Be Transformed By the Renewal of Your Mind

Again. This morning will be in Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2. And, um... On the way here this morning, I thought, well, let me listen to a sermon by Martin Lloyd-Jones on this passage. Surely he's preached on it. To my horror, he preached like five on these two verses. So... Uh... I may have bit off more than I could chew. So, but that's where we'll be.

Romans 12, verses 1 and 2. This passage is a transitional section of Romans, so chapters 1 through 11 are very doctrine heavy, very theological. And these two verses that we're looking at this morning, kind of, they are the shift into what is called the practical section of Romans. Okay? So. The focus in the first 11 chapters is doctrine and the focus in the from chapters 12 through the end of the letter.

are how we should live in light of the doctrine. And Paul uses these two verses as both a summary of what he's about to say and a springboard into what he's about to say. So this passage is about how we live and how we think. what our lives should look like, and the kind of things we should be thinking about. In this passage, God calls us to live a transformed life for his glory.

Please stand for the reading of God's word from Romans chapter 12. Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Well... The first question we have to ask about this passage is, what's the therefore, therefore? Right? The therefore indicates to us that what Paul is about to say is a consequence or something that naturally follows a previous statement or argument. So we need to look back. Just flip over, turn to chapter 11, and I'm going to start reading from verse 28.

From the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. Okay, Paul has just finished talking about the Jews and the Gentiles and how God has grafted in the Gentiles. Okay, so he's referring to the Jews in verse 28. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you, Gentiles, just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you, they also may now be shown mercy.

For God has shut up all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all. The immediate context for Paul's therefore. Here in verse 1 is the mercy of God in chapter 11. Therefore, or maybe because of, or on account of, the Lord's merciful dealings, or based on God's being merciful, so now do this. So Paul says, therefore, I urge you. And there are three things here that Paul is urging the church in Rome to do, and they're all interconnected.

It's fascinating here also that Paul does not command the Romans. He doesn't say, I command you. He says, I urge you. Or some versions I like a little better. I exhort you. It's a little stronger. But Paul is not commanding them. He's not saying, I am an apostle, so do this. Paul doesn't have to tell him he's an apostle. They know that. There's real authority. in what Paul is saying.

It might as well be a command, but he's not coming in and throwing his authority and weight around. He's leading them. He's directing them. But he's not compelling them by virtue of his authority as an apostle. Instead, he's tenderly, affectionately, as a father, exhorting them. There's real authority. But his commands aren't blindly listen to me or do this because I said so. There are times for that.

But that's not necessary here. Paul wants our obedience to be tied to the mercies of God. There's a natural connection between God's mercies and our obedience. So he says, I urge you, brethren. Notice he calls them brothers? By the mercies of God. The whole basis of Paul's argument is God's mercy. I urge you because God has been merciful. Not just that God is merciful or has mercy.

but that he's shown you mercy. Brothers and sisters, he's shown us mercy. And not just once. But over and over again, we experience the mercy or the mercies, plural. of God in our lives. This mercy that Paul's talking about is abundant. Brothers and sisters, has God had mercy on you? Is the only time you experienced it when he opened your eyes and you saw the Lord Jesus in your sin and you realized that God gave his own son for you, is that the only time?

Now that would be enough, wouldn't it? Wouldn't that be enough? I mean, that's a miraculous, a miraculous amount of mercy. That the Lord of all creation would look on his helpless, disobedient creatures and have mercy on them. Isn't it enough that our Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness? He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever.

He's not dealt with us according to our iniquities. Isn't that enough? And yet... God's mercies are more abundant than that. Look at Ephesians 2, verses 1-7. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. but God. being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead and our transgressions made us alive together with christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in christ jesus okay Not only saving us, but raising us.

and seeding us seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. So you and I were dead? children of wrath destined for hell, dead in trespasses and sins, but God, being rich in mercy, made us alive. He saved us from death and hell and not only that, but he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Yes, we've been saved. But brothers and sisters, God's mercy has been abundant. And God has given us so much more. New life? a new inheritance. A new hope. 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and 10 say, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. You're his people. He's called you his own. So that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

For you once were not a people. But now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. And doesn't it just feel like that mercy is forever? Because it is. Now, brothers and sisters, do you believe that? Do you actually believe that God has given you abundant mercies? You may ask, you may ask, well, what mercy? My life is hard.

