FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
RENEWING
THE MIND - I
…..
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of IAUE, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto IAUE, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of IAUE.
Today, we embark on a new study. My objective in this study is not to renew
your minds. That is something YOU
are required to do (“I beseech YOU therefore brethren…that…YE
be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”). It is singularly YOUR responsibility; and
it IS
a responsibility. This is no suggestion
made by Paul. It is an apostolic appeal
made by the Holy Spirit through the apostle. We are each, individually, required to renew
our minds. [My purpose in writing this blog is to help
facilitate your growth in discipleship to Yahushua Messiah. As I have said many times before, I cannot
give you revelation. That is the job of
the Holy Spirit. I can only provide you with the raw materials to take to Him
to ask Him to reveal the truth to you.]
If you have been reading this blog from the very
beginning, you will know that throughout every study we have done, no matter
what the subject matter, I have made it clear that the underlying purpose of
absolutely everything in the Scriptures is to help facilitate our obedience to
the will of IAUE. It is the very purpose
of our design in creation; and until we dedicate our bodies as “living sacrifices”
(Romans 12:1) unto
the performance of this purpose, we will miss out on the actual purpose of
redemption in Yahushua Messiah.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of IAUE.
Let’s take a closer look at the various
elements of this verse.
1. Be
not conformed to this world. This command indicates that conformity to the
world is a problem for us. It is not
something that is a problem for some and not a problem for others. So, what actually is conformity to this
world? “Conformity”
is mimicking the pattern of something. It is complying with the expectations
and standards of an existing system or way of doing things. That standard is “this
world.” More specifically, it is
the manner in which every aspect of life on this planet is directed to behave
and think. That includes its social norms, its education, arts, sciences,
governments, music, business, traditions, etc.
The world (‘aion”) embodies every
element of life as men and women have forged their lives alienated from
fellowship with IAUE, with only their own self-absorbed morals and values to
guide them. Paul uses the term “aion” to refer to the current expression of the world as defined by its prevailing
culture. In other words, and more
specifically, “going along with the times.”
The Holy Spirit does not want us, as disciples,
to be a part of the masses that are inadvertently working collectively to
degrade human society. The Scriptures
teach a doctrine referred to as “the depravity of man.” In this concept (which I believe to be
absolutely correct), mankind is depraved.
That means, spiritually-speaking, man is as bad off as he can be;
however, he is not as bad as he can be.
Given the right circumstances or environment, however, and man readily
descends into being as bad as he can be BECAUSE of the nature of depravity
within him. Let me illustrate what I
mean.
The classic book, The Lord of the Flies,
is about a bunch of school boys that are shipwrecked on an island. Without the presence of an adult representing
a restraining authority over them, the boys’ depraved nature facilitated their
rapid descent into chaos, even unto murder and cannibalism. The moment an adult reenters the scene, the
boys drop their hand-made weapons, and act like little boys again. Their depravity was placed in check; and they
ceased being as bad as they could be.
Using this example, we can see that one of the
reasons why Paul commands us not to be conformed to the world is so our lives
can be salt and light to the current culture…salt, to preserve the culture and
prevent its natural descent into expressing more and more the depravity of man;
and light, to show it the life it can have; to send forth the savor of righteousness
to a world in darkness. When we remain
conformed to this present age; we are as much a part of the problem as those
without Messiah are. “…Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? IAUE forbid!...” (Romans 6:1-2)
2. be ye transformed.
The apostle tells us that we need to be “transformed.”
This word (“metamorphoo”) means “to change into another form.” It is the word from which we get the English
word “metamorphosis” which describes the change of a caterpillar into a
butterfly. We are not to live our lives
in such a way that we can be confused as being one of those who are conformed
to the present evil age. We are to live
as a different form of life, for indeed, we ARE a different form of life. “If any man be in
Messiah Yahushua, he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Remember, also, the words Paul spoke just a few chapters earlier. “…as Messiah was raised up from the dead by the glory of
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
3. by the renewing
of your mind. How does this
transformation, this changing into a different form of life happen? It comes by renewing our mind. This word (“anakainosis”)
means “to renovate, to change for the better.”
It is derived from a root word that means “to grow up.” So, this is a process. The end result has already been accomplished
by Messiah; and all the tools necessary to make it a reality have already been
provided to us in our redemption by the death and resurrection of Messiah. We need merely to apply it to our lives and
allow it to change us into his image; but it requires our active and relentless
participation.
There
is a very important element to this process that has escaped the notice of most
believers; and that is that changing the way we think, necessarily changes the
image on the inside of us as to what we expect to happen in and through our
lives to others. If we embrace the way
the world thinks, we will always get the world’s results. When we come to think the way our Master
thinks, we will begin to get his results, instead.
4. that ye may prove... To “prove” (“dokimazo”)
something, is to test or examine it to see that it is genuine. The Scripture teaches us that to know to do
good and not do it, is sin (James 4:17); however, many believers are content to sit in church or go to bible
studies and learn things that they never implement into their lives. They are satisfied just to know the
information. They do not allow the
Scripture to transform them. If it does
not change them, it is worthless to them, and it is especially worthless to the
world around them.
5. what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of IAUE. Here we have the reason why we are not to be conformed to the
world. This is the purpose of being
transformed. It is the objective of
renewing our minds. It is that we might
know the will of IAUE, and understand in the knowing that it is good,
acceptable and perfect. The main problem
believers have with the will of IAUE is that their minds are not trained to
understand, by contrast with the way the current age thinks and works, that His
will is the only one that is good, acceptable and perfect. So often, when believers must make a decision
in their life, they pray to know IAUE’s will; but they do not pray to know His
will with the objective of doing it, necessarily. They want to know what His will is so they
can compare it with their other options.
The option that seems best to them, or the least embarrassing to them, or
the least difficult to them, is often the one they choose. They would like for the will of IAUE to be
that sweeter option; but more often than not, it is their own will they choose.
By this, they demonstrate that IAUE does not have the right to rule their
lives. Even if they choose IAUE’s will,
they are no longer able to do His will.
They are now doing their own will; for their will has approved of the
will of IAUE. Until we are cast upon His
will, such that there are no other options we regard as available; it is
impossible to do His will. The moment we
judge that it is the better or best option available, we have lost the chance
to do His will. This is why we must be renewed in our thinking. We have an abundance of worldly programming
in our minds that must be eliminated; so we can learn how to think with the
thoughts of IAUE; and understand the nature of His will as our ultimate purpose
and our chiefest joy.
Knowing and doing the will of IAUE is our purpose
in life. It is why we were created; and
it is what Messiah’s life and death was intended to restore to us. If we are not actively involved with the Holy
Spirit to transform our lives by renewing our minds, we WILL conform to this
present evil age; and we will fail both our Creator and our Master. This is what life in Messiah all boils down
to…a new life form on the earth that does the will of IAUE.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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