ROMANS 12:1-2 BECAUSE OF THE GOSPEL2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Romans 12:1-2 Because Of The Gospel

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015.

And we are here this evening in Romans chapter 12. We're going to be looking at a shorter passage than normal. We'll be looking at verses 1 and 2. And so let's begin by looking at these verses and reading them. It says, Romans chapter 12 verse 1, "'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.'"

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Here as we begin chapter 12 of Romans, we're beginning a transition into the final section of the book of Romans. We've been talking about the gospel ever since the beginning. And so I've titled the message this evening, Because of the Gospel. Now, there's this pattern that the Apostle Paul uses many times in his letters, where

where he deals with doctrine. He talks about what God has done, and then he moves on into application. So it's doctrine that he deals with first, and then application afterwards, or what God has done first, and then he'll talk about what we must do. And so he presents that order consistently, and we can see that even here in verse 1, where he says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.

He's concluding his exhortation or dissertation really on the gospel, which chapters 1 through 11 is very in-depth, dealing with all the various aspects of the gospel message and the plan of salvation that God has provided. And he's gone through all of the details about that. And now he's going to move on into, now here's our response. Because of the gospel.

Because of what God has done, because of, well, he says here, the mercies of God. By the mercies of God or because of the mercies of God, here is our response to what God has done. And so Paul had this pattern in his writings because, well, that is the way that God works. And that's interesting to note and that's important to understand because it's different than

than many approaches to God. In fact, in Paul's day, Thomas Constable says this. He says,

The idea was in other religions and pagan religions and even false religions today, you do things in order to get God's mercy. But the way that God works is he has demonstrated great mercy in

And so the things that we do is our response to that mercy. God has initiated. We don't have to do some great sacrifice in order to get mercy from God. He's already given great mercy. He's already demonstrated great love. He's already demonstrated great grace.

And so our response is what Paul's going to be dealing with as we start here in chapter 12 and work our way through the end of the book. He's going to be talking about the application. Things that we must do as a result of the gospel. Things that we must do because of what God has done for us.

I like the way that the New Living Translation puts it here in verse 1. He says, That's the idea here. Because of all that God has done for us. Now, what is it that God has done for us? Here's a quick summary of Romans chapters 1 through 11, just to kind of hit a couple highlights of the things that we've been talking about.

In chapters 1 through 3, we saw God's wrath against unrighteousness. And there Paul established the case that every human being deserves the wrath of God, deserves the judgment of God, and deserves to be eternally cast away from God. He told us that he's not ashamed of the gospel because the gospel reveals the power of God unto salvation.

Now, the wrath of God, he said, is also revealed against all unrighteousness. And so he explained the wrath of God against unrighteousness there in the first three chapters. And in Romans chapter 3, verse 23 said that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. He made the case, made the point, we all fall short of God's glory and therefore we deserve God's wrath because we are unrighteous.

But then in chapters four and five, he went to make the point that we can be declared righteous by faith. And the main emphasis that he was hitting there in those chapters was that the way to become righteous was not by works, but by faith.

So you can't become righteous by doing good things, by accomplishing great things for God, but instead you become righteous by faith, by believing God at his word. And he gave us the example of Abraham.

where it tells us in, well, in Romans chapter 4, verse 3, he says, Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. So the way that you resolve your unrighteousness is not by doing good things or following laws, but by believing God at his word, and that is counted to you for righteousness. Well, then he went on in chapters 6 and 7 to talk about how we are free from the penalty of unrighteousness.

So not only are we declared righteous, but we are set free from the penalty of our sinfulness, of our unrighteousness. In chapter 6, he talked about being set free from sin and death, how we were slaves of sin. And we were set free from that by believing in Jesus.

He said,

But the things that we have in Christ being set free from unrighteousness, we don't have to be ashamed of. The fruit of righteousness is good things and honorable things and noble things. In chapter 7, he told us that we are free from the law.

Because it was impossible to become righteous by the law. And so what Christ did in providing salvation for us and making it by faith is he set us free from the law so that the law is not the system by which we approach God any longer. It's not the means by which we have righteousness. And also we're not bound to the judgments of the law because we have been set free from that by faith in Jesus Christ.

