What Is Your Standard? | Bible Teaching on Living by Faith

2026-01-11 Nathan Chaffin Romans 12:2

Series: Morning Messages

What standard guides your life—God's Word or the world's ways? This sermon challenges believers to reject human creeds, denominational manuals, and cultural conformity, urging Scripture as the only foundation for salvation, worship, and daily living, with Philippians 4:8 as a practical benchmark.

Detailed Summary

God's Word must be the believer's standard, not the world's ways, human creeds, or the traditions of men. Using Romans 12:2 and James 4:4, the speaker warns against being conformed to this world, then illustrates the danger of doing religion 'our way' through the story of Simon in Acts 8. Though Simon believed and was baptized, he still tried to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit, showing that initial obedience does not guarantee ongoing faithfulness. A humorous personal anecdote about understanding conscience as a spiritual concept leads into a sobering warning: following our conscience is not always safe. Even Paul persecuted Christians 'in good conscience' before his conversion on the Damascus road, proving that sincere belief can still be wrong.

The speaker calls listeners to reject church traditions, personal preferences, and denominational manuals—whether the Baptist Manual, Methodist Discipline, or Book of Mormon—as their standard. Instead, God's Word must be the foundation for every decision, including salvation, church membership, worship practices, and how children are raised. The teaching concludes by challenging each person to examine their standards in worship, work, conduct, dress, and family responsibilities. Every individual must choose between following God's way or their own way, and that choice carries eternal consequences. The closing scripture from Philippians 4:8 provides a practical benchmark for Christian living, calling believers to focus on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.