Romans 12:2: The Renewal of Your Mind

Romans 12:2: The Renewal of Your Mind

Please turn with me in your Bible to Romans 12. If you’re using one of the Story Bibles we provide, that’s on page 785. We’ve been working our way passage by passage through Paul’s letter to the Romans, and this morning the passage we come to is Romans 12. And we’ll be looking at verse 2, but for context, let me read verses 1-2. Romans 12:1-2:

1 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. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

When I first became a Christian at age 14, I was overjoyed at the life and salvation I had found through Jesus. I mean, I was on cloud nine. I was so grateful that, through Jesus, my past had been forgiven and my future was secure. And I wanted more than anything to grow as a Christian. I sensed that I was kind of like a baby Christian that had just been born and was eager to grow beyond that stage of spiritual infancy. But I didn’t know exactly how to go about doing that. The church that my family attended had a youth group for the teenagers, so I was a part of that. I also went along with them to various Christian conferences and a Christian summer camp and all kinds of different events that were supposed to help you grow spiritually. I also even got a devotional book with a specific devotional thought for each day that I tried to read regularly. But I still felt like I was missing something. I wanted to grow, but I didn’t exactly know how. And maybe you’re wondering that same thing this morning. Maybe you want to grow as a Christian but just aren’t sure how. If that’s you, I’m glad you’re here, because that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. Even though there are a number of things that are critical for our spiritual growth, Paul’s words here in Romans 12:2 highlight what I believe is at the center of them all—the renewal of your mind. And that’s the part of this verse we’re going to focus on. 

Now, keep in mind that all of this grows out of what we talked about in the last message I preached—the idea of presenting ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. Paul says to his readers in verse 1, “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.” So we’re supposed to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, which means giving ourselves to him without holding anything back. We’re supposed to be totally surrendered and sold out to him. 

And as we see in verse 2, that means being radically different than the ungodliness that’s all around us. Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world.” The fact is that “this world” has a way of pressing us into its mold so that we become like the world often without even realizing it. It’s kind of like what happened when I was living in Alabama. During the four years I spent in Alabama, I developed a southern accent that was pretty noticeable. In fact, it still comes out when I attend an annual pastors’ conference down there each February. Of course, I wasn’t trying to develop an accent, but I just naturally began to imitate the way I heard people speaking around me. And something similar to that can very easily happen with the ungodly ways of the world around us—things like greed, self-centered ambition, immorality, uncharitable comments about those who think differently than us, obsession with our physical appearance, and all kinds of other things. We tend to be influenced by the world and pressed into its mold unless we make a very intentional effort to keep that from happening. So Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” So the opposite of being conformed to the world is being transformed by God. And that transformation comes through the renewal of our mind. Then the result of this transformation, Paul says, is “that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” So our mind being renewed results in our life being transformed, and that results in us being able to discern the will of God. So if you want to know the will of God for your life, that’s how you can know it. God doesn’t write messages in the sky to guide us. He gives us a Bible with general principles for living which he then uses to renew our minds so that we can discern his will in specific situations. That’s the normal way for God to make known to us his will.

So as you can see, there really is enough material in these verses for about five sermons. But this morning, I’d simply like to focus on what Paul says about the renewal of the mind. He tells us to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” So the main idea we’ll look at is this: true and lasting transformation comes through the renewal of your mind. True and lasting transformation in your life comes through the renewal of your mind. And there are three aspects of this renewal I’d like to cover. Number one, the need for renewal. Number two, the focus of renewal. And number three, the means of renewal. 

The Need for Renewal

So first, the need for renewal. The very fact that Paul mentions our minds being renewed in verse 2 implies that we need it. Even as Christians, there’s something about our mind that’s not what it should be. And, indeed, the Bible has a lot to say about the mind in its fallen condition and apart from Jesus. Back in Romans 1:21-23, Paul’s already described humanity as a whole in this way: 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. So people became “futile in their thinking,” Paul says, and their foolish hearts became darkened. This led them to exchange the worship of God for the worship of God’s creation. Paul then basically repeats himself later in that same chapter in verse 28: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. So there he calls it “a debased mind.”

In addition, Paul writes this in Ephesians 4:17-19: 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. So Paul refers to “the futility of their minds” and the fact that they’re “darkened in their understanding.” And what’s the result? Verse 19: They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. So basically, the point of all these verses is that our mind, in its fallen condition, is really screwed up. And our wrong thinking causes wrong living. 

