Romans 12:2 says, “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 God.”
You may be wondering what God’s will for your life is as you approach this new year. In Romans 12, Paul has changed from his sometimes hard-to-understand writings—as Peter says of Paul’s epistles in I Peter 3:16, “…in which are some things hard to be understood”—to a very practical call to holy living. By this living we can prove, or show to the world as a testimony, that God has a perfect will for our life and we have found it. His will in our life requires a transformation in our body and mind.
As little boys, my brother and I received an electric train for Christmas one year. I still have it, and it still works fine. The train has an electric transformer which controls its speed. Though the transformer is plugged into a 120 volt outlet of alternating current, the wires coming out of it transmit a low voltage DC current that even a child can handle without danger of electrocution.
As we consider the almighty power of God being given unto us, it has to be something we can handle. The perfect will of God is designed for our lives in a way that His power works in us and no one gets hurt. It requires a transformer. Our bodies and our minds are involved.
In Romans 12:1, Paul calls for us to present our bodies a living sacrifice. The sacrifices of the Old Testament were to be without blemish. Paul is beseeching us to present a holy and acceptable sacrifice. God made our bodies holy and acceptable. Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good…” When Adam and Eve sinned, they became blemished.
As sinners, we cannot offer our bodies as an acceptable sacrifice. It is not God’s will for us to live this coming year blemished and in sin, but in righteousness. Christ offered His body, that was unblemished and sinless, for us, and in our place. We are called to be a living sacrifice. We must die to self and let Christ live in us. This may be hard to understand until we actually do it.
Let us look for a moment at the “law of the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-5 states, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the ‘law of the Spirit’ of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh [sin in the flesh is not acceptable]: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”Â
The law of the Spirit is that we walk after the Spirit. As we walk after the Spirit we need to carry a baseball bat to beat to death the deeds of the body, with the help of the Spirit (see Romans 8:13).
The mind needs to be transformed also. We cannot conform to the world. Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” In Ephesians 6:10-13, Paul encourages us to be strong in the Lord because we are fighting in a spiritual battle. We need the armor of God.Â
When we walk after the Spirit with all of these things this year, we will be doing the will of God. This is good and acceptable and perfect. This year may we walk after the Spirit and prove the will of God!
You are gifted. Thank you for the blessing!
Thank you for these wise words!
Well done Larry. Excellent message. Thank you.
Still have the train set from my eldest’s grandfather. Love the comparison!