Advice that will transform your life

One of the most impactful messages Paul could ever impress upon a Believer to fully internalize and make real is in Romans 12:2: [2] 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.

“In order to renew your mind, you need to replace the worthless inferior thinking of human viewpoint with this NEW way of thinking that comes from God’s Word,” explains Preacher Richard Jordan. “You see, God giving you His Word is Him giving you His thinking. You literally have the divine viewpoint about issues.

“If you take Romans 12, Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3, you can find in those three chapters at least one if not a half-dozen answers for every question you’re asking yourself. Every problem you face, you’ll find the beginning--if not the complete--set of instructions for you to follow.

“Those chapters will give you specific things to do and you’ll discover in them the answers for every situation. You know how I know that? For 50 years I’ve been reading those passages for that reason. I’m giving you a quick shortcut!

"I’m telling you about all this because I’ve already located these passages and found them to be a great source of instruction. You’re getting my ability to help you out a little bit.

“When you renew your mind, it transforms you. Let me show you what happens when you don’t renew your mind. Galatians 2:18-19: [18] For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
[19] For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

“What did Paul destroy? God literally rendered inoperative the former program and then He built the grace program. Paul said, ‘If I go back there and reestablish the law system as the way I’m going to work, and I put myself under the law--that system of Israel’s that I brought you out from under to put you in grace--I make myself a transgressor.’

"What does the law do? It says you’re a sinner. I want to show you him doing that. In Romans 6 you’re dead to sin and alive to god. In Romans 7:4-6, you’re dead to the law and alive to Christ; this NEW way. Romans 7:6 says, [6] But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

“Then Paul talks about letting the law talk to him and what does the law tell him? 'You’re a sinner.' He actually says in verse 14, ‘For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.’

“Now, wait a minute, is that who he really is?! What in the world is he doing saying this?! He’s misidentifying himself. You know what he’s doing? He’s building again that which he destroyed! He’s building the law system as a way of thinking, and when he built that law system up as a way of thinking, what did it do? It destroyed his ability to walk in the identity that God gave him in Christ.

“Now, how do you get out of that? You’ve got to renew your mind back to grace. The last verse in Romans 7 tells you how he got out of it when he says, ‘[25] I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.’

“Renewing your mind has to do with focusing on who God’s made you in Christ. When you do that, here’s what happens. I Thessalonians 2:13 says, [13] For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

“To be transformed, that is, there’s something inside of you which comes out. Jesus went up on the mount of transfiguration and who He was inside shined out of Him and that’s that word ‘transformed.’

“By the way, I’m always interested in that ‘to will is present but how to perform.’ How do you do this, Paul? Well, that’s what he said in Romans 7:18: 'For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.'

“He said, 'I want to do, to will is present with me, but I can’t figure out how to do it.' Then he gets over to chapter 12 and he says, ‘You know how you do it? Be not conformed.’ You’re transformed by the renewing of your mind.

“What is it about that? It’s the doctrine renewing, causing you to think like God thinks. The life of Christ is in that doctrine. Jesus said, ‘The words is speak unto you they are spirit and they are life.’

“Paul says in Ephesians 3:16, ‘That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.’

“Who wrote the Word of God? The Spirit of God. You know how the Spirit of God works? In the song, “Blessed Assurance,” it says, ‘Angels descending, bring from above Echoes of mercy, whispers of love,’ but we say, ‘We don’t believe that!’

“We don’t have any angels descending, bringing from above echoes of mercy. Where do you get the echoes of mercy, whispers of love? It’s in the Book sitting in front of you! You don’t have an angel descending, bringing you that. God the Holy Ghost wrote about it and preserved it through history and has got it sitting for you in your own language in your lap. You’re not living some experience; you’ve got it already!

“You see, you’ve got the information, and when you believe it, it becomes the energy and the life and the transforming power down in your soul that His life then works out through you.

“You go back to Romans 12:2 and you see the purpose for the renewed mind is that ‘we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ The purpose of the renewed mind is so you can properly evaluate life and determine in the details of your life what it is God would have you to do.”

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Here’s a passage from an old blog entry:

Romans 12:2 says, “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.”

Jordan explains, “That’s saying, ‘I’m not going to let the world decide how I’m going to live.' All the things of the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life. That’s what got Adam and Eve . . .  those are the avenues the devil tried to tempt Jesus with . . .

“The lust of the flesh is the issue of pleasure. ‘I want to have my desires to feel; I want to be happy. I want to gratify my desires. I want to be pleased.’

“The lust of the eyes. That’s, ‘I want to have things.’ It’s the issue of security, control. The pride of life is that super-charged passion to BE somebody; for significance, for status, for superiority.

“All those things that drive us, they are the things that carry on ‘the course of this world.’ Paul said, ‘I’m not going to let those things decide for me! That isn’t how my value system’s going to work! Because of who I am in Christ, I’m not going to live like I’m not who I am!’

“ ‘The transforming of your mind.’ You see, it’s really a battle for your mind. And if you’re going to be surrendered to God, then the next thing is you’re going to be separated from the values of the world and separated unto the way God looks at things. And I’m going to let His thinking become my thinking."