Renewed

⁜ Prayer ⁜

Intro

So last week we saw that as the Holy Spirit breaks into our lives we see two things happen:

• First, his presence in our hearts makes it possible to live holy lives!

• Second, as we experience the Holy Spirit's presence within us, he assures us that we are truly God's children and are secure in our salvation.

Today, we head in a new direction.

Throughout this series, we have seen Paul lay out a lot of theology (and we have really just scratched the surface of Romans!). But as we turn to Chapter 12, Paul moves from doing theology, to showing us how all of that theology is worked out in the daily life of the Christian.

So this week, and the two weeks that will follow, we are going to see how all of this works out in daily life. And today, he sets the tone for us by showing that it all begins by being renewed by the Holy Spirit!

And this is such an important message for our lives as individual Christians, but also for the church today!

When we look at the church - especially throughout much of Europe and North America - if I am being completely forthright, I find it hard to imagine how we can say that our Christianity is alive! We find everywhere in the Western world churches that are turned in on themselves, or are abandoning biblical teaching, and are virtually invisible to the world around them.

Does any of that reflect the life of the churches we read about in the book of Acts, for instance? Absolutely not!

If we compare much of Western Christianity to what we find in the book of Acts we will quickly discern that we are in big trouble. And we need to be woken up!

And that is where we are headed as we explore these last chapters of Romans these next weeks! So let's jump into today's Scripture.

A Renewed Mind

Paul immediately begins by pointing us to the practical implication of the message he has shared with us. But he does so by starting in an interesting place. He urges his audience (which includes the Roman Christians and all Christians down through the ages).

Now that probably seems strange in light of the fact that just last week we saw him telling us of our security in Christ Jesus!

So, if we are secure, why does he say "I urge you" (Rom. 12:1)?

Well, as we already explored these past couple of weeks, being saved does not mean that we are free to live in sin. Instead, it means that we are freed to live holy lives, we are freed to live lives empowered by the Holy Spirit. And so Paul is urging us to remember that reality. THAT is why he writes: "I urge you... in view of God's mercy" (Rom. 12:1).

In other words, he is telling us to remember the terrible state we were in and that God has shown mercy to us and removed us from our former way of life! And not only are we to remember that mercy, but we must also understand that in light of the awesome picture of God's grace that Paul has laid out for us thus far, that we are now urged to heed what Paul now points us towards... which is the Gospel taking effect in our lives.

And what happens when we live into that reality? Well he points out two effects it has on our lives!

• First - it leads us "to offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship" (Rom. 12:1)

and...

• Second: it reminds us that we are "[not to be conformed] to the pattern of this world, but [are to] be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2).

Those are two incredibly important points for us to take to heart! This is what happens when the Holy Spirit breaks into our lives.

(1) First, Paul points out that our bodies become the scene of a living sacrifice... of worship. When he says bodies, he is not just speaking of our physical bodies.

Remember last week when I pointed out that when Paul mentions the flesh in Rom. 8:5 that he is not speaking badly about our bodies - but was rather using that term to refer to our whole nature being under the dominion of sin? Well, that is similar to what he is doing here. When Paul writes: "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice" he means offer your whole being.

You see, Paul, like Jesus, was Jewish. And in Jewish theology the body and the soul are understood to be a unity. Both are good, and both are meant to be together. So when Paul says "your bodies" the early Christians understood that as shorthand for their whole being - body and soul.

So what we see described in these first two verses of Romans 12 is the transformation of what we are capable of! Because we are redeemed and are no longer under slavery to sin, and because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, our bodies and souls become the scene of worship.

There is no longer a necessity for the temple and its sacrifices! Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for us! And because of that there is no further need for the continuation of sacrifices... his death on the cross was the redemptive sacrifice that is sufficient for all time. So our worship is no longer defined by seeking redemption in the temple, but is instead transformed so that we now offer our whole lives as worship - glorifying God as we live our lives under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit!

(2) Paul follows this in v. 2 by pointing out that this means that we cannot remain living and thinking as we once did. Because we have the Holy Spirit within our hearts, our whole being is transformed - and that means that even our thoughts must be renewed - we could say that even our thoughts become worshipful.

No longer can we be conformed to the world in which we live. Yes, we can and should affirm those good aspects that we find in our culture. We should see in them God's grace at work holding the world back from evil and prodding it towards that which is good.

But it also means that we must reject those aspects of our culture that try to form us in opposition to God's reign in this world.

And when Paul writes: "do not conform to the pattern of this world" he means that with the full force it entails.

This is meant to make all of us uncomfortable!

Everyone has some part of them that has been conformed to the world on some level. And for each of us the Spirit breaks into our lives and challenges us to no longer be conformed to that thing that wants to maintain a hold on our hearts and minds. He convicts us of that area where we have allowed the world to form us more than the Gospel - or to put it bluntly: where the world seeks to form us to live in an anti-Gospel manner.

