Created to Rebel
 The Power of Rebellion
What’s the Most Rebellious thing you have ever done? I know what mine is! When I was 16 years old, just as I was learning to drive, I actually moved out of my house and lived in a Volkswagen camper van for 6 months! I felt like my environment at home was controlling and I wanted change. I disagreed with what my home stood for and I wanted to take a stand. I was rebellious. But I have to tell you that my rebellion didn’t last long, do you know why? It was short-lived because I WAS WRONG about what I believed! And when you find yourself rebelling against what is RIGHT, that rebellion won’t last very long!
Where do you think rebellion begins? Some would say it begins with ANGER! You feel like rebelling when you become angry about some condition around you. So what are you angry about? Most of the stuff we get angry about is pretty inconsequential. The whole world can be decaying around us, falling into chaos, and most of the time we are simply angry about some little thing that is affecting our personal lives. We are so self focused! God doesn’t have a problem with anger, just the way that we apply it!
 Ephesians 4:26
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry...
How can we get angry without sinning? Well, one way is to focus our anger on the same things that God focuses His anger! It is perfectly appropriate to have a Godly dissatisfaction and anger with the same things that anger God! It is perfectly understandable if we feel rebellious about the things that are ungodly! Look, we have to begin by understanding that we are hard wired with a rebellious streak. From the days o Adam we have demonstrated over and over again that we are rebellious to the core. And as a culture, we celebrate the rebellious heroes we have created; we love to read about outlaws, don’t we? And so much of our culture is centered on our rebellious nature. We fashion ourselves after gangsters, adopting their clothing and hairstyles, and we embrace toys and games that celebrate rebellion (like Grand Theft Auto!)
What Rebellious Used to Be
Well when I was young, rebellion meant responding to a conservative culture in a way that would shock and irritate them. The hippie movement was alive and well in the 60’s and 70’s, and the motto of the day was SEX, DRUGS, and ROCK N ROLL! But over time, we hippies grew up and became the leaders, writers, educators and presidents of today’s culture! What used to be shocking is now mainstream! Our presidents have engaged in outlandish sexual behavior, our cultural leaders have been caught using drugs, even our politicians fashion themselves as rock stars! When the presidential candidate of the United States appears in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine using the “F” word, you know that our culture has completely embraced the rebellious nature of the 60’s!
 
What used to be called rebellious is now called normative! If you want to be rebellious in this generation you are going to have to react to all of the adopted values from the 60’s and 70’s. In order to be rebellious today, you are going to have to return to something ANCIENT! And God is in favor of that, because it means we will have to return to the ancient wisdom of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Let’s take a look at God’s desire for us to be rebellious!
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect
Key Word “Conformed”
Now let’s begin by looking at this verse very carefully! You know that every rebellion has a language all its own. Each member of the rebellion has a code language and set of terms that are used to communicate ideas and notions. Today, we often see the code language of a rebellious group within our culture. Gangsters often tag the walls of their neighborhoods with messages that sometimes seem difficult to understand. Well God’s rebellion has a native language as well. In fact, there are two native languages, Hebrew and Greek. All the original scriptures, all the messages from God have been given to us in these two languages. As we examine what God is trying to tell us about rebellion, let’s begin to try to understand the native language of the rebellion! Let’s start with the word used in this verse for the idea of “conforming”. The word is:
Suschematizo and it is pronounced “soos-khay-mat-id-zo”
The word means to “fashion oneself according to the patterns of this world” Now that is an interesting definition of conformation! We all have found ourselves chasing fashion at one time or another. And so much of our culture is shaped or reflected on the covers of fashion magazines! Girls are probably a little more sophisticated in this way and many women chase the fashions found on magazines that are designed for this specific purpose. But guys are really no better. While there may not be fashion magazines made specifically for young men, music and sports magazines certainly seem to fill the void. Most of us can recall a time when we shaped our lives around the patterns and fashions that were demonstrated by the popular icons we adore.
God hates it when we do this. He wants us to stop looking at he temporary fashions of this world to find our shape. Instead, he wants us to rebel against this type of conformity and look to something eternal. He wants us to look to the heavens and seek a reality that transcends image and fashion!
Key Word “World”
It's imporant to dig deep into the Greek langauge for a bit, so let’s take a look at another word in this verse, the word used to describe our “world”:
The word here is Aion and it is pronounced “ahee-ohn”
It literally means “an age”, and you can see the word “ion” hidden within its lettering. That’s a little different than “world” wouldn’t you say? See, over the years we can see that styles and ideas about culture, fashion, music, love, and relationships change dramatically, and sometimes we have to look back at the past and laugh about what we used to think was cool. God does not want us to get caught up in what is popular or accepted in any “age” in which we live, because he knows that these are simply temporary times. God wants us to rebel against the temporary and seek the eternal!
Key Word “Transformed”
Finally let’s look at one more word in this verse. The langauge of the New Testament is very powerful. Let’s look at God’s word for “transformed”:
The word here is Metamorphoo and it is pronounced “met-am-or-fo-o”
It means “to transform or change completely” It’s important for us to realize that God wants us to be completely transformed. If you didn’t know better, you might not believe that a butterfly could ever emerge from a caterpillar, and God would like to see us change our thinking so completely that we would actually be unrecognizable! If we are conforming to the world around us, God would like to see us return to His ancient truths and be a completely new creature of rebellion!
