Being Transformed

Introduction

Good morning. My name is Levi Mayo and I have been one of the missionaries that came over from the United States. I appreciate your pastor for letting me speak today. If you have your Bibles, whether physical or electronic, open your Bibles to Romans 12.

How do you truly worship? When we come to church, what are some ways that we worship God? We can worship through singing, reading scripture, our tithes. But what if I told you that we should worship in a different way? What if instead we try to worship with our bodies? Paul, who is the person who wrote the letter to Romans, wanted the Romans to act and live differently from the world. The world wants us to act the same, but we are made new in Jesus and are called to be different. Let us read how Paul calls us to be different.

Romans 12:1–2 CSB

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Paul, at this point in his letter, had spent eleven chapters showing us the mercies of God, and the these two verses shows us that we now have to respond to what God has done. I will show you two ways how we should respond to God’s mercy.

We should first respond to God’s mercy by surrendering our life to God. Paul writes “In view of God’s mercy,” showing that our motivation of God’s grace is in the gospel. Jesus came as a man, born without sin, and lived a life that we could have never lived, and died a death we deserve. He was buried, and then rose from the dead on the third day. When we believe this in our hearts, we are saved by faith because of this good news. One commentator writes,

Romans Context

God’s mercies are the basis for Paul’s appeal to live in a way that is consistent with the gospel.

When it comes to our bodies, we have to make a sacrifice that shows that change. Meaning no cussing, no drinking if that is your vice. But living in a way that shows glory to him.

Practical Illustrations: Romans 7-112: Giving Christ Your All (Commitment)

Why are our bodies so important to God? Because our bodies belong to Him.

Bob McAlister, who used to be on the staff of the governor of South Carolina, served as a volunteer with Prison Fellowship. Once when visiting Death Row, he saw a stomach-churning sight in a cell occupied by Ronald “Rusty” Woomer.

“Rusty, his face the color of chalk, was sitting on the floor—motionless,” Bob wrote. “Crawling aimlessly like so many drunks, dozens of roaches covered the wall and floor. But what froze my soul were the roaches crawling on the man—his lap, his shoulders—and such was his despair that he did not flick them off.”

This 35-year-old murderer of four innocent people, who was facing the inevitability of the electric chair, had sunk to the depths of hopelessness. Bob wasn’t sure how to react to this depressing scene. Finally, he pleaded: “Rusty, just say the name Jesus.” Slowly and painfully, with all the effort he could muster, the nearly comatose inmate whispered the name of the Savior of the world.

And then Bob began to explain to him how Jesus is the God of hope. It was clear that Rusty was paying attention. At the end, when Bob asked if he wanted to accept Christ’s offer of forgiveness, Rusty nodded. Through his tears, he prayed: “Jesus, I’ve hurt a lot of people. Ain’t no way that I deserve You to hear me, but I’m tired and I’m sick and I’m lonely. My mama’s died and she’s in heaven with You, and I never got to tell her bye. Please forgive me, Jesus, for everything I’ve done. I don’t know much about You, but I’m willing to learn, and I thank You for listening to me.”

Bob returned the following week: “I walked up to his cell; it was spotless,” he recalled. “Gone were the dirt and roaches and porno magazines. The walls were scrubbed, the bed was made, the scent of disinfectant hung in the air.” Rusty himself was smiling and enthusiastic. “Bob, I spent all weekend cleaning out my cell because I figured that’s what Jesus wanted me to do.”

Just as Christ’s love is unconditional, so must your surrender and commitment be. Your filth may not be as extreme as this prisoner’s was, but God expects you to clean up every area of your life as this man did!

We are not saved one day and that is it, nothing happens, but we are changed to be more of who God wants us to be. If we are to be changed, we must deny ourselves daily. Jesus says in Mark,

Mark 8:34–36 CSB

“If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?

To surrender, we have to lose our life for God. Our bodies, even though they are ours, were made and formed by God’s hand. We were loaned our body to present others the gospel of Jesus Christ to others. So when Paul says that our body is a living sacrifice, he is talking about giving up our lives so he can work in and through us.

Romans Original Meaning

We give ourselves to God as his sacrifices when we understand his grace and its place in our lives. We offer ourselves not ignorantly, like animals brought to slaughter, but intelligently and willingly. This is the worship that pleases God.

One person who lost his life, both physically and metaphorically, was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Dietrich lived his life for the gospel, standing up to the Nazis during World War Two, and dying a martyrs death because he knew that with the gospel people need to change their lives from selfishness to selflessness.

So in order to respond to God’s mercy, we have to first surrendering our life to God, but we also have to resist the world’s pattern.

Look at verse 2. Paul asked us to sacrifice our bodies for his glory, but now he is saying to renew our mind. That we are called to not be conformed to this world. Talk about an actual sacrifice! We, as human beings, and I can say this with experience as an American, but we tend to be in our own way for what God wants to do in our life. For the guys in the room, I know we have looked lustfully at a women before. And Jesus says

Matthew 5:27–28 CSB

“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

And I am only picking on the guys because I know it is true, but the women are the same way. And Jesus wants us to be on attack against those thought. That is why Paul says to renew our mind.

Practical Illustrations: Romans 7-194: Transformed to a New Life (Renewal)

Real change in a believer’s life occurs within the heart. It can easily be said that any change on the inside will become evident on the outside. John Brokhoff writes:

Three little girls were talking about their dads. One said, “My father is a doctor, and he practices medicine.” Another said, “My dad’s an attorney, and he practices law.” The third said, “My father is a Christian, but he doesn’t practice anymore.” There are a lot of dads like that today [and a lot of other people too].

A Christian’s transformation is not a one-time event or a cause we take up today only to abandon it later. True transformation lasts a lifetime!

In order to renew our minds, everyday, it starts by having the right attitude. Getting up in the morning and saying, “God I’m yours. Do what you want to do in my life.” That is renewing our mind each and every day. And the only way that can happen is by being in God’s word daily. Are you letting God’s word to influence your mind, or are you letting the busyness of this age dictate your life. Only one has the way to true everlasting life and peace with God.

So decisions have to be made. Do you want to continue to live like you have always been living, which leads to death and no peace. Or do you want to live how God wants you to live, which will give you peace beyond all understanding.