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Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

1 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. 2 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.

Romans 12:1–2 (NLT)

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1–2 (MSG)

1 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 2 Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I. Introduction

A. Context and history

B. Where have we been?

C. Where are we now?

II. Verse One

A. Therefore - connects the doctrine taught in Romans 1-11 with the application coming in Romans 12-16

B. Appeal - parakaleō

Begging, pleading, strongly suggesting to the Romans that they do what Paul is saying

Same root as the word paraclete, which is the word Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit

C. Present - paristamai

Cause to exist

Offer your bodies for the purpose

D. Living sacrifices

Because we are alive in Christ, we can choose to offer our mortal bodies as an act of sacrificial submission to Him

Every part of our lives are to be available to Him

What is holy and acceptable to Him is not perfection from our works; instead, it’s the complete offering of ourselves in exchange for His grace and His glory

He desires everything in worship, not just three songs

III. Verse Two

A. Conform - syschēmatizō

Shaping of behavior

The world has a system that we can choose to shape our behavior around

B. World - aiōn

Not a place, but a time period

Different eras have different standards

Do not allow your behavior to be shaped by the standard of the age in which we live

C. Transform - metamorphoō

Change the essential essence of something

This is not just a facelift; it’s a complete shift in identity

D. How do we change the essence of our lives?

Renewing our minds to the truth of the Word of God

Identifying with the finished work of the Cross

Discipleship in the Word of God through relationships with those who teach and train

E. What does the renewing of our minds produce?

Discernment of the will of God

Testing - dokimazō

Proving

Trial by fire

Good, acceptable, and perfect

Morally sound

Pleasing

Mature

F. The only way to grow is through the process of maturing that involves a daily renewing of your mind

V. Closing

A. This process that begins with laying down yourself means holding nothing but Jesus sacred

B. You have to let go of everything you thought you knew in order to receive everything that He wants for you

C. Knowing God’s will for you comes through the fire of trial, but it reveals the gold that can only be produced with extreme heat

D. Invitation to submission and invitation - the old way for the new mind

E. Pray for everyone taking tests this week