Do Not Be Conformed To This World

How many questions this verse—Romans 12:2—raises that need thoughtful, biblical answers. For example, How does the command not to be conformed to this world relate to Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some”? How is becoming all things to all people not conforming to the world? Or how does the command not to conform to the world, that is, to be counter-cultural, relate to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:32-33? “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” How does not being conformed to the world fit with not giving offense to the world? You can’t always do both. How does not being conformed to the world fit with pleasing everyone for the sake of salvation? You can’t always please people if you refuse to conform to some of their thoughts and ways.

To give you a way to think about these questions, I pray will be part of the renewing of your mind so that you can prove and embrace the will of God.


The reason there are questions like these is not because Paul slipped up and got confused about what it means to follow Christ in a fallen world. Paul was not confused. He was holding two Christian impulses; two principles; in balance. When Christ came into the world, and lived and died and rose from the dead, and set the redeeming kingdom of God in motion, and unleashed the mighty gospel on the world, two powerful impulses, or forces, spread everywhere the gospel spread.

Still Hungry? 1 Peter 1:14, 1 Tim 5:4