Back to Sermon Index Being Transformed and Renewed August 17, 2008 Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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." The letter to the Romans is Paul's most theological and complex letter in the Bible. He begins by arguing that we are all human — all sinners in need of God's redemption. That we can not on our own earn or do anything to deserve the mercy and grace of God. No, we all fall short of the glory of God and there is not one of us who is perfect. We are all deserving of judgment. BUT, BUT...but God, in his infinite mercy and abundant love has sent his son Jesus to be the means by which we can be saved. The means by which our sins are forgiven and by which we come to understand the depth of God's love for us. God demonstrates his great love for us in that while we are yet sinners/sinning, Christ dies for us. And that is not the end. NO. Not only has Jesus saved us, but he has given us his spirit...who is at work in us and in all things for good...that same spirit who even prays for us when we don't know how to pray for ourselves, in groaning too deep for human words. And there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! Not anything in all creation, no demon or devil, no height, no depth, not anything that is present, nothing that is to come...nothing, and I mean NOTHING can separate us from the Love God in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him we are more than conquerors! We are his children, beloved beyond our understanding. So now Paul moves to the part of the letter where he begins to talk about what we, as redeemed children of God, can and should do (with the help of God's Spirit working in us) in response to what God had done for us. "IN VIEW OF GOD'S MERCY", Because of all that God has done for us.... We should give our bodies as living sacrifices to God, which is our spiritual act of worship. Paul has a way of bringing us back down to earth. Give your body to God in worship. There seems to be, in our modern thinking, a great disconnect between what we know in our heads and what we do in our lives. It seems that our behavior is rarely reflective of our belief. Consider some evidence...which is too close at hand for most of us. We know in our heads that the speed limit is 65...yet with drive with our feet 70 or 80, just to keep up. We know in our heads that certain foods are fatty and not good for us, and yet with our mouths we eat them with relish! Some 90 percent of people in America profess a belief in God...yet only 20% go to church. What we believe does not work its way out into our hands and feet. We can easily say that we believe. But God calls us to worship as we do our chores, as we go to work, as we sit together...these simple acts can be acts of worship. Do we do them lovingly as an act of kindness or grace? Can we worship God in our work? Do we do it with joyfulness and grace, or are we grumpy and self centered? Can we do it to the glory of God, as if God himself were our boss or our co-workers.         Can we worship God when we visit a friend? When we care for our kids? When we run an errand or work in the yard? God does not want part of our lives. God does not desire to be relegated to one hour on Sunday. No, God wants us to give our all...and there is no separation of Body and Spirit...where we worship God in our hearts but ignore God with our bodies. Jesus died for us, all of us...not just our souls. And we are to worship the lord with all our heart and all our mind and all our soul and all our strength (or actions). Give yourself, your body, as a living sacrifice to God, holy and pleasing to God, which is our act of spiritual worship. We need a change. This year we are going to hear a lot about change, and here is the Apostle Paul's call to change. FIRST, stop being conformed to the image of the world. The word he uses for being conformed means to fashion or shape one thing like another. It is to push the play dough into the mold and make it conform to the world around it, rather than allow the Spirit to work within to show its true character or personality. Philips translates it "do not let the world around you squeeze you into its mold." How the world thinks...what the world values...how the world works. Do not be conformed to the world any longer...we as Christians are to break the mold...to be different in value, different in belief, AND different in actions. We are not to be persuaded because by "everybody does it" or "we've always done it this way". We are no longer helplessly pushed or pulled into the world's patterns of thought, attitude or behavior. Following every trend or public opinion. Instead, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our Minds... The word used for transformed is an important one. It is Metamorpho ...from which we get the English word Metamorphosis. It means to be completely transformed or made new. It is also important to note that Paul uses the Present, Passive, Imperative tense of the word.... It is something that we do not do to or for ourselves, but rather something that God does with us. It is the continuous action of the Holy Spirit that brings about this metamorphosis, this change in our thinking and beliefs...that also must result in a change in our actions (remember, we are to give our bodies to God in worship). The emphasis is upon the inward changing of the heart and mind, which result in the change in our outward behavior. Here is how we can become different...to focus on Christ Jesus. To draw closer and closer to Him. To learn more of him and to surrender our hearts and minds to his spirit over and over again...and He will bring about the change of heart and mind and soul and life.... Not to be conformed to the pattern of the world any longer, but rather, be transformed by the renewing of your mind! And as you do this...you will be able to see what God's will is. God's will becomes clear as we are separated from the world's mold...doing things the way the world does them, holding the world's values and images...and and transformed by the renewing of our minds... As we are transformed/renewed, God's will becomes clear to us. We begin to see it for what it is...and make no mistake, God's will is that which is Good, pleasing and Perfect. We could preach at least one sermon on that: God's will is Good, not evil or bad. It is never God's will when some tragedy happens, nor is it part of God's plan. Remember, Paul said in just the preceding chapters that "God is at work in all things for good, for them that love him and are called according to his purpose." It does not say that God causes all things, nor are all things good...some things are bad. BUT, God is at work in everything, even the bad things that happen to us. But they are not God's will for us...God's will is always GOOD. And it is Pleasing. Pleasing to God and pleasing to us. We are told (Philippians) that God is at work within us both to will and to do for his good pleasure. Through the renewing of our minds, God is working with us help us...giving us the desire for his will and the ability to do it. "both to will and to do". But God's will is pleasing. Where did we get the idea that God's will for us will be something we will hate? That God wants us to do things that we will abhor? No. God's will is pleasing and Good.... Remember, it takes the renewing of our minds to come to understand it...but God's will is pleasing and good. That does not mean that it will not call for sacrifice. Remember, real Love makes sacrifices. Love is willing, joyfully, to give and to do for the other person. Love always involves some sacrifice, even if it is something simple like eating what you like instead of what I want. And finally, God's will is perfect. God, of course, works within the circumstance that occur or that we, in our human frailty and limitedness create. Often FAR from perfect. But God's will is Good, and Pleasing and Perfect. God knows what is perfect for you...God knows you more than you know yourself, and God loves you with a love that is deeper than your can possibly fathom and broader than our human experience will be able to comprehend. And God's desire for us and the world is perfect. It fits. It fits us and it fits our circumstances and situations. God's will is perfect. And again, we come to know it as we give our bodies, our actions, as an act of worship...as we stop letting the values of the world press and pull us into their mold, and allow Christ to transform our thinking and understanding by the renewing of our minds...         Then we can come to know and appreciate God's will, that which is Good, Pleasing and perfect. Back to Sermon Index