I spent a year once out of work It was a hard time. There were times I had to decide whether to pay the electric bill or eat. Eventually I did get a good job, a well paying job even. But over that year I had developed the habit of watching my pennies. At the grocery story I bought lots of beans and rice, and didn’t even look at the meat section. After awhile I didn’t even think about it, I watched my spending carefully out of necessity and habit.
The funny thing was, after I got a good job, I still had the habit of watching my pennies.
I remember one day noticing a sign at a grocery story that they had rib-eye steaks on sale for $4.99 a pound. I started to just pass it by, but thought that a steak would be really good. Out of habit I dismissed the thought though, because I was so used to spending less than that per day on food.
But suddenly the realization hit me. I had a good job now, and actually had a few hundred dollars in the bank. Getting a steak, or even a few of them, was not a problem at all. Even so, it was hard to spend the money because I wasn’t used to having any.
This happened several times. I would have to remind myself that I had money in the bank and that I could buy things that I wanted. It probably took about six months before I got over the habit of being broke.
This was because I had developed a thought pattern, or a way of thinking.
When my situation changed, I still had that thought pattern that had to be fixed.
Our minds are powerful things. Do you ever think about why you think the things you think. There are a lot of influences around us that have an impact on our thinking. Many of them are subconscious. We see COKE signs everywhere, and then when we go to a drink machine we buy a coke without thinking about it. It is because, at least to a point, we have been affected by advertising.
This same idea works in our spiritual lives.
Before we are saved, we live and think the way the world thinks. After we are saved, many things have changed. Our situation has changed. Our position has changed. But we find ourselves in the same condition. We may wonder why we are not changing more outwardly since we now have the Holy Spirit, and we are new creatures.
If we are new creatures, why has our behavior not changed.
Often people blame the devil, or say they are not really saved, or say they have lost it.
I want to suggest a different scenario.
We also talk about spiritual warfare, casting out demons and such. But we also have a battle in ourselves, between our old nature that wants to revert back to the old ways, and the new nature which God has given us, which desires the things that God desires.
Our thinking is important because it controls our actions. Usually your actions are a result of your thinking…
Prov 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee[1]
So Paul tells us how to change that way of thinking, how to change out thought patterns so that our condition can be the same as our position.,
Lets look at Romans 12 to see what Paul says about this situation, and how we can change our CONDITION to match up with our POSITION.
Look at Romans 12:1-2
0Ro
12:1
Therefore I urge you,
brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of
worship.
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.
To set the context….
These verses come at a break in the book of Romans. For the first 11 chapters Paul has been explaining the great doctrines of the faith. Really detailed theology.
He has explained God’s righteousness, our unrighteousness,
And how God has given us righteousness through faith … declared us righteous because the work of Christ.
He has also given us his own righteousness so that we may be truly righteous.
He also explains who the true people, or sons, of God are,
In the NIV he starts the chapter with THEREFORE… most translations put the THEREFORE in the first few words. This means… because of everything that has been said before … the past 11 chapters … then this…
Because of our lofty position in Christ, Paul tells us how we can bring our condition inline with our position.
Ephesians 1:3-23 outlines our position.
3. blessed in heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing
4. chosen in him before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in his sight
5 predestined to adoption as his sons, (which pleased God)
6 the grace freely given to us.
7 redemption and forgiveness
8 grace lavished on us.
9 revealed to his the mystery of his will
10 everything placed under Christ’s authority
11 chosen and predestined
13 marked in Christ with a seal
14 the Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
(Paul’s prayer, that God will give us:))
17 a spirit of wisdom and revelation so we may know God.
18 that our eyes be opened to all we have been given
19-20 the power that raised Christ is also working in us.
NOW back to Romans
I wanted to go through these two verses phrase by phrase so we can get the richness of what he is saying.
12:1) We come now to a new major section of the letter. In chapters 1–8, Paul explains the doctrines of condemnation, justification, sanctification, and glorification. In chapters 9–11, he explains to Israel why the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants have not been fulfilled. Now, in chapters 12–16, the apostle exhorts to a life in conformity with the exalted position in which chapters 1–8 place the believer, and in view also of the God-given ability which the believer has to live such a life.
Doctrine must always precede exhortation since in doctrine the saint is shown his exalted position which makes the exhortation to a holy life, a reasonable one, and in doctrine, the saint is informed as to the resources of grace he possesses with which to obey the exhortations.
Our position in Christ is freely given to us. No one deserves it. Doing things for God does not make you better in God’s eyes. We already have acceptance and love in God…
We are not righteous because we obey God. We are righteous because Christ has given us his righteousness. Our righteousness should be a fruit of what Christ has done in us….
We obey as a result of what we have been given.
This is where Paul is headed.
