Showing posts with label Romans 12. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romans 12. Show all posts

Monday, August 12, 2024

Love Overcomes Evil With Good

The deep revelation and mystery of the gospel is not just that “God so loved the world,” (John 3:16), but that “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). Love is not merely what God has or does or shows; love is what God is within God’s own being.

We can see what this divine love looks like in God’s act of giving his only begotten Son for the sake of the world. Love is self-giving and other-centered. Love is cross-shaped. The apostle Paul gives us a profound description of divine love in 1 Corinthians: 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Now, notice that retribution has no place in this description. It is not merely indifferent to love, it is antithetical to love. Love is not self-seeking; retribution is. Love keeps no record of wrongs, is not resentful; retribution takes careful note in order to pay back, to take revenge. Love seeks what is good for the sake of the other; retribution seeks vengeance for one’s own sake. 

God is love, and love is simply not retributive. Yes, there is divine wrath and divine judgment, but these are not for the purpose of retribution; they have a very different end in view. In the hands of angry men, wrath and judgment are destructive, but in the hands of divine love, their ultimate purpose is not destruction but restoration. And, yes, there is divine vengeance, but the way God — the way Love — pays back is very different from the way of the world.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)

Paul instructs us here on how we should live. He is not telling us to be different from our heavenly Father, or from our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the express manifestation of the Father. No, he is showing us what God is like. God does not pay back evil with evil, but overcomes evil with good.

The Greek word for “revenge” and “avenge” in this passage are not about settling old scores — as least not in hands of God — but about putting things right, with nothing missing or broken. So, God repays evil with good, for as Paul says earlier in this letter, it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).

God overcomes evil with good, just as Paul instructs us to do. Though there is yet much evil in the world, God has already acted to overcome it all by the Cross and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The expectation of the Christian faith is that we shall see the full manifestation of that great victory.

For more on this, see The Surprising Vengeance of God.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

The Surprising Vengeance of God

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bigroar/5883945909/
Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)
There is something very deep and dark within us that craves revenge and reaches for retribution. “Paybacks are hell,” we say, and it is often from that dark place that we love to hear, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” For we have often imagined that God is like us, and that wrath and vengeance mean the same for God as they do for us. So, we latch on to Romans 12:19 “with a vengeance” and pay little attention to the context, which is all about love:
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:9-18)
This is how we are to be, and it sounds very much like what Jesus taught us and lived out to the fullest. So, when we come to verse 19, how can we understand it in the way we are accustomed to thinking of vengeance? We cannot. For Jesus is the perfect expression of God and the one in whom all the fullness of divinity dwells in bodily form, so we must expect that God lives what Jesus preached. We must understand it in a way that fully demonstrates love, for as the biblical witness teaches us, God is love (1 John 4:8, 10). To take the “vengeance” of the Lord in a way that is less than fully loving toward all would violate the very nature of God and the perfect revelation of God we have in Jesus Christ. It would also violate the surrounding context in Romans 12.

How do we understand this verse, then? What is the “wrath” and “vengeance” of which it speaks? The Greek word for “vengeance” is ekdesis and is about doing justice. David Bentley Hart’s translation has it as “The exacting of justice is mine.” But here again our dark thoughts interfere, for we usually think of justice as retribution. But that is not how it is with God. God is not vindictive, for that is not the nature of love, and so, not the nature of God, who is love. Search the majestic description of love we have in 1 Corinthians 13 and you find that there is not even the slightest whisper of anything retributive in it.

God is just, but the justice of God of is not at odds with the love of God. Rather, it expresses the love of God. Retributive forms of justice simply do not do that. So, the justice of God is not retributive but restorative. Though it may read as punishment, it is always for the sake of correction and reconciliation. It is always about restoration, putting everything right according to how God made everything to be from the beginning. And it is always a perfect expression of God’s love, even toward those who are objects of such correction.

How does the justice of God operate here, and what does it look like? We can see an example of it in the Romans 12:20-21, where Paul shows us how we ought to be towards those who hate or mistreat us. We should not expect that God behaves any differently from the way we ought to behave. Instead of taking revenge or rendering evil for evil, Paul says, “On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

How does God treat his enemies? When they are hungry, God feeds them. When they are thirsty, God gives them something to drink. Jesus said that God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Mark 5:45). This is how love responds.

