? That's the question. The same Paul who in Romans 12 instructed us not to conform to the world, in 1Corinthians 9 told us he went to great lengths to conform to the world. Is this guy crazy; is he trying to confuse us? I don't believe he is. In Romans 12:2 Paul's instruction regarding conforming is in the context of mind transformation. In other words, God actually changes, as John Piper would say, our "want tos". He is telling us, "do not have a heart that wants to be like the world, and do what they do, and have what they have, and appear as they appear." He says, "Do not want this! Be transformed, so you want the will of God!" So when we get to 1 Corinthians 9, do we see Paul conforming to the world? Yes, it's quite obvious, he talks about doing anything he can to fit in with the people he is around. The difference here is that Paul's mind has been transformed to love the Gospel of Christ. This is what he actually wanted, this is what he wanted for the people around him. In his own mind, he did not want to have the life the people around him lived. So when he conformed, he was driven by an overwhelming desire to see Christ proclaimed through the gospel. Lord, actually change what we want!
Posted by Jeremy Turner :: 7:03 AM :: 2 comments

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