What is that for you and me?

Is it conformity to our culture's obsession with violence? Or has a desire for power driven our decision making? Or is it conformity to a particular political vision that demands we buy into its narrative? Or have we permitted the world to make us ashamed to share our faith out of fear that others will think we are intolerant?

It could be any number of things? But at its heart we need to acknowledge that if there is a conformity to this world lingering in our hearts we need to get on our knees, ask the Lord to reveal it to us, and then entrust it to his care. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to remove us from the grasp of whatever ideology or power that seeks our conformity and we need to ask him to remake us from the inside out.

And notice what Paul says. He says that when we are transformed - "by the renewal of your mind" - "then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will" (Rom. 12:2).

What is Paul saying here? Is he saying that we give approval to God's will? Absolutely not! (Even if we may desire to have such power!) Rather - and this is in line with his understanding of how the Holy Spirit goes to work in our lives - Paul is saying that as the Holy Spirit transforms us, we can expect to be renewed in such a way that we have the ability to discern what God's desires are and to also be able to put his desires into practice.

That is what the renewed life looks like! This is how the Holy Spirit goes to work and turns every aspect of our life into worship!

He permeates our whole being - he leaves no section of our life unturned - and he so thoroughly transforms us that we come to know God's will and to desire to live in accordance with it. And the Holy Spirit does this by leading us into a life of deep communion with God, where we are transformed and made capable of delighting in God's will so that we can also live as he calls us to.

What the Renewed Person Looks Like

But notice that Paul does not leave us with a vague concept of being transformed! As we see from v. 3-2, he shows us what a transformed and renwed life looks like! And we should note that he describes such a life within the framework of:

1 ) our being mutually and humbly dependent upon one another, and

2 ) the Holy Spirit's gifts

So first he calls us to "not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement" (Rom. 12:3). In other words: be humble! Remember what you are apart from God's grace!

And then he goes on to remind us that while we are saved as individuals we are not left as islands!

In vv. 4-5 he shows us that when we were saved, we were given a new identity we are now "in Christ" (v. 5). Which means that we "form one body" (v. 5) where "each member belongs to all the others" (v. 5). And he shows us that in the life of this one body - which is the church - we are the live lives of service.

And so in that new reality about who we are, we are also given unique giftings. But once again, those are not meant for us alone or to be used for our own glory!

Notice how Paul lays out the gifts. For each one he points out that it is to be used for the upbuilding of the body of Christ. This is why Paul points out that the Holy Spirit gives gifts and he always does it with a purpose - which is ultimately focused on the upbuilding and growth of God's Kingdom.

And what is really beautiful is that you and I are invited to participate in this work of building up that kingdom. You and I are ambassadors of the kingdom of God, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to go about that work.

But notice how important what we read in vv. 1-2 is as we are drawn into this work. We cannot bear witness to this kingdom apart from having our minds transformed and renewed by the Holy Spirit.

WHY? Well, because we must bear witness to God's kingdom alone, and not to an alien vision of God's kingdom as defined by anything this world. The gifts of the Spirit are directed towards the transformation of this world in accordance with God's vision alone! We cannot and must not put them at the service of this world and its powers.

Examples of the Renewed Life

And that brings us to the final section of Romans 12.

There we find Paul further portray for us exactly what a kingdom minded people look like as they go about their daily lives! And we should take note exactly how Paul portrays the renewed - kingdom minded - person in vv. 9-21.

Now while I don't have time to go through all the details here, I would suggest that in the midst of all the instructions we find in this section, we can boil it all down to two points. And we can find them in v. 9 and v. 11.

So first, what does Paul say in v. 9? Yes. "Love must be sincere"! There is no such thing as a Christian whose love is fake! Their whole life must be permeated by a depth of love. And that is why in this section Paul defines such love as warm, inviting, and caring. And notice that he also defines love as "sincere" - which means love that is oriented towards God's own kingdom values. That is what God's grace and the Holy Spirit shape us into.

We are formed into a people who bear witness to the kingdom of God specifically by being a people who love one another and the world around us! And that type of love cannot help but be sincere.

But we should also note that Paul lays out another key aspect of what the kingdom directed person looks like... and that is found in v. 11.

He says there: "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor." This is an incredibly important point for us to take to heart. As the Holy Spirit renews us, our lives should be recognizably zealous. But this is not a zealousness for the things of this world.

Too often we see Christians who are more noticeable for the zealousness they have for causes other than the kingdom of God. We can get caught up in all sorts of causes that may actually be in contradiction to God and his kingdom. But the zeal Paul writes about here is zealousness in "serving the Lord" (v. 11).

