ROMAN 12:1-2
What does "conforming to the world" mean for us today?
The thoughts and ideas of the world have no authority over the power of God. As the church, conforming to the world means giving up the authority that God wants us to have in our lives through Him.
Discussion: What do you have authority over in your practical every day life?
- driving on the public roads
- raising our children
- where we go, do, say, think, and consume
- our finances
- how we spend our time
As the church and as Christians, what should we authority over? We have authority to live lives free from sin through the power of God. We have this authority because the Bible teaches it, we've seen it, and we believe it. The world, and even some who claim to be Christians, are powerless in this area. There are alot of good people in the world but they do not believe or possess the authority over sin the Jesus Christ taught, lived, and died for.
Conforming to the world would be to remain powerless against sin and temptation. But Christ came to make a way for our lives to be free from sin through the power of God. Even in the practical areas where we have authority in our daily life, we have to believe we have authority or these things will have authority over us! A police force who doesn't believe they have any authority would be ineffectual. We must believe that our God-given authority over sin is true or we won't have any power. This is where the world is lacking- in boldness and belief in the things of God.
Moses is a great example of someone who struggled to accept and believe the authority that God wanted him to claim. God gave Moses signs and wonders at the burning bush to ignite the faith to believe that it was possible.
JOHN 1:11-12
We must believe on His name to claim the power the fulfill His word.
JOSHUA 1:6-9
He was admonishing them to be strong and of good courage because they were POWERLESS.
We must saturate ourselves in BELIEF. Surface-level belief is not good enough. Stay in that belief until you are so full of faith that you can push forward in boldness and authrity, even when you can't see what's ahead.
