Transformers, more than meets the eye

"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. 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 12:1-2

That little word "therefore" helps bring chapter 12 into proper perspective. Look at 11:32 & 11:36

...For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
...For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

"Therefore..." We KNOW that God has had mercy on all people through the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. The logical conclusion to this truth of Christ's salvation is to then present our bodies "as a living sacrifice" as our spiritual, or reasonable worship. It makes sense to live our lives for Christ.

So where does that leave us if it is true? Paul makes two comments, one positive and one negative about our spiritual worship.

Negatively, do not be conformed to this world. Quit thinking in the ways of the world. We cannot let ourselves be drawn away by the fleeting desires and pleasures of our wayward hearts. Our minds must be changed by the mercies of God in the gospel. We must see clearly that sin leads to death. Righteousness leads to life. The fundamental calculation of our life has changed.

Positively, we are transformed by the renewal of our minds. What does this mean? It means that God saves us from ourselves and gives us a new, softened heart for the gospel message. Activities and people that once looked appealing to us don't any longer. We see them for what they are; hollow empty promises of, at best, temporary pleasure and self-glorification. We now see them as wasteful and damaging to our lives. God has opened up the gospel to us. We now WANT to be transformed into the image of Christ Jesus.

As we resist being conformed to the values and ideals of this world and are transformed by the working of God's Spirit on us, we begin to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. The means for conforming and transforming is the gospel of Jesus Christ. As it is applied day by day and situation by situation, our values and ideals change. Our heart is transformed so that it views life through the prism of the good news of King Jesus. This is how we then know what God's good, acceptable, and perfect will is for our lives and others.

The gospel IS transformative. That is because it comes from God, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit. One person at a time. God does the work IN the gospel. God is the one who CHANGES a heart. God is the one who SAVES us from conforming to the ways of the world.

Tranforming goes beyond our simple human will because it is rooted in the work of Christ's Spirit working in us. New birth. New life. Born again. This is why we must preach the gospel to ourselves everyday. Only through it do we have the power to be transformed into the image of King Jesus.

There is only one acceptable sacrifice. Jesus Christ. He sacrificed Himself on the cross of Calvary. For our salvation. For His Father's glory. To be an acceptable sacrifice with our life is to rely on Christ's perfect, sacrificial live.

Christian transformers...more than meets the eye.