A father asked his son, “If three frogs were sitting on a limb that hung over a pond, and one frog decided to jump, how many frogs would be left?”
The little boy grinned and said, “That’s easy, Dad. Two.”
“No,” the father replied. “The answer is three. The one frog only DECIDED to jump. He never jumped. You see, son, there is a big difference between deciding and doing!”
While Christianity calls on us to make important life decisions, there must be follow-through. Action. Activity. Execution.
Few passages better illustrate this truth than Romans 12. After eleven chapters describing God’s mercy and grace, Paul calls believers to respond with action, commitment, and transformation.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what that good and acceptable and perfect will of God is.
Our challenge is this: Will we be Conformed or Transformed?
The word conform means to fashion outwardly. But the word Transformed means to be changed inwardly. From it, we get the word “metamorphosis”.
The idea is a complete inward change. Just as a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis and emerges as a butterfly, the sinner is transformed into a child of God.
J.B. Phillips translates this phrase, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.” Just as Jell-O poured into a mold will solidify to take the shape of the mold, we will either be formed to look like Christ or like the world. It depends on what influences shape us.
There are three ways Christians are to be different from the world.
(1) We must be transformed morally.
The world seeks to conform us to its fashions, attitudes, and morals. James L. Standfield wrote: “The world is the Devil’s liar for sinners and its lure for saints.” Satan still seeks to ensnare us the same way he did Eve and with the same three temptations as he tried to entrap Christ: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
We must be transformed from the world’s desires, deeds, and deceitfulness. There is pressure to conform through ungodly friends, salacious literature, and immoral mass media. Television, streaming entertainment, social media, and the endless content available on our digital devices can often appeal to our baser instincts rather than our better selves.
The Bible appeals to our moral senses: “Be not conformed, but be transformed.”
(2) We must be transformed mentally.
This text calls it “the renewing of your mind.” J. Oswald Sanders wrote, “A well-ordered life is the outcome of a well-ordered mind.”
If moral change is to occur in our lives, it must begin with a mental transformation. Christians think differently from the world. We discipline our minds to think on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable (Phil. 4:8).
Since so much in the world appeals to the obscene, off-color, and unclean, we must constantly renew our minds, refresh our spirits, and revive our hearts. How do we affect mind-renewal?
It must begin by reading the Bible. By meditating on the word, we can flush out bad thoughts and replace them with good, godly ones. The Psalmist penned, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You (Ps 119:11).
We can also replenish our minds with spiritual thoughts by listening to recordings of hymns, sermons, and motivational lessons. Attending worship service and enjoying fellowship with like-minded Believers also helps. Reading good books by religious authors will channel our minds in a positive direction. And, if these daily reflections encourage your spiritual growth, I hope you’ll continue reading ThePreachersWord.
(3) We must be transformed motivationally.
Romans 12:2 exhorts “that you may prove what that good and acceptable and perfect will of God is.” Our motives should be wrapped up in the will of God. We are focused on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb 12:2).
Our motivation is beyond this life. It is spiritual. Eternal. And heavenward.
The frog on the limb never jumped because he merely decided. Many people admire Christ, appreciate His teachings, and intend to serve Him someday. But discipleship requires more than good intentions. It requires surrender, transformation, and action. The question is not whether we have decided to change, but whether we are allowing God to transform us day by day.
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
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