God is always loving and good toward all, but those who have turned away from God may not perceive it as love and goodness being extended toward them. God offers them light — Christ is the true light who gives light to everyone (John 1:9) — but they may have become so used to the darkness that the light of God seems a torment to them. “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). And though it may feel like “burning coals” have been heaped upon their heads, neither the love nor light nor goodness of God are intended to be a torment to the wicked. Rather, earlier in Romans, Paul tells us that God’s kindness is intended to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

When we turn and see that God loves us, that God is for us and not against us, then we understand the “burning coals” for what they are: light against the darkness and warmth against the cold, not intended as evil against us but to do us good. So, God does what Paul tells us to do: God overcomes evil with good, and this is how God repays evil and puts things right.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Vengeance, Jesus and the Gospel


Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19 NKJV)
“Vengeance is mine, I shall repay.” Paul is quoting from Deuteronomy 32:35, concerning God’s attitude toward those who turned away from him. But how shall we understand those words and Paul’s use of them? Is God a vindictive deity who cannot be satisfied until he has exacted retribution on those who have offended him? As we consider that question, let’s pick up just a little bit earlier in Paul’s letter:
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:14-18)
Now ask yourself, who does that sound like? It sounds like Jesus, doesn’t it. He not only taught us to forgive but in the Sermon on the Mount he preached,
You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43-45)
It is important that we approach the treatment of those who persecute us in the way Jesus would approach them, and we should never suppose that God ever approaches them in a way that Jesus would not. For Jesus, we are told in Hebrews 1:3, is the “exact representation” of God, the “express image of his person” (NKJV). Jesus did only what he saw the Father doing and said only what he heard the Father saying. He taught the disciples concerning himself, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” and “The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14:9-10). If you want to know what the Father is like, look at Jesus. If you want to know what the Father does, look at Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, then, Jesus was not just telling us how we ought to be, he was telling us how God is. In other words, God practices what Jesus preached.

So now we come to Romans 12:19, where Paul says, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Is this about a vindictive God who hates his enemies, curses those who curse him and repays them evil for evil or blow for blow? That would go against how Jesus says we should treat them, and what Paul said just a couple of verses earlier in Romans 12. It would also go against the very nature of God, for God is love (1 John 4:8), and love is not vindictive.

How should we understand this, then, in view of Jesus and the gospel? I believe the key is Paul’s admonition, “but rather give place to wrath,” by which he means that we should leave it to the wrath of God. This is not the first time Paul has mentioned the wrath of God in this letter. He expounded on it quite a bit, right up front, in the first chapter. I wrote about this several months back in a post called, How the Wrath of God is Revealed. The upshot is that the wrath of God is not something God does to the wicked, but something to which he gives them over: He gives them over to their own sinful desires, shameful lusts, depraved minds — and natural consequences thereof.

However, God gives them over not as a retribution but as a correction, so that they might repent and turn to God. This is a recurring pattern in the New Testament (see He Gave Them Over, That They Might Return). God is love, so how he deals with evil will manifest love both for the perpetrator as well as for the victim. Retribution, or vindictive punishment, helps neither victim nor perpetrator. But a punishment that has correction as its purpose ultimately benefits both because it ultimately results in reconciliation. So God gives the wicked over to their own dark selves until, like the prodigal son when he was off in an alien country, far away from his father, they “come to their senses” and are reconciled to God and his people.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Transformed by the Image of the Son

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)
This has always been God’s plan for those who belong to Him, that we be conformed to the image of His Son. To be “conformed” means to have the same form as something, to be just like it. What we are conformed to here is the “image” of Jesus.

The use of “image” is very significant, especially in regard to God’s plan from the beginning. The Greek word is eikon. In English, we spell it as icon. An icon is a representative image. Click on an icon on your computer screen, for example, and you bring up the program that is represented by it. The icon and the thing it represents go together. Indeed, the icon derives its meaning from the thing it represents.

