In Romans 12, Paul writes,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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. (Rom 12:1-2)That "therefore" refers to the entire 11 chapters that preceded it -- 11 chapters of the truth of the Gospel (Rom 1:16-17) that includes the problem of the sinfulness of humans (Rom 1:18-3:20), the solution of justification by faith apart from works -- by faith in the propitiation of the Son who died for us (Rom 3:21-31) -- and more, concluding with "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom 11:36). "Therefore," Paul writes. On the basis of this Gospel and God's righteousness, surrender your bodies as a living sacrifice as an act of worship. Then, "Step One." Don't conform to earthly thinking. Don't shape yourself by worldly wisdom. Don't be like the world that hates God. Instead ... "be transformed by the renewal of your mind." Like that article's notion of intelligent people, we're supposed to change our thinking by submitting to the truth. According to Paul that truth is not the world's version.
How do we renew our minds? It is first and foremost accomplished in opposition to worldly thinking. So, it is in submission to Christ instead of "brave" self-determination. It is in living in nonconformity to this world rather than embracing the world's values. It is by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) and in the Word (Eph 5:26). It is in prayer rather than self-sufficiency (Php 4:6) and death to self rather than self-centeredness (Eph 4:22-24). It is in trusting the Lord rather than leaning on our own understanding (Prov 3:5-6). It's not ... normal. If we're operating on "normal," we're not renewing our minds. We need to change our way of thinking to conform to Him and His Word rather than the more comfortable, yet fatal, way of the world.
4 comments:
Do you think, from a human standpoint, that you can't change hearts without changing minds? We know that none will submit to the Truth without the Spirit changing our hearts, but we can't know we need to change our hearts without knowledge that comes through the mind first.
I felt really good after reading your opening paragraph. I always assumed that whenever I changed my opinion on something, it was because my lack of knowledge about that topic had been corrected. I’m glad to know I wasn’t in fact amending my embarrassing ignorance but actually exercising great intelligence! :-D (Seriously, though, this was the thought I was expressing when I commented about “intellectual honesty” back on 12/27/24 [“Hated”].)
I will say that one of the most difficult aspects for me in my Christian journey has been the notion that, “You are not going to come to the correct conclusions about things on your own. Your default thinking will be wrong. You cannot trust in your intellectual abilities alone to learn truth. A ‘sound mind’ and serious reflection are not sufficient to understand God’s wisdom. The ‘natural’ will not produce the ‘spiritual.’” As you say, the “normal” way of thinking and living must be rejected in favor of something better. Now, that is an intelligent choice--but only to my renewed mind!
Scripture, of course, is clear on that, David. "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor 2:14). I think that a person unwilling to read the plain meaning in Scripture and attempt to embrace it is in danger of being among in the "natural" category.
Post a Comment