To see this, or any other passage here: http://www.biblegateway.com/
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
...be transformed by the renewing of your mind...
Change your shape - by restoring your mind to a prior state. The ending to this portion of study is to emphasize the importance of our decision to renew. God is there to help you, and wants so much for your mind to be renewed! He sent His Son to break the world's pattern and sent His Holy Spirit to comfort, encourage, and strengthen you to be able.
But you must make the choice.
At this point, I am going to turn this over to my good friend Randy, who has stated this as well as I ever could, in an email earlier this week.
"Jim, I cannot read Romans 12:1-2 without hearing Romans 7:25 and 8:5-17. It is tempting to take the passive voice ("be transformed by the renewing of your mind") as something that God alone does in us. Of course, every good thing that occurs in us is the work of God's hand, lest we boast in any way. Yet the reality is that we must be 100% engaged in the mind-renewal business!
Romans 8:5 says: "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is live and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
The key to enabling God's mind-renewal is for use to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. This is subtle, and it is tempting to confuse the work of God with the decision of a man. It is always and only the work of God in us that changes us; but the trigger for God's power is our alignment with the Spirit. And even the power to pull the trigger is not something we can brag about.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. (Eph 2:8)
It is an incredible mystery, indeed a paradox, that our transcendent, holy, omnipotent God loves us so much that he grants us the capacity to choose Him. Yet that is exactly what we are called to do as Christians. Therefore, the key question is this - how can we set or minds on the things of the Spirit? The answer is obvious - through intentional engagement in prayer, Scripture reading, Scripture study, meditation, serious dialog with our fellow Christians, and service. Anyone who says they don't know God's will for them can start right there. Thank you, Jim, for being used by God to "spur us on toward love and good deeds" (Heb 10:24). Randy "
AMEN!
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Questions:
1. Do you recall making an intentional decision to follow Christ?
2. Do you recall making an intentional decision to renew your mind?
3. Is it time to renew the decision to renew?
INTERESTING THOUGHTS:
"How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so
bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do the work themselves."
C.T. Studd
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