Now think back to what God did in the beginning, when He created the heavens and the earth. After He made everything else and saw that it was good, He said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). In the Septuagint, the earliest translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, the word used for “image” is eikon. Man was created to be the icon of God, to be like Him and represent Him on the earth. That is why, according to the rest of this verse, God gave man dominion: “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over the cattle, over all the earth and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” We were all created as icons and meant to have dominion, to be kings and queens who reflect the glory of God on earth.

Of course, we know that Adam blew it all when he rebelled against God, and that affected not only us but all of creation. But that is why Jesus came, “who being the brightness of His glory and the express image [eikon] of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3). He is God become flesh and is the perfect representative of the Father on earth. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

So when Paul speaks of God’s plan to conform us to the image of the Son, Jesus, it is all about restoring us to the purpose God originally had for us at creation — to be His image, to be like Him and represent Him over all the earth.

When does this happen? I believe it has already happened for those are born again, born from above by the Spirit of God, through faith in Jesus the Messiah. We received a new identity as “sons of God” (John 1:12). We received the Holy Spirit dwelling within us — Jesus Himself dwelling in us by His Spirit (Romans 8:9-10). We became part of the new creation, and the old thing that we were passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). In this new identity, this new life, this new creation, we are now conformed to the image of Jesus, the Son of God.

That is what we really and truly are inwardly. But there is a tension between that and what we are outwardly. The apostle John recognized this tension when he said, “Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). When Jesus comes again, we shall see Him as He is, and we shall also see ourselves as we truly are in Him — we shall see that we are like Him.

Paul also recognizes this same tension between what we are inwardly and what we outwardly. In Romans 12:2, he says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2). If we let the world around us press us into its mold and shape us according to its own fallen image, our lives will not accurately reflect the new life and identity we have in Jesus.

What we need is to be transformed, changed from the inside out so that what we are outwardly matches up with what we are inwardly. This transformation is a process. That is, it happens over time. It is not something we can do ourselves. It is something He must do. It happens by the renewing of our minds, but even this is the work of God. Our part is simply to yield to Him and let Him transform us, letting Him renew our thoughts and our ways by His thoughts and His ways. The more we allow Him to work in us in this way, the more our outward lives will reflect who we really are inwardly in Jesus the Messiah. (See also Not Conformed — Transformed and Exploring the Mind of God.)

Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Transforming Reality of God’s Kingdom

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)
We are called to change our way of thinking. The world — this present age — wants us to think the way it thinks and act the way it acts. It wants to squeeze us out, like play dough, according to its own mold, to follow the will of the world.

But this present age is passing away and the age of God’s kingdom is breaking into the world. “Because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining,” is how John the apostle puts it (1 John 2:8).
Instead of letting the world conform us to its way of thinking, we are to let our minds be transformed, made new by God. Instead of bowing to the will of the world, God wants us to discover how good, how fitting, how rich and complete is His will for us.

Elsewhere, Paul tells us to let the same mind be in as that which was in Jesus the Messiah, who, though He was God, and contrary to the way of the world, humbled Himself and became a servant to all, even to the point of death on the cross. It is this mind that God honors, even as King Jesus has been exalted by God and given a name that is above every name (Philippians 2:6-11).

Again, Paul says, “If then you were raised with Christ [and Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:4-6 that indeed we were], seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2). Our minds are to be established on the way heaven thinks, not according to the limiting thoughts of earth. This is not for the purpose of escaping from the world, but so that world may be transformed by the glory of King Jesus.

The earth itself is waiting for this transformation, this renewal, the manifestation of the sons of God. “The earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God … because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:19, 21)

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind with the mind of Jesus the Messiah, that the earth may be transformed by the reality of God’s kingdom, the will of God being done on earth as it is in heaven.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Transformed Living

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)
Paul encourages us to present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, wholly devoted to Him. Not only our bodies, but our minds as well, that we may be renewed in our thinking and our lives transformed. It is a life lived according to the measure of faith He has given each one of us in Jesus Christ (Romans 12:3-8).

