Preparing the Sacrifice
Notes
Transcript
Romans 12:2 ESV
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Whenever we began our sermon last week, I spoke of how before we can do anything effectively, we have to first know how to do whatever it is that we want to do.
Now, I can see the truth of that statement in many areas of my own personal life. But one area of my life where it definitely rings true is when it comes to being handy.
I will be the first to admit that I am not the handiest guy in the world. There aren’t too many things that I naturally can fix, or construct, or even tear down properly. That’s just not something that I have been blessed with.
And if I am in a situation where I am forced to fix or construct something, I get the instruction booklet out and I follow what it says step-by-step.
And if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s helpful to have a step-by-step guide that teaches you how to do whatever it is that you’re trying to do.
Well, one thing that we all naturally do know what to do is we all know how to live in rebellion against God. No one has ever had to teach anyone how to break the rules or desire that which is sinful. We instinctually have that covered.
But something that no one does naturally know how to do is how to legitimately desire God for who He actually is. And to not only desire who He actually is, but to do so to such an extent to where it results in living our lives in accordance with the desire that we have for Him.
That is not something that we naturally know how to do. Naturally that isn’t even something that we desire to know how to do.
Because you see, before we can live our lives in accordance with what God commands of us, we have to first desire to live out our lives in accordance with what God commands of us. But like I said, we don’t even know how to desire God; so before we can ever live our lives in accordance with what God commands of us, we have to first learn how to desire Him as He actually is.
Many people desire to “serve” God because they think that if they do, they will be happy, or they will be at peace, or they won’t worry, or most of all, they “serve” Him because they think that if they do, they will go to Heaven.
Now, of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to be happy, or at peace, or wanting to go Heaven when we die, there is nothing wrong with those things at all, but we don’t legitimately serve God because ofthose things. No; true service to God is obeying Him, loving Him, worshipping Him, simply because He’s God, and He deserves it.
Now, how do we ever get to that? It’s hard enough to even want to serve God because of the good things that He promises to those who love Him, so how can we ever get to the point to where we want to serve God simply because He is God?
Well, in our reading for today, we have well-written instructions that tell us how we as legitimate believers can get to this point.
But when we look at our reading, the first thing that we see is a warning. That warning tells us, first of all, what will happen if we do not follow the instructions laid out for us in our reading.
Let us look to this warning in the first part of our reading where it says:
Romans 12:2a ESV
2a Do not be conformed to this world,
So, the instructions here begin with a warning. And you know, I’ve always felt as though that is a wise thing to do if you want someone to pay attention to what you are going to say.
For example, let’s say that I want people to know how to avoid contracting hypothermia, seeing that it could possibly kill you.
Now, if in trying to spread awareness about this I made a sign that had step-by-step instructions as to how you could avoid contracting hypothermia and at the heading of the sign, I put something like: How to avoid contracting hypothermia, which could be fatal, it might catch the attention of some people, but a lot of folks who see the sign won’t give it the time of day because it doesn’t really grab their attention enough to actually retain their attention.
But, if instead, I made the same sign with the same instructions but instead of putting the heading that I just mentioned, if I put a heading like: If you don’t read this, you may die! I think that would increase the likelihood of someone reading the instructions that I have on the sign.
In the same way, Paul begins his instruction in this verse with the warning, “Do not be conformed to this world!”.
Now, when Paul speaks of “this world” he is not just referring to planet earth, rather, he is referring to this world as it is. That means the culture of the world, the sin of the world, the depravity of the world, the lust of the world.
Our world as it currently is, the present age, and when I say the present age, I don’t mean in opposition to the good old days when we were growing up, but rather, it means the state of the world from the moment that sin entered into it up until the day that Jesus returns.
Now, many have been, and are continuing to be conformed to the present age by investing their eternity in what the world can afford. And because they invest in what the world can afford, they then live lives that match that worldliness.
But as was said last week, we have been made holy and acceptable to God. We are to offer our entire selves to Him as a living sacrifice, and being conformed to the present age, to the sin and depravity of the world that now is, is the opposite of offering our entire selves to God as a living sacrifice.
