INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO CLIP- WingClips- Cloudy with a chance of meatballs
• SLIDE #1
• As we continue with our Building A New You series, we will delve into a subject that hits each and everyone of us where we live.
• It is difficult not to conform the environment one lives in. The young girl in the clip was happy with her life until other people more or less told her she was not happy.
• In an effort to fit in, tried to change who she was.
• Being a Christian in the world we live in is not easy, the pressure to conform to the world is tremendous.
• Walking the line of being in the world, but not of the world can be stressful. Making it more difficult is the blurring of the lines of what is right and wrong. Even churches are blurring the lines.
• Today we are going to open the book of Romans together.
• In the twelfth chapter Paul is striving to encourage Christians to understand the significance of not conforming to this world but rather to direct our minds to Jesus.
• We are encouraged to allow ourselves to be different from the world.
• If we are going to have a chance at building a new you, or if we are simply seeking to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus, we will need to develop a new way of thinking.
• If we think like the world, we will act like the world. If our worldview is shaped by the world, we will think like the world.
• Before we dive into our passage, we need to remember that in verse 1 Paul admonishes and encourages Christians to present their bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice.
• SLIDE #2
• Romans 12:1 (HCSB) Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.
• Now as we examine verse 2 we can understand how it ties in to verse 1.
• SLIDE #3
• Romans 12:2 (HCSB) Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
• SLIDE #4
SERMON
I. Strive not to be conformed to the ways of the world.
• SO what was Paul seeing that inspired him to address this subject? Paul was writing to Christians.
• The word CONFORMED gives us a clue. The verb tense of the word denotes stopping of an action that was already going on. In other words, STOP BEING CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD would be an accurate rendering of what Paul is actually saying.
• In the context of what God was asking of His people in verse 1, the conformity ot the world needed to stop.
• When we look at the state of the country, family, and church today, would it be fair to suggest Christians are still struggling with this issue?
• I want to share something interesting concerning the etymology of the word conformed from this verse that will help us to catch the flavor of what Paul is trying to convey to the reader.
• There are three possible stems from which the word CONFORMED could have been built.
• One of the stems (IDEA) would make the word stress OUTWARD APPEARANCES without thought to what is happening inside the person.
• The other two stems (one of which is morphe) also focus on the outward; however, those stems would direct the meaning of CONFORMED to also include what is happening on the inside. The habits, activities and modes of action.
• However the word Paul uses to be CONFORMED to the world has the root is schema, which means the outward form that varies from year to year and from day to day.
• A man's schema is not the same when he is seventeen as it is when he is seventy; it is not the same when he goes out to work as when he is dressed for dinner.
• It is continuously altering. So Paul says, "Don't try to match your life to all the fashions of this world; don't be like a chameleon which takes its color from its surroundings.” Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT).
• So the command is for the Christian to stop changing their colors when they get around the word so that one can blend in better.
• One cannot be conformed to this WORLD and present their bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice.
• We speak of sitting on the fence between the world and God, truth be told, there is no fence on which one can position themselves. There is God or the World.
• At some point we need to grasp this concept.
• What are we not too be conformed? THIS AGE!
• One of the ways we can stop presenting ourselves to God is by allowing our behavior and thinking to be influenced away from God. WE do that simply by copying the present, fleeting, popular beliefs of the day. (Reese, Romans Commentary)
• The HCSB translates the word that many translate as WORLD to a more correct rendering of the word AGE.
• An age represents a period marked by a characteristic or idea. Stone age, Space age, etc.…
• How would we define the age we live in today? Paul is not complementary in his day.
• SLIDE #5
• Galatians 1:4 (HCSB) who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.
• We live in this age; however, our behavior does not have to conform to this world’s behavior. We are called to keep our behavior excellent. 2 Peter 2:11-12!
• We must be willing to keep our focus and values on Jesus if we hope to please Him.
• SLIDE #6
II. A transformation from God requires a new way of thinking on our behalf.
• The second part of verse 2 reminds us but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
• Once again the word TRANSFORMED is a present tense verb that indicts a continuous action. WE are to continually be TRANSFORMED inwardly.
