Welcome to Authorized Sword Ministries. This is Breaking the Chains, Series Two, Sexual Purity and Freedom. Lesson Three: Guarding Against the Culture, Be Not Conformed.

We're so glad you're here.

Before We Begin

A gentle note first. This course is Bible teaching and spiritual encouragement. It does not replace professional counseling or medical care. We encourage you to use those good resources right alongside your faith. And if you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any time, day or night, in the United States. In an emergency, call 911.

Where We Left Off

In Lesson One, we looked at pornography. In Lesson Two, we looked at fornication and adultery, and we learned to flee like Joseph.

Today we step back and look at the water we're all swimming in: the culture. Sexual sin doesn't just tempt us one person at a time. It's pushed on us all day long through music, shows, ads, social media, and even school lessons. And sadly, some churches have stopped standing against it and started going along with it.

Our Key Verse

Today's key verse is Romans 12:2.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." — Romans 12:2 (KJV)

"Be not conformed." The world wants to press you into its mold. If you don't push back, it will shape you without you even noticing. God's answer is a renewed mind, a mind shaped by His Word instead of the world.

Calling Evil Good

The prophet Isaiah warned about a day like ours:

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" — Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)

That's our culture. Sin that once brought shame is now celebrated. Living together outside of marriage is "normal." Adultery is a storyline. Lust is a marketing plan. And the person who holds to God's Word is called hateful.

But God's Word doesn't move with the times.

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." — Isaiah 40:8 (KJV)

What Goes In Comes Out

Here's a hard question. What are you letting into your heart every day? Hours of shows and scrolling, or minutes of Scripture?

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." — Proverbs 4:23 (KJV)

What you feed grows. If you fill your eyes and ears with the world's view of sex for hours a day, don't be surprised when your heart starts to think like the world.

Paul tells us what to set our minds on instead:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." — Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

Run your music, your shows, and your feeds through that verse. Is it true? Is it pure? Is it lovely? If not, change the channel. Better yet, turn it off.

Not Even Named

Paul set a high bar for the church:

"But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;" — Ephesians 5:3 (KJV)

"Let it not be once named among you." That means we don't joke about it, we don't laugh at it on TV, and we don't excuse it in our own families or churches. And a few verses later:

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." — Ephesians 5:11 (KJV)

Watch Your Company

"Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners." — 1 Corinthians 15:33 (KJV)

The people you spend the most time with, in person and online, will shape you. That doesn't mean we stop loving lost people or reaching them with the Gospel. Jesus ate with sinners to call them to repentance. But your closest friends and your heaviest influences should be people who pull you toward God, not away from Him.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." — Psalm 1:1 (KJV)

Notice the slide: walking, then standing, then sitting. That's how the world pulls a person in, a little at a time.

Love Not the World

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." — 1 John 2:15-16 (KJV)

The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes. That's what so much of our entertainment is selling. John says plainly that it is not of the Father.

Parents: Guard the Gate

Parents and grandparents, you are the gatekeepers of your home. God gave you that job:

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." — Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (KJV)

Don't leave your children's hearts to the school, the phone, or the TV. Remember from Lesson One: in Common Sense Media's 2022 survey, most teens had already seen pornography, and the average age of first exposure was 12. The culture is teaching your children about sex. The question is whether you will teach them God's truth first.

Know what's on their phones. Keep devices out of bedrooms at night. Know their friends and the games and apps they use. And most of all, keep talking. Make your home a place where they can tell you anything without fear.

A Word to the Church

Church, we cannot change God's Word to fit the culture. When a church starts calling sin "love" and calling holiness "hate," it has lost its saltiness.

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." — Matthew 5:13 (KJV)

We stand for truth, and we stand in love. Both. Always.

Questions for Study

1. What does it mean to be "conformed to this world" in Romans 12:2? What is God's answer?
2. Read Isaiah 5:20. Where do you see our culture calling evil good and good evil?
3. How much time do you spend each day in entertainment and social media, compared to time in God's Word?
4. Run your favorite show or song through Philippians 4:8. Does it pass?
5. What is the slide described in Psalm 1:1? How have you seen that happen?
6. Parents: what is one change you could make to guard your home this week?

Simple Steps for This Week

First, keep a simple log of your screen time for three days. Then trade some of it for Bible reading.

Second, unfollow, cancel, or delete anything that feeds the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes.

Third, memorize Romans 12:2.

Fourth, parents, set a family rule for phones and devices at night, and have an honest talk with your children.

And fifth, read Psalm 1 and 1 John chapter two.

Next Time

In Lesson Four, we finish this series with restoration. If you've fallen, if your marriage is hurting, or if you feel too dirty to come back, that lesson is for you. God restores.

A Prayer

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

We live in a world that calls evil good and good evil. Keep us from being conformed to it. Transform us by the renewing of our minds.

Help us keep our hearts with all diligence. Give us the courage to turn off what pulls us away from You.

Give parents wisdom and strength to guard their homes and teach their children Your Word.

Keep Your church salty and bright, standing for truth in love.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Thank you for spending this time with us. We'll see you in Lesson Four.

This is Authorized Sword Ministries. God bless you.

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Sources

All pages opened and checked on October 24, 2026.

1. Robb MB, Mann S. Teens and Pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense, 2023 (report PDF: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2022-teens-and-pornography-final-web.pdf) (survey fielded September 2022; 1,358 U.S. teens ages 13–17). https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/new-report-reveals-truths-about-how-teens-engage-with-pornography (Most teens surveyed, 73%, had seen online pornography; average age of first exposure 12.)