Grow With Pastor Joe

Have you ever wondered what God’s will is for your life? Of course you have. Everyone has and does. However, the average Christian goes about it in a pagan way while drifting through their spiritual walk and life without a truly biblical worldview. Sadly, many believers today seek some sort of mystical sign or confirmation. Perhaps they wait for (as the Eagles put it) a “peaceful easy feeling.” We’ll discuss the place of feelings and facts later on. Another option for believers is that they follow the pagan mindset of emptying your mind and hoping God gives some sort of wild moment of lighting in the brain to direct them what to do next. Romans 12:1-2 is given to us to learn God’s will and live in God’s will. The reality is that you and I can never know God’s will apart from His Word. Everyone says that they want to live in God’s will, but in order to do so we must learn God’s will according to His work through the Word and Holy Spirit in our life. Learning and living in God’s will is actually very simple. We overcomplicate it and make it so specific that we often just stay confused about what God wants from us. God is clear that His will for us is to be transformed by grace through the truth of the gospel for our good and His glory. When we think about God’s will for our life, we must understand that He can’t and won’t ask you to do anything that goes against His Word, work, and will. We must be dedicated to, discerning of, and delighting in the Word, work, and will of God. This is the transformed life. Every saved soul has been transformed by the Word and work of God, but there is the sense that God’s will for us is to continuously be transformed into who we are in Christ.

The truth transforms us and that’s God’s will for us. In relation to the passage at hand, we can see that it is the presentation of the body that brings the practical transformation of the believer. As John Phillips writes, “The presentation of the body results in a transformed life.” Meaning, as we give ourselves to the Lord, He transforms us from the inside out so that there is less of us and more of Jesus in our life. There can be no transformed life without a consecrated life. Consecration leads to transformation. Both consecration and transformation happen as we by faith give the Holy Spirit full access and authority over our life. This is God’s will for our life, to be transformed through consecration. If you have been saved, then you have been transformed, but there is more transformation that must occur, and it is only by the inward work of the Holy Spirit as we yield to Him in faith.

As we continue our study through Romans 12-16, we will focus today on the connection between the consecrated life of Rom. 12:1 and the transformed life of Rom. 12:2. As we do, then we will be able to better learn God’s will so that we may by faith live in God’s will. Rom. 12:1-2 says, “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.” The transformed life is seen in the second verse, and we will see that God’s will for each believer is that we would have transformed morals, transformed mind, and transformed motivation.

First, we must have transformed morals. Rom. 12:2a says, “And be not conformed to this world.” We are in the world, that much is obvious. However, we may be in the world, but we are not of it. We belong to Jesus and are a part of His kingdom (See Col. 1; Eph. 1-4). The transformed life begins with a negative and positive command to have our morals transformed. Throughout the New Testament, the new positional status of believers is given, but there are also practical responsibilities. Because we have been saved, our morals should not look like the world or our old life. Everything about us has changed and a sharp contrast between the flesh and Spirit are made, as well as the world and the Church. Notice the negative command, “be not conformed to this world.” This is in the present imperative sense, which carries the idea of urgent and immediate obedience. The negative command is given so that there would then be a positive result. It appears that the believers that Paul is addressing are much like us today. They had allowed themselves to be influenced by the world, instead of influencing the world around them for the cause of Christ. True consecration and transformation require being conformed to and by the Word of God, not the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). The word “conformed” (“suschematizo” – “sun” meaning together with and “schema” meaning external form or appearance) means to form one’s behavior in accordance to a pattern or standard. To illustrate, think about a Jello mold. The Jello starts as a powder, gets turned into a liquid, poured into a mold, and then upon refrigeration turns into the Jello we know and love, regardless of the shape that it comes in. However, whatever the container is, that is what the Jello will look like in the end. The idea is that we as believers should not be conformed from the outward pressures of the world around us. We should be molded and conformed to Christ through the ministry of the Word and Holy Spirit. We are not to be conformed to this world, but what does that really mean? Does this mean that we live as hermits or as the Amish? No, this means that we are not molded by the system of the world which is run by wickedness. The world is a mold of wickedness and all who conform to the world are going to turn out likewise. The word “world” is not the usual word “kosmos” which deals with all of creation. Instead, the word used is “aion” meaning age. What is being addressed is the world system and wickedness of the age that we are living in. Meaning, we are not to be conformed by culture of the world in all of its wickedness. The world’s system or the age that we are living in says, “Empty your mind. Follow your heart. Do whatever you feel or whatever makes you feel good.” God says the opposite. It has been said, “The world’s smiles are more dangerous than its frowns.” We should desire to make the world frown at us so that God would smile as He sees the transformation of our life, especially morally. Let me illustrate the idea of transformed morals. A boat in the water is a wonderful thing, but water in the boat is terrible. Our boat is in the water of the world, but we can’t allow the water of the world in lest we sink. We must not be transformed or conformed to the world’s morality. Instead, we must be transformed morally by being conformed to the Word of God. Psalm 1 and Proverbs 3 help to illustrate and drive this home to our hearts.