The rest of his letter to the Romans outlines what such a transformed life looks like; the rest of chapter 12 (vv. 9-21) is a series of brief exhortations that compose an elegant string of pearls.
  • Let love be without hypocrisy.
  • Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
  • Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.
  • Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
  • Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.
  • Distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
  • Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
  • Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
  • Be of the same mind toward one another.
  • Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble.
  • Do not be wise in your own opinion.
  • Repay no one evil for evil.
  • Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
  • If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
  • Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
  • Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
It is important to understand that this is not a checklist of things by which we must transform our own selves or change our own thinking. Rather, it is the outworking of letting God renew our minds with His thoughts, and allowing that to transform us. In another place, Paul says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). It is the mind of Christ at work in us by the Holy Spirit. Our job is simply to let Him have His way in us.

As we yield ourselves, body and soul, to the Holy Spirit, He brings forth the life of Christ in us.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The Proportion of Faith

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:4-8)
Every believer in Jesus Christ has been given a measure of faith, and a gift with which to function in the body of Christ. The Greek word for “gift” is charismata, and refers, not to natural talents and ability, but graces given by the Holy Spirit. No one has been left out in this distribution; all have received a gift and the faith by which to exercise it.

We are to operate in these gifts only in proportion to the faith we have received. We are not called to function apart from faith, for it is faith — believing the Word of God — that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Nor are we to go beyond the faith that we have received; that would be nothing more than presumption. Rather, we are to exercise the fullest extent of our faith, whether we are prophesying, teaching, exhorting and encouraging, giving, leading, sowing mercy, or anything else the Lord has given us to do.

With God, it is always about faith. Jesus likened faith to a mustard seed.
So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)
Notice that it is not the size of the seed but what you do with it that matters. Until you sow it, it makes no difference how big the seed is, but once you release it and put it to work, even the impossible can happen. Another important thing to understand is that when you sow a seed, it multiplies and brings back a harvest that is much greater than what was sown. For example, a seed of corn will bring a harvest of 6-8 ears of corn, each ear with a couple of hundred seeds. Faith is the same way; when you exercise your faith, you will grow and develop in your faith and end up with more than when you began. It is really quite enough to operate in proportion to the measure of faith God has given each one of us. As we do, it will increase, and there is always room for us to grow. That is what discipleship is about: learning to walk in faith.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, Paul tells us (Romans 10:17); the more we hear and receive the Word, the more developed we will be in our faith. Faith is also a fruit of the Spirit (Romans 5:22-25). God has given each one of us the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, reveals the life of Christ in us, and enables us to love and serve God and others. The more we learn to yield to Him, the more all the fruits of the Spirit will come forth in our lives, including faith.

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, God has given you all the faith you need. The more you use it, the stronger you will become in it. The more you hear and obey His Word, and yield to the Holy Spirit, the more your faith will increase.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

According to the Measure of Faith

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)
The word “for” indicates that Paul is continuing the thought of the previous verse. In the previous verse, he spoke about being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Now he is talking about how to think, and how not to think. Here is how a few other versions translate it:
Don’t cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of faith. (J. B. Phillips)

Stop thinking too highly of yourselves beyond what it is necessary to be thinking, but be thinking [so as] to be thinking sensibly, to each as God apportioned a measure of faith. (Analytical-Literal Translation)

Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (The Message)
Renewed thinking means that we do not have an exaggerated sense of our importance, as if we have merited special recognition before God. Rather, we are to maintain an accurate assessment of ourselves, and our relationship with God. This means that we are not to undervalue ourselves either, for God loved us so much that He gave us His Son.

The key is found in these words: “As God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”Our relationship with God is always about faith. Faith comes from God, by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), and only that which comes from faith is pleasing to God (Hebrews 11:6).

