Don't Blend in, Stand Out

In the movie “My Cousin Vinny” there’s one scene where Joe Pesci tells his girlfriend that she “sticks out like a sore thumb because of how she was dressed. His girlfriend looked at him and said “what about you?” and he responded “at least I’m wearing cowboy boots.” Then she responded “Oh yeah you blend.” The fact of the matter was both of them stood out. They were two New Yorkers, dressed like New Yorkers in a small town in Alabama. They didn’t blend in, they stood out.

We live in a society today that wants us to blend in or conform: Conform to what they want and the way they want to live. To not accept or agree with the standards of this age sets you a part and you are tagged as being strange. To have Godly morals and values will get you labeled as crazy, old fashioned or out of touch. And brothers and sisters the sinister thing about it all is we have folk in the Church who agree with this age. There are believers in Christ who refuse to accept what the word of God says about how they ought to live, but will quickly accept the advice of someone who never stepped foot in the Church. But I want you to know today that we are called to be different. We are not called to blend in but rather to stand out.

As we look at our text, Paul puts out a call for commitment from the people of God. His call for commitment is founded on the fact that as the people of God vertically we have received the grace of God and are required to horizontally spread forth the grace of God to others by living in a way that shows God’s grace has been given to us.

This epochal or highly significant statement by Paul in verse two, penetrates the physical, external world to confront the internal world of the mind. You see beloved, because there were some Jews in the audience that Paul wrote to Paul had to speak to the internal rather than the physical, because it was well known that the Jews focused all their attention on the ethical behavior of a person, which is good in many ways. It’s what we would call a bottom line approach to good and evil. However, Jesus was not satisfied with mere external, physical obedience. Jesus called for His followers to have clean hearts first, then clean hands. That’s because sin and righteousness begin in the mind.

And so Paul puts forth this compelling call to commitment not to blend in, but to stand out. You see we have a choice as believers in Jesus Christ between two alternatives; we can be what is known in the Greek “Syschematizo” which means to be molded according to a pattern, or we can be “Metamorphoo” which in the Greek means to be changed from one thing to another.” In other words, you can blend in or you can stand out, you must decide what action you are going to take, but if you are going to show your appreciation for the grace that God has vertically bestowed on you, don’t blend in, stand out.

Now, in order to stand out, Paul in this second verse provides what must be done, and the first thing that is suggested is:

I. You must live counter-culture:

To live counter-culture means to have a way of life and a set of values and morals that are opposed to the prevailing social norm. In other words because of who you are in Jesus Christ your way of living ought to counter or go against the ways of this present age. Paul puts it this way at the start of verse two. Paul says, “ Do not be conformed to this age,” That word conformed in the double Greek means to shape one’s behavior or to be molded to a certain pattern. As the people of God the pattern we are to reject is a grotesquely twisted version of God’s original creation, which He repeatedly called good. In some of the translations the text reads, “do not be conformed to this world.” However, Paul did not use the Greek word for world or universe here, he used the term “aion” which means age. The reason Paul used this term is because the world was not originally evil; it has been corrupted. So, Paul’s use of the term meaning age stressed the fact that the present condition of creation is temporary. Before this age, the universe moved in perfect harmony with God’s nature, which is righteousness and love. And when Christ returns, the world will be refashioned to reflect God’s character.

Unfortunately beloved, we in our natural born state are part and parcel of this fallen creation and its system, which is ruled by evil, selfishness, greed, deceit, and violence. God’s way is exactly the opposite, finding pleasure in good, selflessness, trust, gentleness, and truth. There is no middle ground between the two. The Apostle John described the two systems as “darkness and light.”; Paul called them “flesh and Spirit.” And my friends we are challenged with the responsibility to choose which system we are going to be a part of. Are you going to be conformed to this present age and its evil, or are you going to live counter culture.

Are you going to blend in and serve the prince of this age, or are you going to stand out and serve the Creator of the world?

