Be Transformed Romans 12

“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” (Rom. 12:2, NASB).

It is Friday morning and my usual routine is to get up and write the first draft to the weekly article for this website. This week’s subject Be Transformed is motivated by the behavior of our government officials. I had decided last night that this is the subject matter that I need to write about in this week’s article. My thoughts were confirmed to me this morning when I read the email that I received from my sister Marie. She comments about the ongoing battle between President Donald Trump and Democrat congressional majority leader Nancy Pelosis and Democrat Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.

President Trump does not get his 5.6 billion dollars to build a wall on the southern border. He shuts down the government and 800,000 federal workers are not being paid; and yet many of them are still required to work. Nancy Pelosis responds by telling the President that he cannot give his State of the Union address since the government is shut down. The president responds by not allowing Pelosis to use a government airplane to travel across the world to visit military troops. Can you see how immature this is? Can you see that neither party is thinking rationally? Both are like little kids trying to get their way. Both parties are in need of a transformation of their minds, because nothing will be resolved and accomplished as long as they continue thinking the same way; and the same things. There needs to be a transformation of the minds. The question becomes, how can they have a transformation of the minds?

In these articles I start with the belief that real change begins with the church which is the body of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the truth and any truth that disagrees with Him is no truth at all. To the church Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13), and “You are the light of the world” (v.14). These two statements essentially say that the world lives in darkness and the world can see only if a light is set on a hill for all to see. Since the church is the light, it has the responsibility to let their light shine in the world. The church cannot conceal the light by hiding it under a basket. The church is the salt of the earth. If the church loses its saltiness, that is, its influence in the world it has become useless in providing direction and godliness in the world. Jesus does not commission the church to choose sides in the world and compromise with the world. Rather, He commissions the church to make disciples for Jesus Christ; that is learners and followers of Jesus Christ. With this in mind, let us examine Romans 12.

Let us begin by doing a brief review of the book of Romans written by Apostle Paul as he writes to the church in Rome. In the church there are both Jews and Gentiles. The groups are divided by cultural and lifestyle difference. Paul’s purpose in writing this book is to show the church that both groups must change in order to be disciples of Jesus Christ.

In chapters 1-3 Paul tells both groups about their relationship to God. The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses. The Jews have the Law, but they do not really live according to the Law. Both groups live miserably according to the righteous standards of God. Whether people have the Law or not all do things their own way. No one really seeks after God (3:9-18) He concludes by saying, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23, NASB). However, all can have the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ (v. 21-22) who died for our justification and redemption.

Paul shows us that we can live a righteous life if we bury our old selves and rise to new life in Jesus having received the power of the Holy Spirit that empowers us to overcome our sins. God makes no distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles. What Jesus does for the Jews He also does for the Gentiles. The righteousness of God is required of both Jews and Gentiles. Both are subject to the law of God that informs us of what God requires of us. The good news is that since none of us are righteous according to the Law, God extends His mercy so that we do not perish according to the requirements of the Law. Instead, God, who is compassionate and love, extends to us His grace so that we are given the opportunity to be a new creature in Jesus Christ. John captures this truth in his gospel when he writes: “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (Jn. 1:17, NASB).

Paul has establishes that God cannot abide sin. Since all have sinned, all must be made righteous through Jesus Christ our redeemer. God does not forgive us of our past sins and then give us permission to continue to live in sin. We must be holy and we are to do our very best to live holy. God does His part by sending Jesus to die for our sins. The Holy Spirit is given to come alongside of us to empower and enable us to walk in the newness of life. However, although we are saved by grace, Peter writes warning us that we must guard ourselves the snares of sin. Peter confirms the teaching of Paul saying: “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Pet. 3:17-18, NASB).

We must be holy and we must live holy. Paul writes that we have responsibility as to how we live the new life that Jesus makes possible. In Romans 12 Paul writes to tell the church the process of living a holy life. First, he says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (v. 1, NASB). In his writings to the churches Paul tells us that we must not live according to the lust of the flesh. “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal. 5:16-17, NASB).

Let us be clear here. Let us not make the mistake of thinking that the lust of the flesh is limited to sexual activity. When Paul talks about the lusts of the flesh he is talking about all desires that people have that come from the sin nature instead of desires that come from the Spirit of God. Paul writes that the evidence of a transformed mind is seen in how the members of the church relate to one another. The world sees the love that the church members have for each other. They notice that members of the church have new attitudes and think differently compared to the usual manner of thinking that is observed in the world.

Again, Paul writes that that we must not be conformed to the world. This means that our thinking, our attitudes, and our behavior must not be like that of the world. The two are different and they oppose each other. Paul tells us that it is impossible for the two to agree. He writes: “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:5-8, NASB). Thus, we cannot expect people that have the mind of the flesh to think and act like people that have the mind of the Spirit. We can say that the thinking and behavior of our government officials are essentially the same as other people that conform to the standards of the world.

We have said that if Jesus is the truth anything that disagrees with Him is a lie. The world is deceived by the devil and his lies. One is deceived when they believe something that sounds true but what is said is not according to the truth of God’s Word. The logos (word) of God means what is in the heart and mind of God. The logos of God confirm who God is; that He is creator of the universe. The logos tell us God’s ways. What is the reason that God does what He does? Paul says that the mind of the flesh; the world, is not compatible to the mind of God. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the church that is given the truth of God to aid in the behavior and the mindset of the world by being the salt and light that Jesus commands His disciples to be. If we want the government officials to be transformed, we the church must be the transformed body of Christ.

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