Well, then he went on in chapter 8 to describe the benefits of righteousness. And we spent quite a bit of time there in Romans chapter 8 because it was an incredible chapter looking at really the incredible things that are provided for us by faith in Jesus Christ. What God could not do by the law...

in making you righteous and getting you to experience the fullness of the life that he has for you. He did by his son, sending his son and giving you the Holy Spirit.

And so that as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are not condemned. And you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. And you are a child of God with incredible access to God. You have the promise of eternal glory. Your prayers are heard. And God is at work through the midst of all things of your life for good. Incredible benefits for righteousness. I'm just hitting the highlights. But just to kind of refresh your memory, when he says, by the mercies of God, he's talking about all these things that

that we've been dealing with here in Romans. We've spent the past few weeks looking at Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11, where Paul has been outlining the details of salvation to Jews and Gentiles and explaining how God has worked in each group to bring salvation, to demonstrate his grace, so that we can all have access to God by faith in Jesus Christ.

And so because of all that, because of all that God has done, because of the access that he's given, because of the grace that he's shown, the forgiveness, the blessings, the benefits, the power of the Holy Spirit, because of the gospel, now in chapter 12 and following, we'll see what our response is. And we're going to look at verses 1 and 2 this evening to look at three points, three things that we are to do in response to the gospel, in response to what God has done for us.

And so the first point this evening is here in verse 1, and that is that we are to present our bodies to God. Present your body to God because of the gospel. Looking at verse 1 again, it says, Holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

So what are we to do, therefore, because of the gospel, because of what the Lord has done for us, because of his great mercies? He says, present your bodies a living sacrifice. That is to present your body, your physical self to God as a living sacrifice.

The word present here is a word, it's a technical term for what the Levites would do in presenting the animals for sacrifice. They would present these animals to the Lord as a sacrifice. It's also sometimes translated yield. It's the giving over of something.

And so the idea here is that you are to present your body. You're to give over your body or to yield your body, to surrender your body to God as a living sacrifice. Because of what God has done for you, because of the gospel, because of his great grace and salvation in your life, your response should be,

To offer your body to God as a sacrifice. Now, not as a sacrifice to be slain, as the Old Testament sacrifices were, but as a living sacrifice. So that is that you present your body to God as a sacrifice to keep on living for God.

And so we just sang a few moments ago that song that talks about take these hands. I know they're empty, but with you, they can be used for good. They can be used for glory. Take these feet. I know they stumble.

but you use the weak. And so this is, you know, accurately representing the idea that Paul is conveying here, that we're to present our bodies. Lord, here's my hands, and here's my feet, and here's my body. Here's who I am. Here's my physical self. And Lord, I'm giving it over to you. I'm turning my body over to you, and I want you to have glory in my physical body.

I want you to have full reign in my body. Now there's a saying, the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep jumping off the altar.

You know, if you slay a sacrifice, then it just lays there on the altar. It stays there. But many times what happens for us is we present ourselves as a living sacrifice until the next day when we decide, oh, you know what? I really want this. This is really important to me. And so we take things back. We said, take these hands. And then we said, wait, wait, wait, never mind. I need these hands for a moment.

Take these feet. Oh, wait, never mind. I want to go somewhere you don't want me to go. And so, you know, I'm going to take my feet back and I'm going to go where I want to go. And so to present yourself as a living sacrifice or present your body as a living sacrifice is going to be an ongoing act of worship that you're called to do. Because of God's mercies, because of God's grace and the salvation that he has brought to you, the right thing for you to do. Paul says, I beg you, I beseech you.

Present your body as a living sacrifice and continue to present your body as a living sacrifice. I like what Albert Barnes, the commentator, has to say about this sacrifice. He says, he who offers a sacrifice presents it entirely, releases all claim or right to it, and leaves it to be disposed of for the honor of God. Whenever someone would present a sacrifice to God,

They were giving it entirely to God. They were giving it entirely to be used according to God's instruction. Now, if you remember, we've gone through the Old Testament fairly recently on Sunday mornings, looking at the book of Leviticus, and God gives all the instruction for the different sacrifices. And different sacrifices, God had different instruction for. For a burnt offering, the entire animal would be burned on the altar.

