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Romans:  Getting a New Mind

Romans 12:1-8

August 21, 2005

1. Last Sunday we read Paul’s continuing concern to balance "the letter of the Law" with "the spirit of the Law." I pointed out how both our Nation and our Church are embroiled in several big fights right now; fights that are very similar to the fights between the pharisees and Jesus years ago: The Letter of the Law vs. The Spirit of the Law. And I said that these fights don’t need to happen – there is a more excellent way! We could draw up a Peace Treaty. "Peace Treaty" probably wasn’t the best term for me to use; maybe "Peace Resolution" would be better. Whatever we call it, we could let Paul’s words we read last week form the Preamble: In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be on the outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in. (Romans 10:32). Or, in other words, we know we’ve all done stupid and cruel things that have caused strife. No matter how awful we’ve been, God offers us forgiveness every time we ask for it, and graciously welcomes us back in. Graciously welcomes us back – joyfully, happily, brings us back.

2. This passage today forms the next section of that Peace Resolution: Please! Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. 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. (Romans 12:1-2, The Message, Eugene Peterson).

3. The more familiar translation of this sections reads, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." Let me show you how it works. Rick Davis, one of the Associate Pastors at First Church downtown, loaned me this Styrofoam model of a human head. You can see right off that it is not a head of a good disciple – the whole world is in the place where his mind should be. He is con-formed. This particular fellow doesn’t care one thing about turning to God for his instructions, and isn’t the least bit interested in following Jesus’ model. He is 100% worldly.

4. Then there is the one who is re-formed. (Not reformed as in the Reformation from which our Presbyterian Church comes; but reformed. He’s been to Church. He loves Jesus – especially the beginning part about his birth. He loves Christmas. He becomes caught up in the lights and the tinsel and the songs about sweet baby Jesus. And he likes the last part of Jesus, his resurrection we celebrate at Easter – the bunnies and the eggs, and especially the thought that because "Jesus paid it all," he gets a free ride to heaven. You might say he likes the first and the last of Jesus – the J and the S. This poor fellow absolutely cannot do any of the things that Jesus taught his disciples to do, because he’s afraid his friends will make fun of him, or he’ll get in trouble.

5. What can he do? Paul gives him the solution – "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Transformation is a radical change. It is major surgery on the mind. To illustrate on this Styrofoam fellow, well take out this "world brain" and replace it a piece the same size and shape – only this is a "Jesus brain." Why? Paul answers that, too – "So you may discern what God has determined should be done – what is happy and pleasing and mature." (Verse 2)

6. Then the clincher comes! Just about the time we think we’ve got it all together, Paul reminds us that we run the risk of over-doing it. Verse 3: "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

7. There was a well-known sculptor who had that problem. Not only did he think of himself more highly that he ought, he also thought of Jesus differently than he ought. He had a burning ambition to create the greatest statue of Jesus Christ ever made. So he went to his ocean-side studio and began shaping a clay model of a triumphant, regal figure. The head was thrown back and the arms were upraised in a gesture of great majesty. Yes! That was the look he wanted. Strong and dominant, just like he imagined himself. Finally the clay model was completed. "This will be my masterpiece," he said.

During the night, however, a heavy fog rolled into the area and sea spray seeped through a partially opened window. The moisture affected the shape of the clay so that when the artist returned to the studio in the morning, he was shocked at what he found.

Droplets of moisture had formed on the model creating an illusion of bleeding. The head had drooped. The facial expression had been transformed from one of severity to one of compassion. And the arms had dropped into a posture of welcome.

The artist stared at the figure, agonizing over the time wasted and the need to begin all over again. Then, inspiration came over him to change his mood. He began to see that this image of Christ was, by far, the truer one. It had become the Christ of Scripture.

8. If we are to become like the Christ of Scripture, if we are to have our minds transformed into the mind of Christ, if we truly want to be effective disciples, we must be resolute about it. And we must use the gifts we have been given, to build up this Body of Christ we call the Church!

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