On the one hand, this means that nobody has room to boast about themselves, because nobody does anything pleasing to God apart from the faith that comes from God in the first place. On the other hand, there is no room for any Christian to feel left out, because God has apportioned a full measure of faith to each one of us. So it is not about us and what we do, but about God and what is doing in us and with us. Faith is the equalizer, the liberator that frees us to love and serve God and others, as Jesus did.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name. (Philippians 2:5-9)
The renewed mind is the mind of Christ. But there is also a new body. In verse 1, Paul urges us to offer ours bodies as a living sacrifice to God. In verse 4, Paul talks about our place in the body of Christ.
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:4-8)
As believers in Jesus, we are all part of the body of Christ. We do not all have the same function, but each one of us does function in some way. Whatever function we do have comes from God, and we are to operate in it according to faith, which also comes from God. There is no overvaluing of ourselves in this, because the faith and the function are of God. Nor is there any undervaluing, because God has given faith and a function to each one of us. It all works together to the glory of Christ.

God has given us a new way to think about ourselves, not in striving after reputation, but in yielding in cooperation with God, to bless the body of Christ, and the world through Him — according to the full measure of faith He has given each one of us.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Exploring the Mind of God

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)
Paul is not telling us to transform ourselves, as if by following a set of rules and regulations we can become what we are supposed to be. No, he learned the hard way that this is not God’s plan for us (see Romans 7). Thankfully, he soon learned
  • that in Jesus Christ we can now live from a position of no condemnation (Romans 8:1)
  • that the law of the Spirit in Christ Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
  • that God has many things specifically designed to bring us into line, inwardly and outwardly, with the truth of who Jesus Christ is (Romans 8:3-29).
No, Paul is not telling us to transform ourselves. Rather, he is telling us to be transformed. God wants to transform us, and if we let Him, He will do it for us. Our role is simply to respond to His work in us.

How does God go about this work of transformation? By the renewing of our minds. Again, this is not about us trying to renew our own minds. We don’t have the proper vantage point to be able to do that for ourselves, for we would have to already have a renewed mind in order to know how and what to renew our minds to. Rather, it is about letting God renew it for us, and He has always been more than willing to do so, as we see in this Old Testament promise:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
    And He shall direct your paths.
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
God will renew your mind if you will let Him. Paul put it this way in his letter to the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

Now, listen to what God says in Isaiah:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:8-11)
God’s ways are not our ways, but He wants us to walk in His ways. Likewise, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, but He wants us to think His thoughts — that is why He sent His Word. His Word and His ways reveal His thoughts to us, so that we may know His will, His plans and His purposes. We could never discover these things on our own, nor could we ever understand them by ourselves.
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:9-16)
God reveals His thoughts by His Word, and causes us to understand by His Spirit, so that we may receive the mind of Christ. Our part is to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit. He will renew our minds with the mind of Christ so that we may “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

To “prove” means to test, examine, discern and recognize as genuine. Weymouth’s New Testament has it as, “so that you may learn by experience what God’s will is.” It is really an invitation to investigate the mind of God, to explore and discover His will and desire, and to experience how good, well pleasing, full and complete it is.

If you will let Him, God desires to fill you with His thoughts and change your life, inside and out, so that you may know and experience how wonderful His plan is for you, and how much it pleases Him to bless you.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Not Conformed—Transformed!

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is god, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. (J. B. Phillips)

And do not follow the customs of the present age, but be transformed by the entire renewal of your minds, so that you may learn by experience what God's will is — that will which is good and beautiful and perfect. (Weymouth New Testament)

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (The Message)
The contrast Paul presents here is really quite stark: Being conformed to this present age, or being transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The Greek word for “world” in this verse is aion, and actually refers to a period of time, an age. The god of this age, satan, is always trying to squeeze us into his mold by blinding us to the glory of God.
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
Jesus came to deliver us from this present age.
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:3-5)

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
To be conformed to something is to be made like it, but outwardly; it does not necessarily reflect the inner being. But to be transformed means to be changed from the inside out, so that the outward appearance truly reflects the inward being.

The Greek word for “conform” comes from the word schema, which is where we get our word “scheme.” It has do with one’s manner of life and what may be perceived about a person by the physical senses. The word for “transform” is metamorphuo, which is where we get our word “metamorphosis.”

Think of a caterpillar when it goes into its cocoon, then later emerges as a beautiful butterfly. It looks much different coming out than it did going it, but now we see what it was really intended to be. The outward appearance has now been changed to reflect the inward reality. That is metamorphosis — transformation!