But for many of the other offerings, there was a variety of things. This portion went here. This portion was consumed and eaten by the people who are offering it. This portion went to the priest. This portion. And so it was divided up according to God's instruction.

And so if you brought an animal for a sacrifice, you didn't get a say in which portion went where and how it was treated. You were submitting, you were surrendering that animal to God's instruction, whatever it was, however he wanted that animal divided up and the different parts going where and used for different purposes. You didn't get a say in that. You were giving up. You were releasing all claim of ownership.

And you were giving that over to God to be used however he chose and however he declared. And that applies as we consider presenting our body as a living sacrifice. When you present your body as a living sacrifice to God, you present it entirely as

So you're giving your whole self over to God, not just take these hands, but also these feet and everything in between, head to toe. You're presenting your whole body as an offering to God, and you're releasing all claim or right to it. So you're saying, I give up my rights to my own body when you present yourself to God as a living sacrifice.

And you say, I'm giving my body to you, God, to be used however you see fit, to be for whatever purposes you desire, whatever you want. This body is given to you, and I have no rights or no claim to it any longer. Paul says, surrender the rights to your own body. Consider that. I don't have the right to do whatever I want with my body.

I don't have the right to just choose whatever I want to do. I don't have the right. I can't take my body wherever I want. I must check in with God because, well, I've presented myself as a living sacrifice. And that means he has the say about what happens with this body of mine. I can't just do anything that I want to do. I need to check with God and make sure, is this okay with you, God? Is this what you want me to do? I can't, just as a silly example, I don't get to sleep as much as I want.

I have to check in with God. God, how much do you want me to sleep? God has the final say. I don't have the right, the authority over my body any longer. God has that authority. And so I need to be submitted to him on how much he wants me to sleep and where he wants me to be and what he wants me to do. My body belongs to God.

And so to present yourself, present your body as a living sacrifice, we need to have this heart, this attitude where we say, here I am, Lord. Use these hands for your glory. Let these feet take me where you want me to be. Let my mouth bring forth good words from you, for you, for your purposes. I'm giving up my rights to myself and I'm presenting myself to you for your purposes.

Albert Barnes also says it demands vigorous and active powers in the service of God the Savior. To present your body as a living sacrifice demands vigorous and active powers. That is, you're going to be at work for God. You're going to be working for God when you present your body as a living sacrifice.

Now, a lot of times we associate the idea of, you know, serving God or working for God to the context of church, church activities, church events. But Paul is not limited to that. He's not thinking about that. He's saying in all of your life, all the time that you spend at home, present your body to God as a living sacrifice.

All the time that you spend at work, present your body as a living sacrifice. And that means you're going to be active and at work and doing things for God. And so we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. He goes on to say, holy and acceptable to God.

And so as we present our body to God as a living sacrifice, the sacrifice that we present, the body that we present is to be holy. It's to be set apart for God, acceptable to God. The word holy, it means set apart. And we've talked about this many times, but it's worth repeating. To be set apart has two aspects to it. On the one hand, you're set apart from sin.

So that you don't engage in sinful activity. But to be set apart also includes the idea of being set apart for.

That is, you do things that are of God. You do things that God has called you to do. And so you withhold yourself from things that God hasn't called you to do, and you engage in things that God has called you to do. That's what it means to be holy. It's not just the absence of evil or sin. It's the presence of good. It's the presence and action in doing what is good.

And so as we present our body to God as a living sacrifice, we're to present a holy body so that we keep ourselves from sin, that we stop practicing sin, that we decide not to sin. Now, we're always going to have sin because we are sinful and we fall short. But the idea here is that we stop deliberately choosing to sin. Present your body as a living sacrifice that's holy because you've sacrificed

chosen to stop those deliberate sins that you practice. We've talked a lot about grace as we've talked about the gospel here in the book of Romans, and some people are afraid of the doctrine of grace.