You don't know my circumstances. You don't know my struggles. You don't know how bad my marriage is or how hard my job is. How trying my kids are. How can you say that God has given me abundant mercies? You may also be here and you wonder if God is punishing or disciplining you because of the circumstances or sufferings you're experiencing. I don't want us to get caught up in that, in all of that.

The fact that you and I are here this morning. is a mercy from God. I don't want to sound superficial. But if you're alive and breathing... That's a mercy from God. I'm going to move this. If you're alive and breathing, it's because God has shown you mercy. I remember once I was being discipled by a pastor at the church I was attending in Louisville. And I was going through a hard time.

I wasn't planning to explain the hard time, but my wife says that I should. So I'll give you kind of the background. I was 20. So like how hard of a time could I really have had, right? But I was 20. And I, many of you may know this, but I was engaged before I met Paige. And six days before the wedding, she called me and broke things off, and I never really saw her again.

Okay? So that's the hard time I'm talking about. Right. So there was another part of this where I thought, you know, sometimes our sufferings actually are mercies. That's an example for me. where God was merciful to me. So anyway, I was going through a hard time. And my life, in my mind, was completely flipped upside down and I was angry at God and I was hurting. And like I said, I look back and I see the Lord's hand in my suffering and that it was actually a mercy to me.

But anyway, I met with this pastor and I don't remember exactly how it got brought up, but he asked me essentially what I was thankful for, what reasons I had to praise the Lord. And... I was like... I don't know. I don't know. And he kind of looks at me and he said something to the effect of, well, isn't it a miracle that you made it here?

We met at a coffee shop. Isn't it a miracle that you made it here? There are millions of people driving. in Louisville going to and from work and you made it here and you didn't have an accident you were safe. Isn't that something to be thankful for? Isn't that a mercy of God? There could be any number of accidents, and yet the Lord saw fit to protect you and bring you where you were going safely.

And we could all look at that and think that's a little cheesy. And it is. But looking back, I was driving in Louisville, so... It was the mercy of God that he protected me. The fact that we get any good gifts from God. It's a mercy from him. It's evidence of his mercy toward us. And it's on account of these manifold mercies of God that we do the next thing.

Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God. Present your bodies. a living and holy sacrifice. So by the mercies of God. Or on account of the mercies of God, present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Offer your body. *Clears throat* Offer your body on the altar to the Lord. Give up your life, give up your body, and offer it to God. The imagery here is clearly pointing us to the ceremonial practice of sacrifice.

However, instead of sacrificing an animal, the Spirit calls us here to offer ourselves, our own bodies, to God. we should consider As we read this, we should think about what Jesus says in Luke 9, 23. And he, Jesus, was saying to them all, if anyone wishes to come after me, he must, what? Well, no. Deny himself. He must deny himself and take up his what? Cross. What does that look like?

Looks like death. Take up his cross daily and follow me. And it's the same idea here. When Jesus says, take up your cross, the image is one of sacrifice and death. And we know that because Jesus follows it up by saying anyone who wishes to save his life will lose it. And anyone who's willing to lose it for his sake. We'll gain it. We'll save it. And so there's a sacrifice that we're called to.

But it's not like animal sacrifices. And we're not literally dying. We're not sacrificing ourselves for the sake of atonement. You guys hear that? It's not a sacrifice for the sake of atonement. You're not earning salvation by sacrificing yourself. Okay? Because the reason you're sacrificing yourself is because of God's mercy. He's already done the atoning part. Jesus already took care of that. Remember, we're being called to present ourselves as sacrifices to God because he's had mercy on us and atoned for us.

