I began a four part series teaching from our home in March. This is the text of the message. You can also watch the video below.

 Romans 12:1-2 ¹ 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.
² 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.

Romans 12:1 is about dedication and submission. Many of us have thought that what we need to do is give more of our heart to the Lord. We interpret that as we have to try harder: pray more, read the Bible more, cut out things that are not inducive to our spirituality. Die to self.

These things are important and not to be neglected, but it is not where transformation comes from. We are not transformed by trying harder.

Romans 12:2 talks about transformation.  It is an interesting word; in the Greek it is metamorpho, from which we get our word metamorphosis.  Metamorphosis is a process where a creature is changed from one physical form to another. The most familiar examples are a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, or a tadpole turning into a frog.

The caterpillar turning into a butterfly is the more interesting example (and I think we’d rather identify with the end result of becoming a butterfly rather than a frog!).  Caterpillars are voracious eaters, that is their main purpose. But at some point, the caterpillar stops eating, and spins a silk cocoon around themselves, sealing themselves in. What happens next is fascinating – they release enzymes that literally digest themselves, dissolving their caterpillar body.  If you were to cut open the cocoon at this point it would be filled with caterpillar soup, with some specialized clumps of cells floating in it. And from that soup, which also acts as nourishment, it builds itself a new body that did not exist before.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

When we are born again, we become new creatures that didn’t exist before, like the butterfly.

The key to the caterpillar’s transformation, its metamorphosis, is the fact that the DNA of the butterfly always existed inside the caterpillar.

Romans 12:2 Wuest’s Expanded Translation  And stop assuming an outward expression that does not come from within you and is not representative of what you are in your inner being, but is patterned after this age; but change your outward expression to one that comes from within and is representative of your inner being, by the renewing of your mind.

We have the new nature inside us. Spirit, soul, body.  Our spirits, created after the image of God (God is a Spirit, John 4:24), have already been transformed.

But there is an element where the transformation is not yet complete. Paul says not to be conformed, or fashioned after, this world.  A Christian that is conformed to this world may be changed on the inside, but on the outside, where people can see, in their speech and behavior – they still look like the world.

In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul is correcting them and says that when they are full of envy, strife, and divisions, they are carnal and acting like mere unchanged men.

What is the difference between a “good” person and an “immoral” person? Or even between a believer and a non-believer? It is their worldview, their beliefs, and the way they think.  We judge a person’s character by their speech and actions, because that’s what we can see, but the motivation to act and speak a certain way comes from the person’s core beliefs: about themselves, about others, and about the world.

If you can change a person’s beliefs and worldview, you can change the person.

It is very difficult for someone with a victim mentality to change because they see that their condition is someone else’s fault, and unless other people change, they are powerless to change. They are held hostage by those they deem to be their “oppressors” – whether they are actually oppressed or not.

The Realm of Transformation

So what does it take to actually be transformed?  Where does real transformation come from?

Paul says this: don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

 So to be transformed, we need something to change in our minds. The mind is part of the soul, consisting of your mind, will, and emotions. 

Let’s take a look at this word renewed.  It means to make new. A renovation.

2 Corinthians 4:16 ¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

Colossians 3:10 ¹⁰ and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

Ephesians 4:22-24 ²² that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Very similar thought to Romans 12:2 in that we don’t be conformed to the old man, but be renewed in the spirit of our mind.

To be transformed, we are going to have to change our thinking.  That is the core meaning of repent – to change what and how you think.

Some one-liners from Igniting Hope Ministries, who do a lot of teaching on mind renewal:

• IH: Mind renewal comes not when we try to act like God, but when we think like God.
• IH: Transformation is the evidence that the mind is being renewed.
• IH: An un-renewed mind comes from believing lies. The thing about deception is that you don’t know you are being deceived. Most of our deception is in lies we believe and tell ourselves.
• IH: Increasing hope is the evidence that I am renewing my mind with truth. Decreasing hope is an indication that somewhere I am believing a lie.

The Battle for the Mind

1 Peter 2:11 ¹¹ Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

Why is the battle for the mind (remember the mind is in the soul)?  Because if you control the soul, you control you.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Christians talk about doing spiritual warfare, and think of binding principalities, casting out demons, etc. But the biggest spiritual battles you will fight is the battleground in your mind.

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (lit. natural), but are mighty in God – i.e., have a supernatural, God-given power – to pull down strongholds.