fearing that, thinking that if you teach about God's grace, then people will just jump into sin because, well, there's grace and God is so forgiving and merciful and gracious. And so I can just sin and I can just live however I want. And it doesn't matter because, well, God is gracious. And so people fearing that mindset are

would rather, you know, hey, let's not really talk about grace too much. Let's not teach about grace too much because we don't want people, you know, jumping to those conclusions and going down that path. But Paul the Apostle was not afraid of the doctrine of grace. And he made it very clear. So if you take it to that conclusion,

end. If you decide, well, look how gracious God is and merciful and forgiving he is, and so I can just live in sin. I can do whatever I want, and God's going to forgive me. Paul makes it very clear. This is not the conclusion to the understanding of God's grace and his mercies. And so you're distorting who God is and what God is, and you do not have the promises of

that are given to those who are right with God. That is a total departure from the grace of God, because the right response to the grace of God is to present your body as a living sacrifice that's holy, that deliberately chooses to refrain from sin. Now, in Paul's day, there were also those who taught that the body was not important, that God only cared about the spirit.

And so the body could engage in any kind of sinful activity. It didn't matter because it was just the body. But, you know, as long as, you know, your heart was right, then your body was free to do whatever it wanted. And that was a bad and treacherous false doctrine that was taught in Paul's day. And that kind of mentality still exists today. Here's what Paul makes clear. Your body matters to God. The activities that your body is involved in

is important to God. It matters to God. He cares about that. He cares about what your feet do. He cares about what your hand does. He cares about your body. And you are to present your body to God as a living sacrifice that's holy, that's set apart from sin and set apart for the things of God. And so we're to take on the heart that says, because of God's mercy toward me, I will present my body to him.

And I will not do that because that's not pleasing to God, but I will do that because that does please God. If you surrender your own rights and let God direct you, you will be holy and acceptable to God. It will be a sacrifice that is received. Now he finishes verse one saying, which is your reasonable service. He makes it very clear here, starting out saying, therefore, connecting yourself

this instruction to the doctrine of the gospel in grace, but also adding in by the mercies of God, reminding us of God's mercy towards us and how he's done such great things. But then he ends the verse again saying, this is your reasonable service. So to make sure we understand, this is the right response to what God has done for us. This is the only way to respond to what God has done for us.

there's no other reasonable response. He says, this is your reasonable service. This is your rational service. This is your logical service. This is the only thing that makes sense based on what God has done for us. This word reasonable also could be understood as spiritual. This is your spiritual service. Either way,

The point that Paul is making is this is the right way to serve God as a result of what he has done for us. I like the way the New Living Translation puts it. He says, And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all that he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind that he will find acceptable. And then notice, this is truly the way to worship him. This is truly the way to worship him.

This is your reasonable service. This is the way that God desires to be worshiped. A lot of times, of course, we limit the idea of worship to the time where we're singing in the service. But that's not the limit of worship. Although that is worship, your whole life is meant to be an act of worship.

Your whole life is meant to be an act of you presenting yourself to God in the same way that when the children of Israel would take sacrifices to the tabernacle and offer them to the Lord, it was an act of worship. In that same way, you and I are to take our bodies and offer them to the Lord, and that is an act of worship. And so it's not just for that portion within the service, it's for every moment of every day of your life.

The true way to worship God is to present your body to him as a living sacrifice. To present yourself to him and say, here I am, Lord, I'm gonna refrain from what's not right and I'm going to engage in what is right. I'm gonna be involved in your work for your kingdom. Serving God is not just about doing stuff at church. Understand that church is a really small part of your life.

If you spend five hours a week at church, that's 2.9% of your week. So 3%. 3%. If you spend five hours a week here, that's 3% of your week. 3% of your life. God is extremely interested in much more than just 3% of your life. 100% belongs to God. He's your creator.

And on top of that, he purchased you with his own blood, dying upon the cross for your sins. So he owns you twice. He's your creator and he purchased you. And so because of the gospel, the only right thing, the only reasonable thing, the only thing that makes sense is for us to present our body to God. Not to just give him 3%.

I'll give you this time. I'll give you this activity. But for us to give him ourselves completely, to release all claims completely,

So that I don't get to be the final decision about my schedule. I don't get to be the final decision about the activities, about the entertainment, about the things that I do, the places that I go, the work that I do. I don't get the final say. God has the final say because of the gospel, because of what he's done for me. I present myself to him as a living sacrifice.