So what is a living sacrifice? Well, as opposed to a dead one. Right? Earlier in Romans 6, Paul tells us to consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God. This exhortation to present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice means that we put our sins to death. The sacrifice we're making is... is that we're not letting sin have dominion over us. We're fighting our indwelling sin and we're putting it to death.

We're fighting against our flesh. Those things are sins. They die. so that we might truly live for God and His glory. Now that's the other side of this living sacrifice. It's not just putting away sin. It's not just putting away lust and malice, pride, anger, wrath, covetousness, etc. It's also that our lives are dedicated to God for Him to use. We put aside our sin and we walk by the Spirit, which means we do things.

We do the good things, the good works that God has called us to. We love our neighbor and we love the Lord and we give him the worship due him. Our sacrifice is the sacrifice of our sinful flesh, of our indwelling sin. Galatians 2.20 says, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.

Because of the mercies of God, we can say this. We can say exactly what Paul has said here. that I've been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Are we presenting ourselves this way? Are we presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God? Do we really believe that God is calling us to sacrifice our whole selves to him?

Everything you have and everything you are. is to be brought to this altar. And that's a scary prospect, isn't it? I mean, I don't like it. I'm saying it and I don't like it. Mostly because I'm a control freak. But listen to what Paul says next. So I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, saying it and... I don't like it. mostly because I'm a control freak.

But listen to what Paul says next. So I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God. Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God. And then he says, which is your spiritual service of worship. The word spiritual is... is not actually the normal word for spirit we get in the New Testament. This is a different word. So normally the word for spirit is... Pneumo, pneuma, pneumatos, right?

So normally that's the Greek word for spirit. That's not the word used here. Thank you. This word can also be translated as rational. or logical. Paul is saying, by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, which is your rational or your reasonable service of worship. Present your bodies to God because it just makes sense to do so. Right. In light of Christ's atoning work, in light of God's abundant mercy, offer yourself to him to be of service to him and his kingdom.

That just makes sense. Okay. you It's the logical thing to do. It just makes sense that you and I would be willing to give up the things that we want. To give up our lives in service to God. because he gave us his only son to save us. It just makes sense. Paul says in Acts 20, I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself.

Thank you. It just makes sense that considering God's mercies on us, we would live for him. And that's the end of the saved by grace section in Ephesians 2. Verse 10 says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. The Lord has had mercy on you and saved you. so that you can give your life to him.

It just makes sense. It is your spiritual, your rational, your reasonable service of worship to present your bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Consider with me 1 Peter 2 verses 4 and 5. And coming to him as to a living stone, which has been rejected by men, but his choice and precious in the sight of God. You also as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.

For a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. You also as living stones, part of a royal priesthood, you're to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. you So present yourselves to God. Because it makes sense. you The Lord has had mercy on you. Give your bodies to God and don't give them to conformity to this world. The next verse, verse two.

And do not be conformed to this world. There are all kinds of things that tug at us. When I was a kid, my dad, so many of you know I like metal music, right? And I like rock music. That's my dad's fault. My dad gave me all his old 80s and 90s albums and CDs. But a lot of it was actually Christian rock, if you can believe that.

Some of you don't think that that is a real thing, that it shouldn't be a real category. I'm teasing Pastor Eric a little bit. So one of the bands that he gave me was a band called Petra. Right? Have you guys heard of Petra? Anyone? Okay, okay. So probably one of their worst albums ever is God Fixation. That's the name of it. And there's a song in there called The Magnet of the World.

And the first time I listened to it, I thought, well, this is awful. This isn't heavy enough at all. Why would I listen to this? But as I got a little older, I would play the CD again and I started listening to it. And I grew to love it. Thank you. The song gets at the idea of how alluring the world and the things of the world can be.

and how we can grow attached to the stuff around us, and we can conform to the spirit of the age. 1 John 2 verses 15 through 17 gets at this idea long before there were songs written about it. Verse 2. The world is passing away and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God... Lives forever. you John says, don't love the world. Paul says don't conform to it.

