Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
[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.
In chapter 12 we come to the transition from theology to application in Paul’s
letter to the Romans. Paul has been moving us toward this all along. Don’t you
know that we are all sinners, Gentile and Jew, with no inclination for God? Don’t
you know that you all stand guilty before God? Don’t you know that salvation
comes by God’s mercy? Don’t you know that as believers you have been crucified
and buried with Christ, and risen to new life? Don’t present your body to sin, but
to Christ. Don’t you know that God allowed a hardening to come to the Jews so
that salvation might come to the Gentiles? Don’t you know that God will restore
the Jews? All of this is God’s mercy. Because of his mercy, here is how you
ought to live. That is how Romans brings us to these verses.
Do you want to know God’s will for your life? Here is the way in which God
leads us to that place. Because of God’s mercies revealed in chapters 1-11,
present your bodies as a living sacrifice. That is what real worship is. Don’t
let the world squeeze you into it’s mold. Let God transform you by the renewal of
your mind so that you are thinking as God thinks. As you are transformed you
will find yourself testing and discerning God’s will. Ultimately God is more
concerned about you being transformed into his image than about whether you decide
to be a welder or a teacher, both good professions. God’s will is discovered
and discerned through the process of transformation. How might our lives look
different if we agonized less about what profession to pursue and focused more
on the renewing of our minds leading to transformation and metamorphosis (the
Greek word here for transformation became the English word metamorphosis).
Law doesn’t transform, nor does it lead to understanding the will of God. Being a Jew, a Gentile, an Anglo or a person of color does not transform, nor does it lead to understanding the will of God. Whoever you, wherever you are, transformation and a revealing of the will of God comes by God’s mercy and the renewal of one’s mind. That is why Paul spent 11 chapters explaining God’s mercy. Understanding our world through the lens of God’s mercy is transformational. May we, as believers in Jesus Christ, think less on our rights as citizens of this world and more on seeing our world through the lens of God’s mercy.
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