SERMON TITLE: Therefore…Be Transformed
SCRIPTURE: Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 2-2-25
Sermon Discussion Guide
Take notes here
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re returning to our series in Romans this weekend. And we’re at a pivotal point in Paul’s letter. You see — after eleven chapters of rich theology — explaining to us who God is, who we are, what sin has done to us and God’s creation, and God’s plan to right the wrong we’ve caused — after eleven chapters of rich theology — Paul now turns to the “so what” question. What do I mean?
Here’s what I want you to imagine. After three hundred and fifteen verses explaining the gospel, faith, sin, salvation, and so on — imagine that someone in the back of the room yells out loud, “Hey Paul, so what?” Now — to be clear — Paul wasn’t present. He wrote this letter and had someone take it to the Christians in Rome — but you get the idea. After the first eleven chapters of all of this theology — imagine someone yelling out, “OK. But what now?” Or “Paul, why does any of this matter?” Or “What’s your point?”
A completely understandable and common question to ask: So what?
Let me encourage you to always listen for the answer to this “so what” question in the sermons and podcasts you listen to, the videos you watch, and look for an author’s answer to the “so what” question when you read their book — regardless if what you’re watching, reading, or listening to is Christian or not — everyone’s answering the “so what” question. Fox News and CNN are, Disney is, Mr. Beast does, Joe Rogan — everyone is trying to give you their answer to the “so what” questions of life — which is why this is such an important question for us to not only ask ourselves — but to watch for — and be aware of — what answers are given by others. And — if you really want some extra credit — pay attention to the answers you give to this “so what” question.
But here’s Paul’s response to our “so what” question after all that’s come in the first eleven chapters of his letter. He writes in verse one of Romans chapter twelve…
Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)
1 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. 2 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.
Up to this point in Romans — the commands have been pretty light. Meaning — things for us to do have been few and far between in all of the theology that Paul’s been explaining. For example, the first command in Romans is found in chapter six. That’s right — it’s not until the sixth chapter that we find the first command for us to obey — six chapters before we find something we’re told to do. Here’s the first command Paul gave us.
Romans 6:11 (ESV)
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
And the command is “consider.” Now — for most of us — considering isn’t exactly something to do that we get all excited about. If — at the end of a sermon — the thing for you to do is “now go and consider what you’ve heard” — many of us will think, “Well I hope next week’s sermon is better.”
But — never fear. Though he waited six chapters to give us the first command — Paul gets on a bit of a roll and — two verses later — we find the next two commands…
Romans 6:13 (ESV)
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
And a few verses later another command…
Romans 6:19b (ESV)
19 so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
So three commands on how we’re to present ourselves — which is another way of saying, “Here’s how you should live. Not as slaves of unrighteousness, but as slaves of righteousness.”
I guess that’s better than “considering” — but not quite the commands that scratch our “so what” itch. We want something on parenting, or relationships, or serving the poor — but considering and presenting — come on Paul — you got anything better than that? And — if you haven’t liked any of his commands thus far — you have to wait until chapter eleven to get to his next three commands.
Romans 11:18 (ESV)
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches.
The branches being Jewish people. And…
Romans 11:20b (ESV)
20 do not become proud, but fear.
So — to recap all that we’re told to do in the first eleven chapters of Romans — we’re told to…
Seven commands. Count ‘em. Seven.
Think about how little there’s been for us to do in the first eleven chapters of Paul’s letter. While — at the same time — there’s been much for us to learn about God, ourselves, sin, salvation, and God’s mercy towards us in Jesus. And Paul does this intentionally — not just here in Romans — but in many of his letters you’ll find a similar format where Paul starts with theology and then answers the “so what” question.
For example — in Ephesians — the first three chapters are rich with theology and — the final three chapters — are full of implications of how we’re to live because of the truths in the first three chapters. So that great section on marriage — in Ephesians chapter five — is how we’re to live as married Christians because of the theology found in the first three chapters. Or the beautiful picture of what the church can and should be — in Ephesians chapter four — is what we can and should be as a faith family because of the theology we believe that’s found in the first three chapters.
