The Renewing of Your Mind

2021-08-17

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, 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 God. (3) For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:1-3)

These verses follow a thorough discourse explaining the Gospel concerning our forgiveness of sins and position in Christ. Because we have died and rose with Christ, we are now a “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” As such, we now present ourselves to Him for His service.

Verse two shows us two mutually exclusive options: to conform to the world or to transform by renewing our minds. We have the choice to do either one or the other. To renew our minds, we constantly revisit the truths of the Gospel. The record of our sin is gone, the old us has died, and we now are fully identified with the Savior: “...ye are bought with a price...” (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).

One primary way to renew our minds is “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Romans 12:3). “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). The truths found in the former chapters of Romans lead us to humility as sinners redeemed from sin, Satan, death, and hell. This will teach us to “to think soberly.”

This is the fifth perspective in the pulling down of strong holds.