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All right, welcome back to All Things Reformed Baptists. Today I want us to consider one of the most searching commands in Scripture. It is from Romans chapter 12, verse 2, and it says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. We're convinced that salvation is entirely of the Lord, that the natural man or woman is dead in trespasses and sins, and that every true work of grace is a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. When Paul speaks of the renewal of the mind, he is not offering a self-help method or a call to try harder by your own strength. He's describing the ongoing spirit-wrought transformation that belongs only to those already made alive by the mercy of God. Now look at the connection. Romans chapter 12, verse 1 begins with, therefore, everything Paul says rests on the 11 chapters that precede it. The doctrine of sin, justification by faith alone, union with Christ, and the certainty of God's electing love. Only those who have been shown mercy are summoned to present their bodies as living sacrifices. Only the regenerated can experience the renewal of the mind. But what does renewal mean? Well, first, it means we refuse conformity to this present age. John Calvin, in his commentary on this verse, explains that world word here, and it means the sentiments and the morals of men. Since the whole world lies in wickedness, he says, we must put off whatever we have of the old man if we would really put on Christ. The unrenewed mind is not merely mistaken, it is at enmity with God. Calvin presses the point further. The mind is the most excellent part of us. The part philosophers call the leading power and imagine as the most wise queen. Yet Paul pulls reason down from her throne and reduces her to nothing, nothing, by teaching that we must be renewed in mind. For in God and heart we are altogether alienated from the righteousness of God. That is why human wisdom, education, or resolve can actually never produce Christian transformation. The mind itself must be made new. Martin Luther saw the same truth. And in commenting on this passage, he insisted that the Christian life does not mean standing still, but moving from that which is good to that which is better. We are to be daily changed, renewed in our minds so that we come each day to place greater value on the things the world condemns. The mind of the world remains unchanged and stubborn. The Christian mind is being remade. Luther also reminded us that where transformation and renewal are necessary, something of the old and simple nature still remains. Sin is not imputed to believers precisely because they daily endeavor after this renovation. This renewal is actually progressive. Regeneration plants a new principle of life, but the mind is not instantly perfected. Day by day, the Spirit takes the word of God and presses it into our thinking until old categories are dismantled and biblical ones take their place. We begin to see sin the way that God sees it, to measure success by faithfulness rather than results, and to interpret suffering through the lens of Romans 8 rather than personal comfort. The renewed mind learns to think God's thoughts after him. But how does this happen? Through the ordinary means of grace that God has appointed. The primary instrument is the word. As we sit under faithful preaching, read and meditate on the Bible and hide the word in our hearts, the Spirit uses that word to renew us. Prayer is essential because we confess our dependence. The local church is essential because iron sharpens iron, and all of it rests on the finished work of Christ. We do not renew our minds in order to earn God's favor. We renew our minds because we already stand in grace. And the goal here is clear that by testing you may discern what is the will of God that is good and interceptable and perfect. Calvin notes that we put on a new mind so that, bidding farewell to our old counsels and the desires of our men, we may be attentive only to the will of God, the knowledge of which is true wisdom. A renewed mind becomes skilled at discerning God's will and the concrete decisions of life. It learns to hate what God hates and love what God loves, presenting the whole person as a living sacrifice of worship. So, so I want to ask you something here. Where is your mind still being conformed rather than transformed? The call is not to try harder in your own strength, the call is to return again and again to the mercies of God, to the finished work of Christ, and to the living word that the Spirit uses to make you and I new. The same God who justified you is the same God who is sanctifying you. He, he alone who began a good work in you. Yes, we'll bring it to completion. Well that is it for today. Thank you for listening to all things we formed about this, and I look forward to seeing you the next time we gather.