And so that's the first thing, the first response. Because of the gospel, present your body to God. Now moving on to point number two, found in verse two, and that is renew your mind. Because of the gospel, because of what God has done for us in bringing salvation through Jesus Christ, we must also renew our minds for him. Verse two says, and do not be conformed to this world.

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So here in verse two, he says, and do not be conformed to this world. Do not be conformed. The word conformed, it describes the act of someone assuming an outward expression that doesn't come from within. So it's essentially putting on a show.

It's essentially attempting to fit in. So one way that this word is used is, you know, someone conforming to the rules. That is, on the outside, they're keeping the rules. But on the inside, they're hating it. They don't want the rules. They don't believe in the rules. They don't want those rules. But they keep the rules on the outside. They're conforming. It's against their will. They don't want to. But this is what they have to do.

It's the idea of changing the outside, even if it doesn't match what's going on within. So do not be conformed to this world. Now, the reason why this makes sense is because as a believer in Jesus Christ, we know from 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, you're a new creation. And there's a conflict now between who you are within and this world. Because there's a conflict between the world and Christ,

There's a conflict between those who are followers of Christ and the world. And so we are in the world, but we are not of the world, the scriptures tell us. Now that presents some difficulties, some challenges, because, well, to be different than the world can result in some persecution. It can result in some conflict. It can result in some difficulties for us. And so Paul says, do not be conformed to this world. In Ephesians chapter two, verse

There the Apostle Paul is talking about our salvation, how we were dead in trespasses and sins and he made us alive. But he says we used to walk. We once walked according to the course of this world. And then notice what he says, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Here Paul is explaining in Ephesians chapter 2 that Satan is at work in the world.

And you used to walk according to the course, according to the pattern of the world. You used to fit right in. You were one of the world. There was no difference. And you walked in the pattern that was orchestrated and influenced by Satan. And people in the world are walking according to the course that Satan sets. He's the influence of the world. And you were part of that group, Paul says. But now...

You've been set free. You've been born again. You no longer are bound up in that. You're no longer caught up in that. And yet, sometimes, many times as believers, we still put on the external and we still walk according to the course of this world, even though God has changed us within.

And sometimes we do that because of the pressure of being different. Sometimes we do that because of the lukewarmness in our hearts and we're, you know, wanting to participate in things that are not of God. But Paul says our reasonable response, the only right thing to do in response to what God has done for us is to not be conformed to this world. It actually could be translated, stop being conformed.

Because of the tense of the verb there in the Greek, it means if you're doing this, if you're being conformed, you need to stop being conformed. The idea here is that you are being conformed. Just us living in this world, there's natural pressure that's placed upon us to fit in, to live like the world lives, to think like the world thinks.

to behave, to have the viewpoints that the world has. There's lots of pressure all around us from the world to fit in. And so one scholar named Phillips says this verse this way, don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold. The world around you is trying to squeeze you into its own mold so that while you believe about political issues like the world believes.

And you believe about moral issues like the world believes. And you live life the way the world lives life. And so there's this pressure. There's this attempt to make you conform. And what Paul is saying here is if we don't do something about it, we're going to be conformed. Because there's this pressure being applied. They're trying to smash us and fit us into this mold. But he says, stop it. Resist that pressure. Stop being conformed. You are being conformed, but you need to put a stop there.

to it. Have you ever driven a car with a bad alignment? And you know how it is, right? It's pulling to the left or it's pulling to the right. And it's just that pull is always there. And you always have to be course correcting. You have to be fighting against that pull in order to go the right direction. That's the idea that Paul is talking about here.

You're going to have to fight. You're going to be pulled in the wrong direction constantly. You are being pulled in the wrong direction. But stop going in that direction. Stop being conformed. Stop letting that pull you to one side or the other.

We used to have, when I was young, growing up, you know, youth group days, we had an old Dodge van. And it was useful for the youth group because, of course, it could fit a lot of youth. And so oftentimes, Pastor Tom would ask if he could borrow it. And my dad would say, sure. But, you know, Jerry's got to drive it. And I would hate it because I hated driving. That was the worst van to drive ever. The

The reason why I hated it was not only because it was big, but the steering wheel, I don't know the, you know, mechanical terms, you know, to talk about this, but you'll get what I'm saying. There was a lot of play in the steering wheel. It was loose. So in order to go straight in the lane, I had to go like this.

