Be Transformed | Romans 12:1-2

“I Yam What I Yam”

Disappointment with ourselves is one of things, that to some degree, we all have in common. Some of my own self-disappointment is trivial. I’m relatively weak when it comes to doing basic home repairs. I’m not a financial wizard when it comes to investing. I recognize that, had I applied myself more fully early on, I may have made more of myself.

Some of my self-disappointment is worse than trivial, and falls into the category of neurotic self-absorption. I come home from ten days of vacation, look at myself in the mirror, and say, “What were you thinking—eating three donuts a day?” At my age, I’m no longer wishing for nick-names like, “Sun God” or “Bringer of Fire.” I just want my pants to fit.

But some of my self-disappointment, probably like yours, runs deeper. I still love Jesus too little, and sin too much. In fact, it seems the older I get, the more I realize how great a sinner I really am—how much greater a sinner I am than I ever thought I was.

When I was kid, one my favorite cartoon characters was Popeye the sailor man. I’m guessing Popeye is unfamiliar to probably two-thirds of you. I think the reason I liked Popeye is because he reminded me of dad. He was simple. He was a sailor. He had tattoos. He smoked a pipe. He loved his wife, Olive Oyl in a manly kind of way. And, like my dad, he had fore-arms that were bigger than his biceps. But one of the things about Popeye that made me sad, is when he was frustrated, or wasn’t sure what to do, or felt inadequate, he would simply say, “I yam what I yam.” And he said it as a kind of explanation for his shortcomings. Saying “I yam what I yam” doesn’t anticipate much, if anything, in the way of growth or change. It’s like we say today, “It is what it is.” “Don’t get your hopes up.” “Don’t expect too much.” “It’s not going to change.” Saying “I yam what I yam” doesn’t leave much room for a shot at getting to be what “I yam not.” It’s just “I yam what I yam.”

Isn’t this the sad cry of the human race? Namely, the struggle between self-disappointment and hope? Isn’t this the sorry resignation of a culture that bet it all on self-help, but now feels better saying, “Just be true to real self.” Real transformation is so far out of reach, it just “is what it is.” “I yam what I yam. And I’d appreciate it if you just accepted me that way.”

In this ancient letter, written by the apostle Paul to disciples of Jesus in the city of Rome, we are introduced to a framework for thinking about personal development and transformation, that sends shock-waves through the world-view of the culture in which we live. Paul would NOT accept “I yam what I yam” or “it is what it is.” God’s saving power is too great, his mercies far too massive, to simply leave us the way we are.

“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 discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

—Romans 12:1-2

The Functional Centrality of the Gospel

At Emmaus Road Church, we hold fast to what we refer to as the “functional centrality of the gospel.” The functional centrality of the gospel. That is, we hold firmly to the conviction, that we must not simply believe the gospel message, but that the gospel message must be carefully and consistently connected to the real issues of people’s lives. Or to say it another way, we believe that the gospel works. The gospel is meant to get things done. The gospel makes things happen. And we believe that the greatest need in the Church today is for the gospel doctrines, in which we believe, to actually function for the sake of the transforming our lives.

We believe this because of what Paul writes in his letter to the Romans. For eleven chapters, Paul has been setting forth gospel truths. In Romans 1-11, we hear, not only the gospel message. We hear the implication of the gospel message. For example, Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The gospel message, of justification by grace through faith, has a practical implication—peace. Peace with God. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

 The gospel has a practical implication for those who are joined to Jesus. NO CONDEMNATION! God no longer condemns you on account of your countless sins. “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32).

The gospel doctrine of God giving up Jesus as a pure and holy sacrifice to cleanse us from our sins, has a practical implication. God also will graciously give us every other spiritual blessing we need as well. Gospel doctrines have gospel implications. That’s a big, big deal.  

But there’s more. The message of the gospel has more than doctrinal implications. The message of the gospel is meant to do things, cause things, change things in our daily life. “Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). 