If we have been made holy and acceptable, eagerly anticipating the world to come when Jesus returns, then we need to not conform to the world, but be transformed by the things of God.
We see this in the second part of this second verse, where we read:
Romans 12:2b ESV
12b but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
So, rather than be conformed, we are to be transformed. Now, to be conformed means to comply with certain rules or standards. So, when Paul tells us to not be conformed to this world he means to not submit to the standards of the world, standards that we naturally long to submit to.
But to be transformed means to be utterly and totally changed. Thus, while being conformed is most natural to us, being transformed is something completely foreign to us.
So, while we are not to be conformed to “this world” we are to be transformed to “the world to come”. While this world is absolutely at odds with God, the world to come is in perfect accord with God.
So, if we are to be transformed to the world to come, that state where we are in perfect accord with God, then we certainly need to be instructed in that state of perfect accord, since it is most natural for us to be conformed to this world and thus be at odds with God.
And the way that the apostle tells us to be instructed on how to be transformed to that state of perfect accord with God is by the renewal of our minds.
The old proverb tells us “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.” This tells us that whatever we fill our minds with, so will we be. If I fill my heart with the things of this world, things that are at odds with God, so will I live at odds with God. As has been said, that is what is most natural to man, to fill our hearts with those things that are contrary and hostile towards God, it is very easy to be conformed. But we are transformed when we fill our hearts and minds with the things of God.
Now, that is very important, in fact, it is vitalfor the Christian to have his heart and mind filled with the things of God, so the question needs to be asked, how can we be transformed by the renewal of our minds?
The answer to that question is fairly simple, but the execution of the answer on our parts can be accomplished only by those who are truly devoted to God, only by those who have truly been saved.
The answer to the question of how we can be transformed by the renewal of our minds is by absolutely immersing ourselves in those things which are truly of God.
This means consistent, everyday Bible study, a healthy prayer life, the devotion to weekly worship with the assembly of saints here at church, but most of all, a love for God that outweighs anything of this world, including our own natural inclination towards sin.
If I fill my mind with God and if I fill my heart with love for God and if I do those things which contribute to my sanctification; Bible study, prayer, a commitment to the worship of God at church, then what will follow is a life that corresponds to the love that I have for God.
Paul makes this evident at the very end of our reading, where he says:
Romans 12:2c ESV
2c that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Now, notice that what Paul says here he says right after he mentions being transformed by the renewal of your mind. He says that when we are transformed by the renewal of our minds, by filling our minds with God, we can then test, discern what the will of God is.
Now, what is the will of God? That is a question that comes up a lot in Christian circles, and Paul gives us the answer to that question in another one of his writings, in first Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 3, where he says, “for this is the will of God, your sanctification”.
Thus, the will of God is for His elect people is to grow in grace and come nearer to Him, and this is accomplished through being able to discern that which glorifies God through the renewal of our minds.
It is as we come near to God that we know more and more that which is, as Paul says in our reading, “good and acceptable and perfect”.
In other words, when you become more and more transformed by the renewal of your mind, you know more and more how to live a life that is fully devoted to God as a living sacrifice.
So, the more that I participate in those things which contribute to my sanctification, the more that I know how to truly offer my entire self as a living sacrifice to God. And the more that I renew my mind and do those things which contribute to my sanctification, the more willing I am to offer my entire self as a living sacrifice to God.
People ask me all the time what is required to come closer to God. And for some reason, just about all of them, even people who are saved are surprised when I tell them that we come closer to God through the renewal our minds as a result of habitually and devotionally partaking of the ordinary means of grace, namely Bible study, prayer, corporate worship, and love for our neighbor.
Like I said, most of them are surprised at that. They say, “You mean, it’s not saying just the right prayer? It’s not doing some super religious ritual? It’s not going on some super spectacular spiritual retreat?”
No, we come nearer to God, we become more willing to offer ourselves to God fully as we know Him more through the ordinary means that He has offered to us.
We know Him more, we offer ourselves more sincerely, and we offer ourselves more fully when, with a heart fueled with intense and sincere love for God, we take full advantage of the resources that He makes available to us.
Beloved, may we do those things that result in the renewal of our own minds!
Amen?