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Sermon #3306

Renewal of the Mind (3)

A Sermon on Romans 12:1-2

Originally preached Dec. 10, 1965

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Scripture

Romans 12:1-2 ESV KJV
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 …

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Sermon Description

The Christian will certainly fail to understand Christianity if they reduce it to morality, escape from hell, or even simply the forgiveness of sins. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “Renewal of the Mind (3),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds that Christianity is concerned with those things, but the Scriptures teach that the Christian life is so much more. The doctrine of regeneration, he says, tells that God enables the mind to know and appreciate the will of God. It is surely unnatural for fallen humanity to delight in the law of the Lord. It is contrary to the sinful nature to confess, no matter the dire circumstances of life, that God’s ways are always good. Indeed, the pleasure and delight the believer experiences concerning the will of God is both the result and goal of the renewal of the mind. Dr. Lloyd-Jones contends that the new outlook on life where the Christian believes God’s will is always good, always acceptable, and always perfect moves Christianity beyond other ethical systems of the world. Listen as he shows how the renewal of minds leads to the most glorious aspect of the Christian faith –– finding the will of God beautiful and most wonderful no matter what.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon is focused on Romans 12:2 which 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."
  2. The sermon begins by explaining that Paul is introducing the theme of Christian living in Romans 12 after outlining Christian doctrine in the first 11 chapters.
  3. Paul gives the motives, manner, and ultimate objective of Christian living in Romans 12:1-2. The motives are the mercies of God, the manner is presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, and the ultimate objective is proving the will of God.
  4. Proving the will of God means testing, examining, and ultimately approving of God's will. It leads to understanding God's will and distinguishing between what pleases and displeases God.
  5. By nature, man does not prove or understand God's will. Man's carnal mind is enmity against God. Salvation enables us to prove God's will.
  6. As we renew our minds, we discover God's will is good, acceptable, and perfect. We see that God's will is for our good, we come to like and rejoice in God's will, and we see that God's will is perfect and aims for our perfection.
  7. God's will for us is perfection and conformity to the image of Christ. God will be content with nothing less than our perfection.
  8. We must renew our minds diligently so we can make these discoveries about God's will and say "Nearer, my God, to Thee" no matter our circumstances. God's way, not our way, is what we must desire.
  9. We must pray for a teachable mind to understand these truths and find delight in God's will.

Sermon Q&A

What Does It Mean to "Prove What Is That Good and Acceptable and Perfect Will of God"?

In Romans 12:2, Paul speaks of being "transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones unpacks this crucial concept in his sermon. Let's explore what this means for believers.

What does the word "prove" mean in Romans 12:2?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the word "prove" in this context means "to test, to try, to examine, and ultimately to approve." It involves developing "the power of distinguishing between what pleases and displeases God." It represents a clarity of moral perception and a tenderness of conscience that enables believers to understand God's will experientially, not just theoretically.

"To prove, to test in order to come to approval," explains Lloyd-Jones. "You can say to test and thereby to understand and prove for ourselves. Or you can say this, that it means the power to distinguish between what pleases and displeases God."

How does a renewed mind change our view of God's will?

The transformation is profound. Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies three discoveries Christians make about God's will when their minds are renewed:

  1. We discover God's will is good: "The natural man always hates it. And he always feels that God's laws are against him... Man by nature feels that God's will is bad." But the renewed mind sees differently: "When our minds are renewed and when we do everything we can to encourage that process of renewal, our whole attitude towards the will of God changes. And far from regarding the will of God as bad, we come to see that it's good."

  2. We discover God's will is acceptable: "Men not only now finds having renewed his mind that God's will is good, he even begins to like it. He approves of it in the sense that he rarely desires it, and if you like, rejoices in it." As 1 John 5:3 says, "His commandments are not grievous" to the believer.

  3. We discover God's will is perfect: "God's will for men is not just that he shouldn't go to hell or that he should stop committing certain sins. No perfection. He's bringing us to perfection's height, nothing less."

Why do people naturally misunderstand God's will?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that our natural view of God's will is fundamentally flawed because:

  1. We have a wrong view of ourselves - seeing ourselves primarily as animals seeking pleasure.
  2. We prioritize happiness over holiness.
  3. We don't see ourselves as eternal beings.

"Man by nature always feels that God is against him and that God's ways are bad for him. He dislikes God's law... The carnal mind is enmity against God is not subject to the law of God. Neither indeed can be."

What is the ultimate purpose of salvation according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that salvation is not merely about forgiveness, experience, or deliverance from specific sins. Its ultimate purpose is conformity to God's will.

"We must never view our salvation in a negative or in a partial manner. Never. We are very liable to that. Some people seem to think that salvation is merely a question of forgiveness of sins... But you know, my dear friends, the mere fact that you may be happy now, whereas you used to be miserable, or that you've got a joy, that's not the whole of this Christian salvation."

The real purpose is "to be conformed to the image of his Son, the spotless, sinless, perfect son of God. The will of God for us is perfect."

Through the renewal of our minds, we progressively come to see and appreciate that God's will is always good, always acceptable, and always perfect—until we ourselves are brought to perfection.

The Book of Romans

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.