He is saying, because of our position, therefore…I beseech you.
It is a strong entreaty, beseech, like really strongly encouraged to do so.
Because of what God has done for us, I beg you…. Is one way to say it.
HERE IS A QUOTE FROM JI PACKER
Faith in the gospel, and in Jesus Christ, is obedience (Acts 6:7; Rom. 6:17; Heb. 5:9; 1 Pet. 1:22), for God commands it (cf. Jn. 6:29; 1 Jn. 3:23). Unbelief is disobedience (Rom. 10:16; 2 Thes. 1:8; 1 Pet. 2:8; 3:1; 4:17). A life of obedience to God is the fruit of faith (cf. what is said of Abraham, Gn. 22:18; Heb. 11:8, 17ff.; Jas. 2:21ff.).
Christian obedience means imitating God in holiness (1 Pet. 1:15f.) and Christ in humility and love (Jn. 13:14f., 34f.; Phil. 2:5ff.; Eph. 4:32-5:2). It springs from gratitude for grace received (Rom. 12:1f.), not from the desire to gain merit and to justify oneself in God’s sight. Indeed, law-keeping from the latter motive is not obedience to God, but its opposite (Rom. 9:31-10:3).
by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
Through the mercies of God…the mercies being what we have already talked about…our salvation, our sanctificaiton , our lofty position…. And it is done through the mercies of God.
He ssays we should present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice.
Sacrifice was big to the people at that time… the jews and even the gentiles were used to sacrificing animals and such to the gods.
He is not talking literally here, it is a word play, or an allegory.
The thing about a sacrifice is… is that it no longer belongs to the person who gave the sacrifice, and it then belongs to God. Instead of animal sacrifices, give God your body, or yourself…
. The sacrifices mentioned in these passages are not always immaterial, and sometimes involve death: the sense in which they are ‘spiritual’ is that they belong properly to the age of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 4:23-24; Rom. 15:16). But sometimes they are immaterial, and they never have a prescribed ritual. It appears, in fact, that every act of the Spirit-filled man can be reckoned as a spiritual sacrifice, and the sense in which it is a sacrifice is that it is devoted to God and is acceptable to God. It does not, of course, atone. The antitype of atoning sacrifice is to be sought not here but in the sacrifice of Christ, without which spiritual sacrifices would not be acceptable (Heb. 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:5).
The word “present” is paristeµmi (paristhmi) “to place beside or near, to present, to offer, to put at one’s disposal.” It is the same word used in 6:13 translated, “yield.”
The body here is the physical body of the believer. It
is to be a living sacrifice. Vincent comments: “Living in contrast with the
slain offerings. Compare chapter 6:8, 11.” He quotes Chrysostom, “How can the
body become a sacrifice? Let the eye look on no evil, and it is a sacrifice.
Let the tongue utter nothing base, and it is an offering. Let the hand work no
sin, and it is a holocaust. (Webster gives as a definition of “holocaust,” a
sacrifice wholly consumed by fire.) But more, this suffices not, but besides we
must actively exert ourselves for good; the hand giving alms, the mouth
blessing them that curse us, the ear ever at leisure for listening to God
Thus, the physical body of the believer, put at the
disposal of God, presented to Him, is holy, both in the sense of being set
apart for His use, and holy in the sense of being used for pure and righteous
purposes, and thus, free from sinful practices.
Just as under the old system, animals were sacrificed. They had to be killed. The sacrifice gave them to God.
In the same way, we can be living sacrifices, at God’s disposal, allowing God to work through us, through our bodies.
LOOK at Ephesians 2:10 quickly… it says we are created for Good works that God has created before hand. This is the essence of being a living sacrifice… just living in the things God has already set up…
This kind of sacrifice … giving up your own agenda for God’s agenda, is a holy sacrifice, acceptable to God., Throughout the bible there are sacrifices that were acceptable and those that were not.
This being a living sacrifice, is our spiritual act of worskhip. The KING JAMES says this is your reasonable service… the NIV and most others say this is your spiritual act of worship.
The word “reasonable” is logikos (logiko"), “rational, agreeable to reason, following reason.”
It could also be said “intentional” This is as opposed to meaningless rituals, or even running around a church building jumping pews and screaming…
It is worshipping with our minds, our intellect, our will…
Thayer says, “the worship which is rendered by the reason or the soul
Vincent says, “Reasonable, not in the popular sense of the term, as a thing befitting, or proper, but rational, as distinguished from merely external or material. Hence nearly equivalent to spiritual.. It is in harmony with the highest reason.”
So we are saying then, that we should give ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, which is a spiritual act of worship. Because of All God has done for us, we should give ourselves to God, which is the reasonable thing to do.
