Theme: Breaking the Old Mold

The Mold
a hollow container used to give shape to molten or hot liquid material (such as wax or metal)
when it cools and hardens.
synonyms: cast, die, form, matrix, shape, template, pattern, frame

a distinctive and typical style, form, or character.

"he planned to conquer the world as a roving reporter in the mold of his hero"
synonyms: character, nature, temperament, disposition

form (an object with a particular shape) out of easily manipulated material.

Text: Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and
perfect will.

“CONFORM…to the pattern” are one Greek word, suschematizo, which means, “TO FORM
ACCORDING TO A PATTERN OR MOLD.”

“WORLD” is not kosmos, the created world,

but rather AION, OR “AGE.” - does not just mean “age” in the sense that it is a finite period of
time.

Aion includes all the thoughts (pag-iisip), opinions (pananaw), maxims (prinsipyo),
speculations(agam-agam), and aspirations (ambisyon) present in the world at any given time,

The Devil has created an “atmosphere” in this world that is ungodly, and which leads people
away from God and into sin.

DEVIL’S INTENT IN CREATING AN UNGODLY ATMOSPHERE IS TO HAVE PEOPLE

CONFORM TO IT JUST AS IF THEY WERE CONFORMING TO A MOLD. That is why God
tells us that we must not be conformed to the pattern, the mold, of the world.

We must become sensitive to the spiritual atmosphere around us, and able to recognize how we
are being influenced, and whether that influence is godly or ungodly.

Eugene Peterson, The Message version,

Romans 12:2a as: “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit in to it
without even thinking.”

HOW NOT TO BE CONFORMED?

1. Think about what we are doing and why we are doing it,

2. not just do what everyone else is doing.

- In speech

- Do we dress to impress (often sexually), or do we dress with a view to letting the Christ in us
shine through our lives? Do we go into debt to have a car that will “Wow” our neighbors and
make us feel powerful, or are we concerned about “Wowing” the Lord Jesus Christ? What is
important to us? Is it things that have a firm root in Scripture, such as helping and blessing
others, or is it isolating ourselves for hours at a time watching television or playing video games,
in the end contributing nothing meaningful to ourselves or our society?

If we do not become spiritual meteorologists, we will be led, usually without even realizing it,
into a life of ungodliness, sorrow, and pain. We must become aware of the atmospheric mold the
Devil is trying to squeeze us into, and then have enough love for God and ourselves that we
refuse to live in the ungodly lifestyle he lays before us daily, but instead recognize who we are in
Christ and what we can do for ourselves and our society, and then get about doing it.

One way the Adversary steals blessings from us is to play on our desire to have a better life.
When we get quiet and think about it, a truly better life comes from having love, peace, joy, good
health, and good friends, not just more “toys” and “things” in life. Furthermore, having a blessed
life does not come from doing what we want to do all the time, giving in to our desires. Having a
wonderful life is a heart issue, not a “things” issue, and it involves obedience and discipline. We
should know this from our study of the cultures of the world. Many people who have little in the
way of material things are very happy, and people of old wrote of having a blessed life long
before there were video games, MP3 players, name-brand clothing, and hot and cold running
water in homes. Of course we would not know that from watching television or talking to many
of the worldly people we know. But when a Christian gets quiet and listens to his heart and the
spirit of God, he knows that having more things does not bring happiness. Scripture makes that
very clear.

Ecclesiastes 5:13
I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner,

Sometimes our material possessions make our lives more complicated and difficult than they
should be, and hamper us from becoming like Christ. What should we do if that is the case? It
may take great courage (fighting the flow of culture usually does), but we can rid ourselves of
those things that are weighing us down and holding us back, and move toward a more simple
lifestyle that allows us more time and energy for the things that really give us joy and peace.
The tension between trying to have peace in life and wanting more things, usually spurred on by
advertisers, is recognized in Scripture:

Proverbs 14:30
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

Proverbs 17:1
Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

Sometimes people are led by the atmosphere of the age into having physical possessions not for
the sake of owning them but for the prestige they bring (“prestige” means “reputation, influence,
distinction”). Other people seek prestige by how they look, who they hang out with, etc.
Interestingly, our English word “prestige” comes from the Middle French prestige, which means
“an illusion” (World Book Dictionary). From God’s perspective, having prestige among men is
just an illusion. There is nothing about it that has real substance or worth, and prestige with men
is fleeting at best. Nevertheless, prestige among men has been, and continues to be, a powerful
cultural influence, and it has deterred many people from taking a bold stand for Christ and to be
Christ-like. This was as true thousands of years ago as it is today.

