I’m Forever Changed 7-8-07
Series: The New Me Pt. 1 Rom. 12:1-2
Intro. This past Wednesday one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the summer season finally premiered. As you can tell from the graphic it’s called Transformers. It’s all about a galactic war between 2 different kinds of robots – the Autobots and the Decepticons. Now the peculiar thing about these robots is the fact that they can transform themselves into different shapes and sizes. This makes the movie interesting because it means you’re never really sure who’s who and what’s what until it’s too late.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our culture loves the idea of transformation. Who here hasn’t wished that you could change something about yourself? If we were truthful most of us would admit that we’d like to transform the way we look or the way we act or even the way we feel. But the problem with the kind of transformation our culture usually settles for is the fact that it’s only skin deep. It’s nothing more than an extreme makeover, a nip and tuck here and there, an external transformation. But what if there was a kind of transformation that changed you from the inside out? How cool would it be if we could be internally transformed so that it made a difference in the way we looked, acted and felt? Well, guess what? That’s exactly what the bible says happens to those of us who put our faith in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Cor. 5:17 (NLT), “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” Then in Eph.4 we’re told. “Since you have heard all about God and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness—righteous, holy, and true.” (Eph 4:21-24 NLT) Now that’s what I call TRANSFORMATION! God says our relationship with him produces a new person, a new life, a new nature, and in reality a whole New Me. Over the next 4 weeks we’re going to look at what it means to be a new creation in Christ, to be a brand new person because of our relationship with God. This morning we’re going to concentrate on one particular aspect of our relationship with God. Theologians often identify this as our conversion, but I like the term “transformation”. That’s what the bible calls it in Rom. 12:1-2. Let’s read that passage and see what’s so important about transformation.
Here’s the premise of my entire message; “If you’re a believer then you’ve been forever changed, you’re in the process of being transformed by the power of God so that your inner, spiritual life becomes evident in your external behavior.”
I’ve only got one point for today’s sermon.
I. Spiritual transformation is part of every believer’s life.
Now there’s a necessary and frightening corollary to that simple point. If you’re NOT being transformed then that means you have good reason to doubt the validity of your spiritual life. You see in our religious culture today we’ve been told that conversion is what happens when you join the church. Or maybe I can claim that I’ve been forever changed because I’ve been baptized or I go to Life Group or I give a few dollars to the church. While those things are good and important…they are not always true indicators of a real spiritual transformation. What Paul is talking about in v.2 goes much deeper than the church we attend or how much money we give.
When the bible says “let God transform you into a new person” it’s not talking about having a make over. This transformation is much more radical than any of us can truly conceive. God wants to literally change your physical life so that it matches what’s happened in your spiritual life. There’s a perfect illustration of this truth found in the life of Jesus. Towards the end of His earthly ministry Jesus takes 3 of his most trusted disciples and they head up to the top of a mountain. While they were all together the bible says, “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” (Matt. 17:2 NIV) That word “transfigured” is the same word we see rendered here in Rom. 12:2 as “transform”. Now what happened to Jesus while he was standing on that mountain? Apparently, Jesus let his disciples get a glimpse of his divine glory…for a moment in time these 3 men got to see the inner glory displayed in outward form. Maybe we can say it this way – what was on the inside of Jesus became evident to all those around him.
That’s the key to understanding the transformation we’re talking about today. The actual GK word used in both instances gives us our English word, “metamorphosis”. When you here this word, what image automatically comes to mind? It’s probably the thought of the caterpillar changing into the butterfly; one creature supernaturally transformed into something altogether different. Listen to how the NASB translates 2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come”. Let me ask you a question. Does a butterfly ever change back into a caterpillar? NO! So why should you ever worry about losing your salvation? If you have been transformed, if you have been changed by the grace of God, then you are FOREVER CHANGED.
Let’s look at how this transformation takes place. The GK language gives us 3 important keys to understanding this process in our lives. The term Paul used here is in the present tense, which means the process of transformation is more than a one-time, singular event. Our spiritual transformation is a life-long process. We’ll never be fully mature, fully transformed until we meet Christ face to face. The second thing we find is that this word is in the passive voice, which means transformation isn’t something we do for ourselves, it’s something that’s done to us. Look back at v.2 – “Let God transform you”. The only kind of transformation we have the power to fulfill is the external, skin-deep make over. The kind we really desire and truly need, can only be completed by God Himself. The final and rather surprising truth we learn from the GK language is the fact that this word is a command. That seems almost contradictory doesn’t it? God is the one who does the transforming and yet we are commanded to let Him do it. What does that really mean? The fact that we’re commanded implies that we’ve got to participate in the process of transformation. In other words, we’re not just passive subjects in some kind of spiritual experiment; we’ve got to do certain things in order to make this transformation a success. Paul says there are 2 things we can do to help this transformation process along. There’s something to be shunned and something to be done.
