IDENTITY SERIES (8)
Notes
Transcript
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Church, last week we spent time in Romans 12:1, and we focused on the mercy of God. Paul says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy…” And we talked about how Paul does not begin this call to surrender with guilt. He does not begin with fear. He does not begin with religious pressure. He begins with mercy.
That is important because Romans 12 is not Paul saying, “Offer yourself to God so He will finally love you.” It is Paul saying, “Because God has already shown you mercy, because Jesus has already gone to the cross, because grace has already reached for you, because God has already rescued, forgiven, justified, and brought you into His family, now respond to that mercy with your whole life.”
That means surrender is not how we earn mercy. Surrender is how we respond to mercy. Worship is not me trying to make God accept me. Worship is me saying, “Lord, because You have accepted me in Christ, because You have forgiven me, because You have rescued me, because You have had mercy on me, my life belongs to You.”
And Paul says this offering of the whole self is our true and proper worship. Worship is not just the song I sing. Worship is the life I surrender. Worship is my body, my desires, my habits, my thoughts, my relationships, my private life, and my future laid before God. It is not just hands lifted in a sanctuary. It is a heart surrendered on the altar. It is not just what comes out of my mouth in praise. It is what I do with my body, my mind, my will, and my whole life.
But Paul does not stop at verse 1. He moves immediately into verse 2 because a surrendered body must be joined to a renewed mind. If my body is on the altar, but my mind is still being shaped by the world, I will keep crawling off the altar. If I offer my life to God but keep thinking according to the old identity, I will keep living below the mercy that saved me.
So Paul says in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
A living sacrifice cannot keep living by the world’s pattern.
Paul says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” That word conform has the idea of being shaped, pressed, or molded into something. Paul is saying, “Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold.”
That is powerful because the world is not neutral. The world has a pattern. The world has a way of thinking. The world has a way of defining identity. The world has a way of telling you what matters, what is normal, what is valuable, what is successful, what is acceptable, and what should shape your life.
The world says, “Live for yourself.” Jesus says, “Offer yourself.” The world says, “Follow your desires.” Jesus says, “Let Me purify your desires.” The world says, “Create your own truth.” Jesus says, “I am the truth.” The world says, “Your body belongs to you.” Romans 12 says, “Offer your body to God.” The world says, “You are whatever you feel.” The gospel says, “You are who God says you are in Christ.”
And that is why verse 2 has to follow verse 1. If verse 1 says, “Put your body on the altar,” verse 2 says, “Stop letting the world tell you how to think while you are on the altar.”
Because you cannot offer your body to God while letting the world own your mind.
That is the danger. A person can come to an altar and say, “Lord, I surrender,” but then spend the rest of the week letting the world disciple their thinking. We can sing, “I surrender all,” but then let fear tell us who we are. We can say, “My life belongs to Jesus,” but then let social media tell us what we are worth. We can say, “I am a child of God,” but then let shame tell us we are still our worst mistake. We can say, “I want God’s will,” but then let culture decide what is right and wrong.
Paul says, “Do not conform.” Do not be shaped by the age. Do not be pressed into the mold of a world that does not know your Savior. Do not let the old system name you, shape you, disciple you, and define you.
This is identity language. If I belong to Jesus, I cannot let the world keep naming me. If I belong to Jesus, I cannot let the world keep shaping my desires. If I belong to Jesus, I cannot let the world define what worship looks like. I cannot place my body on the altar of God and keep letting my mind live in agreement with the world.
And church, this is where many believers struggle. We do not always struggle because we do not love God at all. Sometimes we struggle because we have offered God our Sunday, but we have not let Him renew our thinking. We have surrendered a moment, but not the mindset. We have brought Him our body, but we still think like the world, react like the world, desire like the world, and see ourselves through the world’s lens.
But Romans 12 is calling us deeper. Paul is saying, “Mercy has not only saved you from condemnation. Mercy is now calling you out of conformity.” God did not save us so we could keep being molded by the same world He delivered us from. He saved us to become a holy people, a transformed people, a renewed people, a people whose identity is rooted in Christ.
So the first question this text puts before us is simple: What is shaping me? Is the world shaping me? Is my past shaping me? Is shame shaping me? Is bitterness shaping me? Is fear shaping me? Is the culture shaping me? Or is the Word of God shaping me?
Because a living sacrifice cannot keep living by the world’s pattern.
True worship requires transformation, not just behavior adjustment.
Paul says, “But be transformed.” He does not say, “Try to look a little more religious.” He does not say, “Pretend better.” He does not say, “Modify a few behaviors so people think you are doing well.” He says, “Be transformed.”
That word transformed speaks of real change. Deep change. Inside-out change. Not just a religious mask. Not just behavior management. Not just learning how to act right in church while the heart stays untouched. Paul is talking about God changing the inner life so deeply that the outer life begins to reflect His will.