Now — to answer the “so what” question — in case any of you’re wondering, “So what, Josh? Why does any of this matter?” Well — what makes Christianity different from all other religions — and even distinct from what many incorrectly call Christianity — is this: What we do — how we’re to live — is a response to the truths of our faith that we believe. Meaning — truths — theological truths — that we’re to believe come first — and these truths — and our belief in them — shape how we live.
And when we get this backwards — when how we live shapes our theology — we end up creating our own religion — which often is still called Christianity even though it’s not biblical Christianity. Because we end up — as an example — creating a God who is only love — we’ve even got a Bible verse that we think backs up our claim — because a God who is only love allows me to keep living in sin — living however I want — I can even disobey other parts of the Bible that clearly tell me I’m wrong — because — God is love. Yet the Bible — God’s Word to us — tells us that yes — God is love — but he is also just — and will judge those who live in rebellion against him by unrepentantly disobeying his commands. And this truth — that God is both love and just — just two of his attributes — changes the way you live when you believe it.
So back to Romans. Starting in chapter twelve — Paul’s going to make a significant shift in his focus. There’s going to be less theology for us to learn and a lot more for us to do. And — what we’re to do — is based on what we’ve learned in the first eleven chapters. And I’m going to remind you of this again and again and again because we’re all prone to separating our behavior from our beliefs. But what we believe can’t help but determine the way we live.
But listen to what we’ll be encountering in the weeks and months ahead. And listen for all of the stuff that we’re to do because of the theology of the first eleven chapters that we’re to believe.
Romans 12:9–21 (ESV)
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Just in these verses there were at least twenty-eight ways we’re to live differently as followers of Jesus because of the truths we’ve learned from the first eleven chapters. Twenty-eight things to do — twenty-eight commands to obey — in thirteen verses — compared to seven in the first eleven chapters! Again — hear me out — because this is so important.
If Paul would’ve started his letter with the verses I just read — he’d be a moralist. Meaning — if commands are given without being built on theological truth — we’re doing nothing more than tightening our belts and pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. Phrases that mean “to improve your situation by your own effort and without help from others” — including help from God! That’s moralism. Our culture loves moralism — especially when it makes us feel good about ourselves. But moralism is not the direction we’re headed in!
And I want to remind you why we’re to live differently — why we’ve now got things to do — and a lot of things to do. This is why I just warned you about — get ready to be reminded of these theological truths many times in the coming weeks and months. For — the reason why we’re to do the things we just read — and obey the commands in these final chapters — is because of God’s mercy. Back in verse one — Paul writes…
Romans 12:1 (ESV)
1 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.
Paul says, “I’m appealing to you because of God’s mercy towards you in Jesus Christ — therefore…”
It’s like Paul is saying, “Having explained to you the depth, and height, and breadth, and width of God’s limitless love for you in Jesus Christ — here’s how you should live…”
Or “Having shown you that — due to your sin and rebellion against God — you deserve his wrath and just judgment — yet because he is kind and gracious he will not count your sins against you — therefore…”
Eleven chapters of trying to get these wonderful truths through our thick skulls and hard hearts so we’re awakened to the beauty that is salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Paul’s been showing us the futility of works-based salvation — of thinking that we can earn God’s love — as well as showing us the folly of chasing after the desires of the world as if we won’t be judged for our sin and rebellion. Paul — in hopes that our eyes have been opened to spiritual reality — and that we’ve responded with faith in Jesus Christ and by repenting — or turning away from — our sins — Paul says — “Therefore…” And he’s going to show us how to now live — not to earn God’s love — but how to live because God has demonstrated his love for us in Jesus Christ.
I hope this all sounds familiar to you. In fact — some of you may wonder why you hear me say something like this all time. I say this all of the time because the order matters. And — it matters so much — because even though I say it all of the time — it’s common for me to hear from you all of how — even though you’ve been here at Gateway for a long time — how you’ve finally heard what I’ve been saying. If you’re a parent — it’s like when your kid comes home and says, “Mom — Dad — you won’t believe what the teacher taught me today.” And then your little one tells you something you’ve told them a thousand times. They’ve heard you say the same thing over and over again — but they never “heard” it until now.
