Renewing Your Mind

Introduction

Friends, it’s a fact that we struggle with sin. You might think they exist but there is no such thing as a super-Christian who has it all together. We all struggle, maybe with different sins, but we all have something or some things that simply cause us to fall short. That doesn’t mean that we are a failure. It doesn’t mean we are worthless. It simply means we are humans who God continues to work on. The fact that we are here today verifies that we’re still in the fight, striving for holiness. So let’s not beat ourselves up for being imperfect. Striving for holy living is a lifelong effort until Jesus takes us home.

That said, spiritual maturity should show evidence of growth in our lives. If it doesn’t, then it could be that we have struggled with the first requirement of discipleship: the renewing of our minds. That’s what we are going to discuss this morning as we launch into a new 3-week sermon series entitled “Follow Me: A Disciples Path”. But first, let’s take a look at the historical context of today’s scripture.

Historical Context

(Slide 2) - If you look to the screens behind me, you will see “Roma Antica”, one of three nearly identical paintings with scenes from ancient Rome in a 1750’s setting. Within the painting are scenes of the Colosseum, the Pantheon, ancient sculptures of Hercules, the Greek god Apollo, as well as other well-known Roman sights. When Paul wrote the letter to Christians in Rome in AD 56-57, the cultural norms of the city were deplorable in the light of Christian values. People were blood thirsty, perverted, gender-biased, largely divided by social constructs, and on and on. Paul new that in such a deplorable culture, the burgeoning Christian community needed to understand God’s expectation for the church to be counter-cultural to worldly values. So his letter was timely and purposeful.

The Call to Transform

If chapters 1-11 of Romans has Paul sharing an elevated theology about sin, mercy, and the struggle of holiness, then today’s verses in chapter 12 have Paul switching over to practical application. You’ll recall the requirement of the Mosaic Law to sacrifice animal offerings as a corrective measure for a sinful life. Paul is now saying that animal offerings are obsolete because of what Christ has done on the cross, so we now shift to becoming a “living sacrifice”. Let’s look more closely at that.

Discipleship begins with surrender, not self-improvement. Salvation is a free gift, but transformation, which is the goal of discipleship, requires full surrender. It is surrendering control and allowing Jesus to lead. Picture sitting in a car labeled “My Life”, you in the driver seat and Jesus riding shotgun. Surrendering control would be pulling over and changing places with Him. He is now in the driver seat, and you are just along for the ride to go wherever He takes you. You are now fully submitted to His control and direction. True discipleship is a lot like that. I like that illustration because it shines a light on Paul’s point of “giv[ing] your bodies to God”. Relinquishing control and allowing Him to reshape you, but how do we do that? Well, it starts with a battle for the mind.

The Battle for the Mind

Romans 12:2 begins with “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world...” Paul rightly illuminates that the behaviors and customs of this world are counter-cultural to godly expectations. It was true of then, and friends, it remains true of today. The reality is that our minds, yours and mine, are major battlefields between good and evil. Satan uses worldly norms and values to present fear, lies, and temptation.

Worldly values tell us to self-promote, to climb the corporate ladder of success, to have our cake and eat it too. We’re taught at a young age to be the victor in competition. We start conversations by asking others what they do, as if it helps us gage their value.

Please don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing sinful about wealth, corporate success, and being admired by others. Those things are not evil in and of themselves. God has blessed many saints with these things. The point I am making is that the world encourages us to pursue those things as if they are the measuring sticks of a successful life. But if being admired by our peers, if being comfortable, successful, and wealthy is the goal, then how do we respond to Christ’s call for us to “pick up our cross[es] and follow Him”? In that very statement, he is challenging the values of the world. The sin is not in how you’ve been blessed, it’s in what you value.

The mind is a battlefield and Satan uses cultural affirmation as a key weapon. Christ says pick-up an uncomfortable cross while Satan bombards us with the call to pursue comfort and complacency. When our community values are in opposition to those of God, then the only way to to fix things is by the renewing of our minds.

The Process of Renewal

How does God renew the mind? He sort of rewires how we think. The first thing that happens is we become less and He becomes more. That is why surrender is so important. It is not enough to simply say the prayer and change our location on Sundays. We surrender our own ambitions and seek His. What we once valued is laid down, no longer pursued, and we now adopt God as our value system. Paul calls this a “transformation” in Romans 12:2, and the Greek word he uses is “Metamorphou” which literally means “changing form”. If that sounds familiar, it’s because we use the same word to describe the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly; the process of metamorphosis. It is a clearly noticeable change. And friends, this renewal is not behavior modification; it is mental renovation. It’s not ACTING differently, its BEING different. God doesn’t change what you do, He changes how you see.

I remember doing a bathroom renovation once. I thought it was going to be as easy as placing a new tub and shower surround, new flooring, new vanity and faucet, some fancy new trim, a fresh coat of paint, etc… I thought it was going to be all cosmetic. I tore everything out and immediately learned that there were multiple levels of flooring. I dealt with that and started to place the new tub and shower surround, but it didn’t align. The walls weren’t plum, so I had to rebuild the wall. I started to put in the new vent and lights, but discovered that things were wired kind of wonky, and had to rewire the entire bathroom. Then I went to set the new toilet but the toilet flange was 2 inches higher because I had to tear out all of that flooring, so i dealt with that. At the end of the project, it hadn’t required a makeover, it needed an entire renovation. It wasn’t the same bathroom. God does the same in us. We don’t act differently when He has finished, we are different.

How does He do it? He uses scripture to replace the cultural lies of the world with heaven’s truths. He uses the Holy Spirit to convict and reveal. He replaces our old community with a new one called the church. Like I did with that old bathroom, He basically tears down the old structures that looked right but weren’t, and rebuilds them to an improved design.

The Result of a Renewed Mind

Friends, this is the work of sanctification. We are converted to Christianity (reborn), and then the process of sanctification begins with the Holy Spirit regenerating the heart, and the Holy Word of God reshaping our minds. It is an ongoing, linear movement forward, nurtured through means of grace. It is not legalism, nor is it sinless perfection. It is a genuine love that motivates us to action. We no longer depend on ourselves to provide, we depend on God. And friends, Psalm 34:10 reminds us that “those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing”, so we don’t need to fear the outcomes of relinquishing control.

So what is our responsibility in this first step in discipleship, the renewal of our minds?

Completely surrender - Abandon control and allow God to take over. Trust Him completely. Live to serve the master who loves the servant so very much.

Live in the word - Read and study your bible so that the Holy Spirit can replace the worlds lies with heaven’s truths

Fellowship - With the Holy Spirit as well as the Church. You need community, but you need it to be the body of Christ.

Closing Thoughts

Friends, the transforming work that God does in us is amazing but if you haven’t surrendered then you are not seeing its full power. Surrender can be scary. It is hard for us to relinquish our own plans. But hasn’t God proven Himself time and time again? I was at an Advisory Board appreciation event yesterday. One of the featured highlights was when Lt. Ji-Young Ryoo played the violin. It was masterful. They became one beautiful unit, the master and her instrument. While she was playing, I noticed two thing:

The violin could do nothing on its own. It made the most beautiful sound but only while in the hands of its master.

The smile that appeared upon Lt. Ji-Young’s face was undeniable. She loved playing that violin.

Friends, Jesus reminds us in John 15:5 that se can do nothing on our own. Maybe today is the day that we finally trust the ability of the master to accomplish in us more than we could dream. Are you ready to enter into the next phase of true discipleship? Information is not enough. Stop being informed and start being transformed today.