In view of such a fantastic gospel and God’s tremendous mercies, what should our response be?
First of all, we must present our bodies to God daily as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). God doesn’t want our money; He wants our body. Like the Old Testament burnt offering, we must offer our bodies saying, “Lord, here are my eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet, my ears, my bodily passions – I lay everything on the altar.” Then, secondly, we must give Him our minds to be renewed (Rom 12:2). This takes place as we allow our minds to be saturated with the word of God. Many of us have tremendous problems with dirty thoughts. Why? Because in the past, we used our minds to think along worldly lines. Now God wants to change our way of thinking, so that we begin to think the way He thinks. Thus our mind is gradually renewed.
The moment we are born again we don’t immediately begin to think as God thinks about everything. But from that moment God wants to change our way of thinking so that we gradually begin to look at everything the way He looks at them. Have we started looking at money the way God looks at it? Have we started looking at women the way God looks at them and not as worldly men look at them? The world either despises women or lusts after them. God doesn’t do either. Have we started looking at our enemies the way Jesus looked at them? Worldly people hate their enemies, but Jesus loved them. Our minds have to be renewed in every area. As we read and obey God’s Word, the Holy Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Christ by renewing our minds.
Transformation takes place on the inside first. “Be not conformed to this world” (Rom 12:2) teaches us that worldliness originates in our minds. Many imagine that worldliness is found in the way a person dresses. It doesn’t. It resides in the mind first. We may dress very simply and yet love money greatly. Man looks at the outward appearance, whereas God looks at the heart. A true disciple of Jesus seeks for God’s approval. It is only when we present our body and our mind to God like this that we can understand His perfect will for our lives (verse 2).
Paul goes on in Romans 12 to speak about the building of Christ’s Body. The goal of the gospel is not individual salvation but becoming a part of Christ’s Body – where we exercise the gifts God gives us – prophecy, service, etc. It is not only in 1 Corinthians 12, but here too that a list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are mentioned (Romans 12:6–8). There is a gift mentioned here that hardly any Christian ever seeks for – the gift of generosity – the gift of giving money to the poor in the church and for God’s work (verse 8).
The rest of Chapter 12 speaks about how we are to relate to other people in the Body of Christ. “Don’t be haughty in your mind but associate with lowly people” (Rom 12:16). We must mingle with everyone in Christ’s Body, but especially with the poor – for God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith (James 2:5). “Never take revenge on anyone for vengeance belongs to God (verse 19). Just like worship and glory belong to God alone, vengeance also belongs to God alone. We have no more right to take vengeance on others than we have to receive worship or glory from others.
Romans 13 speaks about submission to civil authorities. The gospel teaches us to submit to God first of all (Rom 12:1, 2); then to one another in the Body of Christ (Rom. 12:3–21); and finally to secular authorities – because they are “servants of God” (Rom. 13:4, 6). That is why we pay our taxes and obey the laws of our country.
