This is the Scripture-Driven Church broadcast brought to you by Teaching the Word Ministries. The Church of Jesus Christ must be the Scripture-Driven Church, relying on God's inspired and inerrant Word as our sole authority and our infallible critic in every area of life and ministry. And now, here's author, Bible teacher, and Teaching the Word president, Dr. Paul Elliott, to introduce today's program. This month on the Scripture Driven Church broadcast, we're remembering the Protestant Reformation. Last week we presented Part 1 of a message titled, What Does It Mean to be a Protestant? Last time we saw that many evangelical spokesmen are saying that the Reformation was a mistake. They're calling for a so-called New Reformation. that would overturn and repeal the return to the truth of God's Word that took place during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. We saw that the basis of this proposed new Reformation is a return to the sad position of the Church in the Dark Ages before the Reformation, especially in four areas. Cultivation of biblical illiteracy, reliance on sensory experience, promotion of theological pluralism, and a trust in works rather than faith for salvation. Last week we considered the first three, and this week we turn to number four, and then we come to this vital question. What does it mean to truly be a Protestant? We're going to find the answer in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. Heavenly Father, I pray that You would bless Your Word as it goes forth today. I pray that You would bring a moving of Your Spirit that would provide the spark and fan the flames of genuine revival, a true returning to the faith of our spiritual fathers, the faith that we find only in Your Word and only in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray in His name. Amen. The pre-reformation position emphasized deeds instead of doctrine. Deeds instead of doctrine. The 15th century position was that good works and penance will get you to heaven. So don't worry about doctrine. Just do what we tell you to do. And once again, the evangelical church is returning to a pre-reformation position. I'd like to quote one man he's acknowledged as the worldwide leader of the purpose-driven church movement. And he says this, I'm quoting, You know, 500 years ago, the first Reformation with Luther and then Calvin was about creeds. The new Reformation that we're bringing about through the Purpose Driven Church is about deeds. The first one was about what the Church believes. This one will be about what the Church does. The Reformation actually split Christianity into dozens and then hundreds of different segments. This new Reformation is actually going to bring them together. Now you're never going to get Christians of all their stripes and varieties to agree on all of the different doctrinal disputes and things like that. But what I'm seeing them agree on are the purposes of the church. And I find them uniformly in the fact that I see this happening all the time. Last week, this was in 2005, he said, last week I spoke to 4,000 pastors at my church in Southern California. who came from over 100 denominations in over 50 countries. Now that's widespread. We had Catholic priests. We had Pentecostal ministers. We had Lutheran bishops. We had Anglican bishops. We had Baptist preachers. They're all there together. And you know what? I'd never get them to agree on communion or baptism or a bunch of stuff like that, but I could get them to agree on what the church should be doing in the world. This is advocacy of a return to the pre-reformation position. One church under one head. The head not being the Lord Jesus Christ. The Evangelical Church has largely forgotten what it means to be Protestant and today's focus is on man's power to transform things. But this morning, the passage that we have before us talks about God's power to transform. And this is power of an entirely different kind. It was this kind of transforming power by which God took men from among those who had been conformed to the Roman Catholic pattern for centuries. The pattern of the world, the pattern of false religion. And He took these men, the Reformers, and He renewed their minds by the power of the Holy Spirit. And through these men, Calvin, Luther, Beza, Zwingli, Knox, all the rest. Through these men, God kindled the flames of reformation throughout Europe and brought a faithful people to himself, to the truth. Romans chapter 1, excuse me, Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, 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 I'd like to focus this morning on two words in the next verse. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now, in order to understand this, we need to understand those two particular words in the original language, conformed and transformed. The first word, the word that's translated conformed here, in the Greek it's the word schema, schema. And the word means an outward appearance that does not represent the inward nature. An outward appearance that does not represent the inward nature. For example, if a cup looks clean on the outside, But it's filthy on the inside. The New Testament Greek would call that outward appearance schema. The clean on the outside does not reflect the dirty on the inside. Looks can be deceiving. When we talk about a scheming person, it's from the same word, a scheming person. What kind of person is a scheming person? We usually mean somebody who's crafty or conniving or tricky. We may say it's a kind of person who has a hidden agenda. What that person says and does outwardly often does not reflect true intentions, true inward reality. So that's schema. The second word we need to keep in mind, which is the word that's translated transformed here, is from the root word in the original language, morphe. Morphe. We talk about something morphing from one form to another. That's a common word that's used today. Something morphing. That's that word. Metamorphosis. When a caterpillar changes to a butterfly, same root word. What you see on the outside truly represents the inward nature. It's the opposite of schema. If a cup looks clean on the outside, it's also clean on the inside. We