If I just held it straight, it would go this way or it would go that way. It was random. It wasn't like an alignment issue. It was just the steering wheel, it took a while before it actually started working. And so I'm here driving, you know,

packed full of kids who are goofing off and horsing around like youth kids usually do. And, you know, it's kind of, you know, nearing the edge of the lane. And so I go like this, and it's going back this way. And then I go like this. And in order to go straight, I had to constantly be moving it. And then, like, to drive up the mountains, you know, like those curves. And I was always freaked out. I hated driving that van because it was just so, like, it required that constant attention, that constant...

I got to pay attention. I got to keep correcting it. I got to keep addressing it because it's taking me in wrong directions and it will be dangerous or fatal if I don't correct it. And that is how the world works. There's this pull in all these different directions and there needs to be this constant awareness, this constant us stopping the conformity that we say, no, I'm not going to go that way.

where we catch it, where we correct ourselves, where we see that, oh man, there's this pull in my heart. There's this pull in my life. My mind is being bent this way. My heart is being pulled over in that other way regarding this issue or that issue. There's tons of things that we could consider about this, but the point is it's all around you. Friends and family are pulling at you and trying to push this conformity upon you.

Of course, the media and politicians and workplaces and friends, and there's all this pressure pulling and pushing and trying to fit you and conform you into the world's image. And the point is you will go one way or another way unless you intentionally put a stop to it, unless you stop being conformed. How different would your life be without God? If you

We're not a Christian. How different would your life be? Would the only difference be, you know, a change in your schedule? So Wednesday, eight o'clock in the evening is your TV watching time instead of church attending time. If that's the only difference, there's a problem. So many times our lives look just like our unsaved friends and family and neighbors. But if your life looks just like your neighbors who aren't saved, there's a problem.

Perhaps it's an indication that we've conformed to the world, that we fit into their image. This is what it looks like to be an American. This is what it looks like to be a Southern Californian. This is what it looks like to be a man or a woman. This is what it looks like. And we fit in. We're just like everybody else because we've been conformed. And Paul says the reasonable response to the gospel, the reasonable response to what God has done is for us to stop being conformed, to refuse to fit into that mold.

Not to rebel just for rebellion's sake, but as he'll go on to say, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. To be different according to what God desires from us. And so renew your mind. How do you do that? Well, he says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The word transformed, it's the word by which we get the word metamorphosis. So you see the caterpillar,

morph, metamorph, change, transform into the butterfly. It's also used to describe Jesus in his transfiguration. It's a radical change that takes place. So instead of being conformed, allowing those pressures to fit you into the mold that the world has, he says, be transformed, be radically different than the world.

How do we do that? How do we resist that pressure? How do we make that transformation? He says, by the renewing of your mind. Here's how to do it. Renew your mind. You see, God cares about your body and you're to present your body as a living sacrifice. But another area that's really important for us in response to the gospel, because of the gospel, we need to pay attention to what's happening in our mind and we need to renew our mind.

I like this word renew. It means a renovation, a complete change for the better. It's a remodel. Think about how the Lord has blessed us and we've been able to remodel in here. And it's a complete change for the better. You know, before the floor was falling apart, it was real rickety, it was dangerous, there was holes you might fall through. There's been a complete change. It's stable, it's sturdy, it's strong. Before the walls collapsed,

were not insulated. They were all wavy and bubbly, all kinds of weirdness going on. Now there's been a remodel. It's been completely changed. It's a noticeable upgrade. And this is what God calls you to do with your mind. Remodel your mind. Give it some upgrades, renovate it, and change it for the better.

The commentator Adam Clark says, the word implies a radical, thorough, and universal change, both outward and inward. It's a radical change of your mind to be transformed. When you renew your mind, it will cause you to change radically in your life. So how do you do that?

How do you upgrade the mind? How do you do this so that you can be transformed? Well, I would suggest to you that we learn the mind of God. Consider Isaiah chapter 55 verse 9. God says, If you're going to upgrade your thoughts, if you're going to upgrade your mind, here's what you need to do. You need to learn God's thoughts.

