Romans 12: 2
The Renewing of the Mind

June 8, 2008


Our verse for today is about the antithesis to conformity.  We are to be "not conformed" to this present age but "be transformed by the renewal of (our) mind(s)."  The word "mind" here is the Greek noun nous or noeo in the verb form.  As it is used variously in the New Testament it conveys the idea of "mindset" -- something like the "mentality" or "self-perception of the individual." 

Non-conformity in the first part of v.2 is not enough.  Transformation is the goal.  That transformation is, of course, connected to the ever growing, ever expanding work of sanctification in our lives.  And it comes about by the renewed mind -- the growing mindset -- or the mentality -- of Christian faith in the individual.  Think with me about two ideas this morning: the first of them is the renewal of the Christian mind and the second is the source of that renewal of the mind.

Think, then, about.

I. THE TRANSFORMATION OF A CHRISTIAN THROUGH A RENEWED MIND.

l. This is a very novel doctrine in an age such as ours.  The transformation that is the antithesis of conformity does not come through an emotional or a mystical experience.  It involves the practical matter of information: Bible study, theology, Biblical ethics.  These are not just technical subjects but are grist for the renewing of the Christian's mind.

2. The sense of these two verses is that God, through Paul, beseeches us to present ourselves to God -- v. 1; to be not conformed -- v.2; but to be transformed -- also in v.2.

In a minute I am going to say something that delivers me from the charge of gnosticism, i.e. salvation by knowledge.  But do not discount the matter of information -- of knowledge -- of theology -- of truth -- just because there are those who, like the Pharisees, know so very much but have not allowed it to transform their lives.

Do you want to have a transformed life?  Well, the first step is not to go to a guru on a mountain top; don't go on a pilgrimage to a shrine -- or the modern equivalent of one, to a weekend seminar -- but carefully understand from the Word of God -- and from all of the tools given to us to help us understand that Word of God -- and look for the truth.  That's not all the steps but it is the first step.
3. And since this transformation involves the will and implies the power of God, the passage assumes that the Holy Spirit will use the Word of God, correctly understood, to change our lives.  ("Correctly understood" is very important because the cults and sects are using the words of scripture, heretically understood, to force feed their pathetic adherents.)  It is the correctly understood words of Scripture that changes our lives.

The Word of God, correctly understood, in its most important doctrines, has always produced a wave of godly, transformed lives in any age where there was an emphasis upon it.  A hundred different movements in history and a thousand known, personal experiences have started with a clear understanding not only of the requirements of God but with the truth of how God saves men, viz. the doctrine of atonement and justification and regeneration, which we celebrate as we observe the communion each Sunday morning.

And you cannot transform yourself any more than you can save yourself; but there are means at your disposal, viz. the things that will renew your mind, which the Holy Spirit will use to transform your being.  Do you think that you have a "renewed mind" or a mind that is in process of renewal?  If you do perceive that you have, it is what we have a right to expect in your Christian life.

II. THINK, THEN, ABOUT THE SOURCES OF THE RENEWAL OF THE MIND.

1. The Holy Spirit is the first and foremost.  He empowers the individual to see the truth and to see its application to that individual's life.  He graciously gives the individual power over sin and over the vice of conformity to this present world.

There is no way you can harness the Holy Spirit and to try to do so is just another form of paganism that attempts to manipulate the deity.  But if you earnestly give attention to the Word, the Holy Spirit will manifest himself in power according to his sovereign will.  That's why a Bible study in the Biblical doctrine of justification is most apt to bring salvation to the individual who has an interest in salvation.  That's why evangelistic Bible studies are a wonderful tool for evangelism.  That's why, when you want to draw near to God, you shouldn't need to just turn up the volume, stir the emotions and throw yourself into high gear, but search the Scriptures where he may be found.  That's why in our church we have seen many, many people who started out as mere, sociological Christians come to know the Lord when they saw a church concerned with looking into the Word of God and, themselves, saw the truth of God there.

2. The Word of God is the objective source of the transformation of the individual and the renewal of the mind that precedes it.  We don't always agree on what the Word of God says or what it requires but at least we have agreement on that being the place where one ought to look to find the mind of God.

I urge you to make the Scriptures a part of your life.  There is a quotation in the Library from St. Jerome urging his friend Paulinus, I believe, to "live among these books (the books of the Scripture) and to never let them pass out of your hand."  Well, that might be difficult for people who have jobs and responsibilities.  But he says also to "meditate upon them."  Surely that is more practical and would have been more practical in Jerome's day also, when he had separate scrolls for almost every book of the Bible and in a time when almost no other person he knew had a complete set of Biblical scrolls.

