Under the sway of forces hostile to God, the world seeks to twist the church into its own mold. Under the sovereign rule of God, on the other hand, the church must resist conformity to the world. It must not capitulate to the pressures to fall in line (Romans 12:20).

Rather, it must seek the transformation not only of the church but even of the world. In other words, it must strive to evoke from the world and those in it an acknowledgment of God’s reign.