This matters because people can change behavior for a season and still not be transformed. A person can stop doing something for a while and still desire it deeply. A person can look cleaned up on the outside and still be full of pride, fear, lust, bitterness, anger, jealousy, or insecurity on the inside. A person can come to church and still think like the world. A person can sing worship songs and still live from shame. A person can know the language of holiness and still be ruled by the old identity.
But God is not after surface-level religion. God is not trying to decorate the old life. He is not trying to make the old identity look more church-appropriate. God wants transformation. He wants to change the way we think, the way we desire, the way we respond, the way we see ourselves, and the way we live before Him.
That is why this fits so deeply into the Identity Series. God does not renew my mind so I can decorate the old identity. He renews my mind so I can live from the new identity He has given me in Christ.
Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” That means Christianity is not just God improving the old version of me. It is new creation. It is resurrection life. It is a new identity in Christ.
But here is the problem: many believers have been made new in Christ, but they are still thinking from the old life. They are saved, but still thinking like slaves. Forgiven, but still thinking like shame owns them. Called, but still thinking like they are disqualified. Loved, but still thinking like they have to prove themselves. Free, but still thinking like bondage is normal.
That is why transformation matters. True worship is not just a surrendered body on Sunday. It is a transformed life every day.
And that is where the Holy Spirit works. From a Wesleyan-Holiness perspective, we believe grace does not simply forgive us and leave us unchanged. Grace transforms. Grace cleanses. Grace renews. Grace sanctifies. Grace brings the whole person under the lordship of Jesus. God is not satisfied with me just looking better outwardly while the inward life stays bent toward self. He wants holy love to become the ruling desire of the heart.
This is not willpower religion. This is not “try harder and maybe you will become holy.” This is surrender to the transforming work of God. This is saying, “Lord, I do not just need my behavior adjusted. I need my heart changed. I need my mind renewed. I need my desires purified. I need my identity rooted in You.”
And there is a big difference between behavior adjustment and transformation. Behavior adjustment says, “I will stop this so I do not get caught.” Transformation says, “Lord, change what I love.” Behavior adjustment says, “I will act better around church people.” Transformation says, “Lord, make me holy when no one else sees.” Behavior adjustment says, “I will manage the outside.” Transformation says, “Lord, renew the inside.”
Paul says, “Be transformed.” That means God has something deeper for us than religious appearance. He wants a transformed people who live from a new identity.
The third main point is this: The mind must be renewed because the old identity thinks in old patterns.
Paul says transformation happens “by the renewing of your mind.” That means the mind matters. What I think matters. What I believe matters. What I meditate on matters. What I agree with matters. What I let speak into me matters.
The mind is not a small thing in the Christian life. The way I think shapes the way I live. The way I think shapes the way I respond. The way I think shapes the way I handle temptation. The way I think shapes the way I see God, myself, other people, sin, holiness, worship, and the will of God.
Before Christ, my mind was shaped by sin, shame, fear, self, culture, and the old life. But now that I am in Christ, my mind must be renewed by God’s truth.
Ephesians 4:22–24 says, “You were taught… to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
That is powerful. Paul connects the renewed mind with putting on the new self. He says there is an old self to put off and a new self to put on. And right in the middle of that, he says we are to be made new in the attitude of our minds.
So the renewed mind is where the old self loses its voice and the new self learns how to live.
If I keep thinking from the old identity, I will keep living like the old person. If I think I am still a slave, I will live like a slave. If I think I am still shame, I will hide. If I think I am still rejected, I will live for approval. If I think I am still bound, I will not walk in freedom. If I think I am still defined by what happened to me, I will keep living under the power of yesterday.
But if my mind is renewed by the Word and Spirit of God, I begin to think like someone who belongs to Jesus. I begin to think like someone forgiven. I begin to think like someone loved. I begin to think like someone called. I begin to think like someone free. I begin to think like someone whose body is on the altar and whose life belongs to God.
This is why the enemy fights so hard for the mind. He knows if he can control the way you think, he can influence the way you live. He knows if he can keep you agreeing with shame, you will keep hiding from grace. He knows if he can keep you agreeing with fear, you will keep avoiding obedience. He knows if he can keep you agreeing with lust, bitterness, pride, or resentment, you will keep crawling off the altar.
That is why 2 Corinthians 10:5
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
says we “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Not every thought deserves a home in your mind. Some thoughts need to be arrested. Some thoughts need to be brought before the authority of Jesus. Some thoughts need to be confronted with truth.
When the thought says, “You are too far gone,” the renewed mind says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” When the thought says, “You will never change,” the renewed mind says, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.” When the thought says, “Sin is your master,” the renewed mind says, “Sin shall no longer be your master.” When the thought says, “You are alone,” the renewed mind says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
A new identity needs a renewed mind, because you cannot live free while still thinking bound.
And renewal does not happen by accident. The mind is renewed as we bring it under the Word of God, under the truth of Christ, under the leading of the Holy Spirit. That means I have to ask, “What am I feeding my mind?” What am I listening to? What am I watching? What am I meditating on? What voices am I allowing to shape me? What lies have I repeated so long that they sound like truth?