What does God think? What does God have to say? What does he think about this situation and that situation? What does he think about this endeavor, this activity? What does he think? God says, my ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, as high as the heavens are above the earth. The point is, there's a dramatic difference. There's a radical difference between God's thoughts and your thoughts. And so to renew your mind,

You need to learn the mind of God. His thoughts are far better. His thoughts are far greater. And so if you will learn to think his thoughts, well, that's the upgrade that you're looking for. That's the renewing of the mind that's necessary for you to reteach your mind, for you to retrain your thoughts so that they're in line with God's thoughts. It will cause a radical transformation in your life where you will refuse to fit in

to the world's image, to the world's mold. And so I would encourage you to learn the mind of God. And of course, he's provided for us his word as an opportunity for that, that you would learn the word of God, that you would know what God says, what God thinks based on what he's revealed to us of himself in his word. I like what Dave Guzik points out about this. He says, the problem with many Christians is they live based on feeling or they're only concerned about doing.

Many times we're focused on our feelings or we're only concerned about what do I got to do? He says, rather, we must be concerned about what does God say? Not how do I feel about it? Not just tell me what to do without understanding what God thinks about it. But what does God think? He says our first questions cannot be how do I feel or what do I do? Our first question needs to be what does God's word say? Is that your first question?

Make that your first question. Renew your mind. What does God's words say? What does God have to say about these kinds of situations? What does God have to say about these kinds of decisions? What does God have to say? That needs to be our primary concern. And as we invest ourselves and focus on what God has to say, learning his thoughts, learning his mind, it renews our mind.

And the result will be a radical transformation. Do you want to see your life transformed? Get into the word of God. Learn about God. Let God's word govern the way that you think. And it will change your life. Well, finally, point number three, still in verse two here. Because of the gospel, because of what God has done for us and his great mercy towards us, what we must do is surrender our will.

Surrender your will to God. Again, looking at verse two, it says, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Presenting your body to God, renewing your mind by the word of God will result in an ability to prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. How well right now

Do you discern the will of God? If someone was to ask you about God's will for your life, how well would you be able to respond to that? I don't mean, you know, all the details of all the future, but whether or not this thing or that thing is part of God's will for you, whether or not this activity or that activity is part of God's will for you, how well are you able to discern the will of God? It's tragic how many times we have absolutely no clue what God wants in our lives.

We're just completely unable to discern the will of God. And that happens because, well, sometimes it's because we're not holy. Going back to the first point, we're not presenting our body as a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable. And because of sin in our lives, we're engaged in these things. We're completely blinded to the will of God. We have no clue what God's will is because we're involved in sin.

It blinds us to God's desires. It darkens our understanding because we're just like the world. We don't know how God thinks because we've been conformed. We've been pressed into the image of the world and we don't know what God says. We don't know what God thinks. We don't know how God thinks. And the result is we have no clue what the will of God is. But if we will respond to the gospel the way that is appropriate,

We will present our body to God as a living sacrifice. We will renew our mind by the word of God. And then the end result will be, we will be able to prove what God's will is. God's will is not something that you understand easily or automatically. It has to be proven. Now the word prove here, it could also be translated tested. It was used once.

In discussing metals. So the way that they would test metals. And what they could withstand. And how pure they were. But it also included this idea of it's been tested. And now it's certified. Now it's approved. So it's not just the test. But the idea here of proving is that it's withstood the test. And so if you're going to test something to prove that it's genuine. That's the idea here.

You're going to test a diamond to prove that it's a real diamond and that it's not a fake. It's the test and the validation so that you could add a guarantee. And so the idea here of proving God's will is the idea that you've tested, you've discerned, this is God's will, and then you kind of add your guarantee. I've tested this and I found it to be God's will for my life. I've proven it. You can prove it.

will of God for you. The commentator Thomas Constable says, prove or test and approve, that's what I've just been talking about, involves evaluating and choosing to practice what is the will of God instead of what the world recommends. So it's along that similar line. There's the pressure from the world, the recommendations of the world, what the world wants. But when you've renewed your mind, you've

developed the ability to test, is this really what God wants? Is this really God's will for my life? For me to behave this way, for me to treat people that way, for me to be involved in this or that activity. Renewing your mind enables you to have great discernment into the will of God. But notice what he says there. He says it involves evaluating and choosing. It's one thing to know the will of God, to recognize the will of God.

