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. 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. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:1–8
As is my custom, I'm going to limit myself to just a small portion of this Scripture reading. Here it is separated into three parts.
A) Do not be conformed to this world,
B) but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
C) that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
While the rest has much to teach us all, this one sentence has more than enough for us to consider. I've divided it into three parts to highlight how it is structured: A) a command about what to avoid, B) a command about what to pursue instead, C) the goal of these commands.
A) Do not be conformed to this world
Let's start with a question. What does it mean to be conformed to the world? It must be something significant to be singled out in Scripture. What is Paul warning about?
Back in the days of my youth, there were some Christians who reacted to what they saw as a problem in the Church. They called it worldliness. It had to do with things like going to see a movie or dancing or smoking. This kind of thinking has faded from view over the years. Who talks about the supposed sin of watching movies anymore?
But worldliness - something more profound than movie-watching and such - has always been and will always be a serious issue that Christians need to be aware of. And we know that because, well, here it is in Scripture for all of us to see: do not be conformed to this world.
The way that the Spirit puts it in this passage makes clear what His concern is about. This is a warning about living in a way that is just like - that conforms to - the ways of the world, the ways of unbelievers around us.
Now, to be sure, some conformity is innocent. Men today wear pants and not togas. And yet, some of this conformity really isn't innocent. How many young children are being educated to think about life like unbelievers, to think as if there were no God. His existence isn't necessarily denied. It's just never brought up. Thinking about life's problems and issues, both personal and public, in such a way is one kind of worldliness. There are many ways that we, without even thinking about it, conform to the sinful ways of the world around us. By the apostle, the Spirit is saying, 'Be careful lest you fall into that trap'.
It's clear that worldliness affects us in terms of how we think because of what else Paul writes. Consider his antidote to worldliness.
B) but be transformed by the renewal of your mind
The Spirit knows that this worldliness, this thinking like unbelievers, is something that affects us all. That's why He tells us all that our minds need to be changed, need to be transformed, from the worldliness that has affected us all. Our minds need to be made new so that we think like the children of God that we are.
But how do you do that? The answer is not some complicated mystery. You change how you think by means of the Scriptures. What is the Bible but God saying, 'This is how you are to think about life'? So, a Christian's defense against, and conquest of, worldliness begins with some careful reflection on the teachings of the Bible. This doesn't need to be some intense study of the Scriptures. It can be as simple as listening to Scripture being read as you drive to work. (There's an app for that!) Or taking a few minutes during Sunday lunch to chat with the rest of the family about the sermon or the Scripture readings. And there are other options as well. But the point is this. You need to be confronted by what God has said about real living so that the Spirit can point out places where you are conforming to the world around you. Then, as you respond with prayer, you can be changed by the Spirit into someone who thinks accurately about reality.
Now, the last part.
C) that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Why should you bother doing this? What is the goal?
How many Christians lament that they are unable to know God's will? And being frustrated when it comes to this, too many simply give up trying to come to know it. But is it wise to try to live without knowing the kind of person that God wants you to be and what sorts of things He wants you to do? You can come to know God's will by dealing with the worldliness that you have adopted over the years. You can come to know God's will by the renewal of your mind.
The benefit here is not merely a life that you will find worth living. More than that, it will be a life that is useful to Jesus as He pursues His plan for the rescue of the world. It's time to work on this.
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