John 12:42 and 43

(42) Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the
Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;
(43) for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

In the verses above, “many” of the religious leaders believed in Jesus, that is, they believed he
was the Messiah. However, they loved the recognition and praise they got from men, and so
would not confess their faith. It takes great strength of character to do what our hearts, the spirit
of God, and the Word of God, direct us to do if it means that we will lose the prestige we have
with people. Nevertheless, that is the model Jesus Christ lived, and although it may not seem like
it when we are facing a difficult decision, we will be more blessed in life if we demonstrate our
loyalty to God rather than try to befriend the world. Christians need to accept the fact that the
world will never value being like Christ, and will not accept it, no matter how “nicely” Christ-
likeness is presented.

If we Christians want to become like Christ, we must become aware of the “pattern of this
world,” the “atmosphere” of the age we live in, the cultural influences that hinder us from
becoming like Christ, and then make a conscious effort not to conform to them and thus allow
the Adversary to steal the blessings of God from us.

More than just telling us not to conform to the pattern of the world, Romans 12:2 commands us
to “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind….” The Greek word translated “be
transformed” is metamorphoo, and is in the imperative mood, so it is a command. We are
commanded to be transformed, it is not an option for Christians. It seems to be part of the
“atmosphere” of our age that if a person has a particular personality and does not want to change,
he or she says, “That’s just the way I am.” Well, “just the way” our old nature is, is not good
enough for God, who wants us to be like Christ. Do we know better than God? Is doing things
“our way” really going to make us more blessed than if we believed God and worked to be like
Christ? God commands us to transform, and the good news is that we can, and our lives will be
more blessed for it.

When a person becomes a Christian, he or she makes Christ “Lord,” that is, the boss, the one in
charge. Christ said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
We Christians do not want to be in the category of those who have called Christ “Lord” but who
do not do what he says. He commands us to be transformed—not outwardly, but inwardly—and,
via his spirit within us, he will help us change.

The word metamorphoo can mean either to change in a manner that is visible to others, or it can
mean to change inwardly, in one’s character. An outward, visible change happened to Jesus on
the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, James, and John saw him transformed into how he will
look in his future glory. Romans 12:2, on the other hand, is referring to a change on the inside, a
change in character, which will then, of course, be reflected on the outside, in how we live.

Each of us was born dominated by our sinful nature, the relentless internal proclivity toward self-
centeredness. After we are born again and have the new nature of Christ within us, God
commands us to put off the old nature and put on the new. This does not come naturally, as
parents know. For example, we have to teach children to share with each other because their sin
nature influences them to be selfish.

When natural, unsaved, people grow up following the leadings of their sin nature, all the while
breathing the Devil’s “atmosphere” of ungodliness, sensuality, and selfishness, it is no wonder
that they become “material girls” or “material boys.” Go to almost any college campus and you
will see the following in abundance: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and
envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. That list is the list of “the works of the flesh” from
Galatians 5:19-21, and we would be naïve not to expect to see those things, since many of the
young men and women students have followed the desires of their “flesh” (sometimes a biblical
synonym for the sin nature) all their lives, and on the campus are quite free to live out their
desires.

It is great news, however, to learn that we do not have to carry out the desires of our flesh. We
can change our character and our actions, and live like the children of God we are. God has
sealed each Christian with the gift of holy spirit (Eph. 1:13), [4] which is the very seed and
nature of God (1 Pet. 1:23; 2 Pet. 1:4). As our holy nature, it influences us toward godliness, just
as our sin nature influences us toward selfishness. The two natures are at war within us, as
Galatians says:

Galatians 5:17a (Kenneth Wuest) [5]

For the flesh constantly has a strong desire to suppress the Spirit, and the Spirit constantly has a
strong desire to suppress to flesh, and these are entrenched in an attitude of mutual opposition to
one another….
The holy spirit nature God gives us enables us to defeat the influences of the world around us, as
well as the “world” that lives inside us, even as Scripture testifies:

1 John 4:4
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is
greater than the one who is in the world.

The one who is in us, via holy spirit, is “Christ,” as Colossians 1:27 says, and the Christ in us is
greater than the world. Upon realizing that we have the spiritual power to not succumb to the
atmosphere of the world, and the power to change any part of our character that has become
ungodly, we now have to make up our minds to change. To change we must first get honest with
ourselves about what needs to be changed. Making excuses for ungodly behavior will not help,
nor will minimizing any character trait we do not want to have to deal with. Saying, “It’s not that
bad,” will not help us become more like Christ. The Word of God gives us specific directions
about the kind of behaviors that are, and are not, appropriate. For example, consider the
following excerpts from Ephesians:

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity,
or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and
anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Do not get drunk…. (From
Ephesians 4 and 5).