Now, it’s true that, when you’re saved, Jesus changes your thinking in a fundamental way. However, as Paul implies back in Romans 12:2, that doesn’t mean Jesus instantly takes away every bit of wrong thinking when he saves us. Your mind is still screwed up to some degree even after salvation, and it needs to be renewed. Kind of like when you first wake up in the morning. In those early morning hours, you’re not asleep anymore, but you’re still not thinking clearly. You’re not yet fully awake. One thing that I often try to do in the mornings for the sake of productivity is to take care of all my emails before breakfast. And while that does have its advantages, there are times when I look back on emails I’ve sent in those early hours and think to myself that—to say the least—I probably could have written a better email. So, by the way, if any of you ever receive an email from me that I send before breakfast, please try to judge it as charitably as you can. My mind isn’t fully awake. And in a similar way, those of us who are Christians have had our minds changed by Jesus, but our thinking can still be really distorted in many ways. So there’s a need for renewal. 

The Focus of Renewal

Then, let’s observe not only the need for renewal but also—point number two—the focus of renewal. And that focus, of course, is our mind. That’s what Paul says—“the renewal of your mind.” And that really is a theme that’s pervasive throughout the Bible. Let me just give you a few other verses that represent the wealth of biblical material on this subject. In Hosea 4:6, God states, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge….” A lack of knowledge is the weakness identified here that leads to spiritual destruction. In addition, listen to what Jesus prays in his prayer to the Father recorded in John 17:17: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” So the primary instrument for the sanctification—or the growth—of Jesus’ disciples is the “truth” of the scriptures. Then Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18, And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. So here we find Paul talking about being “transformed”—just like he does back in our main text of Romans 12:2. He says in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to the world but to be “transformed” and then uses the same exact word here in 2 Corinthians as he talks about being “transformed” into the image of Christ from one degree of glory to another. And the key here is to notice how that transformation happens. Paul says it happens by “beholding the glory of the Lord.” It’s as we behold the glory of the Lord Jesus that we experience transformation. And what better place to behold that glory than in the pages of the Bible? So it’s as we open the Bible and fill our minds with thoughts about the glory of Jesus that our lives will be transformed.

In addition, Paul says this in Ephesians 4:22-24: 22 [You were taught] to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. So in between putting off the old self and putting on the new self, we’re supposed to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” That’s an essential step Paul lists if our efforts at change are going to be successful. Then finally, Paul instructs his readers in Colossians 3:9-10: 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. “Renewed in knowledge.” That means knowledge is essential for personal renewal. 

So as you can see from this small sampling of verses, transformation happens through the mind. The way you think determines the way you live. Your mind is kind of like the rudder on a ship. The rudder steers the ship and determines the course that ship will take. Likewise, your mind steers your life. The way you think determines the way you live. So if you want real transformation in your life, focus your attention on renewing your mind. Start there. You know, there’s a relatively new building on the Southside of Pittsburgh that’s home to an organization called the Center for Victims. This organization helps people who have been victimized by things such as domestic abuse and sexual assault. And I don’t really know anything about the quality of services they offer, but I do know that on their sign is a tagline that I think is amazing. The sign reads, “The Center for Victims: Start Here.” “Start Here.” I imagine someone who’s had a traumatic experience may feel overwhelmed and may find it difficult to know where to start in their recovery process. So the Center for Victims tells them, “start here.” And that’s also the way we should view the renewal of our minds. If you want your life to be transformed, start here—with the renewal of your mind. Actively seek to have your mind renewed with thoughts and ideas that are true and good and right. 

And by the way, this is also why it’s so important for us to guard our minds from being influenced by ungodly things. And one thing I think we have to keep an eye on here is the entertainment we consume—whether it’s TV or Netflix or whatever it is. Don’t think that the things you watch have no effect on you. They absolutely do—even if you’re not always aware of it. You see, any time you allow yourself to be entertained by something, you’re opening a mental gate. You’re letting your guard down to a degree and opening a gate that allows all kinds of thoughts and values to come into your mind while you’re in a relatively vulnerable condition. And I’m not just talking about things that would cause a movie to be rated “R.” I’m also talking about things like the values we often see portrayed in entertainment. For example, even though the Bible teaches us that true happiness and satisfaction are found in a relationship with Jesus, most entertainment teaches us in subtle or sometimes not-so-subtle ways that happiness and satisfaction in life are found elsewhere—in things such as money or possessions or a romantic relationship or our status in society or earthly “success.” And there are many other ways entertainment often shapes our thinking in an unbiblical direction as well. Now, I’m not suggesting that entertainment is inherently sinful. I myself do watch movies from time to time—like once every few months—and we allow our kids to watch things on Netflix multiple times a week. So I’m not saying entertainment is inherently sinful. My point is simply to encourage you to keep in mind that the things you watch—or read or listen to—will influence you and to be very careful about what entertainment you consume. Whenever you open that mental gate and let down your guard in order to be entertained by something, be very careful about what that something is. Again, the way you think determines the way you live. So the focus of renewal is the mind. 