Second, we must have transformed minds. Rom. 12:2b says, “but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” There is no transformation in life without being transformed by the truth. The word “transformed” is the word “metamorphoomai” meaning to be changed into another form. This is where we get our English word, metamorphosis from. When you read this word, picture a tadpole turning into a frog or a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. You and I have been transformed, meaning we have become something that we weren’t. So, the transformed life is about becoming who we became and having our inner essence be expressed outwardly. The same word is used only three more times, twice regarding Jesus on the mount of transfiguration (Mt. 17:2; Mrk. 9:2) and once in 2 Cor. 3:18 regarding the believer’s continual transformation unto glory. The transformed life is an inside out process. Our morals and minds must be transformed inwardly before being seen outwardly. We experience transformation through embracing the truth. Truth is found in the Bible. You won’t live in God’s will until you live in His Word. As we affirm and apply the truth of God’s Word, we will see more of Jesus and less of us in our life as seen in Gal. 4:19 so that Christ would be formed in us. Notice though that this process is “by the renewing of your mind.” You won’t live differently if you don’t think differently. As goes the mind goes the man. We are not transformed by feelings, but by the facts of the Word. Both our regeneration (conversion) and renewal (consecration and transformation) are works of grace by the inner working of the Holy Spirit as we yield to Him in faith. The truth transforms our morals by transforming our minds. Christianity is not mindless. Your mind matters. You’ve been given the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2 and Phil. 2). To have your mind renewed, you must be in the Word, affirm it and apply it by faith. As D.L. Moody wrote, “The scriptures were not given for our information but our transformation.” This is not mere education, but the experiential knowledge of God according to His Word and work in your life.

Third, we must have transformed motivation. Rom. 12c says, “that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Whatever controls your mind controls your motivation and morals. A transformed life is one that allows us to be dedicated to, discerning of, and delighting in the word, work, and will of God. To be able to discern and do God’s will we must have our motivation of life transformed. Our motivation is to discern and do the will of God in our life for our good, the good of the Church, and the glory of Jesus. As we present our bodies, refuse conformity to the world, and are transformed by the renewing of our minds, then we can test and prove what God’s will is. Not only will we know it from His Word, but we will embrace it, delight in it, and desire nothing else but God’s desire for our life. The transformed life is one that is motivated by the sole desire of the soul to desire Christ alone. Once again, testing and proving what God’s will is not about the pagan practices of the world, but being transformed from the inside out. We can trust that God’s will for our life is always for our eternal good and His eternal glory. By faith, we must believe this truth and be transformed by it, especially when we can’t see the goodness of His will for our lives. It is the grace of God that reveals His will and gives the resources to do His will. Whatever God expects of you, He enables you to obey. To have your motivation transformed so that you would not only discern God’s will, but do God’s will, we must see the three things that we must know about His will for our lives. One, His will is “good.” Good here means that it is right, blessed, or beneficial. Yes, that means that God’s will for your life is always good and beneficial for you. Everything in your life can be for your benefit if you simply learn to believe God especially when you can’t see anything good. The Bible is filled with examples (See Heb. 11). Remember Abraham? Joseph? The martyrs? Add to that whatever you are going through and trust by faith that God is working for your good as Rom. 8:28 tells us. Two, God’s will is “acceptable.” This means that it is pleasing. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that God’s will doesn’t always please me, but it isn’t about my pleasure. It is about His. God is pleased when we are transformed in this life while by faith learning to trust in His Word, work, and will in our life. The transformed life is motivated to please God not ourselves. Only the work of God could produce that in our life. Three, God’s will is “perfect.” The idea is that it is pure or complete. Your plans could never improve His plans. God’s plans are always complete because He alone sees the reality of all eternity (See Rom. 11:33-36). We see in part with a skewed perspective. He sees the whole things as complete already in His mind. Trust that His plan is good, acceptable, and perfect for you. Keep living by faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone as He transforms you from the inside out. 

As we bring this to a close there are several things that need addressing. One, have you been transformed, meaning, have you been regenerated, born again, saved by the grace and mercy of God? If so, become who you became. Practice your position. Don’t be an imposter. Two, are you living in His Word and will? You can’t have one without the other. Three, are you conformed to the image of the world or the image of Christ? Do you look more like the world or Jesus? Which is seen more in your life? Don’t be conformed by the world, be conformed and transformed by the Word and work of God. God’s will for each believer is that we would be consecrated and transformed in our life so that there would be less of us and more of Jesus in our daily life. God’s will for you and me is that our life would be consecrated to Him and transformed by Him so that His grace and glory would be on full display in our life. What is our life saying about what we believe about Him? What is our life preaching to others? May we learn to live the consecrated and transformed life to the glory of Jesus Christ.