The Renewed Mind

In response to Romans 1-11, Paul writes,

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. 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 12:1-2)

We know that sin rots the brain (Rom 1:28). We know that the heart is deceitful (Jer 17:9). We know that sin wars against our better thoughts (Rom 7:23). We know that "the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers" (2 Cor 4:4). So we can see that we should "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Makes sense. But ... how do we do that?

The two terms -- "conformed" vs "transformed" -- speak of two different shapes. In "conformed" the Greek word is the source of our word, "schematic." The idea is "the outer shape." If you take a sheet of plastic and lay it on a piece of metal and heat it, the plastic will "conform" to the shape of the metal. It doesn't become metal; it just takes the shape. Like we have a tendency to do when we interact with our world. You know, "Go along to get along." Paul says, "Don't take that shape." Instead he says we should be "transformed." That one is the root of our word, "metamorphosis." That one is a change in nature. It is to transition from one form to another. It is an actual change rather than merely external appearance. That is what we're aiming for; a transformation brought about by renewed thinking. He's not asking for non-conformity with the world; He's asking for a renewal process that changes who we are. He's saying, "Don't go there (taking on the shape of the world), but go here (transformation)." Okay ... but how?

You can see right away that it is rooted in "what the will of God is." So how do we get there? Well, it isn't a case of "creative guessing." We have "the will of God" written out for us. We would need to be immersed in His Word. Paul wrote that we are cleansed and sanctified "by the washing of water with the word" (Eph 5:26). That's not "baptism;" that's immersion in the Word. And "sanctified" is the process of becoming more Christ-like. Part of that, achieved by the washing of the water with the word, is renewing your mind. The work of the Holy Spirit is critical to renewing your mind (Titus 3:5). We are commanded to think a certain way (Php 4:8) -- an ongoing process. We are supposed to turn our eyes on the Lord (2 Cor 3:18; Heb 12:2). The Word, the Spirit, the requirements, the process ... we have what we need to renew our minds.

Given the sorry state of the mind of Man in its natural condition, this is a critical and lifelong task. We will encounter slips and falls, returns to erroneous ways of thinking. We will enjoy growth and change as the Holy Spirit works with God's Word to change our thinking from the old to the new. It is an essential task for all believers and difficult to perform since it goes against the rest of the world, but there is great reward.