The Power of a Transformed Mind

The Power of a Transformed Mind

As some of you know, I’ve been renovating one of our bathrooms. This week I got to the point where it was time to begin framing the walls. This part of our house is very old and was constructed using the Jenny-Lynn technique. After so many years, it’s no longer square—to be honest, it’s more of a trapezoid. When you build something that must fit fixtures designed for square corners and walls that are plumb to a level floor, it can be quite a challenge. I hit something of a brick wall in the process this week. At one point, I was convinced that I had messed up the construction so badly that it might be impossible to fix. Negativity is all around us, and it can be contagious. My negative thinking made for a very bad day, and everyone around me knew it. I was no fun at all.

Romans 12:2 (NASB)

2  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.

Translation is a very interesting process. Often it seems that a literal word for word rendering of a document will result in the most accurate communication of the though expressed by the original writer. This isn’t always the case however. Let me read Romans 12:2 to you word for word in English exactly as it is written in Greek.

And be you not conformed age to this, but be you transformed by the renewing of the mind of you, for the to prove you what the will of God the good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Correcting sentence structure by making obvious changes to grammar and syntax helps, but often that’s not enough. The difficulty in translating the true meaning of a sentence is a primary reason for translations like NIV (New International Version) or NLT (New Living Translation). These translations of the Bible are not literal word-for-word renderings of the original text. Instead they are thought-for-thought translations. This is often helpful in clarifying difficult concepts, but like rigid word-for-word renderings, it isn’t always completely trustworthy. Since a translator is doing his best to get the point across, that translator’s point of view necessarily influences the way the passage is ultimately rendered.

Here’s the verse as rendered in the NLT:

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

2  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

I have always felt the literal translations of this verse, like King James (KJV) and New American Standard (NASB), were unclear and difficult to understand. On the other hand, I think the thought for thought translations like the NLT often miss the point Paul was trying to make. The Amplified Bible works to address this by adding parenthetical words that bring out the different shades of meaning found in the original Greek. Sometimes that is quite helpful. Other times not so much.

The word translated “prove” here is (δοκιμάζω, dokimazō). It carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”--NET Bible.

1)      to test, examine, prove, scrutinize (to see whether a thing be genuine or not),

2) to recognize as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy

Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.

a.      "tested in battle," "reliable," "trustworthy,"

b.      "a man who is tested, significant, recognised, esteemed, worthy" or "an object which is tested, genuine or valuable"

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament – Volume II.

We find this word in I Peter 1:7 as well. In that passage, the NIV correctly renders it “proved genuine”. 1 Peter 1:7 (NIV)

7  These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—(this is another form of the same word, by the way—refined by fire, or proven as to its quality by heating it) may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Here again is our passage.

Romans 12:2 (Larry Eiss translation)

2  And do not simply by default allow yourself to be conformed to the way this world system thinks and how it views things, but instead, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may examine the will of God and recognize it as genuine and fully trustworthy. In this way, you will come to trust fully that Father’s will for you is that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect.

We can trust Abba’s heart. His will for you and me is good, acceptable, and perfect.

We live in a world filled with all sorts of negativity. The world tells us that we must work hard for everything we get and even then, someone is likely to cheat us out of it. It says that we should judge everyone else and look for the ways they might be falling short. It tells us not to trust. It says, “Look out for number one.” It’s a fear monger, making us afraid of almost everything.

We also live in the Kingdom and domain of our heavenly Father. His kingdom says that we should rest in His finished work .

Hebrews 4:9-10 (NASB)

9  So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

10  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

The Kingdom says we should accept every good and perfect gift He has given us.

James 1:16-17 (NASB)

16  Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

17  Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

He tells us that no one can ever cheat us out of it.

Romans 8:35 (NASB)

35  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 (NASB)

20  For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

21  Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,

22  who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Father’s kingdom tells us to love everyone else…

John 13:34 (NASB)

34  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

…and look for what is good and right in them.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NASB)

4  Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,

5  does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,

6  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

7  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

It tells us to trust and walk by faith and not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NASB)

7  for we walk by faith, not by sight—

It says, “think of others as more important than yourself and look out for their interests too.”

Philippians 2:3-4 (NASB)

3  …with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

4  do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

It’s a courage monger making us afraid of nothing.

1 John 4:18 (NKJV)

18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,

Luke 12:32 (NASB)

32  "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

Hebrews 13:5-6 (NASB)

5  …He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"

6  so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

It’s so important that we not allow the views and thoughts of the world system to distract us from the Truth of the Kingdom of God. When we do, we lose our bearings and become fearful, distressed, and sad.

There is good instruction in the Word about all of this. It’s found in a passage to which I find myself drawn often.

Philippians 4:4-8 (NASB)

4  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Spirit of the Living God encourages us through the Apostle Paul to rejoice always and to let our gentle spirit be known to everyone. Did you know that you have a gentle spirit? You do! It’s another aspect of the new creation, a trait of your new heart, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit that lives in you.

He goes on to remind us that the Lord is near. Jesus told us that He would never leave us, and He asked the Father to make us one as the Father and Son are one. He tells us through the Apostle Peter that we are participants in the divine nature. That’s as near as it gets. You are so close to Him that you are inseparable. That’s one reason why John tells us in I John 4:17 that “as He is, so are we in this world.”

Next He instructs us not to be anxious and to tell Him about the things that are bothering us. Trusting His heart for those things is exactly what Romans 12:2 means when it talks about proving the will of God to be good, acceptable, and perfect. Here in Philippians we learn that it results in incredible peace that guards our hearts and our minds.

All of this is brought together in verse eight.

8  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Look for what is good. Count your blessings. Dwell on these things. Spend time thinking about them. Remember who you are in Christ. Remember who He is and all He has done for you. Remember His great love. Remind yourself that it is His good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. You’re a trust-fund baby—you have an inheritance that can never be used up—so you can relax and enjoy your life in comfort and without fear. Let’s read that again just to it stays with us:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.