“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12:2
The first step in our reasonable service, our spiritual worship, is to refrain from conforming ourselves to the world. This means we are not to take on its shape or by molded by its values. The word world here means the system of life—the applied worldview—separated from the presence of God.
To illustrate, after God exiled Cain for refusing to repent for killing Abel, “…Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch” (Genesis 4:16–17).
A careful reading of the rest of the passage demonstrates that Cain’s city was technologically advanced, had commerce and the arts, but it was lacking the presence of God. Subsequently, it lacked justice or a moral system of living and governance that honored God and provided for human flourishing.
Like Paul does here, John also exhorts believers: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15–17).
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