Don't give yourself to it. Don't conform to the pattern of this world. Well, what do you mean? What would it look like to conform to the world? Well, how do you live? What I mean is, is your life marked by Jesus? Is there a marked difference? I was just talking to the upper elementary class today about God's holiness and the difference between God's holiness and our holiness.

Right. And. And holiness is a set apartness. There's something different. There's something distinct about the one who's holy from the ones who are unholy. Right. There's something different. Is your life marked by Jesus? Is there a marked difference between you and the rest of the world? Do you talk and act just like your unbelieving co-workers? Are you foul? just like those around you. - Yeah. Do you drink in excess at social events where it's typically accepted to do so?

Do you watch the same seductive shows that your coworkers tell you about? Do you engage in gossip? you What about the kinds of books you read? Do you engage your body and your mind in things that you know are contrary to Scripture? Bye. Can the people around you see that you're a Christian? you Can they see it in the way you talk, live, make decisions? Can your friends, your coworkers, your family see that you belong to God and you are all in?

If they can't, We might be living in conformity to the world. Yeah. Thank you. Lately, I've become aware of something. My car was a gracious gift from my parents around the time I turned 21. So you guys know the car I drive. Same car. I've had it for almost 10 years. I needed transportation and they offered to let me have it. I paid them, but with the amount I paid them for it, they might as well have just given it to me.

you And originally it was my dad's car. And my dad put all kinds of stickers and decals on it. Okay? You guys met my dad a few months ago. You guys don't know my dad. He had all these stickers and decals on it. Well, when they gave it to me, they drove it up to me, and all the decals and stickers were gone except for two. Okay?

And they're still on my car. There's the Air Force sticker that my dad puts on it, which gets me all kinds of questions. And then there's the Jesus fish. On the trunk, okay? you I become aware of something. While I'm driving, I've realized that that's one of the most one of the times that I'm most tempted to act out in anger. Right. that my temper is tempted to flare up.

It's a real problem. I get angry and I start talking to people in other cars who can't hear me, which is probably a good thing. Thank you. You know, I'm like, what are you doing? Are you going to go? A turn signal would be nice, right? You guys, I'm probably not alone in this. Maybe I am. I even do it with Paige in the car and Paige is like, who are you talking to?

I'm like. That really nice gentleman or lady that doesn't know how to drive. That's what I'm talking to. They obviously didn't spend enough time in driver's ed. Bless their heart. Okay, okay. So the thing I've become aware of is that when I'm driving in my car and I'm getting angry... This is the grace of God. I remember that I have the Jesus fish on the back of my car.

And I think... Man, I'm really glad that's there because I could say all kinds of things that I really shouldn't. That doesn't sound particularly holy. you I'm sorry to say that that's the thing that helps me calm down. Thank you. It's the knowledge that how I might act would not be a good witness of the gospel. It's a reminder that how I act, if I were to act, would be in conformity to the way the rest of the world would act.

um you it's a means of help to me to avoid sin and to avoid conformity to the rest of the world. Oh. Do not be conformed to this world. Consider not just conforming actions, but conforming thoughts. Be careful what you put in your mind. Be careful what you watch and listen to. The TV shows, the movies, music can and often do have subtle worldly ideas and values.

And those ideas and values, the world's ideas and values are promoted through those outlets. And so things, as you watch them, as you give yourself to them, those things become more normal to you. They become more palatable to you. I had a co-worker down in Louisville years ago, a professing Christian, tell me that homosexual themes in TV shows didn't bother him because he was going to meet homosexuals in real life.

So why do you care? And so his TVs and movies might as well be free to explore those things as well. He was fine with filling his head with that kind of garbage. You understand what I'm saying? This also applies to the podcasts we listen to. Be careful to the things you put in your head. watch out for social media. My wife told me that the best decision she's made after having Theodore is that she doesn't have social media at all.

because her phone knows that she just had a baby, and the algorithm wants to shove all kinds of stuff in her face about taking care of her baby. And all of it's godless and unhelpful. it's just a black hole. And the effect that social media has on our brains, I mean, if you spent more than 30 minutes on YouTube shorts or Facebook or Instagram reels, when you finish, it's like you've spent the last half hour underwater.

