God's Truth Never Changes
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Vacation Bible School 2024 is finally here! This year we are going to Breaker Rock Beach.
The motto for the week is: God’s truth never changes!
Throughout the week we will be helping the kids to recognize the difference between what the world says is true and what God’s Word says is true.
Monday - Truth comes from God - Genesis 2-3
Tuesday - God’s plan is best - Daniel 1
Wednesday - Everyone needs Jesus - Mark 10
Thursday - Jesus is the only way - John & Acts
Friday - Speak the truth in love - Acts & Ephesians
Our theme verse this year is Romans 12:2.
In the spirit of getting exciting about the week to come, we are going to look at that verse this morning.
Body: Romans 12:2
Body: Romans 12:2
Context:
Romans 1-11
Romans is often seen as Paul’s most theologically robust letter.
The first eleven chapters answer the question: How can a person be justified before the holy God?
Paul writes to the church of Rome, people he didn’t personally know at this point.
He’s writing to prepare the way for future ministry in Rome and potentially to Spain. In doing so, he introduces them to the key elements of his theology:
Justification by faith;
The believer’s union with Christ;
And an appeal for unity within the church.
At this time there were anywhere from twenty thousand to sixty thousand Jews living in Rome, so it’s not surprising that Paul deals with the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, Jewish believers and Gentile believers, and strong and weak Christians.
It’s also not surprising that Paul uses the OT extensively: 52 quotations from the OT in this letter; 41 in all of his other letters combined.
Some of the key verses from the first eleven chapters are:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
All that amazing orthodoxy leads us to the practical section of Romans, which begins here at chapter 12.
Romans 12:1
The rest of Romans answers the question: “How should those who have been justified by grace through faith respond in their everyday lives?”
See, the Gospel not only has the power to change our status before God, but it has the power to change our lives for the better as well.
So Paul starts with a therefore here, which essentially is saying, “Since God has give the opportunity for redemption for both Jew and Gentile, here’s what you need to do about it.”
You need to present your body as a living sacrifice to God.
The body points to our entire lives.
A living sacrifice sounds like an oxymoron, but the idea is laying one’s life down to be used of God for His purposes and for His glory.
It’s a deliberate act by a person to respond to God’s goodness.
You can’t accidently become a living sacrifice...
F.F. Bruce: “…the sacrifices of the new order do not consist of taking the lives of others, like the ancient animal sacrifices, but in giving one’s own.”
Being a living sacrifice is our spiritual worship, or our response to the amazing grace of God.
How do we go about becoming a living sacrifice? That’s where verse 2 comes in.
Do not be conformed to this world...
Do not be conformed to this world...
To be conformed is to assimilate or become similar to those around us.
Do not be liked the people around you, who live immoral lives.
Rome was the center of the Hellenistic world of the day, with literally millions and millions of people living in the city.
Those people were predominately pagan, many practicing their religion through idol worship and sexual immorality.
Lostness was all around.
Not unlike the world we live in today!
The Philips paraphrase says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.”
Too often the church of Christ doesn’t look much different from the world around us.
We are challenged here that if we are going to be living sacrifices, we can assimilate to the world around us, but we need to take a different path.
…but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...
…but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...
Instead of conforming to the world, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives should transform us through the renewal of your minds.
Look closer at the word “transformed.”
Greek: metamorfoomai = to change the essential form or nature of something.
This transformation comes from the Lord, to the heart and works its way into our entire lives.
However, we must voluntarily put ourselves at His disposal so it will happen. God does not transform people against their will.
“The best way to escape conforming to this world is not by trying to be unlike the world, but by allowing ourselves to become like Christ.”
If one will be transformed it will only happen when you and I spend time with the Lord. As we do this, over time, we become more and more like Him, if we are honestly in communion with Him. We allow God to transform your mind to reflect His will.
The renewing of the mind often changes how we face situations in life.
i.e. when we change the way we think, we change the way we live.
Notice something:
Paul says: renewing of the mind, not renewed mind.
Thus, it’s a process that happens over time, not something immediate.
God is in the process of renewing our minds through the work of the Holy Spirit, but we must respond by actively involving ourselves in what the Spirit is doing.
The old habits and temptations die hard…
A great question to ask: what are we feeding our minds?
Think about your life…what do you spend your time doing…i.e. feeding your mind with…
John MacArthur: “The renewed mind is one saturated with and controlled by the Word of God.”
…that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
…that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
What kind of testing is Paul speaking of here?
dokimazw = to try to learn the genuineness of something by examination and testing, often through actual use of; to make a critical examination of something to determine genuineness.
When your mind is transformed, then you will know God’s will when tested.
Only by such sanctifying renewal is the Christian made sufficiently sensitive to “discern” the behavior that is God’s will in each situation.
The will of God is good, acceptable and perfect:
Modern concepts that drive me nuts:
Manifesting happiness;
The universe was on my side;
Follow your heart, it will never lead you astray;
Speak it into existence;
All of these are utter nonsense. They come from a people who have either forgotten or are ignorant to the fact that God’s will is the only thing in life that truly is good, acceptable and perfect.
See, what we find in the last part of this verse is what is actually best for our lives, not simply what we think is best.
It is a recognition that God’s plans far outweigh ours.
God’s will is exactly the right thing for the life of the believer.
So What?
So What?
Pray for VBS
Where am I tempted to be conformed to this world?
What do I need to do this week to help my mind be transformed by the Lord?