by Hugh DeLong<\/p>\n
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect<\/em>” (Romans 12:1-2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As we finish Romans 1-11, we finish what many have called the ‘theology’ section and now turn to the ‘ethical’ section. We have seen that our former life was one of ignorance, sin, and the facing of the wrath of God. But!<\/strong>\u00a0But<\/strong>\u00a0while we were in such a state of rebellion, God acted graciously and mercifully provided that Jesus would die for <\/b>us. We then put our trust in Him, turned from our sins in repentance, were buried with Him in baptism, and were raised to walk in newness of life. Now <\/b>we consider ourselves dead to <\/b>sin rather than our previous situation of being dead in <\/b>sin. We now are slaves of God and righteousness rather than of sin and death. We were… but now!<\/p>\n
All of this is summed up in the opening verses of Romans 12. Having been enlightened, forgiven, and made alive through Jesus, we should have undergone a complete change of character, thought, and attitude. We are no longer conformed to the world and its thinking, but we are transformed, changed, made to be different. What <\/b>does such newness of life look like? What changes does it entail? These last chapters of Romans will present this very picture to us.<\/p>\n
The biggest fundamental change is: ‘Who are we listening to?’ Who decides what is morally correct and ethically right? Does such come ‘from God’ or from ‘man’, i.e., the ‘world’?<\/p>\n
Listening to the world, thinking like the world, and acting like the world is what has brought such ruin and degradation to God’s creation. It was that mode of living and thinking that brought our spiritual death and necessitated the death of Jesus.<\/p>\n
Transformed, renewed, regenerated, made alive, sanctified; these words all indicate that there should have been a radical change in us. Read and reread Romans 12! Memorize it. Conform to its instructions.<\/p>\n
Beware, such a change will put you at odds with the world! Paul warned that all who live godly (as taught in Romans 12) will suffer persecution. To be transformed into the very image of Jesus will bring about the same opposition from the world that He faced:<\/p>\n
“The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil<\/em>” (John 7:7).<\/p>\n
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you<\/em>” (John 15:18).<\/p>\n
“If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause’<\/em>” (John 15:24-25).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is what walking in newness of life looks like. Here are the instructions on how to walk in the newness of life. Does this chapter describe your way of thinking and acting?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Hugh DeLong “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[390,120],"class_list":["post-96000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-conversion","tag-romans"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25968,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/recreational-drug-use-is-sinful\/","url_meta":{"origin":96000,"position":0},"title":"Recreational Drug Use Is Sinful","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bryan Matthew Dockens Recreational drug use is sinful because it violates the law. Under the current legal code in the United States, the recreational use of narcotics is strictly forbidden. The word of God requires obedience to the law: \"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/drugs-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":618,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-romans-51-teach-we-are-saved-by-faith-alone\/","url_meta":{"origin":96000,"position":1},"title":"Doesn’t Romans 5:1 teach we are saved by faith alone?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 11, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Doesn't\u00a0Romans 5:1\u00a0teach that we are saved by faith alone? Answer: Romans 5:1\u00a0says, \"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.\" This proves that justification requires faith, but your stated goal was to prove that justification was by faith\u00a0alone. There is no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7082,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-justification-by-faith-alone\/","url_meta":{"origin":96000,"position":2},"title":"Isn’t justification by faith alone?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Isn't justification by faith alone? Answer: It is common for people to approach the Scriptures with blinders on, seeking to prove their point by selective use of passages from the Bible. I find it amazing that when I state that justification is\u00a0not by faith alone that people turn this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85369,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reconciled\/","url_meta":{"origin":96000,"position":3},"title":"Reconciled","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer When we are outside of Christ, we can be described in various ways, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36), lost (Luke 19:10), or without God (Ephesians 2:13). Descriptors like these help us see our condition apart from Jesus. Understanding where we are without Him is vital\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14638,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-explain-all-these-similar-phrases-about-dying-with-christ-and-dying-to-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":96000,"position":4},"title":"Can you explain all these similar phrases about dying with Christ and dying to sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What do these phrases mean? I have been crucified with Christ I am dead in Christ I have died to Christ I am dead to sin I am dead in sin I am resurrected with Christ Answer: Let's examine each phrase in the statement in which it was given:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61195,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/works-in-the-book-of-romans\/","url_meta":{"origin":96000,"position":5},"title":"Works in the Book of Romans","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Irvin Himmel via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0XXIII: 2, pp. 43-45, January 11, 1979 Frequently Paul mentions works or deeds in his epistle to the saints at Rome. Whatever he means by \"works,\" the term expresses something opposed to grace and faith. 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