Here we are several weeks into the current sermon series and I started to ask myself, “why are we doing this mind thing again?” So I went back and read chapter 12 of Romans again. Well, ok, I got as far as verse 2. The answer was there. In light of God’s mercy we are to offer ourselves1 as living sacrifices. The only way we can do this is by allowing the Holy Spirit to transform2 our minds. Our minds count, they are important.
Transformation doesn’t occur instantly, it takes an entire lifetime2. We have to be ever mindful of God’s presence and the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This transformation is in direct conflict with the pressure to confirm to the world’s standards. It is a war which the world would have us believe it’s only here and now in the physical realm but it is in the spiritual realm, one that has eternal consequences.
When that transformation takes place not only will we think differently, we will act differently. We will begin to use the gifts God has given us more and more. We will start living lives holy and acceptable to God. We will overcome the world instead of allowing it to beat us into submission. It may not feel it at times but when we allow God to transform our minds, we can do a victory dance every day knowing He makes us conquerors.
Although most translations read “bodies” most commentators say the Greek word refers not only to our physical bodies “but the totality of which we are composed” (John Calvin). In other words, Paul isn’t saying we offer just our bodies but every thing we are to God. ↩︎
The Greek there is very specific, we don’t transform ourselves, our minds are acted upon by an outside force, God. It also is specific in that it is an on going action, not a fait accompli. ↩︎