• Remember when discussing CONFORMED I talked about etymology of the word concerning the stem of the word and the three possibilities.
• The word transformed as the stem of MORPE. We get the word METAMORPHOUS.
• In Matthew 17:2 the same word is used of Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration.
• This word does not simply have a focus on the OUTER APPEARANCE, or outward conformity, but rather an inward change, which manifests itself in outward actions or appearance.
• The only other place this word is used in the New Testament is 2 Corinthians 3:18.
• SLIDE #7
• 2 Corinthians 3:18 (HCSB) We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.
• This transformation in 2 Corinthians is a change from within. We will not physically look like Jesus, we will be like Jesus in our soul, this will change how we think, which in turn, changes how we act.
• Many of you have been through basic training. What is the goal of basic training?
• I know, to make your life miserable! ☺
• The military is seeking to rid the recruit of their olds ways of thinking as they seek to help the recruit to make the transformation from recruit to soldier!
• To be a Christian soldier in God’s army, one must undergo a transformation. Not simply an outward change, but a change of the heart and mind.
• The verb TRANSFORMED is also passive; meaning, the Christian is being acted upon during the transformation process.
• The renewing of the mind is the key.
• A renewed mind will produce the inner motivated behavior that pleases God and the correct spirit will underpin it.
• The mind represents the mental faculties, reason, understanding, as well as the moral and spiritual vision and perceptions.
• When the mind is informed by evil principles, its thoughts, morals, and eventual actions will be as such. When informed by the Spirit, the mind becomes an instrument of God.
• The renewal of the mind represents the adjustment of our moral and spiritual vision to the mind of God.
• The conduct of the Christian is to be guided by the renewed mind, which in turn, will cause the conduct of the Christian different because our actions emanate from a different mindset.
• The standards of the present age are no longer appealing to the one whose mind has been renewed to the will of God.
• What gets our blood flowing is different. Everything about us is different, because we march to the beat of a different drum!
• Why is this transformation beneficial for the Christian?
• SLIDE #8
III. A transformation will allow you to discern the will of God.
• so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
• SO THAT INDICATE PURPOSE.
• The purpose of the renewed mind is so that we can PROVE or discern the will of God.
• The word, DISCERN involves a double process.
o First- It involves deciding what the will of God is
o Second- It involves choosing said will AND acting upon it in one’s life.
• The verb is present tense, which indicates this is an ongoing never-ending adventure of determining and demonstrating God’s will in one’s life!
• What does it mean to discern the will of God?
• Discerning the will of God in the context is highly personal. It involves discerning what is good, or the correct course of action for YOUR LIFE.
• This discernment is not about necessarily discerning the will of God for other people, or the nation, but rather what does God desire you to do. What can you do to please God, what is the correct course of action for you!
• PETER, JESUS, JOHN END OF JOHN 21.
• WE see three adjectives at the end of verse 2, which limit and define the will of God being spoken of. GOOD, PLEASING, PERFECT WILL- COMPLETE.
• The course of action that the Christian is interested in pursuing now that he has followed verse 1- OFFER BODY A LIVING AND HOLY SACRIFICE- is marked by these parameters.
• Good involves what is morally good. Is my course of action morally God, and by the way, not morally as the world sees it, but rather how my transformed renewed mind in Christ sees it. Is my course of action good in GOD’S eyes?
• Please, will my actions please God?
• Will my actions mesh with the complete will of God. The word PERFECT denotes complete. Will my actions violate any part of God’s will in my life?
• As the body (verse 1) is presented to God as a living, holy sacrifice, there is no place for inconsistency in the practice of God’s will in my life.
• I will fail many times in life, but by the grace of God, I will get back on track and bask in His love, grace, and mercy!
CONCLUSION
• If we are going to become a new creation, if we are ever going to build a new you, we cannot always worry about others or what God’s will is for other people.
• If we allow God to renew our minds, life in Christ becomes much easier.
• It is difficult to resist the flow of the world, let Jesus be helpful. Being rebellious seems to be popular these days, lets try rebelling against the world by striving to please God!
