Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Have you heard this ‘funny definition’ of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different result. I guess it is sort of funny, but because it bears so much practical truth, it’s really not that funny, especially if you are struggling with an issue. Sometimes it seems, the harder we try, the worse it gets. We might have success for awhile, but then we slip back into the same old patterns. We try to lose weight, or we try to stop a habit, over and over and over, we keep using the same old methods, and nothing changes, permanently.
But, since “there is nothing new under the sun” what NEW thing can you expect? That “there is nothing new” has been said by a lot of different people, as sort of a sigh of resignation. But the phrase actually comes from the bible. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says “That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.”
So, how do I change what I am doing if it is all anyone has ever known or if it is what people have always done? And, it is what everyone is always teaching? And the results are always the same?
How can change what I know so I may KNOW AND EXPERIENCE GOD’S WILL? Again, the Bible says
“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
The 1st Life Truth
To know and Experience God’s Will for your life is to
DO RIGHT
as a constant of your life
The 2nd Life Truth
To know and Experience God’s Will for your life is to
BE TRANSFORMED
BY RENEWING YOUR MIND.
If you really want to know and experience GOD’S WILL for your life, you have to know it won’t come easy. The farther you want to go with God and the more you want to know of God, the more it will require of you.
– WARNING –
ONLY THE MATURE AND SINCERE SHOULD PROCEED BEYOND THIS POINT
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”.
The word “transformed” here, comes from the Aramaic Greek in the bible, ‘metamorphoo’ from which we get the English word, metamorphosis. It more literally means to ‘change into another form, or transfigure’. It means to become something you are not so you can be conformed to the WILL OF GOD. (Sounds like something from a science fiction movie, doesn’t it?)`
Renewing your mind is a renewal a renovation, and a complete change for the better. It is synonymous with a new birth; a regeneration, referring to God’s act of causing the sinner to pass from the death of sin into spiritual life in Christ.
This renewal of your mind is a continuous process through which you becomes more fully Christ-like, in which process you are a worker together with God.
To KNOW GOD’S WILL for my life, I must (1) DO RIGHT as a constant in my life, and (2) Undergo a metamorphosis. I must become irreversibly transformed by the renewing of my mind.
Are you kidding? Are we saying I have to DO this to KNOW GOD’S WILL for my life?
The answer is, YES. A thousand times, YES! You can no more KNOW and EXPERIENCE GOD’S WILL for your life without
-
intending to DO RIGHT as a constant in your life and by
-
BEING TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND
Than you can think without a brain, see without eyes or walk without legs and feet.
Anything less than DOING RIGHT as a constant in your life, and BEING TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND is just a good try at the same old thing you’ve always done. It’s insanity.
Before we move on to the next Truth, I can just hear someone asking these two questions:
(1) Are you saying I have to DO something in order to be saved? (The answer to that is NO. Salvation a free gift of God. We are saved by His Grace through our faith in Christ. Not be works)
(2) Are you saying I have to be ‘perfect’ to know God’s Will for my life? (The answer to that is NO. We are told to strive toward ‘perfection in Christ’, “be perfect even as I Am perfect”. And God’s perfection or maturity is our aim. But, we will stumble, so we have the provision of confession, repentance and God’s forgiveness to see us along our way. But, our heart’s desire is to attain to God’s perfection.
In fact, read 1 John 1: 8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 ¶ My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
3 ¶ By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
Please hear me when I say that this is not a lecture or a sermon. It is not a platitude or an experiment in spiritual matters. THIS IS THE TRUTH. WE WOULD DO WELL TO TAKE HEED.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW AND EXPERIENCE GOD’S PERFECT WILL IN YOUR LIFE:
-
DO RIGHT as a constant in your life
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BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, that you may prove what THE WILL OF GOD IS, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
In our next article, we will tell what and how the Bible says we shall DO RIGHT and BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF OUR MINDS.
It is a discipline. Very few will attempt it. Fewer yet will finish and succeed. But the few who do will KNOW AND EXPERIENCE THE WILL OF GOD IN THEIR LIFE. An experience unparalleled in this lifetime.
Until then, Let’s Remain in His Grip!
Your friend and brother
Mike Young
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