But By Grace I Am What I Am
When faced with the subject of “renewing your mind” one can’t help but look to the verse that the phrase came from.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~Romans 12:2
So let’s unpack that verse today and see what God tells us about having a renewed mind.
First, we are told to not be conformed to this world. To grasp what this looks like, we must understand that the primary purposes of the book of Romans are to outline what is salvation (Romans 1-8) and what the believer’s response to salvation should be (Romans 12-15).
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ~Romans 12:1
The “therefore” in Romans 12:1 is referring to salvation and Christ’s sacrifice.
Because of Christ’s death on the cross, because of His grace and mercy, because of His sacrifice, let us present our lives, our minds, hearts, dreams, desires, our everything as a living sacrifice, for this is true, raw, and unadulterated worship.
When we surrender fully to God, when we throw our hands up and say “I give up, God. I don’t want to be my own god anymore. I don’t want to run my own life. I give you control. I surrender”, we cannot be conformed to this world. God and this world do not mix. It is impossible to be fully controlled by God and to be conformed to this world.
But how? How do we let go? How do we give up being god of our lives?
We must understand that we do not and cannot do the renewing of the mind ourselves.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. ~Ezekiel 36:26-27
When we accept Christ’s salvation, God immediately gives us a new heart and a new spirit. He places His own Spirit within us and causes us to walk in Him. He is the One who renews our mind. He is the only One who can cause us to walk His path. If we don’t surrender our will to His will, we find ourselves stuck in the cycle Paul describes in Romans 7
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (v 15, 18)
If you are a Christ-follower you have that desire within you to do right, but you do not have the ability to do it on your own.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. ~Colossians 2:6
We received Christ in faith. For by grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) So we must walk in Christ through faith, because of grace. When we can start to grasp that we really can’t do anything on our own, that is when our minds begin to renew.
And we begin to be transformed.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ~Romans 8:5
We must determine in our hearts and minds to surrender fully to God. This is not passive, and it is not easy. But by the grace of God through the work of the Holy Spirit, it is possible.
Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. ~Zechariah 4:6
When we surrender daily, moment by moment, to the work of the Spirit, the Spirit enables us to do the rest. We will be patient and kind. We will Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor…. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer…. Bless those who persecute you… Live in harmony with one another…. (Romans 12:9-10, 12,14,16)
Of course, we will screw up sometimes. That is the battle we have been given. Do we surrender each moment to God or to the flesh? But thank God for grace, because without grace I am nothing. Grace is not one and done. Grace is active. Grace is continuous. Grace is power in action. Grace is what not only gives us the desire to follow Him, but grace also gives us the motivation and the ability to follow Him.
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. ~Philippians 2:13
When we allow grace an active part in our lives, we cannot be conformed to this world, our minds will be renewed, our lives will be transformed, and we will be given wisdom in discerning God’s will. What a good Father we have. It is my prayer for you as well as for me that we daily surrender ourselves to God and allow His transforming power and grace to renew our minds moment by moment.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ~1 Corinthians 15:10