You Are Already Conforming to Something
Now sometimes people hesitate to join the ranks of Christians because they see Christianity as a set of rules, and they think that Christians conform more than anyone else! These people believe that their own form of “rebellion” has given them freedom from constraint. But is that really true? Ever rebellious group in history has really engaged in conformity of their own. Gangsters have a set of rules, bikers have a set of rules, punkers have a set of rules, gothics have a set of rules, and straightedge followers have a set of rules! All these people who see themselves as rebellious non-conformists are really conforming as much, if not more, than anyone else!
Conformists and Contrarians
See the whole world, according to Carl Jung, can be divided into three groups. First there are Conformists. These folks (about 85% of us) find comfort in their conformity with the norms of the culture. About 10% of us would consider ourselves to be contrarians. We are dissatisfied with the way things are and find ourselves rebelling in some way, but as we have discussed, we often join other subgroups of conformists thinking that we are somehow being rebellious! Finally there are the true contrarians who resist everything around them. They occupy the smallest fraction of our society and true contrarians are very rare. In fact, you might argue that they are dangerous! You see, the truest non -conforming contrarian is actually a sociopath! The Ted Kaczynski’s and Charles Manson’s of the world are true contrarians, and they are not people to be envied or modeled! See God wants you to understand that conforming to His Life is the truest act of rebellion in the world in which we live today. He does not want us to conform to this world, but be transformed into His image. That act of transformation is the truest act of rebellion available to us today!
QUESTION: What is the Difference Between Rebellion and Revolution?
Rebellion Definition
You need to know that God does want you to rebel against the ways of the world in which you live! In fact he wants you to be even more than a rebel. He wants you to be a revolutionary! Let’s take a look at the Webster’s definition of “rebellion”:
Rebellion “implies an open formidable resistance that is often unsuccessful”.
See rebellion is a word of FAILURE. It indicates an attempt, but not a movement. Rebellion is simply a REACTION, but not an ACTION!
Revolution Definition
God wants you to think less about Rebellion and more about REVOLUTION! Let’s take a look at the Webster’s definition of “revolution”:
Revolution “applies to a successful rebellion resulting in a major change ”
See revolution is a word of success. Revolution is what occurs when a rebellion is successful! And that’s what God wants you to be, SUCCESSFUL! So let’s see what defines revolution and contrast it with the goals of rebellion:
Revolution seeks something better than what already exists
(instead of settling for something different)
Revolution is willing to sacrifice to advance a cause
(instead of settling for the things that make us feel good)
Revolution has the potential to create lasting change
(instead of settling for the latest fashion)
Revolution recognizes that revolutionaries are not part of what presently exists
(instead of settling for an attachment to another set of conformists)
Let’s take a look at some scripture! God wants us to join a revolution and this verse gives us some insight.
Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
“chosen, royal, holy, God’s own” - These words call us to seek something better than what already exists. We are called to something greater than what we already are. That is an element of REVOLUTION! “so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness” – These words call us to be willing to sacrifice to advance a cause. All revolutionaries are willing to do this! “for you once were not a people, but now you are the people” - These words remind us that we were created for a purpose, we were created for eternity, as God’s revolutionaries! We were created for lasting change! “beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers” – These words recognize the fact that it won’t be easy to be part of God’s revolutionary army! It recognizes that we are not part of what presently exists! So, we are to change what presently exists!
Key Word “Aliens”
OK, let’s take a look at the native language of the rebellion and examine the last part of this verse. Notice the word that God uses for “Alien”:
The word is Paroikos , and it is pronounced “par-oy-kos”
It means “having a home nearby (but not here) - an alien resident” Now that’s an interesting notion. We all think of something specific when we hear the word, “alien” some of us think of outer space creatures, others think of illegal aliens or foreigners. But what defines an alien. First and foremost, aliens are “different”. They are not like us. Their ways are quite simply “alien” to us! But which would you prefer as you walk down the street and are seen or known by the people around you. Would you rather they say “He’s different, isn’t he?” or would you rather have them say “He’s different, isn’t he?” In other words, would you prefer to stick out in your culture because of your efforts to be bizarre or because of your transformation into something transcendent, something that glides above the culture on your wisdom and insight and purity? We are called to be aliens, not freaks! God wants us to live as though we are from somewhere else. Somewhere better, somewhere eternal.
Key Word “Strangers”
There is even more tht can be learned from the original Greek langauge used in the scripture here. Now let’s look at God’s word for “stranger”:
The word is Parepidemos, and it is pronounced “par-ep-id-ay-mos”
It means “an alien alongside”. I love that definition, because it calls us as revolutionaries not to retreat, but to live alongside the culture from which we are rebelling! See we are supposed to be cunning observers and critics of our culture, peering in from the outside, doing what we can to influence the culture, but always separated by a holy barrier that protects us from the world around us! Keep in mind that Jesus knew that our rebellion from the culture around us might separate us from the family and social units we have come to know and be comfortable with! Check out these verses:
Luke 12:51-53
Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Matthew 10:37-39
Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Your Holy Rebellion may separate you from your friends and may even separate you from you family if they are not believers. But God has a mission for you. Help your non-believing family to know Jesus the way that YOU know Jesus. Help them to JOIN YOU in the revolution!
QUESTION: Why Do You Think People You Know Are Rebellious?
If you really think about it, most of us try to stand out in our culture by being rebellious because we all want people to see that we are worth something.
I Matter
We seem to be using rebellion to scream “I matter”, “notice me”, “I have something important to say”, “listen to me”, and “I am worth something”. God wants you to know that you ARE worth something. In fact you are worth dying for! God tells us in scripture:
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God wants you to know that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us; while we were conforming to the world, Christ was rebelling for us; while we were chasing fads and fashion, Jesus was forging a new path; while we still posers and pretenders, Jesus Christ was the true rebel. Let’s join God in this Holy Rebellion! | 