Are you going to allow the twisted morals of this present age determine how you live, or are you going to obey the words of the One who died that you may live.

Are you going to join the culture or are you going to live counter culture?

Are you going to blend in, or are you going to stand out?

Paul says be not conformed to this age. Don’t allow this age to mold you into what it wants you to be, but allow the Lord to put you on the potters wheel and mold you into what He wants you to be.]

The second thing that Paul suggests you must do in order to not blend in but stand out and that is:

II. You must change through the reestablishment of your mind:

Brothers and sister, if we are to stand out from this present fallen age into which we were born, we must change. Unfortunately, we cannot change ourselves, so we must be transformed. To be transformed means to be or become changed in outward appearance or expression as a manifestation of a change in nature. In other words, transformation happens on the inside and shows up on the outside. Have I got a witness?

And since we cannot transform ourselves, we must rely on Jesus Christ to do that for us. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are transformed on the inside, we are re-created on the inside, we are made anew. And so beloved since we have been transformed on the inside then we must renew our minds so that what has taken place inside can show up outside in our living. That’s why Paul says in the (B) clause of verse 2, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,”

Renewing is the act of reestablishing something in a like-new and often improved manner.(say it again) Brothers and sisters, I’ve proclaimed from this sacred desk many times that it begins in the mind and shows up in the flesh. How we act, how we behave, how we respond aligns itself with what is going on in our minds, and if we are going to stand out we must reestablish our minds so that our lives can tell this present evil immoral age that we are not blending in, but we are standing out for Jesus.

We must change through the reestablishment of our minds. And when we do that, we learn to view the world through the grid of scriptures, and we learn to respond as scripture prescribes. In other words, how we view the meaning of life will be changed to how God views life, how we view greatness will be changed to how God views greatness, how we view who or what determines right or wrong will be changed to line up with God’s word, how we should respond when we are offended will be changed to how the Lord says we should respond, how we determine a persons worth will be changed to how God see’s them. We shouldn’t blend in with the world, but we should stand out as representatives of our God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Finally beloved, if you are to stand out and not blend in:

III. You must do the will of God:

Brothers and sisters, when you decide that you will not be conformed to this world. When you make an effort to change through the reestablishment or renewing of your mind, you will began to understand the will of God. In the final clause of verse 2 Paul says, “so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” That word discern here means to prove. It suggests to judge to be right or commendable. In other words, what Paul is saying is once you understand God’s perfect will, when you examine it and see that its worthwhile, you need to do it. That’s how you stand out. You see when you do the will of God you will always live counter culture. When you do the will of God it is evidence of a life that has been transformed and a mind that has been reestablished. When you do the will of God, it suggests that you have determined that God’s will is good and perfect and you’ve made up in your mind that you are not going to blend in, but you are going to stand out. You’re going to persist in living your life in a way that represents God instead of the ruler of this evil age. And beloved I need to let you know today, that when you make up in your mind that you’re not going to blend in but stand out, that it will not be easy. Are you with me?

When you stand out and don’t blend in, folk are going to talk about you.

When you stand out and don’t blend in, satan is going to attack you.

When you stand out and don’t blend in,friends will abandon you.

When you stand out and don’t blend in, haters will hate even more on you.

But my friends, that’s alright, let them continue to talk about you.

Let satan continue to attack you.

Let friends continue to abandon you.

Let your haters continue to hate on you.

Because, when you stand out and not blend in the Lord will be with you.

The Lord will protect you.

The Lord will comfort you.

The Lord will provide for you.

The Lord will watch over you.

So, don’t blend in, but stand out for Jesus.

Because it was Jesus who died on the cross for your sin.

It was Jesus who God raised on the third day.

It was Jesus who ascended 40 days later.

It is Jesus who intercedes for us each and every day.

And it will be Jesus who will escort us home to glory.

So, beloved, knowing all that, I’m going to stand out and not blend in.!! Amen