Paul’s letters follow a pattern. First, he presents the good news of God’s love poured out in Jesus Christ. After establishing the foundation of the gospel, he then applies that good news to the issues and challenges of his time faced by his little house churches. New Testament scholars call the proclamation of the gospel kerygma. The teachings that follow from the gospel foundation are called the didache. Often Paul indicated the movement from gospel to application by the Greek word translated “therefore” in English. So in Romans 12 we see that transition with the words: “Therefore, I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy and acceptable to God—do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
Perhaps the message we North American Christians need to hear most in the entire New Testament is contained in these words: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed.” Do not be conformed to this world/age – do not be shaped, molded, or squeezed into the world’s patterns. Don’t let the world determine your identity and purpose in life.
Poll after poll taken of Christians and non-Christians in the U.S. demonstrates that on issues facing the inhabitants of the 21st century there is often no substantive difference between the two groups. In fact, in some polls, Christians come across as less sensitive to the poor and hungry, more inclined to use violence to solve international problems, less compassionate toward minorities, and less concerned for the environment. My Greek professor once commented that what bothered him most was that he could not see that much difference between those in the church and those outside. We have been seduced by the spirit of the age: materialistic, status and power seeking, success oriented, selfish, greedy, and self- absorbed.
“Do not be conformed to this world/age.” The old age represents for Paul the pre-Christian life, prior to baptism when we died to the old and were raised to the new. “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” What Paul is talking about is a new way of thinking, a new way of perceiving. In our dying to the old and being raised to new life we begin to see as God sees, hear as God hears, and love as God loves. For that to happen, we need a transformation. The word translated “transformed” in Romans 12 is metamorphosis. Paul is not calling for reformation because reformation is too little and too late. Paul calls for transformation. What we need is transformation as radical and as miraculous as what happens to the caterpillar in spring as it becomes a butterfly.
We are called to think the thoughts of God and to live the ways of God. Or, to put it another way, we need to be a people with convictions. And please hear me; I’m not calling for a fundamentalist, close-minded, arrogant stance whereby we become more concerned about issues than about people. Of course, we need humility with our convictions. We need truth always spoken in love. The last thing this world needs is an army of Grand Inquisitors who believe that their ends justify their means, and that they are God’s appointees for the manipulation of a Brave New World.
But after all that has been said, we still need to be a people of convictions. And that, my friends, is sorely lacking in our age and sadly in many of our churches.
A brief incident in the life of the German/Jewish poet Heinrich Heiner will clarify what I’m trying to say. The poet was standing with a friend before the magnificent Gothic cathedral at Amiens, France. It was breath-taking. Heiner’s friend asked, “Heinrich, why can’t people build piles like this anymore?” To which Heiner replied, “Mon cher ami, it’s really quite simple. You see, in those days, people had convictions. We moderns have opinions, and it takes more than an opinion to build a Gothic cathedral.”
And it takes more than an opinion to build a world transformed by the will of God – especially when that opinion has more than likely been shaped by the values and influences of this world.
We North American Christians suffer from what I call the luxury of opinions. We think this, we say that, we agree to disagree. We argue, we suggest, we debate, we discuss. We appoint committees to study the issue. We listen to the “experts.” And then we believe that we are free to decide for ourselves as we form an opinion on the subject. But my friends, the Apostle Paul would say that as baptized believers who have died to the old and have been raised to the new in Christ, we have no such freedom. We are not free to enjoy the luxury of opinions. We are only free to embrace and flesh out those convictions which flow from the heart of God.
Now, is it possible for two people who are sincere in their faith and genuine in their search for God’s will to come to opposite convictions regarding an issue? Of course it is. Not one of us knows all the mind of God. It is possible for us after honest prayer and committed searching to come to different conclusions regarding the will of God regarding issues. But I do not believe for one moment that this is what is happening in most churches. I do not believe that the vast majority of Christians are coming before God in genuine humility and honest faith, asking God to transform them through the renewal of their minds so that they can think God’s thoughts and walk in God’s ways and live in God’s will. I do not believe that most of us come before God with that sincere prayer of discipleship, “Abba, nevertheless, thy will be done.”
I believe we have been seduced by the spirit of our age to seek opinions which conform to the values of this world and which look out for our own self-interest and which preserve our own prejudices and preconceived notions. If the majority of Christians would come before God in genuine submission to the divine will, we may not have total unanimity, but I believe with all my heart that we would have a dynamic, transforming consensus as God’s Spirit works within us for the unveiling of God’s Kingdom. I believe we would have convictions, and we would have a church that the world would take seriously. But I fear we prefer the safety and the luxury of opinions to which the world gives its nod of approval. Let me give just one example of what I mean.
Every day, tens of thousands die of hunger on this planet, and most of these people are children. And, my, what a luxury of opinions we have in this country regarding hunger and poverty! But only one question should be on the minds of God’s people: What is the conviction of God regarding the hungry and the poor?
Listen to the words of John the Baptizer: “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none. And he who has food, let him do likewise.” Can we hear the conviction of God in these words? Can we see the simple truth that those who have more than their just portion of this world’s goods are called to share with those who have less? Now, that’s not the answer of Wall Street, Fifth Avenue, Main Street U.S.A., Congress, or the White House. That’s not the opinion of the Moral or Silent Majorities of this nation. But can anyone, after reading Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, doubt that John’s words come straight from the heart of God?
If we are to do anything about world hunger, it will take more than opinions. It will take the conviction that as long as there is excess and hunger anywhere on this planet, the will of God is not being done. It will take convictions which hear – really hear – Jesus’ words: “Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” and “You cannot serve God and mammon.” He didn’t say you should not or better not serve both God and mammon. He said you cannot. Perhaps the core reason for the destructive presence of drugs, crime, teenage suicide, and the break-up of the home is to be found in the mammon we worship and the possessions we amass. Dare we hear Paul’s words when he writes, “The love of money is a root of all evil”?
Is there a connection between our spiritual hunger and the physical hunger suffered by hundreds of millions? A connection found in our addiction to money and possessions – an addiction which takes precious and limited resources from the poor and which dulls our consciences and deadens our souls to the call of Christ?
The issues we face today are too serious for us to enjoy the luxury of opinions. The stakes are too high. The lives and souls of too many people are being sacrificed on the cruel and destructive altars of the false gods of our age.
This world does not need a church which enjoys the luxury of opinions. What is needed is a church which sees with the eyes of God, hears with the ears of God, and loves with the heart of God.
Then and only then will it be said of us what was said of the early church: “See, they who have turned the world upside-down have come even here.” If ever the world needed turning upside down, inside-out, and round-about, it is now. And only the strength of convictions flowing from the heart of God and fleshed out in sacrificial love can make that difference.