What is a stronghold?  It is a fortified place of defense. A fortress.

Casting Down Imaginations

The KJV says casting down imaginations, whereas the NKJV uses the word arguments.

Vines: Greek logismos a reasoning, a thought. The word suggests the contemplation of actions as a result of the verdict of conscience.

Imaginations, or arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.  These are the lies we believe, things that contradict the truth of what God says. The “yeah, buts”.

We are to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, to change our thinking to think like God thinks.

Oh, but someone will quote “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8).

But what is the verse directly preceding and following that one?

Isaiah 55:6-11 ⁶ Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
⁸ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
¹¹ So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

This is an invitation to change our thinking.  His thoughts are higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth.  This is an invitation to think heavenly thoughts. Remember Jesus in Matthew 6:10 taught the disciples to pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.  Thinking like God thinks means our thoughts and corresponding actions will aid in bringing God’s heavenly will to earth.

Casting down imaginations is pulling down illegitimate patterns of thought that allow the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy.  The word “casting” implies a violent, forceful act.

Neurological science has discovered that thoughts make pathways in the brain. It looks like an upside down tree. And the more you think in a certain way, those pathways get reinforced and stronger. It is similar to ruts made in a dirt road by wagons. As more wagons travel the road in the same pathways, the ruts get deeper, until it is very difficult to travel that road and not be in the ruts. The brain will try to take the path that uses the least energy, which is to stay in the “ruts”, or the well established pathways.

The same neurological science says it takes 63 days to establish a new habit, to establish new pathways.

It’s not enough just to “cast down” the bad thoughts. They must be replaced with the good ones.

Bill Johnson: “It’s important that we recognize the lies that come our way, but it’s equally important that we recognize the truth that needs to replace it.”

Luke 11:24-26 ²⁴  “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’
²⁵  And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.
²⁶  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Here is a person that was delivered, yet had a relapse. Why? Because although the devil was removed, the “house” was left empty and unguarded. The strongholds were torn down, but they were not replaced.

What needs to happen is that when the devil knocks on your door, you answer it with an AK47 in your hands. Or using more Biblical imagery, a flaming sword.

What is it?  The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God..

“…bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”.   That implies that you are changing the thought.  A thought that was once an enemy and fought against you, is turned into an ally that fights with you.  Like what happened in the life of the Apostle Paul.

He was on the way to Damascus with letters of authority to arrest and imprison Christians. He intended them harm, because he believed that Christianity was a heretical cult and that he was fighting for God against a corruption of the faith.

A tactic of the enemy: People want to do good and right wrongs. A sense of justice.  And that is a good thing. But Satan misdirects that sense of justice with lies to promote the wrongs things. That is exactly what is going on with the “wokeness” in culture today.  And people feel good about themselves, even when they are led to do real injustice against others they disagree with.

Saul of Tarsus was cast down – literally, knocked off his horse. And he was brought captive to the obedience of Christ.  What was one of Christ’s greatest enemies became one of His greatest allies.

Building up Imaginations

We looked at 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 where it talks about casting down imaginations and thoughts exalted against the knowledge of God, but there are also imaginations that we should be building up.

The word of God shows us who and what we are in the spirit, as God sees us.  But often what we see in the natural and in our behavior is at odds with that.

Imagination is a very powerful thing.  It allows us to see things that do not exist. Creativity springs from imagination.

Imagination comes from image – something that is seen.  To imagine something is to see something in your mind.  When we have spirit led imagination, it is life changing.

Hebrews 11:1 ¹ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hope – the happy anticipation of good – is something that is in the future, it is not yet seen.  It requires our imagination to see it. Hope is the blueprint, the “plans” for our faith.

Renewing the mind requires us to see/imagine what it would look like to be transformed.

There is a phrase “blind faith”.  Faith is not blind, it is visionary – it sees something.  But what it sees is different than what is seen by the natural eyes.  We are to walk by faith, not by sight (that which is perceived by the physical senses).

Studies have shown that when the will and the imagination are at odds, imagination always wins.   You will never be able to sustain something that you can’t see yourself doing or being.

We cannot let our past, our experience, our failures, dictate and limit what we are.

IH: Have you seen a baby learning how to walk?  If we see them fall down 50 times, we don’t let that prove that they are not walkers. All it takes is one step to prove that they are.  We even give them a new designation – now they are “toddlers”.

Babies are so fully convinced that they can do what their parents do, that failures don’t matter.

 

Continued in Part Two