God has a specific plan for all His children. It is the job of each of His children to find out what that plan is. This is called the perfect will of God. One of the greatest dangers to the perfect will of God is our “own will” which is why Paul appeals to our will. God calls us to make a choice about the way we live for Him.
Romans 12:1-2 says “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.”
Once we enter the kingdom of God and become born-again by His Spirit, the will of God is for us to change from our old nature, to our new nature. Many new christians believe that everyone is to accept them as they are. This is how the unsaved world thinks. No! We come to Jesus and enter the kingdom of God “as we are,” but He expects us to renew our minds by His Word (the bible) and get rid of our old ways and acquire His ways.
When we become born-again, our spirit is renewed, NOT our minds. We are still immature, undeveloped and carnal in our ways. To be transformed means to change from one thing to another. The easiest thing for us to do is continue what we’ve always done and do what the unsaved world is doing. To be transformed is to go contrary to the ways of the ungodly world. We are called to go against the current and stand out! The word “will” in this verse in Romans is the Greek word “qelhma.” It means the following:
1. What one wishes or has determined shall be done
2. Of the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ
3. Of what God wishes to be done by us
4. Commands and precepts
5. Will, choice, inclination, desire, pleasure
The above verses in Romans 12:1-2 could be translated as follows:
“With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into it’s own mold, but allow God to renew your minds through His Word, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for your life is good, meets all His commands and precepts and moves you towards the goal of true spiritual maturity.
The one thing that is going to renew our minds is finding the perfect will of God and we do this through the Word of God (the bible). Do you know that you can be born-again and live like the world? That is not God’s perfect will for His church, but many live like the unsaved world. Just because someone becomes born-again in their spirit, does not mean God takes away their free will to choose. For the born-again believer, we are to take the straight and narrow path. Jesus is Lord of our lives and we believe Him and the Word of God. Getting our minds renewed helps us to prove what the perfect will of God is.
God Bless You,
Sonia McQueen
Teaching From Talmidim's Christian Center Teaching Series