Have you witnessed a makeover? You’ll normally catch a glimpse of one on a talk or a reality show. Often times, the transformation is amazing and the individual’s self-esteem and outlook in life is heightened. However, I’ve often wondered how long the effects of a makeover lasts. When the individual returns home to his/her same old daily routine and the amazing haircut outgrows itself, the heightened zeal in life sadly fades away.
In Romans 12:2, we are encouraged “not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind.” I’m sure you’ve heard of this scripture many times, but what does it mean?
Well aware of what is going on in our world today, I wonder how anyone would consciously want to conform to this world. We have physical, verbal, psychological and emotional bullying in schools, within families and in cyber space; swearing has now become a normal part of the everyday language for many; respect is no longer given to elders or to authority; infanticide and genocide take place quite prominently today; our children, the leaders of tomorrow, are raised in broken families… Should I say more?
I often wonder what goes on in the minds of others. I wonder if they feel trapped within the ugliness surrounding them? I wonder how many would like to run away and escape from the craziness of this world and find peace once again.
But how do you avoid being conformed to the ways of this world if you live in this world? God has given us the answer… by being transformed through the renewing of our minds.
Since the fall of Adam and Eve, our minds have entered into a fallen state. In this state, our mind rejects God and it cannot discern His spiritual truth. This is who we are by nature. We do not want to see and acknowledge God for who He is; as worthy of knowing, loving and treasuring Him above all else.
The solution? The first step is to realize that we have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. By acknowledging our sinful nature and repenting (turning away from our sinful ways) and freely embracing that Jesus took on the sin of the world when He died on the cross, we radically become dependent on Him and the works of the Holy Spirit. When we repent, the Holy Spirit begins to renew our mind and it is changed (transformed) from our old ways to godly ways of thinking.
Unfortunately, in spite of knowing and believing that God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus, His son, to redeem us, (John 3:16) many times, the minds of believers continue to reject Him. We do have to admit this to be true about ourselves because of how little effort we put out in getting to know Him and how much effort is needed to make our mind spend time in getting to know Him better.
Hence, the next step is to ask God to pour out His Holy Spirit on us on a daily basis. “The Holy Spirit renews our mind. It is first and decisively His work. We are radically dependent on Him. Our efforts follow His initiatives and enablings.” Without this daily outpouring, the influences of this world could readily overtake us and we will not be able to withstand the arrows of the enemy.
As the Holy Spirit works in us, He works from two directions… from the outside in and from the inside out. He works from the outside in by exposing our mind to the truths of God. He leads us to hear the Gospel, to read, study and meditate on His Word in the Bible, to partake in the Sacraments, to read Christ-exalting literary work and to pray and spend time with the Father. The Holy Spirit works from the inside out by breaking our hard heart that blinds and corrupts our mind and He brings about truth-embracing humility.
Do note that this is exactly what our great enemy, the devil attempts to keep us from. “The god of the world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 “Because to see that for what it really is, Paul says, will renew the mind and transform the life and produce unending worship.”
If the Holy Spirit merely worked from the outside in by presenting Christ-exalting truths to our mind without breaking our hard heart and making it humble, then the truth would be despised and rejected. If He merely humbled the heart without putting Christ-exalting truth before our mind, then there would be no Christ to embrace and no worship would happen.
What then should we do to “be transformed in the renewal of the mind”? We join the Holy Spirit in His precious and all-important work. We pursue the truths of Christ and we pray for truth embracing humility. We read, ponder and soak ourselves in the Bible, constantly in search of the revelation of Jesus’ glory; we partake in the Sacraments; we form the habit of meditation on the perfections of Christ and we pray and pray and pray some more that the Holy Spirit will renew our minds so that we may desire the will of God and that our lives will become worship to the glory of God.
God bless,
Melissa – March 26, 2015
– from the teaching of John Piper; The Renewed Mind and How to Have It – http://www.desiringgod.org/sermons/the-renewed-mind-and-how-to-have-it