I have "camped out" in Romans 12 for many years and have become convinced that it holds out to us a very relevant message and clear challenge for the expression of our faith here in the western world in 21st century. I believe that there are seed thoughts that can lead us into a needed "rebranding" of what it means and looks like for communities of people to genuinely follow Jesus Christ...a new reformation...if you will. Romans 12 is the beginning of the practical and logical response to who Jesus is and what he has done for the cosmos and all humanity...our part of the deal...which we can, in the end, only do well by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This kind of divine arrangement is what will save us from self-righteousness and yet allow us to progressively walk in authentic righteousness.
These are the four main reformational points of the chapter that stand out to me as ideals we are called to passionately pursue:
* A More Holistic Spirituality (Holistic simply means well-rounded, fuller kind of spirituality).
* A More Healthy Community. God has called us to belong to a spiritual family that is wise in the matters of relationship building and community building. We need to learn the skills about what makes for healthy relationships and what makes for long-lasting friendships.
* A More Humble Ministry. It seems to me that God has been dealing with the western church for years about pride in our lives and pride in our styles of leadership. We have allowed too much of the celebrity-mentality and arrogant entrepreneurialism to dominate our church cultures.
* A More Heart-felt Set of Values. There are some vital biblical values in this great chapter that have been generally overlooked in the personal and corporate expression of our faith in too many of our faith communities.May God help us to return with our whole hearts to the ancient simple and pure devotion to Christ that the first apostles taught and lived out.
My dear wife, Terri, has put out her "shingle" as a life coach. She just created a new blog at: www.fullyalive5.blogspot.com. She's awesome! Her website will be up and running soon as well.
Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.
Comments:
2 Tim 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit (or Spirit) of power, of love and of a sound mind.
Whenever I get the chance to preach about the Person of the Holy Spirit, I like to refer to this verse as a foundation. I believe that Paul is here referring specifically to the gift of the Holy Spirit rather than one of the gifts of the Spirit. As we survey the scriptures we indeed discover that He is a Spirit of power. He is a Spirit of love. These two aspects of the Spirit's Person and work are often referred to. And...this kind of language about him makes sense to us.
But then Paul says that the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of a sound mind, or discipline, or self-discipline...depending on the particular translation. To me, this language is strange and has inspired some further research and reflection on my part. It seems to be a neglected aspect of the Holy Spirit and yet it is as vital to a Spirit-filled human life as the first two.
It turns out that this passage is the only place in the whole Bible where this specific Greek word is used. Here is what Adam Clarke the commentator says about this word where I have also put my comments in ( ):
“Of a sound mind”, soophronismou (grk 4995), of self-possession and government, according to some. But a sound mind implies much more; it means a clear understanding, a sound judgment, a rectified will, holy passions, heavenly tempers (thoughts and feelings); in a word, the whole soul harmonized in all its powers and faculties; and completely regulated and influenced, so as to think, speak, and act aright in all things. The apostle says, God hath given the spirit of these things; they are not factitious (artificial, forced, engineered); they are not assumed for times and circumstances; they are radical powers and tempers (internal abiding realities); each produced by its proper principle (i.e. it is expressed from the inside/out).
Related ideas: discipline, self-control, sobering, safe, self-restraint, to admonish
My conviction that it is only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that this kind of virtue can become imputed and genuinely expressed through our lives. The pathway to self-government and self-discipline and a renewed mind begins with the presence of the Person of the Holy Spirit within us. He himself is the spirit...the animating secret...of the kind of sound mind and renewed thinking that living in Christ involves.
An astounding implication of this is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t by-pass and isn’t superimposed upon our personality, but He becomes deeply joined to us in a cooperative and interactive partnership. He literally dwells within us and works through our human faculties. As a result of this reality, we become "supernaturally natural"...maybe you've heard the term before? We are not the Holy Spirit (and this clear distinction between Creator and creature must never be confused), but he enables us to become our truest selves as the faculties of our entire beings come under his divine influences. God wants us to "be ourselves" and also want us to allow him to "be himself". I'm not him and he's not me...but we make a great team! Does this bring as much peace and joy to your heart as it does to mine?
One of the most encouraging experiences we can have in life is to serve others in counsel, prayer, presence, acts of love and kindness...along with many other possible avenues...only to later discover that the Holy Spirit was quietly inspiring what we assumed were our own ideas, words and choices that were simply flowing naturally from our hearts, minds and bodies. But the feedback we receive about how those encounters met the exact needs of folks that we didn't even know they felt, convinces us that it was more than "merely us" who was working in and through us. This is what it essentially means to be "supernaturally natural"... a style of living, relating and ministering that I heartily recommend.
Don't let the value system of fallen humanity mold or dictate your life or lifestyle. Rather, cooperate with God's agenda to transform you through the spiritual renewal of your thinking, so that you may be able to discern the will of God which is truly good, always acceptable and entirely perfect.
Comments:
Or...as the NKJV puts it..."be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
Before I move on and make one more point about the renewing of our mind, I think it's important to point out that landing on God's will for our lives directly relates to our progressive personal transformation into the image of Christ. If we focus on becoming more like him, we will find ourselves "guided"...most often by a gentle and powerful invisible hand upon us. Most believers can testify, on the other side of a particular chapter of their lives, that they didn't realize how closely the Lord was guiding them until that season ended. And...how they came to know Jesus better through that life experience. Our job is to be the responsive sheep. His job is to be the Shepherd and...he does it very well!
