Here's the passage in the AMP version, Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. [2] And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
Paul gives us some instructions here concerning worshipping The LORD. Do you call yourself a worshipper of The LORD? Do we really know what that means?
He explains a huge part of it here in just one verse. A true worshipper of The LORD offers their bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. In other words, we're totally living our lives full out for Jesus, not for this world and ANYTHING in it.
You can sing loud, on key, off key, wave your hands in the air, jump up and down, read your Bible, go to church, join a church, get baptized, etc, etc, but none of that is any good, if we aren't daily offering our bodies, our lives, full out for Jesus!
The choice is ours and I don't want to get to the end of my short life on this earth and get to the judgment seat and find out that I wasn't a worshipper of The LORD, but instead worshipped myself, my wife, my kids/grandkids, my job, my things, my time, etc.
Now we're told exactly how we can know God's will for our lives and how to determine what's good, acceptable, and perfect, we do it by allowing The LORD via His Word (The Bible) and The Holy Spirit to transform our entire thinking and way of life.
We do NOT conform to anything in this world but instead let The LORD transform our lives, our thinking, into His will! This includes anything and everything that any man says, teaches, explains, etc, that goes against anything, even slightly, that God has clearly told us in His Word! Just because it sounds good, makes me feel good, is what everyone else is telling me worked for them, it “talks” about God, they quote the Bible when they talk, etc, etc, doesn’t change anything. We either line our lives up 100% with God’s Word or we don’t. The moment that we decide that something in The Bible is not relevant, old fashioned, etc and we decide to take it out, disobey it, etc then we might as well just quit following it completely. It won’t be long before we decide that there’s something else that we don’t think belongs and so on and so on.
Paul tells us in Colossians 2:6-10 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, [7] having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. [8] See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. [9] For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, [10] and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
We are to be firmly rooted in Jesus Christ The LORD and then we’re able to grow up in Him and this is what makes us complete. We aren’t to allow anything or anyone to take us captive and deceive us with man’s traditions that come from elementary principles of the world rather than what Christ has clearly told us. Seriously, why would we choose to listen to any man over the creator of our own minds and bodies not to mention everything else that exists? That’s totally INSANE! Following ANYTHING in this world is the opposite of having our minds and our lives transformed by Christ!
In verse 2 of Romans 12, the word “transformed” is the Greek word metamorphoō which is where we get our word metamorphous from. This is what happens when a caterpillar changes to a butterfly, a complete change and way of life! Thayers defines it as "means to change into another form, to transform, to transfigure."
As Christians we are so often caught up into trying to figure out what God's will for our lives is and we often do nothing with our lives as described in His Word, like what we read here, because we're waiting on The LORD to explain His will!
Yet in the mean time if we're honest with ourselves, we're not willing to let The LORD transform our minds and lives because we're so caught up (conformed) with the world, entrenched in our feelings, demanding our rights and what we think we're entitled to, insisting that anything or anyone except for us is the problem and if this person would change, get elected, etc, if I just had a better job, newer car, bigger house, and on and on, then everything would be fine. Yet Paul clearly tells us that allowing Christ to transform our minds and lives is what will make The LORD’s will for us clear and we’ll actually prove it to ourselves by knowing His Word and applying it to our lives! We will know what is good, acceptable, and perfect! What more could we want or need for our lives for us to be in God’s perfect will!! The waiting and confusion are over when our minds are transformed!!
The AMP version appropriately defines this metamorphous as a process for our lives. First of all, it just doesn't happen. If the caterpillar was born and didn't eat, it would die. Jesus said He's the bread of life and the way, the truth and the life, (John 6:35, 14:6). We’re doomed if we're not devouring His Word even though it goes against our earthly thinking, especially with so many trying to tell us that without earthly wisdom and understanding such as psychology, self-help, personality tests, etc, etc, we’ll never understand anything, especially God’s will for our lives and how we can truly be overcomers of anything!
It’s a progression, in other words it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a deliberate change that we make ourselves when we allow The LORD through His Word and the Holy Spirit to transform our lives. This side of heaven, it will NEVER end! That may sound a bit discouraging but when you consider the benefits of a life lived full on/out for Christ, the miracles that you’ll be part of, the spiritual battles that will be won, it will be well worth it. Also if we were given everything at once it would be overwhelming and then the world around us would not see Christ working in and through us as we struggle like they do but instead of being defeated we have victory in Christ as our lives continue to show them His love for them through us!
Over and over again there’s a theme in The Bible. Yes, Jesus and Him crucified, buried, and risen from the dead all so that we could not suffer the penalty of our sins but rather live for eternity in heaven with God Almighty! But there’s another theme that so many of us miss, that God’s Word has ALL we need to live our lives on this earth and with the power of The Holy Spirit living in us, His Word will transform us into becoming more like Christ as we follow Him daily, deny ourselves, our will, and our flesh. (Psalm 119, Matthew 16:24-27, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:1-11)
What about you? What will you begin your journey today that will be the start of making you a true Spiritual worshipper of the One True and Living God? None of us knows when we'll draw our last breath and then it will be too late. Don’t be discouraged, just dig into God’s Word, ask The Holy Spirit to speak to you in such a way that will transform your thinking that will in turn transform your life into being more like Christ. Take it moment by moment, day by day. But remember, doing nothing, will change nothing!!
Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, prayer requests, etc. Time is ticking away and we're only here for one reason, to draw others to Christ!!
We'd love to pray with and for you and to the best of our ability answer any questions you may have soley using God's Word!
Love y’all and LORD Bless,
Curt & Mary Jo