would say that that outward appearance, if we were talking New Testament Greek, that outward appearance would be called morphine. What you see is what you get. So keeping these two words in mind, morphe means the outward appearance agrees with what's on the inside. Schema means that the outside appearance does not agree with what's on the inside. One is a true picture of things. The other is a deceiving picture of things. With those two words in mind, let's think about Romans 12, verse 2. Paul exhorts us, do not be conformed to this world. Do not be schemed to this world. Don't appear to be something on the outside that you are not on the inside. You are not your own, Paul says. You've been bought with a price, the precious blood of Christ. You're the temple of God, the Holy Spirit. That's the inward reality of every believer in Christ. And Paul is saying to the church, make sure your outward appearance conforms to that inward reality. How does that apply to the church today? It means don't conform yourself to the world. Don't be driven by the world's agenda. Don't go back to the pre-reformation position. Maintain your true identity. Be Protestants. It's also interesting that the form of the word schema that's used here in this verse, it indicates having a relationship with something that is transitory, changeable, unstable. In other words, The church is not to take on an outward appearance, to take on an outward philosophy of ministry that is conformed to a world that's constantly changing its mind, a world that's ultimately passing away. The church must never take on a worldly, outward appearance that doesn't agree with the inward spiritual nature that's ours by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. The world is passing away. Our focus as Protestants should not be on what isn't going to last. True Protestants shouldn't think, act, talk like the unsaved world. If we're truly believers, we need to remember that the unsaved world includes all churches and religions that oppose the true faith. If we're truly believers, if we're truly Protestants, for us to act like the world, to agree with the world, to look like we agree with the world, is a masquerade, is a deception. Making common spiritual cause with people who are the religious enemies of Christ, that's a deception. Our thinking, our talking, our actions should reflect, accurately reflect our new life in Christ and the eternal values that characterize that new life. As Paul says in Philippians 3, our citizenship is in heaven. It's not here. It's in heaven. And instead of being conformed to this world, schemed to this world, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And the word transformed here, as we said, is morphe. Be on the outside what you are on the inside because of Christ. Don't hide who you truly are. Be Protestants and don't be ashamed of it. And the word that's translated transformed here in verse 2 It's actually literally the word metamorphosis. Be metamorphosized is what it's saying. This is a process. This is a transformation that should be something that is more and more and more true of us all the time. To what are we to be transformed? To what are we to be transformed? Well, Paul tells us earlier in Romans 8.29, he says that God has predestined believers to be conformed to the image of His Son. Conformed. Care to guess which word that is? Morphe or schema? Well, it's Morphe. The work of the Holy Spirit on the inside making us more and more and more like Christ inside and out in the way we live as individuals and as the church in this world. Be conformed to the image of His Son. And how are we to be transformed? We should note two things here in Romans 12 too. First, we're transformed by the renewing of our minds. The renewing of our minds. And the word renewing here literally means a renovation. This is the extreme makeover that God wants. a renovation of our thinking, a renovation of our minds. The church today needs an extreme makeover, but it's not the kind of makeover that Rick Warren or Joel Osteen wants to have. They're taking the visible church back to the pre-Reformation position. The church needs the kind of makeover that will firmly establish it as unashamedly Protestant once again. And second, we need to take note of the fact that the word translated be transformed here. It's in the passive voice. It means that it's something that God does in us, God does to us. The initiative lies with Him. We're to cooperate, Paul tells us in Philippians 2. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Some people try to make that into a salvation verse and say that salvation is by works, but that's not the point. You have to continue and read on. For it is God, Paul says, who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. God works and we work, not to be saved, but because all that is of grace. What's involved is becoming more like Christ. To think more like Christ. To have our thinking in every area of life and ministry driven by Scripture and not by worldly wisdom. And there's one other thing we need to mention this morning, and that is that the Apostle Paul begins Romans chapter 12 by saying, I beseech you, therefore. It's one of Paul's favorite words. He uses it 105 times in his epistles. The way Paul writes, he's very logical. He builds one thing upon another upon another and another. And his writing is highly logical, so he says, I beseech you therefore. And when he says that, what he's saying is, I beseech you on the basis of everything I've said up to this point. Well, what has Paul said? To put it in the context of Reformation Sunday, what Paul has given us in the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans is the basis for being truly Protestant. And we have it summed up for us in the preceding verses that we read at the end of chapter 11. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to Him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Through the first eleven chapters of the Book of Romans, the Apostle Paul has been building a case for us that we, as Reformed believers, know as the five solas of the Reformation. Sola Scriptura, that our doctrine is from Scripture alone. Sola Christus, that we are saved by Christ's work alone. sola gratia, that salvation is by grace alone, sola fide, that justification is by faith alone, and soli deo gloria, as we just read, the glory belongs to God alone, no one else. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. But today the church makeover movements are denying all of these Protestant Reformation solas. They're exchanging the truth of God for a lie. The modern church growth movements are exchanging sola scriptura for man's fallible perspectives on scripture. They're exchanging Christ alone for Christ plus other things. They're exchanging grace alone for a denial of the merits of Christ, and they're elevating the merits of man. They're exchanging faith alone for justification by man's faithfulness, by his deeds. And thus, the modern church makeover movements deny that all the glory belongs to God alone. They put man on the throne instead of Christ. They remove Scripture from the place of soul authority. And human works and human wisdom are being elevated. Dear friends, true Christians, True Protestants, we must oppose these things with all of our being. And we not only must be against things, we must be for things. We must be for Scripture alone, Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone, God's glory alone. Why was the Apostle John exiled to the Isle of Patmos. He tells us at the beginning of the book of Revelation, I was there for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. We must learn once again what it means to be truly and vigorously Protestant. Dr. James White is a Reformed Baptist minister and he wrote this. He said, it is my firm conviction that the word Protestant means absolutely, positively nothing unless the one who is wearing the label believes, breathes, lives, and loves the uncompromised, offensive-to-the-natural-man message of justification by God's free grace by faith in Jesus Christ alone. In the vast majority of instances today, he continues, a Protestant, in quotes, has no idea what the word itself denotes, what the historical background behind it was, nor why he should really care. And a label that has been divorced from its significance no longer functions in any meaningful fashion. We need a reformation in our day that will again draw the line clearly between those who embrace the gospel of God's grace in Christ and those who do not. And how one answers this question, how is a man made right with God? That determines, he says, whether one embraces that true gospel or not. Dear friends, the Holy Spirit calls us to be Protestants. Scripture commands us in the most unequivocal terms to be true to the untainted gospel. and the unique authority of Scripture. These things that were so long veiled in darkness before the Protestant Reformation brought them back to great light at great cost. I praise God that this church takes that kind of a stand today. In the book of Ephesians, chapter 5, the Apostle Paul writes this. He says, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light. For whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore, God says, Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. May that always be true of us. I trust and I hope and I encourage and exhort you to value what you have here. And also never be afraid to critically analyze what you're doing here because drift is the natural tendency. Never be afraid to compare Scripture with what you're doing and to admit it when you find that the church has deviated from Scripture in any way and to come back. Preserve and protect what you have here and seek to propagate what you have here. I pray that you'll do that. May we truly be Protestants, not conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove, as Paul says, that we may truly regard as valuable what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Here once again is Dr. Paul Elliott with some closing comments. The title of the book is Spiritual Depression, Its Causes and Cure, and the author is one of the greatest pastors and preachers of the 20th century, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Today many Christians and churches are turning to pop psychology and even elements of New Age philosophy for the answer to life's problems. instead of turning to God's Word. Martin Lloyd-Jones takes us back to the Bible for the answers in many areas in which people find themselves in bondage today. Perhaps you or someone you know is having difficulty with one or more of these issues. Lack of a foundation in Christ, lack of clarity in our thinking, placing too much confidence in emotions, inability to receive forgiveness for all of our sins, inability to move beyond past failures, fear of the future, bondage to legalism, failure to recognize false teachings, weariness, bitterness, lack of discipline, lack of contentment, failure to face trials in God's power, failure to respond correctly to God's chastening, Well, you'll find this book to be an excellent resource to guide you in your study of God's Word on these and many other challenges in the Christian life. Once again, the title of the book is Spiritual Depression, Its Causes and Cure, by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. The normal price of this 300-page book is $24.95, including shipping. But right now, for the last time, we're offering this book free and postage paid to anyone who requests it. Here's how to receive your copy. You can call us toll-free 24 hours a day in the United States at 888-804-9655. Once again, that's 888-804-9655. Or you can go to our website, teachingtheword.org, and click the Contact link. Once again, that's the contact link at teachingtheword.org. Or you can write to us at Box 2533, Westminster, Maryland, 21158 USA. Once again, our mailing address is Box 2533, Westminster, Maryland, 21158 USA. And don't forget to ask for the book, Spiritual Depression, Its Causes and Cure, by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. On our next program, we're going to return to our study of the book of Colossians, at chapter 2, verse 4, with a message titled, Escaping the Trap of Worldly Philosophy. Until then, may God richly bless your personal study of His inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word. of God.