Romans 12:1,2
III. The Commands of Total Commitment (12:2a)
Notice in verse 2, there are two commands. The first command is negative, and the second is positive. These are the two sides of commitment.
A. The Negative Command— “Do not be conformed to this world…”
A command with a prohibition carries the idea of “Stop what you are doing!” Paul is telling his readers, and us, to stop letting the world system determine life’s values and conduct. The
Christian is not concerned with being politically correct but being biblically correct. Jesus said, “Friendship with the world is enmity with God.” Worldliness is a big problem in Christian living today. Worldliness overflows into our churches as well.
B. The Positive Command— “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The Greek word for transformed is the same word we get from our English word metamorphosis. The word means to change from one form into another. It also means transforming a tadpole into a frog or a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The word ‘be’ is a passive imperative, which means transformation must be done to you by someone other than you. You cannot transform yourself; instead, the Holy Spirit transforms you into a new person. We are to submit to the Holy Spirit, who brings about transformation through renewing the mind. Jesus has given his followers a new way of thinking, which
transforms his beliefs and behaviors.
IV. The Consequences of Total Commitment (12:2b)
The New English Bible says: “Then you will be able to discern the will of God and to know what is good, acceptable, and perfect”. A committed life has the power to perceive what God’s will is.
“Knowing beyond doubt what I ought to do, and knowledge to do it seems to me to be heaven on earth, and the man who has it needs but little more” – Alexander Maclaren
A committed life has the power to do God’s will. The committed Christian has an excellent moral character, a pleasurable/satisfied life in Christ, and lives genuinely for Jesus and His church.
Conclusion
Nothing but the total commitment of our lives to Christ and His church makes any sense.
God’s people are not to sit with folded hands, waiting for their transfer to heaven. So long as they remain on earth, there is work to do, battles to fight, and suffering to endure. Believers are not pictured in the New Testament as shrinking violets waiting to be plucked and carried into heaven. They are slaves of Christ who must be busy at His work. They are soldiers of Christ
who stand in the fray as He battles against the forces of evil.
Total commitment is the only logical way to live as a Christian.
Years ago, a 12-year-old girl who had lost her arms and legs to a terrible disease heard Billy Graham preach on the radio from this text. She responded, “Lord, there’s not much of me left, but what there is I give to you.” She learned to write using a harness and devoted her life to sharing her faith in Christ by writing hundreds of letters sharing the Gospel. She lived to be 27.
At her death, over 1,500 people had come to faith in Christ through her letter writing. Folks, that 12-year-old girl presented her body as a living sacrifice to God, and God did much through her life.
Are you committed to Christ and His church?
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