And you may not have the time to read the Bible through 3 times a year, but carry it with you during your days.  Carry it with you by writing a verse that God has brought to your attention on a 3 x 5 card.  And look at the verse numerous times and think about the truth and application of which you think God is trying to teach you.  And meditate upon it during your day. 

Think about the sermon you heard Sunday or the Bible study you attended.  Think about it for the rest of the week.  Ponder how it applies to various situations in your life.  That is real listening to the Word of God and it will bear fruit in the "renewing of your mind" and the ultimate "transformation" of your person.

3. This renewal of the mind comes, normally, through the teaching of the church.  This is a reason why in the search for truth you must go to a church -- not where the architecture pleases you -- or the sociology is a right fit, but where you trust the leadership to tell you the truth, and where you have the testimony of the Spirit that you are being taught the truth.

God ordained teachers in addition to the Bible to help you understand it and apply it.  And you need them to help bring the Word of God to bear on your mind and situation in the world.  Of course they do it imperfectly -- sometimes disastrously or even heretically.  But the idea that it is "every man for himself" in this world and that every man just takes his Bible and figures out the whole complicated system of Christianity, is to assume that one person, can in one lifetime, discover all that has been discovered by 75 generations of Christians since the time of Christ.  It is to court disaster.  Almost no person has the time or the capability to do so but we must loan ourselves to teachers of the truth as we understand it, even as those teachers have themselves been taught by a teacher who was, in turn, taught by a teacher, who was taught by a teacher.  In the Presbyterian tradition, every minister has had at least 3 years of theological, biblical teaching and related truth. -- And for a good reason.  He is the primary teacher of the church where he ministers.

This has a practical application and I urge it upon you.  During the years of your pilgrimage as you go from city to city, don't pick out churches primarily because you like the people or the pipe organ.  Don't pick out a church for business contacts.  Don't pick it out because the sociology fits.   And surely don't pick it out because the architecture makes you feel reverent.  (Nowadays, one would guess -- looking at the architecture -- people must be picking out their church because it feels like an airport terminal -- reminding them, perhaps, of their eventual trip to heaven.)  No!  Pick it out because God has given you the understanding that it is most apt to lead you in the direction of where you think truth lies.  You may have to fine tune your search as you become convinced of the Word of God's teaching on this or that -- but go where you think the truth for the "renewing of your mind" lies.
4. And historically this is so.  We reject the idea of restorationism -- Churches that think they merely need to know the Bible and have no regard for what God has taught the church throughout 20 centuries.  You may not be well acquainted with this but your leaders ought to have a sense of the historical continuity of Christianity. 
Here is an error that even many of the seminaries that train ministers are frequently making.  In many evangelical seminaries they are reducing the number of courses in theology and church history and in various courses on interpretation of the Bible, while increasing the number of courses in pastoral work, church management, rapid growth strategies and gimmicks for getting decisions out of people (not to say,also, for getting money out of them).  And they will increasingly produce professionals who are wonderful businessmen and who are great manipulators but yet who have an insufficient grasp on the truth to do their job well -- technicians, who are substantially, Biblically and theologically illiterate.
5. And koinonia is also a source, of the renewing of our minds, which leads to transformation.  You will remember that the word koinonia, means "fellowship" or, literally, "having in common with."  It most often refers to the fellowship of God's people.  One of the reasons that God has given you the institution of the local church is for it to be a source of encouragement and role models for you,  for "the renewing of your mind;" -- about how a Christian should conduct himself in a  secular society.  We are not to be conformed unto this present world but God has given us real life role models of how Christians ought to behave and to apply the Scriptures to real life situations.  God has given us a church family that will pray for us and encourage us and sometimes criticize us.
Listen, we desperately need you to live your life to the glory of Christ, as a student, or in your profession, or as a Christian worker, or as a stay-at-home mother or house-wife, from whom the rest of us can observe that it can be done and how it is done.  And we ought to be encouraging each other in this by our sharing in the report and exhortation time every Sunday morning and at times such as when we eat together or have conversation together.  This has an incalculable benefit to our lives.  God uses it for the "renewing of our minds" and consequent "transformation."
Again, as I did last week, I believe, I merely mention the outcome of that transformation by the renewing of your mind -- about which I am going to speak next week or the following: It is the proving -- the working out, for all to see -- "what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God."  All these things I have spoken about this past 3 weeks are not burdensome responsibilities but are things which go together to enable us to live our lives in the will of God, to reflect great glory upon God, enabling us to demonstrate the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
May God grant it is my prayer.

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