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Our New Life – Romans 12
Our New Life – Romans 12
Having explained the very heart of the message of the gospel, Paul writes four more chapters explaining how this message should impact our lives. Knowing that through Jesus' sacrifice we are saved from wrath of God that is due us because of our sins, we are to change how we live. When we were due condemnation, God responded with graciousness, mercy and kindness. Instead of forthrightly condemning us, He gave Jesus as our sacrifice whereby He could forgive us. So it is by the mercy of God that Paul appeals (ESV), urges (NASB), and beseeches (KJ) us live a life that is holy and acceptable.
In chapter 6 we read that we have been raised to walk in newness of life. We WERE servants of sin, but we obeyed from the heart and are now servants of Righteousness. We DID present our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness, impurity, and lawlessness; NOW we present ourselves as instruments of righteousness and obedience (Rom. 6:13, 16, 19). We put to death the old man, we consider ourselves dead unto sin but alive unto righteousness.
In chapter 8 we learn that we use to walk according to the flesh but now we walk according to the Spirit; we use to have our mind set upon the things of the flesh but now we have our mind set on the things of the Spirit.
The presenting of our bodies only comes through the renewing of our minds. The renewing of our minds comes from framing our thoughts according to the will of God. We change our actions when we change our thinking. We change our thinking when we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16); when we 'receive with meekness the ENGRAFTED word" (James 1:21). Hence Paul urges us to know the will of God (12:2; Eph. 5:10, 17; Col 1:9).
The attempt to change our actions WHILE we hold on to our former mindset produces frustration, anger, and failure. We will continue to follow what we love. If we continue to love the thinking of this age, we will continue to act like people of this age. If we make provision for the flesh, we will indulge the passion of the flesh (Rom. 13:14). Obedience from the heart comes from this change of mindset that we have. The transformed mind doesn't obey just because it has to; it obeys because it wants to
I am convinced that we don't think and meditate upon the great gift of Jesus enough. We should fill our heads with the knowledge of God's will, our lives with obedience to God's will, and our hearts with love for God. To leave any part of this out will produce wrong attitudes and wrong lifestyles.
When Paul 'urged' this, he set before us a choice. Knowing what God has done, we choose how we will respond. We CAN continue in our old ways, but WHY would we want to? Amazingly, some do. Read the rest of this chapter and catalogue how these concepts describe your life. If we are transformed we will see humility (3, 16), diligence (6-8), cheerfulness (8), love (9-10), fervency (11), steadfastness (12), benevolence (13), mercy (14), compassion (15), peace (18), and goodness (21). Look again, does this describe our lives?
Hugh DeLong