So I repeat myself — a lot. Because our hearts naturally believe, “If I do this, God will love me.” And that’s not biblical Christianity — though it has all of the same elements as biblical Christianity. But — “if I do this, God will love me” — is not biblical Christianity. Instead — biblical Christianity is, “God loves me, so now I will do this.” And the “this” can be the same thing.
Bible scholars call this the difference between the indicatives and the imperatives in the Bible. The what and the what? Imperatives are commands in the Bible — things we’re to do. Whereas indicatives are statements of objective facts. And here’s what you find in the New Testament and especially in Paul’s writings — I mentioned this earlier — but let’s flesh it out.
Indicatives — objective facts — come before imperatives — the commands we’re to obey. Remember — eleven chapters with seven commands — seven imperatives — but full of indicatives — full of theological truths — over thirty of them in fact. Objective facts like…
Jesus is the Son of God (1:4)
And that God’s kindness leads us towards repentance (2:4)
And all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (3:23)
And since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:1)
And God has demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (5:8)
And sin is no longer your master (6:14)
And the wages of sin is death (6:23)
And you died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another (7:4)
And there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (8:1)
And that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us (8:18)
And salvation depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy (9:16)
And if you confess and believe you will be saved and justified (10:9-10)
And at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace (11:5)
And — in response to these truths — and many more — Paul says — here’s how you’re to live. Because — you can’t believe all of this — and not live differently. These are such glorious truths that they change the way a person lives who believes them.
This change — this difference — we’ll call — the “therefore life”. Back to verse one for the last time.
Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)
1 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. 2 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.
These two verses are a summary of all that’s going to follow. So — everything else in Romans is essentially a picture of the “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” pleasing life of those who follow Jesus. But notice what Paul emphasizes at the very beginning: Don’t be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
The word “conform” — in the original language — means to “model after, to assimilate one’s self to.” And we’re told to not conform to the world. What might this look like?
Instead of conforming to the world — we’re told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And our minds are renewed — or renovated — by God’s Spirit as he uses God’s Word to transform us. And — listen — we will not live — and to be clear — you will not live the transformed life without first having your mind renewed by the Word of God. That’s why Paul started his letter with theology. Because “what we believe about God and life informs the direction we choose to pursue and impacts our response to our world.” That’s not original to me — that’s a statement written by someone who’s spent a lifetime counseling people from Scripture (Bob Kellemen). Here’s the quote again — it’ll be on the screen.
What we believe about God and life, informs the direction we choose to pursue and impacts our response to our world.
So what we believe — that’s what our verses in Romans are focused on — this is the renewing of our minds that Paul’s talking about. But the obvious next question is: What we believe about what? About God and life. That’s what Paul’s been covering for eleven chapters. Now — he hasn’t covered everything about God or life — but with the rest of the Bible — it’s all covered.
And what we believe about God and life informs the direction we choose to pursue. And I hope you see how this is true for Christians and non-Christians alike. Our beliefs inform what we do. What you believe determines the direction of your life. And our beliefs also impact our response to what we experience in the world — both when our experience agrees with our beliefs and when our experiences counter what we believe to be true.
Here’s one example — we’ll use someone other than Paul this time. The apostle Peter writes this.
1 Peter 5:6–8 (NLT)
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Since we’re jumping right into Peter’s letter — know that he’s writing to Christians who are being persecuted and who are experiencing much suffering. But what I want you to notice is what Peter tells us about how a Christian is to respond to suffering. You see — it’s very common in seasons of suffering for Christians — and non-Christians — to experience anxiety — to worry — and to have concerns. And what does Peter tell us to do with our anxiety? We’re to give all of our worries and cares and concerns to God because he cares about us.