We find a wonderful example of the difference between conformation (schema) and transformation (metamorphuo) in the life of Jesus Christ.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
Jesus was in the form of God. The Greek word is morphe. He was fully divine, through and through. Then He took upon himself the form (morphe) of a man. That is, He became fully human, through and through. He became a unique being — the God Man, fully divine and fully human.

Notice that he was “found in appearance as a man.” The word for “found” refers to how He was perceived. The word for “appearance” is schemati. He was truly God and truly human at the same time, but to the physical senses, He was perceived as simply a man.

Now consider this unique event in His earthly life and ministry that shows us transformation.
Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:1-2)
The word for “transfigured” is metamorphothe — transformation! The reality of His divinity, which before was not perceptible to the physical senses, now became quite evident. The outward manifestation now reflected the inward reality, and now it was apparent to the senses that He was both God and man. The disciples saw “the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matthew 16:28). He has now ascended to His throne in heaven to rule and reign forever as the God Man, and His divinity is just as perceptible as His humanity, even as the disciples experienced that day on the Mount of Transfiguration.

All those who are born again through faith in Jesus Christ are born from above. Though we are living in this age, we are not of it — we are of heaven. Paul teaches us to not let ourselves be shaped by the ways of this present age, whose god is satan, but to let ourselves be changed by the plans and purposes of God, so that our outward manner matches us with the reality of who we really. Then the shape of our lives will speak of where we are really from — heaven.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Divinely Reasonable and Infinitely Joyful Worship

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)
Paul was not commanding or demanding anything; he was beseeching. The Greek work means to call out to someone, to exhort, entreat and encourage. He was not speaking from a position of law or requirement, but on the basis of God’s compassion and mercy. That sums up what the “therefore” is there for:
  • The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (1:16).
  • Though all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (3:23), and the wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ (6:23).
  • Those who receive the Lord Jesus are now dead to sin; that is, we no longer have to be enslaved by sin, but are alive to God (6:11).
  • We are also now dead to the law, the commandments ended up only condemning us (7:4). The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death (8:2).
Because of all this, Paul now encourages us to “present your bodies a living sacrifice.” We find this same word “present” in Romans 6:13.

Do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Notice that we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. In the Old Testament, the sacrifices were slaughtered before they were presented. In Jesus Christ, we are now dead to sin and the law, but alive to God, for He is the God of living, not of the dead (Matthew 22:32).

This sacrifice, being dead to sin but alive to God, is a holy one. To be holy means to be set apart for God’s purposes. It is not about who we are and what we are doing; it is about who He is and what He is doing. We could never make ourselves holy; only He can do that for us, and that is what He has done in Jesus Christ—we are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).

Yes, we are acceptable — and accepted — in Jesus Christ. The word for “acceptable” in Romans 12:1, and again in 12:2, means to be well pleasing. When Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, and the voice of the Father said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). God is well pleased in Him, and with us in Him.

Pleasing God is always a matter of faith — believing His Word — for “without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Becoming a living sacrifice that is well pleasing to God is a matter of faith, believing the truth of His Word and the goodness of His grace.

Presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice is what Paul calls our “reasonable service.” The Greek word for “service” is latreia and refers to worship, the service given to God. We present out bodies as living sacrifices as an act of worship. The word for “reasonable” comes from logikos, which is where we get our word “logical.” Paul is referring to reason, not the reasoning of the world, though, but the reasoning of God. The wisdom of God seems foolish to this present age, but the “foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). But those who have been made alive in Jesus Christ have received the Holy Spirit, who reveals the wisdom of God to us. In the natural, it is foolish for us to give ourselves away, but in the divine logic, it makes perfect sense for us to give ourselves to the One who has given Himself to us so freely. It is no burden, but joy itself.

When we understand the love and mercy God has shown to us in Jesus Christ, and the richness of the salvation He brings to us, it is divinely reasonable, and infinitely joyful, that we should offer ourselves to Him, dead to sin but alive to God, presenting everything about ourselves as instruments of His rightness.