Because the mind cannot be renewed by truth it never receives. If the world gets my attention all week and God gets my attention only when I am in trouble, I should not be surprised when my thinking feels more conformed than transformed.
But when I begin to let the Word of God speak louder than the world, renewal starts happening. When I let Scripture challenge my fears, renewal starts happening. When I let the Spirit convict my thoughts, renewal starts happening. When I stop rehearsing the old lies and start agreeing with God’s truth, renewal starts happening.
A renewed mind helps us recognize and live in the will of God.
Paul finishes verse 2 by saying, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
This means the renewed mind helps us discern what pleases God. The more God renews our thinking, the more we recognize what belongs to Him and what does not. The more my mind is shaped by the Word, the more I can see the difference between God’s will and the world’s pattern.
Before renewal, the world’s pattern can look normal. Sin can look harmless. Pride can look like confidence. Bitterness can look like protection. Lust can look like love. Greed can look like ambition. Compromise can look like wisdom. Selfishness can look like self-care. Anger can look like strength. Unforgiveness can look like boundaries. And the old identity can feel like reality.
But when God renews the mind, we start seeing differently. We begin to recognize God’s will. We begin to desire what is good, pleasing, and perfect in His sight. We stop asking, “What can I get away with?” and start asking, “What pleases the Lord?” We stop asking, “How close can I get to the world?” and start asking, “How fully can I belong to Jesus?”
That is a sign of renewal. A renewed mind does not just help me avoid sin; it helps me live as someone who belongs to God and desires His will.
This is where Romans 12 becomes very practical. Paul is not just giving us theology to admire. He is telling us how true worship becomes visible. Verse 1 says, “Offer your bodies.” Verse 2 says, “Do not conform. Be transformed. Let your mind be renewed. Then you will discern the will of God.”
So true worship involves the whole person. God wants my body on the altar and my mind in renewal. He wants my life surrendered and my thinking transformed. He wants my desires purified and my discernment sharpened. He wants me to live as someone whose identity has been changed by mercy.
And that means the question is not only, “Have I offered myself to God?” The question is also, “What is shaping my mind?”
Is the world shaping me? Is fear shaping me? Is shame shaping me? Is culture shaping me? Is social media shaping me? Is my past shaping me? Is my pain shaping me? Is bitterness shaping me? Or is the Word of God renewing me?
Because a living sacrifice cannot keep thinking like the old life is still in charge.
Church, this is the next step in the Identity Series. We started by seeing that God defines who we are in Christ. We saw in Acts 2 that the Holy Spirit fills ordinary people and makes them witnesses. We saw that the crowd does not get to define what God has filled. We saw that the Word of God defines the people of God. Then we came to Romans 12 and saw that the mercy of God enables us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is our true and proper worship.
Now Paul is showing us that true worship cannot stop with a moment of surrender. True worship must become a transformed mind and a transformed life.
God is not simply asking for your body while leaving your thinking untouched. He is not simply asking for attendance while leaving your identity unchanged. He is not simply asking for religious behavior while leaving your mind conformed to the world. He is calling for the whole person.
Your body on the altar.
Your mind in renewal.
Your identity in Christ.
Your life proving the will of God.
And this brings us to the altar of the heart.
Some of us need to ask, “Lord, where have I been conformed?” Where have I let the world press me into its mold? Where have I let shame shape me? Where have I let fear disciple me? Where have I let old habits tell me who I am? Where have I placed my body on the altar but kept my mind in agreement with the old life?
Some of us need to say, “Lord, I do not want to just adjust my behavior. I want to be transformed.” I do not want to just look better on the outside. I want You to renew me on the inside. I do not want to live from the old identity with Christian language. I want to live from the new identity You have given me in Christ.
Some of us need to bring our thought life to the altar. The anxiety. The shame. The lust. The bitterness. The self-hatred. The fear. The pride. The old labels. The lies we have believed so long that they feel like truth. And we need to say, “Lord, renew my mind.”
Because when God renews the mind, the old lies start losing their authority. When God renews the mind, the world’s pattern starts losing its grip. When God renews the mind, we begin to see ourselves through mercy instead of shame. When God renews the mind, we begin to desire His will instead of just tolerate His commands. When God renews the mind, we begin to live like people who truly belong to Jesus.
So today, in view of God’s mercy, place your body on the altar and let God renew your mind until your life begins to prove what His mercy has made you.
Do not be conformed to this world.
Do not let the world name you.
Do not let shame define you.
Do not let the old identity disciple you.
Do not let your past own your thinking.
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Let the Word of God speak louder than the world.
Let the Spirit of God renew what sin has twisted.
Let the mercy of God define who you are.
Let the truth of God reshape how you think.
And let your life become a living testimony that the will of God is good, pleasing, and perfect.
Because mercy brought you to the altar.
Worship placed your life before God.
And renewal teaches you how to live as the person grace has made you.