When something is sacrificed it is killed, to take the anaology on, we see this as dying to ourselves, our own agendas and living to Gods agenda…and this is an act of worshipl
Romans
12:2
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will
be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.
Ok,
Now that Paul has told us what to do, he is now going to tell us how to do it….
It sounds so spiritual to say you are dying to self, lving to god, Giving yourself to God as a living sacrfice and all… but what does this practically mean?
Verse
two tells us how to do this, and what the result will be.
As
human beings we naturally rebel from God. Adam and Eve rebelled and we have
ever since.
This
is the basic nature of man, to rebel.
Now,
through Christ, we have been reconciled to God. The rebellion has ceased when
we believe in Christ. However, our minds remain a battlefield…
We
still have the worlds’ way of thinking, which has a great impact on our actions
as we have seen.
The
problem we have though, is that our minds still tend to rebel.
Oour
whole lives, since we have been born, we have been busy being conformed by this
world…being shaped by the world…. All our habits, all our mannerisms, pattersn
of speech and even how we think, are the result of influences of the world.
They may not necessarily be bad things,
So,
instead… don’t be conformed by this world… He is saying, don’t let the world
keep shaping your way of thinking, which will affect how you act.
12:2) “Conformed” is sunscheµmatizoµ
(sunschmatizw).
Scheµmatizoµ (Schmatizw) refers
to the act of an individual assuming an outward expression that does not come from
within him, nor is it representative of his inner heart life.
It is going along with what everyone else is doing…
Our inner reality has been changed. As a result of this, we no longer have to keep beng influenced by the worlds system.
“Stop assuming an outward expression which is patterned after this world, an expression which does not come from, nor is it representative of what you are in your inner being as a regenerated child of God.”
One could translate, “Stop masquerading in the habiliments of this world, its mannerisms, speech expressions, styles, habits.”
You are not OF the world anymore, so we need to bring out actions and thinking in line with that reality.
The word “world” is aioµn (aijwn), which Trench defines as follows: “All that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, subtle informing spirit of the kosmos (kosmo") or world of men who are living alienated and apart from God.” The Germans have a word for it, the zeitgeist or spirit of the age. This masquerade costume which saints sometimes put on, hides the Lord Jesus living in the heart of the Christian, and is an opaque covering through which the Holy Spirit cannot radiate the beauty of the Lord Jesus.
Instead of masquerading in the habiliments of this age, Paul exhorts the saints to be transformed. The word is metamorphoomai (metamorfoomai), which speaks of the act of a person changing his outward expression from that which he has to a different one, an expression which comes from and is representative of his inner being.
The word TRANSFORMED there, is very similar to the word that was used in Matthew to describe the event when Jesus was transfigured. Matthew 17:2
2
Corinthians 3:18
18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Philippians
3:21
21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
So, instead of being conformed, or shaped by the world, we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Even though we have been changed, we still have patterns of thinking, ways of thinking about things. This is what needs to be changed. It isn’t a sudden thing, or something that can be done immediately. We need to change our outward being into the same thing as our inner being, which has been made pure by God.
The transformation takes place by renewing the mind.
Paul therefore says in effect to the saints, “Change your outward expression from that which you had before salvation, an expression which came from your totally depraved nature and was representative of it, to an expression which comes from your regenerated inner being and is representative of it.”
The saint is to do this by the renewing of his mind. “Renewing” is anakainoµsis (ajnakainwsi"), which Trench defines as “the gradual conforming of the man more and more to that new spiritual world into which he has been introduced, and in which he now lives and moves; the restoration of the divine image; and in all this so far from being passive, he must be a fellow-worker with God.”
This is accomplished through the ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who when definitely, and intelligently, and habitually yielded to puts sin out of the believer’s life and produces His own fruit.
He does that by controlling the mental processes of the
believer. It is the prescription of the apostle. “Habitually be ordering
your behavior within the sphere and by means of the Spirit, and you will
positively not fulfil the desire of the flesh (evil nature) “ (Gal. 5:16).
So there is Gods part and there is our part. God’s part
has already been done. Our part is to continually yield to that power. By being
living sacrifices, being God’s property, we can gradually become more
Christlike as our mind takes a new shape.
“That” is eis (eij"), which often shows result. When the saint in dependence upon the Spirit renovates his mental processes, the result will be that he will “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.” “Prove” is dokimazoµ (dokimazw), “to put to the test for the purpose of approving, and finding that the thing tested meets the specifications laid down, to put one’s approval upon it.” As a result of the Spirit’s control of the mental processes of the saint, the latter is enabled to put his life to the test for the purpose of approving it, the specifications being that it conform to the Word of God, and thus, experiencing what obedience is to the Word, and finding out what it feels like to have the Word saturate and control the life, he sees that it really is the Word of God and puts his approval upon it. Our Lord Jesus was speaking of the same thing when He said, “If any man will to do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). “Perfect” is teleios (teleio"), “brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness.”