The Means of Renewal

Then finally, not only do we have the need for renewal and the focus of renewal, but I’d also like to discuss the means of renewal. That’s the third point—the means of renewal. And I’ve alluded to it several times, but just to state it directly: the means of renewal is, first and foremost, the Bible. The Spirit of God works through the Word of God in the Bible to renew our minds. Remember, Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” So the means of sanctification—the means of spiritual growth and mental renewal—is primarily the truth of the Word of God. So our goal as Christians should be to saturate our minds with Scripture and have the truths of Scripture really get into us and shape our thinking. To state it simply, the truths of the Bible are in here [point to the Bible] and they need to be in here [point to head]. As Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” So how do we do that? How do we allow the Bible to soak into our minds so it can change the way we think? Well, let me give you four habits for taking in the Bible. Now there are certainly more habits beyond these four that are good to practice, but these are what I believe are four of the most important habits. First of all, hearing the Bible. And that primarily happens at church. Throughout the church service and especially in the sermon, you should be hearing the Bible taught and applied. That’s not an optional thing. Your relationship Jesus may be personal, but it’s not meant to be private. For the sake of your own soul and your own spiritual growth, you need to be hearing the Bible regularly from another Christian and in the company of other Christians. Second, you should be reading the Bible. This most often occurs on your own and hopefully on a daily basis. There are all sorts of Bible reading plans out there—you can just Google “Bible reading plan” and you shouldn’t have trouble finding one. Or if you wanted a less structured approach but aren’t sure where to start, perhaps start in one of the gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Try to read even just a single chapter of the Bible every day. 

However, what you don’t want to do is let the Bible go in one ear and right out the other. That can very easily happen if you just read the Bible without taking any time to think about what you’re reading. The information you read can run right through your mind kind of like water running through a pipe. That’s not really what we’re going for here, because remember, the point is for the truths of the Bible to actually be transferred from here [point] and into here [point]. So to help with that, the third habit is meditating on the Bible. And when I say “meditating,” I’m not talking about sitting Indian-style and going into some trance-like state as if you were a Buddhist or something. Meditating in Christianity simply means to think over the things you read in the Bible. Don’t let the things you read run through your mind like water through a pipe. Sit there and think about them. Think about the meaning of that passage. Ask good questions about the text and then try to discover the answers to those questions. Consider the passage’s significance for your life and your attitudes and your conversations and your behavior. 

Then, finally, the fourth habit is journaling—and not just journaling about your life in general but journaling specifically in response to the things you read in Scripture. Write out your meditations. Even if you never go back and look at the things you’ve written, just the act of writing them down will help you remember them more and cause them to soak deeper into your mind. Let me ask you this—those of you who already read the Bible regularly: how often can you remember the things you’ve read in the Bible the next day? In fact, what did you read in the Bible yesterday? And what did you learn from what you read? Often, in my own life, I’ve noticed that the main thing that makes the difference between me remembering what I’ve read and me not remembering it is whether or not I wrote down my thoughts and meditations. 

And here are the two questions I use to guide my journal entries. After I try to understand what the passage is saying, I write out very brief responses to these two questions. First, why is this passage needed? In other words, why did God include this passage in the Bible? What fallen, misguided tendency do people often have that makes this an important passage for us to read? So this first question is kind of a negative question. And then the second question is correspondingly positive in nature. And it’s this: how should I respond to this passage? In other words, how does it connect with my everyday life? What specific application do I need to make to the way I live? And the answer to this second question naturally grows out of the answer to the first question. For example, if I were journaling on our main text of Romans 12:2, I might answer the first question of why this passage is needed by saying something about the fact that our thinking is really screwed up—as I mentioned earlier in the sermon. That’s why we need this passage. And then, I might answer the second question of how I should respond to this passage by saying that I need to set aside 20 minutes each day to read a chapter of the Bible or perhaps start attending church more faithfully or whatever the case may be. So “why is this passage needed?” and “how should I respond to this passage?” Those are the questions that guide my journal entries. 

Conclusion

Now as we wrap things up this morning, there are a lot of other things I would love to tell you about the renewal of the mind. I wish we had the time—because it’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of this subject for living and growing as a Christian. But before we end, I do want to make sure you understand that everything we’ve talked about with the renewal of the mind is the fruit and outworking of God’s grace in a person’s life. That means this isn’t a sermon on how to earn God’s favor or make yourself acceptable in God’s sight through your own efforts. Your efforts at renewing your mind can never merit for you a place in heaven. The Bible’s very clear that Jesus alone is the way to be with God eternally. It’s only through Jesus’s perfect life, his substitutionary death, and his victorious resurrection that we can be forgiven by God and obtain hope for eternity. So if you’re here this morning and you haven’t yet put your trust in Jesus to cleanse you and rescue you from your sins, that’s the main thing for you to focus on. Believe that when Jesus died on the cross, he was dying for your sins and suffering the penalty you deserved. And then embrace him as your only hope of becoming right with God. And if you have any questions about that, I would love to answer them after our service. Let’s pray.