OVERCOME THE WORLD BY THE WORD (1)

“And do not be conformed to THIS WORLD, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” – Romans 12:2

Believers are to OVERCOME the WORLD by the WORD, rather than being conformed to it: “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” (Rom.12:2). We’ve examined broadly the Believer’s three main foes – The World; the Devil; and the Flesh – forces of opposition that every human being must overcome in order to fulfil destiny. It’s important that we examine each of these more closely. First, we must overcome the WORLD!

This term ‘world’ is not about the material universe, which is part of God's good and beautiful creation, and which testifies of Him (Gen.1:31; Psa.19: 1-4). It is also not just the world of people, because God Himself “so LOVED the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jh.3:16). Scripture is referring to an evil world system that is in rebellion against God; that system that exalts man and creates vertical categories for man that puts one over another. It speaks of the course or the ways of the world, as opposed to the Way of God: Popular opinion; the media; popular culture; the whole way of doing things. The ‘world’ is what “everyone does,” and what we Believers will end up doing, if we don’t purposefully choose to live otherwise. 

As Believers try to follow God, the whole course and “current” of this world is going in the other direction – away from God. So long as we are living in this world, we are “swimming upstream” against the “current” of culture. This continual, wearying “running into the wind” depicts the battle each Believer faces every day in the world. The whole world value system tries to get us to live in a way that is almost always the exact opposite of what God wants us to do. We constantly have to fight: popular opinion; all the beliefs “everybody” takes to be true; the prevalent moral and sexual practices; the media constantly feeding us the fashions, styles, trends, vogue and typical “way of the world”; and the whole value system that’s telling us what is important. These things are constantly bombarding us with the way of the world.

TV and social media present queer lifestyles as the most natural thing. Billboard adverts celebrate female nakedness. Newspapers are daily filled with news of pervasive corruption, divorce, disasters, pandemics, and mass shootings, which seem to have become the new norm! People are anxious and on edge. At work, colleagues try to undermine each other so they can get ahead. On the road, self-centered drivers struggle for right of way; while at the store, shoppers push to get in line first. That’s the world that the Believer lives in and must overcome.

God calls His children to be the opposite of the world; to have opposite attitudes and actions to what the world offers: “And DO NOT BE CONFORMED to this WORLD…” (v.12:2a). Jesus said: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant” (Mt. 20:25-26). Followers of Christ are to have opposite attitudes and actions to what is seen in the world system.

God’s Word is our Agency of Transformation: “be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (v.12b). Only then can we serve God maximally with our Gifts of Grace (vv3-8). We are to be the opposite of what the world system is pushing us to be. We’re are to be different as we “fight against the current” of the world!  We cannot be comfortable with our world surroundings, or we may be carried off along with it. It’s so easy to get totally immersed in this world system and its values. With television, internet, and smartphones, one can to literally never be away from the world and its all-encompassing, life-suffocating influence!