1). Something to be shunned – “do not be conformed to the world.” NLT says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world.” The JB Phillips paraphrase says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.” The word “conformed” refers to an outward expression that’s not an authentic reflection of your inner life. That means its possible for xians to get so caught up in the world’s affairs that our behavior, our speech, our dress, and our desires all cease to reflect what God is actually doing in our inner man. When a xian allows himself to be conformed to the world he truly is a hypocrite, an actor, a masquerader. What God wants is the truth of what’s happening inside of you to become so evident that it manifests itself on the outside.
The scary part about this commandment is the fact that it’s written in such a way as to show that this is already happening in most of our lives. Notice that Paul doesn’t say, “Be careful because the world might influence you.” NO! He actually says, Stop allowing the world to continually influence your thinking and behavior. Have you ever just been in neutral gear, thinking about nothing in general and then all of a sudden you get a thought that’s so gross or so sinful that you literally say, “where did that come from”? It comes from the influence of the world that constantly surrounds us all.
The world really does look good from the outside. Its influence doesn’t seem to be too detrimental at first glance and so we fall hook, line and sinker into the world’s scheme. When xians copy the world’s ideas and behavior we’re living a lie. We look like one thing on the outside that’s not true about us on the inside. Let me show you what I mean. SHOW MOLDOVA WATCH - When I went to Russia several years ago I wanted a souvenir to bring back. So I bought this cool pocket watch with the Russian military insignia engraved right on the front. I was really proud of it and excited to bring it home. But in less than a week the watch stopped working. When I took it to a jeweler he said it the inner workings were so bad that it wasn’t worth fixing. That was a scheme; the outside of the watch didn’t reflect the truth about the inside. The bible says that part of this transformation process includes our decision to make sure that our inner life and outer life match up.
I want you to notice how these 2 commandments actually fit together. Paul says we are to stop allowing ourselves to be influenced by the world and instead allow God to transform us into a new person. Let’s read the rest of that verse – we become a new person how? By allowing God to change the way we think, by the renewing of our mind. So being conformed to the world isn’t simply a prohibition against smoking, drinking and carousing. NO, it goes much deeper than that. Paul wants us to know that this present culture has a worldview, a way of looking at things that is fundamentally different from God’s point of view. And if we allow ourselves to be influenced by that worldview, by the way the world thinks then ultimately our behavior will be affected. And when our behavior is affected then our outer life is no longer a genuine reflection of our inner life. Can you guess what that means? We’ve finally become the hypocrites that the world loves to hate.
So our first step towards cooperating with God in this transformation process is to “stop allowing the world to influence us.” That’s what we’re called to shun.
2). Something to be done – give our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Anybody who is vaguely familiar with the OT knows that sacrifices were the cornerstone of the Jewish religious system. If a person was going to have a relationship with God then sacrifices had to be offered. So there’s nothing new to Paul’s call for xians to offer a sacrifice to God…that is until you get to the specific description of that sacrifice. In v.1 we find different 3 terms that describe our sacrifice. The last 2 terms, holy and acceptable, seem quite normal and agreeable. But when you start talking about a “living sacrifice” things get a little uncomfortable. I image when the early church first heard this phrase they probably looked at one another and said, “what’d he say?” They knew that a proper offering meant the death of the sacrifice. So in their minds these 2 words, “living and sacrifice” didn’t go together, they didn’t make sense. What Paul did here in chp.12 is basically rewrite the book on sacrifice.
For those of us who have been xians for several years we know that the bible speaks often about our dying to the old way of life. In Rom.6 Paul says we have died and were buried in Christ, we’ve been crucified with Christ, and we should consider ourselves dead to sin. Jesus said it this way, “If anyone wants to follow me he must take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Lk.9:23) That’s another call to dying to our old lifestyles. Now here’s the problem – we know those truths intellectually. We know that choosing to die to self and live for God is the best and most satisfying lifestyle. But knowing it and believing it are two different things. We know its true, and yet our minds keep telling us that dying to self and giving our bodies as a living sacrifice can’t possibly lead to the abundant life Christ promises. Did you hear what I said? OUR MINDS keep telling us something that’s not actually true. That’s why the bible says the transformation process includes the renewing of our minds, so that you and I can think, as a new person should.
What does it actually mean to give our bodies a living sacrifice? I can tell you this – it means more than simply offering our physical bodies to God. When Paul uses the word body he often means everything about us – our physical body as well as mind, emotions and will. Maybe you’ve heard a preacher say that following Christ takes a lot…that’s really not the truth. Following Christ takes everything you’ve got. That what this phrase is all about – total, all out commitment to the cause of Christ.
Transformation is the only legitimate indicator that you’ve been born again. You can join 10 different churches, pray all kinds of prayers, lead a LG and be baptized over and over again, but if you’re not in the process of being transformed by God, then you don’t have real spiritual life. Listen again to 2 Cor. 5:17- “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” Would you like to know for sure that you have this new life? Would you like a 2nd chance at this life? You can have it today if you’ll put your trust in Christ and let him be the Lord of your life.
Prayer.
