Be Transformed

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern the will of God, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12.2

When I was a kid I envied my brother, Jeremy, for his artistic ability. The closest I could come to his creations was to trace other people's artwork. I confess that I even tried to pass off my traced work as originals. Of course, anyone who collected the Amazing Spider-Man series of comics had my number! A person can have some nice looking "artwork" by tracing, but you can't create something new by tracing others' works. Unfortunately, many Christians conduct their lives by tracing. Their conduct simply reflects the attitudes, beliefs and practices of the world of unbelievers around them. The choices they make and the actions they take are but carbon copies of the scheme of this world. This is what Holy Spirit calls us away from when He says, "Do not be conformed to this world."

The answer of course is not simply to avoid worldliness. Many Christians attempt to live this way and wind up very depressed because the "Christian life" is all about what I'm not doing. This Scripture gives the positive exhortation "be transformed." Transformation involves a new reality. John Owen points out that in the New Birth we are really transformed but not absolutely transformed. There is much transformation that takes place after regeneration. Thus Paul can speak of being "transformed into the same image (i.e., of Christ) from one degree of glory to another"; and state that "while our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day" (2 Cor 3.18; 4.16). We might speak of this as the process of maturing by the grace of God, effectually working in us. It might be a good exercise to ask yourself whether you have matured spiritually in the past few months.

This transformation takes place, according to the Word of God, by the "renewing of your mind." Just as the New Birth is the work of the Spirit of God, this renewing of the mind is also the Spirit's work. Again, note what we possess really versus what we possess absolutely. On the one hand, Paul can say to the Corinthian Christians that "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor 2.16). On the other hand, Paul exhorts the Philippians to "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2.5). Calling on Owen again, at the New Birth our minds were genuinely made new since we are "not in the flesh but in the Spirit" (Rom 8.9). Yet, God calls on us to have our minds "renewed" because they are not completely renewed. The Spirit continues this work of renewal by presenting Christ to our minds by the instrument of the word of God (see 1 Cor 2.6-16 for the Spirit's work in the Apostles' teaching; 2 Cor 3.12-18 with regard to the Old Testament, particularly).

The result of this renewal is that we might discern the will of God. We will discern what is the good, acceptable, and perfect way to think, feel, behave. Only in this way will we fulfill the exhortation of the first verse to present our whole person to God as a sacrifice, living, holy and pleasing.

Grace Creates Worship

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. - Romans 12.1

Therefore and by the mercies of God both point to the previous exposition of God's compassion in action as the ground for the exhortation. The grace of God, expounded in chaps. 1-11, expect a certain response. Apart from this grace this response would not only be unanticipated, but also impossible. Thus, the mercies of God are not merely a motive for the obedience enjoined in chaps. 12-15, but the fountain from which it flows or the soil in which it grows. It is instructive that Paul does not refer to the economy of salvation just expounded as "doctrines" but as "mercies" or more fully "compassion in action."

The words present . . . . sacrifice and worship are cultic concepts derived from the OT worship at the Tabernacle/Temple. The product of and proper response to God's grace in Christ is worship. That this is not limited to activities at particular sacred spaces and sacred times is made clear by the object (your bodies) and the character (spiritual) of the worship.

The use of the word bodies makes the imagery of OT sacrifice all the sharper, and emphasizes the totality of devotion called for. All of our existence, in everything we bump into in this life, is to be offered to God. The word spiritual or reasonable clarifies that this cannot be merely external conformity, or going through the motions. The use of these two words (bodies and spiritual) together can correct perverse thoughts about the Christian life. On the one hand, there are those who believe that what they do matters very little as long as they "believe." Sinful behavior is often excused by saying, "God knows my heart." But the word of God says, "present your bodies" and "glorify God in your body" (1 Cor 6.20). On the other hand are those who pride themselves on their external conformity to the commands of Scripture, but are not inwardly changed. True worship is spiritual or reasonable, as Douglas Moo explains, "in the sense of 'appropriate for human beings as rational and spiritual creatures of God': a worship that honors God by giving him what he truly wants as opposed to the depraved worship offered by human beings under the power of sin (see Rom 1.23-25)." (Moo, Romans, NICNT).

This sacrifice of our bodies is living because we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (6.4-11). This sacrifice is holy because, having been set free from sin, we are set apart as God's servants (6.22). This sacrifice is acceptable because we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, "if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you" (8.8-9).

Do not be mislead by those expositors who wrongly say that the aoristic aspect of present implies a once-for-all presentation of the self to God. The aorist is the default tense of the infinitve in the NT, hense it is the least marked tense. If the present or perfect tense were used, then something could be said regarding the kind of action. The aorist alone does not define the kind of action (progressive, perfected, etc.). The fact that Paul is writing to a church whose members would no doubt be at different maturity levels spiritually is a good argument for seeing this presentation as a repeatable discipline, not a one-time act.

In light of the dawning of a new year and this exhortation of Holy Spirit, let us resolve, as Jonathan Edwards did on the twelfth day of January, 1723, "frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God."

Josh Owen