Non-conformity to this world – Part 2

Christ, having paid the ultimate price for our redemption, the believer no more has power over his body. Bought and brought into the Kingdom by the high price of Christ’s Blood, the Christian must “glorify God,” not self, man or the world, in his body. The body he offers to the Lord to reside in, as His temple must be pure.

The Lord can make a sinner a saint, while he is still here on earth, contrary to the erroneous belief of false teachers. This He does by cleansing the sinner with the Blood of Jesus Christ and giving him the power to live above sin. Freed from sin, the believer’s new life in Christ affects his disposition, lifestyle, language, dressing, interaction with others, etc. All old habits, lifestyle, indulgences, sinful practices are cast off, and he becomes a new creature, living by God’s holy standards, and CP summed by the desire to please the Lord at all times and in all things. Which is just as well, because the Lord demands purity and non-conformity with the world from every true believer.

As a representative of Christ, Apostle Paul appeals to believers to “present [their] bodies a living sacrifice… unto God”. Presenting our bodies to the Lord means to consecrate and surrender our lives to Him. Satan will not be happy whenever we want to offer our time, talent, treasure, life, skill, ability, etc. to the Lord. When Mary anointed the feet of our Lord with a very costly ointment of spikenard, Judas Iscariot was not happy. As we lay our lives on the altar of service, we should not be distracted by Satan and his human agents, but be firm in our decision to serve Him.

A songwriter succinctly put it thus: I have decided to follow Jesus… No turning back, No turning back! Though no one joins me, still I will follow… No turning back, No turning back! The world behind me, the Cross before me… No turning back, No turning back! The world will try to entice us to conform to its system and standard; it will try to distract us from preaching the gospel by engaging us with sports, games, politics, traditions, etc., but we must be watchful and diligent in our commitment to please the Lord, Who owns our body, soul and spirit. If we accept Christ as our Saviour, we must obey all His commands and surrender to Him without reservation.

Believers need to appreciate Christ’s love and sacrifice by willingly rendering acceptable service to Him. Our service will be acceptable, if we are not conformed to the world in fashion, politics, duplicity, deception and diplomacy. For our service to be fruitful and rewarded in time and eternity, it must be selfless.

Seeking pleasure and men’s praise will render our labour and service to the Lord worthless. But when we seek His glory and exaltation in everything we do, the Lord will surely reward us. We must be as selfless and faithful in our commitment to serving God as Christ, our Lord did. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

And like Apostle Paul, we should always “count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” If we remain unwavering in loyalty and consecration in serving the Lord till the end, He will surely reward us.

Further Reading (King James Version): Romans 12:1, 2; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; 3:16,17; Psalm 50:5; 1 Timothy 5:1,2,22; Romans 12:1,2; 2 Samuel 15:15; 1 Kings 20:4; Romans 12:1,2; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; John 12:24-26; Philippians 2:5-8; 3:7-10; Matthew 6:24; John 13:13,15.