God not only tells us what not to do, He tells us the kind of behavior we should be exhibiting in
our lives. For example, we find the following excerpts in Galatians:

“Serve one another in love. Love your neighbor as yourself. Live by the Spirit. The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Keep in step with the Spirit. If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore
him gently. Carry each other’s burdens. Let us not become weary in doing good…as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of
believers” (From Galatians 5 and 6).

Many of us have struggled hard to obey Scripture and not follow our sin nature. It is not easy to
obey God and become like Christ, and although we will never arrive at perfection, we can
become far more godly than we might think we can, because our heavenly Father will help us as
we do our part. We saw earlier that the word metamorphoo means to change inwardly, in one’s
character. Medical science is just recently able to tell how profound a change is possible when
someone really works at it. In the last couple of decades, scientists have developed the
technology to be able to photograph the brain as it is thinking, and see what parts of the brain are
active in certain situations. This has enabled us to see that when God says “transformed,” He
really means “transformed.”

For example, studies done on people who have learned to control their anger show that the brain
actually responds differently to the same stimulus before and after the person made a concerted
effort for several months to be less angry. Thus the transformation that a person goes through on
his journey to become like Christ is not just a disciplining of the flesh, but a rewiring of the
brain. That is why, though old habits and tendencies still pop up in each of us, the more we work
to become like Christ, the easier it becomes. We will never totally rid ourselves of the desires of
our flesh and our fleshly nature, they are part of us, but as we are transformed more and more
into the image of Christ, some of the battles we have had to fight will end in victory, while other
battles will be easier to win each time.

In His grace and mercy, God not only commands us to be transformed, but also tells us how to
go about accomplishing the task. Romans 12:2 commands us to be transformed “by the renewing
of your mind.” It is by changing our thoughts that we are transformed. It does not come from
wishing, hoping, or commanding, but rather by “renewing.”

“Renewing” is the Greek word, anakainosis, which is made up of the prefix ana and the noun
kainos. The prefix ana can mean “up” or “again,” and although the specific form of the word
found in the New Testament is not found in ancient Greek literature, other forms are used, and
mean “renew.” However, it is important to note that the primary meaning of ana is “up” or
“upon,” and that emphasis certainly comes into play here in Romans 12. It is not just that God
asks us to “renew” our minds, but rather to bring our minds “up” to a new level of thinking.
Nevertheless, the idea of “renewing” is also very much in view, and the point is that, due to our
sin nature and the atmosphere of ungodliness that we live in and breathe every day, we can never
rest in any “new” that we attain, but must be in the process of “renewing” every day.

The noun kainos is also important, because there are two primary Greek words for “new.” One is
neos, which means “new in time,” and the other is kainos, which means “new in quality.” [6]
Every thought we have is “new” at that time, so God is not asking us to just have “new”
thoughts. Rather, God is commanding us to bring our thinking up to a new quality, His quality.
Whereas before we may have had fleshly, worldly, and selfish, thoughts, God is commanding us
to bring our thoughts up in quality, so that they are holy, pure, selfless, giving, thankful, etc.

Not amazingly, when psychologists and counselors work with people to overcome problems
such as anger, envy, lust, etc., they find that what God has been prescribing for centuries is what
works. No one overcomes anger by venting it on the one with whom he is angry. Venting one’s
anger has been shown to only make the person even more angry. Similarly, no one overcomes
lust by satisfying his lust via rape, prostitutes, or pornography. That kind of behavior only makes
the lust more deeply engrained.

On the other hand, few people can overcome their sinful desires just by saying to themselves, “I
won’t think that way any more,” or “I won’t get angry like that ever again.” Many have tried that
approach and it usually does not work, and thankfully the Bible does not say, “Just say ‘no.’” It
says that we need to learn to adjust our thinking, redirect it, so that it has a new quality. That we
are to redirect our thinking is one of the great lessons of this section in Romans. Counselors and
therapists have known this for years, but it has been in the Bible for centuries. In many ways our
minds are like two-year old children. If we just say “No,” or “Stop that,” to a two-year old, we
get a big tantrum and poor results. If, on the other hand, we redirect the attention of the child,
they move on to the new thing without a fuss. Similarly, if we just try to tell ourselves, “Don’t be
angry,” we usually get poor results, but if we redirect our thoughts and ask ourselves how we can
be loving in the situation, or be curious about the person, or make light of the situation, or think
of how we can have a positive influence in the situation, we get much better results.