This objective fact — God cares for his people — and your belief — that God cares for me — informs the direction we choose to pursue — we give our worries to God. Our belief — that God cares for us — also informs the direction we choose to pursue in staying alert — and watching out for our enemy — who we know uses seasons of suffering to attack and try to devour us. And our belief — that God cares for us — which informs the direction we choose to pursue — to give him our worries and to watch out for our enemy — impacts how we respond experientially and emotionally to our suffering.
That’s just one characteristic of God — that he cares for you — and look at how believing that he cares for you can change the way you respond to suffering and everything that comes with it. Renewing our minds — with God’s Word — believing who he says he is — as revealed in Scripture — and who we are, and what he’s doing, and what his plan of salvation is, and what it means to follow Jesus — and so much more — renewing your mind with the truths of God’s Word will change the direction of your life.
Now — if you don’t know where to start — maybe you’re feeling convicted, or inspired, or compelled to do something — but aren’t quite sure how to allow the Bible to renew your mind — I’ve written this booklet on how to make the most of your devotional time. I explain what I’ve been doing for years to renew my mind with God’s Word. We’ve got free copies of it at the Resource Center at both of our campuses — hopefully some copies made it to Bucyrus as well — you can also find it on our church website — gatewayepc.org/booklets. But get a copy and begin the journey — or revive your journey — or refine your journey — of having your mind renewed by the Word of God so the direction of your life is a “therefore life” — a life being transformed by the gospel. Because what you believe about God and life will inform the direction of your life. And the truth we believe — the gospel — is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And believing it — will transform your life. Let’s pray.
Gracious Father, thank you for your Word that you’ve given to us. A powerful Word. A mind-renewing Word. A life-changing Word. A Word that raises the spiritually dead to new life. A Word that is to be believed because it is your Word.
Holy Spirit, what we believe determines how we live. We ask you to take your Word and renew our minds with it so we live more faithfully as followers of Jesus. For what we believe about God and life informs the direction we choose to pursue and impacts how we respond to our world.
And Jesus — to you our Savior and Lord — what you believed about God, yourself, and mankind set the direction of your life while here on earth. Your belief is what empowered you to defeat the devil when he tempted you in the wilderness. You didn’t allow your circumstances — being physically weak due to a forty day fast — to be an excuse for unfaithfulness. Instead — what you believed — determined how you lived. And how you lived is the hope of our salvation — for you lived the perfect life in our place and died the death we all deserve.
So we thank you — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We thank you for revealing to us who you are, who we are, your plan of salvation, and for calling us to be a people who live transformed lives. And — may you draw many to yourself — and transform their life today. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
COMMUNION
We give thanks to God the Father that our Savior — Jesus Christ — before he suffered — gave us this sacrament of communion to remind us of his sacrifice until he comes again.
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. - 1 Corinthians 11:24-26
With these words our Lord commands all believers to eat this bread and to drink this cup in true faith and in the confident hope of his return in glory. But — before we feast on grace — let’s pray this prayer of confession together.
Congregational confession: Holy God, merciful and forgiving, who in Jesus Christ welcomes sinners and eats with them, we confess that we have often acted stubbornly, going our own way; we have often shown an ill temper and how little we understand your ways; we have used your resources to indulge ourselves, and failed to conduct ourselves as members of your royal family. We have sinned against heaven and before you. Forgive us, we pray, and roll away the disgrace of our past sins. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Now hear and receive the good news: In this supper God declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself finished on the cross once for all. Come, therefore, all of you who are truly sorry for your sins, who believe in the Lord Jesus as your Savior, have confessed his name, and desire to live in obedience to him — come eagerly and joyfully with the assurance of faith. For Christ — our risen Lord — invites you as guests to fellowship with him — and each other — at his table.
At this time, I’d like to invite forward those who are going to be serving us. And — while they make their way forward — know that as the bread and cup are passed down your rows, you’re to take the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together. Also — in the trays with the bread — there’s a gluten free option in the center of the tray. Eat the bread on your own — but save the cup — which we’ll drink together.
This is the Word of the Lord…
Philippians 2:1–11 (ESV)
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
With your mind renewed by the Word of God — may you go and live a “therefore life.” Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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