Here are some steps to renew our minds.
Galatians
5:16
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [3]
Steps
to renewing the mind:
1:
Recognize that a new way is needed.
Romans
12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of
God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. [4]
2: Take every thought
captive:
Become
your own thought cop.
2
Corinthians 10:5
5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ.
3: Examine everything
carefully,
Keep the good, throw out the
bad.
1
Thessalonians 5:21-22
21 Test everything. Hold on
to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.
4: Focus on the good things
of God and not on yourself.
Keep your mind on good
things.
Philippians
4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord
always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all.
The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by
prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received
or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will
be with you.
These four steps can help
you renew your mind.
With a renewed mind, you
will have God’s point of view
As the last phrayse of verse
two says
THEN you will be able to
test and approve what God’s will is.
Christians
are here urged to devote themselves to
the service of God by the
consideration of these mercies because
they present the strongest motives
to obedience. How different is the mind
of the Apostle from the mind of
the world on this subject! The wisdom
of this world rejects the grace of
the Gospel, because it is thought to lead
to licentiousness. The
interests of
morality are supposed to be better
secured when salvation is suspended on
men’s good works, than when it is
represented as flowing from the Divine
compassion. But Paul presents the mercies
of God to the mind of
believers, as the most powerful
incitement to devote themselves to His
service. In the remainder of the Epistle,
we find him as strenuous in
pressing the duty of holiness and
personal obedience, as in the previous
part of it, in insisting on those truths
on which obedience is founded. This
ought to convince of their error those
who, misunderstanding the doctrine
which the Apostle teaches, imagine that
it is inconsistent with attention to
the peculiar
duties of Christianity.
The apostle seems to summon attention
peculiarly to our actions or outward
deportment, which are of so great
importance to the Christian life. But, in
addition to this, if we extend the
expression further, and include in it the
whole man, we lose the beauty of
the connection in the 2nd verse, which
relates particularly, and likewise
exclusively, to
the state and frame of the mind.
Renewing of your mind. — It is not the conduct
merely, but the heart
itself, of the Christian that
is changed; and it is from the renewal of the
mind that the conduct is also
renewed. The transformation or change that
passes on the man who becomes
a believer of the Gospel, is not one
produced by enthusiastically
imaginations, monkish austerity, or a spirit
of legalism, endeavoring to
attain salvation by good works. It is produced
by the renewing of the mind,
and by that only. Many persons become for
a time changed in conduct
from various motives, who are not changed in
heart by the Spirit of God,
and the truth believed respecting the person
and work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. But such changes are generally
temporary, and though they
should continue for life, they are of no value
in the sight of God. That
change of life which the Lord will approve, is a
change produced by the
renovation of the mind, in the understanding, the
affections, and the will.
This righteousness is proclaimed by Jesus as a gift to those who are granted the kingdom of God (Mt. 5:6). By faith in Jesus Christ and his work of atonement man, unrighteous sinner though he is, receives God’s righteousness, i.e. he is given a true relationship with God which involves the forgiveness of all sin and a new moral standing with God in union with Christ ‘the Righteous One’ (Rom. 3:21-31; 4:1-25; 10:3; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9). By dealing with all the consequences of man’s sin and unrighteousness (both Godward and manward) in the cross, God at once maintains the moral order in which alone he can have fellowship with man and in grace delivers the needy (Rom. 3:26).
The gift of God’s righteousness involves entry into the new realm of divine salvation, the gift of eternal life under the reign of God (Rom. 6:12-23; 2 Cor. 6:7, 14; Phil. 1:11; Eph. 4:24). Hence the extrinsic righteousness imputed through the cross finds inevitable expression in the intrinsic righteousness of a life which in a new way conforms to the will of God, even though the ultimate realization of this conformity must await the consummation of the kingdom (1 Jn. 3:2; Phil. 3:12-14; 1 Cor. 13:12f.; 2 Pet. 3:11-13).[5]
Imparted is to inform or give a share of
Imputed is to
God declares us righteous because of the work of Christ … this is righteousness imputed.
Christ also gives us his own righteousness, that is righteousness imparted.
THEREFORE
1:16-17 Righteousness from God
1:18-3:20 the unrighteousness of man
3:21-5:21 righteousness imputed… justification
6:1- 8:29 righteousness imparted … sanctification
9:1 – 11:36 God’s righteousness,
12:1
– 15:13 righteousness practiced
[1]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge)
1769.
[2]The New International
Version,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
[3]The New International
Version,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
[4]The New International
Version,
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
[5]The New Bible Dictionary, (Wheaton, Illinois:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1962.