God does not want us to have sorrow, mental pain, loneliness, or anxiety, living as unwary
victims of the ungodly spiritual atmosphere we breathe every day. He wants us to be blessed, and
He knows that for us to do that most effectively we need to be aware of the spiritual atmosphere
of our age and not live by its standards. Further, He knows that our flesh produces desires and
thoughts that are unhealthy for us, and which lead to distress and dismay. Therefore He
commands us to be transformed by constantly bringing our thoughts up to a new quality. At that
point, it is up to us to obey. We are the ones who have control over what we think, and we must
exercise that control. God knows that as we do this, we will be blessed in our day-to-day lives. It
is not easy to become like Christ, but with some knowledge and effort, we can get closer each
day.

Texts:
"For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and
sow not among thorns." (Jeremiah 4:3)
"Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your
unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers
righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12)

Intro:

The phrase "unplowed ground" (NIV) or "fallow ground" (KJV, NRSV) is the Hebrew
noun nîr, "the tillable, untilled, or fallow ground."*

It is land that could be productive, but for whatever reason has not been broken up,
tilled, plowed, and prepared for planting. The prophets speaking the Word of the Lord are
commanding the people to break up that land — spiritually! To plow the plowable land that
they have. The prophets observe two things about fallow ground:

"Break up your unplowed ground

and do not sow among thorns." (Jeremiah 4:3)

In other words, they were sowing seed, but because they didn't bother to prepare the
soil and pull out the thorns, the seed had little effect. They were either lazy or stupid or
both.

A. PREPARING THE GROUND FOR PLANTING

1. Hardness must be broken up

2. Weeds must be removed

What's been growing in your heart previously? Hatred, bitterness, lust, greed, hedonism?
These must be rooted out so a new crop can be planted. Grain doesn't flourish under the
shade of trees. They must be removed so the new crop can grow in the light.
. A plow or rototiller does the hard work of opening up the ground. Yes, you can dig it, one
shovel at a time, but that's too slow. You harness some cattle or horses — or horsepower.
But many is the farmer without livestock who has harnessed himself up and pulled his own
plow while his wife or son guided the plow. It takes energy to pull the plow, to guide the
plow, to keep the furrows straight so the field can be plowed efficiently.

Where is the hardness in your heart? Where is the unbelief that is lurking in your soul? If
you've been hurt in a relationship or by your father or mother, you may have sealed off an
area of your life because it's just too painful. But you need to let God break up those old
resentments and heal those old hurts. He'll pull the plow, but you must direct it toward
those hard places in you that you know must be dealt with.

Sometimes we've been hardened by unbelief. You prayed that a grandparent wouldn't die
and your prayer wasn't answered. You've been out of work or have chronic illness that has
taken its toll on your faith. You've come to the conclusion that God doesn't answer prayer —
at least for you. That hardness of unbelief must be faced squarely and broken up if God is to
plant something new and fruitful in your heart. Heartfelt repentance and confession is one
way of plowing deep. When is the last time you were literally on your knees broken before
the Lord?

3. Larger rocks must be dislodged. Sometimes when you're plowing you come upon
some large, immovable rocks. If you're serious about putting this field into production, it
will require considerable digging, leverage, and horsepower to move the rocks from the
field. Yes, it's work, but you'll be glad later that you took the time to do it right.

As you've plowed your heart, have you discovered some big rocks that need to be removed?
Can't budge them by yourself? Why don't you talk with your pastor or a mature Christian
about the problem? They will have had some experience moving rocks in their own life —
every field has them. Instead of being judgmental, you'll probably find they'll be a lot of
help.

4. Thorns must be gathered and burned. When a field goes unplanted for several years
it often become covered with thorns or other weeds. Here in California the weed of choice is
star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis), an Old World thistle that is the scourge of the West. A
combination of approaches will eventually conquer star thistle — pulling by hand, mowing
when the flowers are only 10% blossomed, and irrigation. One of our neighbors was in her
pasture several days last month pulling up star thistle by the roots. Now her pasture is
pretty free of it, though she'll need to watch out for newly germinated seeds for the next
few years.

What kinds of thorns make the fields of our hearts unproductive? In the Parable of the
Sower, Jesus' uses thorns in a field to describe the human heart.

"The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word,
but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful"
(Matthew 13:22).

"The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come
in and choke the word, making it unfruitful" (Mark 4:19).

"The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they
are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature" (Luke 8:14).
Depending on your particular plot of land, those thorns may represent sexual temptations
and lust, self-indulgence, pride, anger, selfishness, a love of entertainment and recreation,
addictions, greed, and other thorns. Each of these chokes the Word. Each has a devastating
effect on the crop that God wants to grow in you and me. We must root them out instead of
molly-coddling them!

The Mind
The Heart