When you come to, it's like disorienting. Where am I? What am I doing? What was I working on? Getting back into gear, going back to work, taking care of your home, doing what's required of you for your family, your children, your wife, your husband. It's 10 times harder coming out of that 30-minute session. Because it saps your focus. And that information that you're taking in is not neutral or harmless.

It can make things that you'd otherwise disagree with more palatable. It can make you care less about things that the Lord calls sin. And then you're not taking sin seriously enough. Meanwhile, your home is burning down. But you don't move or take steps because you can't see the flames. You've become desensitized to sin. And this is a danger for all of us. you These things, the things of the world, could lead us to despise what the Lord calls virtuous.

Thank you. Or it could cause us to approve things that the Lord detests. And you say, no, that's crazy. And I say it won't happen overnight. you You won't be conformed overnight. It's a slow boil. Okay. We don't typically just wake up one day hard-hearted. We harden our hearts over time. We grieve the spirit. We allow ourselves to be conformed to the world, to love the world, to not reject the lies the world tells us about sex, about parenting, about relationships, about God.

And over time, we become hard. But brothers and sisters, we're called to something greater. you Is there any difference between us and the rest of the world? - Thank you. Of course there is. And it's not because we're great. It's not because we've done anything. um But it's because God has had mercy on us. So don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed. Don't look like the world.

Look, act, and think differently. How? By the renewing of your mind. Well, how do I renew my mind? Well, first, let's stop putting the garbage in, right? All right. Thank you. Let that stuff go. Spend less time on your phone. Spend less time on TV. Spend less time on the video game. Second, bare minimum, Be here every time the doors are open. you Thank you. Every time the doors are open, come to church where you and your family get to hear the word of God.

Come to Sunday school. Sit under the preaching of the word. Sing praises to the Lord. Faithfully attend your small group. Do the work in small group. Do the work in your book faithfully. It will bear good fruit. Come to men's group if you're a man or women's group if you're a woman. you Be anywhere that your church comes together in some way to talk about the scriptures.

Be there. Meow. you Make a point of being here when the doors are open. And it'll help your thinking be renewed. Here's the next one and the most important. Read your Bible. read at home personally and as a family. Brothers and sisters, if the only time you come to eat from God's word is, Is here. You will be malnourished. You won't survive. you You won't be able to make it.

You won't be able to fight conformity to this world. You won't be transformed the way you could be if you spend time in your word. Don't be malnourished. you Feed yourself the word of God every day. Even if you can't sit and read, listen to it. Brothers and sisters, the Bible app is free and they have free audio. You can listen to the Bible. Okay. Feed yourself each week from God's word.

We need it. We cannot live in this world and not be of it if our minds aren't renewed by the reading of God's word. If we're not filling our minds with the word of God, other things, other authorities, other worldly ideas will fill the void. They will. You're going to put something in your head. Let it be the word of God. Thank you. you Well, is it really that important?

Are you saying that unless I read my Bible, I won't be transformed? Well, yeah. I'm not saying you need a seminary degree. But you do need to be in the habit of reading God's word. 1 Peter 2 verse 2 says we should approach reading the scriptures like newborn babies. He says, like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word so that by you may grow in respect to salvation.

What he's saying is if you want to be transformed... If you want to be more like Christ, if you want to grow in salvation... Long for the pure milk of the word. Paige and I just had our second baby. So this analogy stands out to me, right? Because when I hold Teddy... Teddy will do that thing where he like pops his head up and he's like looking at me.

And then he like is falling over one side or the other. Right. He's rooting around. Right. That's what we call it. Right. And I go, here you go, honey. He's longing for milk. He needs it to survive. That's what Peter's saying. Long for the word, you need it to survive. Long for it like it has life. And if you don't get it, you will die. you you you That's how important the word of God should be to us.

All right. Does it actually work? Will reading my Bible actually renew my mind and transform me? Yes, it will work. you It's through reading the scriptures that our Lord speaks to us. That the Holy Spirit uses the word to reveal sins that we need to repent of, to reveal areas we need to grow in and change, and to reveal where our thinking or doctrine is skewed or wrong.