But we should also note that Paul is not simply instructing us to be zealous. When he writes "keep your spiritual fervor" as the NIV translates it, he is actually directing us towards the type of zeal he means. And interestingly, while many Bible's translate it as we find here, I think the Bible scholar Douglas Moo is correct when he comments that we should likely translate this instead as: "be set on fire by the Spirit."

That is the type of zeal we must have! Our lives as Christians are not defined by OUR zeal, but rather a zeal that is caused by being SET ABLAZE by the Holy Spirit!

This is what so much of contemporary Christianity is missing! We have so many programs and conferences and books which try to tell us how to achieve vibrant and numerically growing churches. And in some sense all of that is good! We should always desire to see vibrant churches that are also growing in discipleship and in numbers.

But the Scriptures don't tell us that we need to follow a program in order to live a good Christian life or to grow our churches! The only program the Scriptures put before us is God's program! And His program is a people set ablaze by the Holy Spirit which he gives as a gift to his Church!

So in vv. 9-21, as Paul describes what the kingdom minded person is like, it is these two things: 1) sincere, Gospel oriented love and 2) being set on fire by the Holy Spirit, that define how we live in this world, and bear witness to God's kingdom.

Everything flows from those two things!

So when he tells the Christian community to "live in harmony with one another" (v. 16), that harmony is a product of sincere love and our being set on fire by the Holy Spirit.

And notice that he does not simply say "love." Especially nowadays, we can see how the definition of love has been twisted. Paul speaks of "sincere love" - which is love that is in accordance with God's own love. It is love that is defined by God's own revealed truth. That is what defines living in harmony with one another - it is a harmony grounded in God's own love and truth as we find it expressed in Scripture.

We also see an example of the kingdom minded person when Paul tells us to "not repay anyone evil for evil" (v. 17). Such non-retaliatory behavior is grounded in our sincere love for the person who has sinned against us, as well as our being set aflame by the Holy Spirit, who is making it possible for us to love that person and act in goodness towards them.

And Paul gives us and example of how powerfully God works in and through us as we live such a transformed life.

He points out in vv. 19-21 that by "not repaying evil for evil" (v. 17), but instead "if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to drink... you will heap burning coals on his head" (v. 20).

Now that may sound strange to us. How is that loving?! How is that an expression of Holy Spirit led zeal?!

Well, we need to understand that when Paul says "you will heap burning coals on his head" he is actually quoting an ancient proverb, which was common in Ancient Near East cultures, which essential meant: "You will make the person recognize that they have acted in an evil manner and bring them to be ashamed of their actions."

And the clear intention that Paul has here is that the Christian's counter-cultural act of loving the one who has acted sinfully towards them will hopefully bring them to not only be ashamed of their action, but to come to saving repentance!

So what Paul describes here is actually the most loving and kingdom minded zealousness that we could imagine! It is a love and zeal for the person and their salvation! That is what a person who has been transformed and renewed by the Holy Spirit's presence in their life looks like!

Conclusion

At this point you and I should be noticing how radically different this new way of life looks! This is what the Holy Spirit does my friends! As our whole being is transformed and renewed, our lives become like that "lamp set on a stand... that gives light to everyone" that Jesus talks about (in Mt. 5:15).

This is God's program for the renewal and growth of his Church, and the evangelization of the world. As pastor Jim Cymbala has written:

"The Spirit has his own strategy and plans for the church. ...Nothing can replace the absolutely essential element of daily, specific leading by the Spirit of God in the life of the individual Christian and of the Church."

So my brothers and sisters, we need to pray daily, for both our church and the Church throughout the world, that we come to a reawakening of our need for the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of the Church! We need his presence... we need his gifts in our lives as individuals as well as in the life of the Church here and throughout the world! This is the renewal we all need!

We desperately need to recognize our need for him in our daily walk as Christians. We desperately need to be reawakened and renewed by Him!

This is essential because, as we have seen in today's reading, his presence not only assures that our own lives will be transformed and renewed, but as that happens our lives themselves also become a living sermon that proclaims the power of God! And as the Holy Spirit renews his Church that is when we will see churches that are turned in on themselves become churches that go out into the world to share the Gospel message. And churches that are at risk of abandoning biblical teaching return to God's word, and reaffirm the historic Biblical faith. And churches that are virtually invisible to the world around them, will become light in the world - giving witness to God and glorifying him.

So, as Paul encourages us, let us be zealous to live holy lives that reflect the love of God, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And let us share the good news of the kingdom of God, by being set on fire by the Spirit and relying first and foremost on his empowering and renewing presence!

Can I get an AMEN to that?

⁜ Let us Pray ⁜

NOTES:

*Jim Cymbala & Dean Merrill, Fresh Power: Experiencing the Vast Resources of the Spirit of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 143, 144.