AHF S15(1): RenewingYour Mind
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Rom. 12:1, 2
Considering the text above, we can deduce two issues being addressed. First is the issue of the dedications of our bodies which is reflected in the first verse; while the other talks about the renewing of our bodies, as reflected in the second verse.
In the first verse, the Holy Spirit is appealing to us, in as much as we have received the mercy of salvation through the grace of God, and Christ has chosen to live in our bodies, it will be reasonable not to own that body but rather release it unto the Lord. Note that this is an appeal, not a command. God, though the creator and the owner of your life, wouldn’t coarse you to get anything from you.
It is also worthy of note that the appeal in Rom. 12:1 is not to everyone, it is specifically to the brethren. When we talk about brethren, it is not an address to those who believe in Jesus or those who hear the word of God alone. Rather, it refers to those who listen to the word of God and obeys it. It has nothing to do with your gender, age, nationality, or complexion.
Transformation comes into our lives as Christians as we renew our mind. We must renew our mind so we may know and prove what is God’s good, acceptable and perfect will.
The Fundamental Conditions Of a Christian Life
The text, Rom.12:1–2, reveals the fundamental conditions of the Christian life, relating to his outward dedication of the body and his inward renewal of the mind. We cannot be correct Christians if we only dedicate our bodies and we neglect the renewing of our minds.
The dedication of the body, which is the outward condition, is to be a definite and solemn act. Here are three reasons why you have to dedicate your body:
- God created your body.
- God has paid for this body with the most precious thing in heaven — the blood of Jesus.
- God deposited His Holy Spirit in you, which means your body isn’t yours any longer
Read 1 Cor.6:19,20. If you refuse to dedicate your body to God you’re already a robber. You have stolen what doesn’t belong to you. It means you are not in the will of God. You might not have seen or heard this before, but it becomes a crime if you fail to dedicate your life after reading this.
If you don’t dedicate your body, you’re refusing to let God glorify himself in your life. It is what you release to God that He can make use of. This is the essence of dedication. What you don’t release to God, He will not bless it, neither will He break it, nor use it.
When you refuse to dedicate your bodies to God, you have also deprived God of making use of your life. It was when the five loaves and 2 fishes were presented to God, that God could bless thousands of men from it, and God was glorified. Imagine what God would do through your body if you dedicate it to Him. Think about it and decide today.
What To Do Before Presenting Your Body
In presenting your bodies, two things should be observed. First, it is to be done instantly and completely. To do it completely means only the Lord will make use of your body. It must be for Him and His glory alone. It must be dedicated to him unreservedly. As long as you have life in this body, it belongs to Him. Secondly, the presentation is a sacrificial act, not propitiatory but dedicatory. It is not a sin offering but a burnt offering.
In the old testament, the sacrifices they offered must be killed, but ours must be living. The sacrifice of our body — hand, brain, legs, tongue and feet, is one which is well-pleasing unto Him. It is our reasonable service.
You don’t have to be in full-time service before you dedicate your body. Your hands belong to God, doing only what God wants to do with it. Your eyes belong to HIm as well, to see sinners that needed to be saved, the distressed to be encouraged, and those in bondage to be delivered. Your ears belong to Him to listen to the voice of the hopeless and give them hope. Your legs belong to Him, it must only go to places where Christ wants to go to.
Many times you say you want to do His will, but you are not found to be a living sacrifice, because you haven’t dedicated your body. You can’t be using your mouth to curse and at the same time use it to preach to sinners. Your hands cannot be dirty and do holy things. Your eyes cannot be watching pornography and expect to see sinners that needed to be saved. It must be holy and acceptable unto God.
You can dedicate your body, but you can’t force God to accept it. Not all offerings are acceptable unto God. Cain and Abel offered unto the Lord, Cain by himself discovered that he was rejected with his offering, likewise, Abel knew that he was accepted with his offering.
When a life is accepted by God, his offering is also accepted. A life that is acceptable to God is always glorified by God. A rejected life like Cain can kill Abel that is accepted. If God doesn’t accept your offering, you don’t need to fight, you only need to repent and beg God for forgiveness.
How Does God Accept A Body?
The same way offerings are accepted in the old testament. When the sacrifice is ignited, if accepted, it goes straight to heaven. Both the priest and the person offering will know that it is accepted.
Sometimes fire comes from heaven to show that the sacrifice is approved. In like manner, when you dedicate your body to God, there is a holy fire that comes from heaven (which is invisible), then you begin to see God at work in your body — doing unimaginable things effortlessly; advancing His purpose and having a sense of fulfillment; then men will begin to testify of your good works. When your life is accepted, God uses all your gifts and talents and blesses it, because it has been accepted.
The renewal of mind, which is the inward condition, is profoundly impressive. The program is presented, the process is unfolded, and a purpose is revealed.
The program: be not conformed but be transformed. These are the positive and negative aspects of the same thing common to every age. If you will not be conformed then you must be transformed. People who desire not to conform but do not experience being transformed often end up conforming to the world.
Reflection
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Jude 1:11.
The way of Cain is the pride of intellect. Cain knew his offering was not acceptable, so he killed his brother. When God came to ask about his brother, he responded with a proud question — “am I my brother’s keeper?”
Proud people don’t repent. They’re always wicked. They’re sons and daughters of the devil. They don’t want anybody to get better if they’re not better. They always want to be the first, they don’t want the second position. They want God to either accept them or no one else. If they discovered that God accepts someone else in place of them, they’re ready to kill such a person. They don’t want any other minister to outshine them, if anyone else tries it, they’ll try to bury the glory of such. They want to take sovereignty over everyone. Many ministers are following the way of Cain today — they want to prove themselves as the right one that deserves attention.
The error of Balaam is the love of money. Anytime money is an encouragement for you to do something, you are already in the error of Balaam. If the reason you are praying for someone is to get money from him; If the reason you’re teaching well is because you’re being paid well, then, you’re in the error of Balaam.
The gainsay of Korah is a contempt of authority. You know you are not chosen by God, yet you stand against the set man which God has appointed for Himself. You despise those who are chosen by God, thinking they do not deserve it, and seeing yourself as a better option. All these prove that you’re in the gainsaying of Korah.
Do you find yourself guilty of any of these? Repent today and make peace with God. Do you see a need to dedicate your body completely to God as a pleasing and acceptable sacrifice? Then, release yourself completely to God now.
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