God's word is the primary way to change how we think. and by extension, how we can live transformed lives. Thank you. Notice the connection. We live transformed lives as our minds are being renewed. And as our minds are renewed and our lives are transformed, then we are presenting our bodies to God as living in holy sacrifices. Another way we renew our minds is through prayer. God renews our minds when we pray and seek him honestly.

Not accusatorily, not superficially, not. but honestly. As you pray, whether it be for someone who sinned Another way we renew our minds is through prayer. God renews our minds when we pray and seek him honestly. Not accusatorily. Not superficially. But honestly. Thank you. As you pray, whether it be for someone who sinned against you or over a situation or a hardship. Prayer is one of the ways that God shapes our thinking and transforms us.

fellowship is another way that our minds are renewed brothers and sisters iron sharpens iron So be vulnerable with each other. Share your thoughts. Confess your sins. Let people speak into your life. Let people be used by the Lord to help you in your sanctification. To help you be transformed into a living and holy and acceptable sacrifice to God. you Well, Timothy, you make it sound easy. As we're being transformed and we're living lives that are pleasing to God, We're going to be doing what Paul commands us in verse 1.

As we do all these things, as we're presenting our bodies to God as a living and holy sacrifice. And so transformation is going to happen. If we're doing these things, transformation is going to take place and transformation is not easy. transformation is going to take work. Thank you. you You're going to see your sins. Your mind's going to be renewed. You're going to see your sin and you're going to see.

That you're not perfect. And your transformation is not going to be perfect. And so the work of transformation is kind of this up and down. And there's sins that you're aware of that you weren't aware of. And it's painful. oh you But as you read your Bible and you're thinking about life and the world changes and becomes more godly, your life is going to be more sanctified.

And the sacrifice of yourself to God is holy, pleasing and acceptable to God as you do that. The word transform here is the same word we get for metamorphosis. Is metamorphosis easy? No. It's pretty painful, right? you So in other words, being transformed is painful. you you you you Yeah. um If you're a Christian, you are undergoing a transformation and it's glorious and beautiful. We're being transformed from one degree of glory to another, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians.

Last. you Our passage says, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. As we're being transformed and our minds are being renewed, we grow to know what the will of God is. And we continue learning how best to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. We grow in our knowledge of God's will as our minds are renewed.

As our minds are renewed, we begin to see life more clearly. Decisions that seemed hard before are simpler or easier to navigate. Because we know what God wants. Thank you. We learn what God's desire for us is from Scripture. And so we're less confused. We may still need and want counsel. And that's actually the sign of wisdom. That's the sign of transformation. When you come across something, you think, well, I think this, but I don't know.

I need help. That's a sign of your willingness. to be transformed. As we grow, as our minds are renewed, we learn to readily accept godly counsel and not fight against it. knowing God's will and living for Him. are intimately connected. If you know God's will, then you'll know how to present your body as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God. Our ability to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, to live as unto the Lord and give him our reasonable spiritual service of worship is tied to the renewing of our minds.

Without renewing our minds, we're going to fail to know how to live for God on the earth. And so renew your minds. So that you know and are sure of what God approves of. Renew your mind so that you can be transformed. you Oh. The grace of God, once you and I have experienced it unto salvation, strengthens us for the work of sanctification. And that's what all this is about.

Grace is power. And it's on the basis of God's mercy and his grace and in the power of his grace that we can do any of this. Thank you. That we can renew our minds. That we can be transformed. That we can present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. That is holy and acceptable. Brothers and sisters, holy and acceptable. Your sacrifice to God. As you live a transformed life is holy and acceptable to him.

We're not presenting ourselves as sacrifices to earn God's favor. We're doing it because he's already had favor on us. Jesus has saved us to do good works. He has saved us so that we can live lives that glorify him, so that our minds can be renewed and we can present our bodies as living sacrifice to him. That is... Our reasonable service of worship, after all. you ♪♪♪