To choose the will of God is something else entirely. Think about it this way. Do you only sin in things that you don't know are sin? Of course not. The problem is not your information. You still sin in things that you know are sinful. It's not just about knowing something. It's about choosing based on that knowledge and to prove that

That good and acceptable and perfect will of God is not just about knowing what God desires or what God wants, but it's also about choosing to engage in what God wants, to do what God wants. Notice the words he describes the will of God, that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Like abundant insurance or assurance for you. God wants the best for you. His will is good. His will is perfect.

I may not always understand God's will because his ways are higher than my ways, but I can trust, I can know for certain that his will for me is good and acceptable and perfect. He wants what's best for me. And so if I discern his will and choose it, I know it will be what is best. If I learn how to prove and determine this is God's will for me, then I can engage in that and experience the best.

I can experience the ultimate good. I can experience the abundant life. The more I present my body to him and renew my mind by his word, the more I'll be able to understand what God wants in my life and the more I'll be able to do what is best in my life. You want to be blessed beyond your ability to understand and measure? Present your body to God, renew your mind, and then surrender your will.

and do God's will. Do what God desires for you. One thing I want to add on to this idea here of surrendering your will. A lot of times, believers are only interested in the will of God in the middle of a crisis. And in the middle of the crisis, they'll come to the pastor and say, what does God want from me? What does God want in this situation? And they're desperate to find out God's will

because of the crisis that they're in. And so I want to share something here. You need to understand that that's the worst time to try to learn how to discern God's will. God's will is not automatically known. It needs to be proven. It's a practice. It's something that you learn to test and to evaluate by presenting your body and renewing your mind. And then you'll be able to prove the will of God.

And so in the middle of the crisis, that's the most difficult time. That's the worst time to try to discern God's will. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. It doesn't mean you shouldn't call out to God. I'm just saying there's a much better way to do it. Think about it this way. When's the best time to learn how to diffuse a bomb? It's not, you know, when there's 30 seconds on the clock and it's counting down and now, okay, where's the book? You know, can you teach me? Can you show me what to do?

No, if you're going to be engaged in diffusing bombs, you need to be preparing ahead of time so that in the middle of the crisis, you have experience and you're able, because you've been tested, you've proven you're able to handle the situation. Don't wait until the emergency, until the crisis to try to determine and discern the will of God. That's the worst time. Instead, practice

proving the will of God right now. Practice it now. Learn to discern God's will now. Renew your mind now. Present your body to God now so that when you're in the midst of the crisis, remember Jesus talked about the wise man building his house on the rock, right? The storm came for the wise man and the fool. We're all going to experience the crisis. But if you will practice proving and choosing God's will in your normal life,

you will be far better prepared to discern his will in the midst of a crisis. And his will is good. His will is best. And so because of the gospel, present your body to God, renew your mind, and surrender your will. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your incredible goodness to us, for your grace and your mercy in our lives. And I pray that you would help us, Lord, to see those things accurately, to realize and to appreciate how much you've done for us.

Lord, that we might respond appropriately. The only reasonable way, and that is to present ourselves to you completely and wholly, to surrender all claims and rights to ourselves. Lord, that we would fully give ourselves to you.

to be used for your glory and for your purposes. Lord, we are yours. And so I pray that you would take us, Lord, that you would use us, that you would accomplish your work and your will in us, Lord. I pray that you would help us to renew our minds by learning your word, by seeking you, Lord,

by asking what you want and what you have to say about situations before we evaluate how we feel about it or what others think that we should do. Lord, help us to seek you first and your kingdom. Lord, to desire your words to direct us and guide us. And I pray, Lord, that you would teach us to prove your will, that we might experience, Lord, the fullness of the life that you have planned for us, the good things that you have in store for us. Help us, God.

to learn to discern your will right now, Lord, that we might be prepared for the days that are to come. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.