Being “conformed” and being “transformed” are two very different things; the Bible states that being transformed by God’s Spirit trumps being conformed by our own ideas, beliefs, wants, and dislikes/likes. We get to choose what we believe and we get to choose what takes makes us into the people we become. My hope is that you would see these verses in a new light, seeing God’s grace fall upon you as He chooses you. Take what you believe seriously and lean into The Lord; salvation is found there while judgement is found in your self will.
The Wry Pastor
Bible References:
Romans 11:17-12:5
John 17:
John 14:
2 Corinthians 3:3
2 Corinthians 3:18
Matthew 17:2
Mark 9:2
Revelation 1:8-20
Revelation 19:11-16
Romans 1-11 Summaries
Romans 1: Gentiles are guilty and have been given over to sin; idolatry, sexual impurity and disease, to depravity of the body, soul, and spirit as judgment by God
Romans 2: Jews also fall under judgment due to following The Law to attain righteousness; they are sinning blind guides and break The Law by their own acts
Romans 3: all are sinners before God, none are righteous apart from faith in and thru Christ Jesus; no one can boast about their salvation or faith; it’s an act of God’s love for the soul
Romans 4: Abraham shown as first real believer having faith in God’s ability to bring the dead back to life thru the command of God to sacrifice Isaac
Romans 5: we are righteous by faith and see the prototypical man in Christ contrast between the fleshly/earthly man in Adam; the one trespass of Adam condemning the human race is reconciled by faith in the perfect man (Jesus the Christ) as The only God man who lived perfectly and died perfectly for all humanity reconciling all thru faith in His sacrifice
this is the theological concepts of Original Sin (Hamartiology), Propitiation (atoning for God’s wrath on sin), and Substitution (God taking God’s punishment for sin as the only way to appease His wrath)
Romans 6: living the new life that was once lived as slaves to sin, but now you’re a slave to God in Christ
Romans 7: the inner battle of still winning while being a Christian
Romans 8: that nothing can separate us from God as we are in Christ and moving forward in faith; there is no condemnation, but you have no free pass to sin due to salvation (Holy fire insurance)
Romans 9: Israel is condemned die to unbelief and repudiation of The Messiah; they reject Jesus due to their faith in The Law which is a dead religion of practice over heart condition and transformation
Romans 10: it is only thru faith that you are set free and you must hear by someone telling you the truth; which is why we speak about our faith and learn about it as paramount/highest in ranking/importance in our lives
Romans 11: is Paul addressing Jew versus Gentile animosity and it holding oneself higher due to faith outside of Judaism; Jewish unbelief is for Gentile benefit (reference the reason Luke is so important as this Gospel is written to show that Jew and Gentile alike are welcome into salvation)
don’t be conceited about your ethnicity
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