In other words, the message of the gospel also has behavioral implications. And that’s clear from the shift in focus between Romans 11 and Romans 12. Romans 1-11 focus’ on the message of the gospel and its doctrinal implications. Romans 12-15 now focus on the behavioral implications. That is, the gospel is not only the power of God for salvation. The gospel is the power of God for transformation. And that is made explicit in Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore [i.e., in light of the gospel—its message, its truth, its doctrinal implications, now], . . . Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed.”

Popeye the sailor man was one of my favorite cartoon characters as a boy. One of the cartoon interests of my sons when they were boys, was a group of teenage superheroes called the “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.” And the key premise to Power Rangers was their ability to “morph.” Ordinarily they were normal adolescents. But as needed, they could access a power beyond themselves to become martial arts heroes for justice. And their rallying cry in moments of crisis was, “It’s morphin’ time!” And they would be transformed with the ability to do remarkable things.

Who would have dreamed that a low-budget television cartoon would succeed in bringing into daily vocabulary the primary imperative of Romans 12:2. “Metamorphousthe!” Be transformed! It’s morphin’ time! If I remember rightly, (and I often do not) I believe it became a standard phrase around our house if someone was in need of a serious attitude adjustment: “It’s morphin’ time!” Somebody’s moping and pouting and feeling sorry for themselves. “It’s morphin’ time!” “I don’t want to do my homework.” “It’s morphin’ time.” Maybe some of you should try it. It is a fairly accurate translation of the main point of Romans 12:1-2. Be transformed!

It’s a nuanced verb form. Though it is in the present active tense, it is also in the passive voice. So it’s not “Transform!” Or “Change.” It’s, be transformed. Be changed. It involves responsible action on our part. It requires our doing something. But it also most definitely is contingent on something first changing in us. Be being continuously transformed. And that something which makes our transformation an actual reality is the powerful working of the mercies of God. The gospel power that works out our personal transformation are the massive mercies of God.

The Power for Transformation 

The power by which the mighty morphin’ power rangers morphed, was located in the “morpher.” A morpher was this little belt-buckle-like looking gizmo. But without a morpher, there was no morphing.

The power by which Christians are transformed is the mercy of God. And so of course, apart from God’s massive, mighty, manifold mercies, there is no transformation. Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by [on the basis of, or according to] the mercies of God” (Romans 12:1).

And, of course, that “therefore” connects what Paul says in Romans 12:1-2 to what came before. And if you remember Ryan’s sermon on Romans 11:25-36, you know that the point of the immediately preceding context is all about God’s profound mercies.

“Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they may now receive mercy.”

—Romans 11:30-31

The existence of evil does not prove God is powerless. The presence of evil, and hardness of men’s hearts proves that God is more powerful than we could imagine. Remember? “God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all” (Romans 11:32). 

God is more merciful we could ever hope! God’s mercy is the greatest thing, the best thing, the most powerful thing—not the free, self-determination of man. Only fallen creatures experience mercy and forgiveness. Remember? God is not trying to save as few as possible. The only way to be made right with God is to be a recipient of God’s mercy. Loved ones, Romans 9–11 is a massive and majestic mountain range of God’s mercy. It is God’s mercy that triumphs over evil. It is God’s mercy that raises dead souls to newness of life. It is God’s mercy that plucks us from the road to eternal destruction. It is God’s mercy that triumphs over God’s judgment and wrath. And it’s not one mercy. It is mercy upon mercy upon mercy upon mercy. It’s ALL mercy. And these mercies, since they are from God, never come to end. God’s mercies do not an expiration date. God’s mercies are not limited to Sundays and holy holidays. God’s mercies are new every morning. And on the basis of these mercies, there is sovereign, divine, infinite power to transform the way we think, the way we speak, the way we act, the way we serve, the way we love, the way we care, the way we work, the way we order our households, the way we parent, the way we pray, the way we worship, the way we respond to the sin that remains within us, and the way we respond to the sins that are committed against us.

Therefore, by virtue of the reality and divine power of those mercies, God’s mercies, according to God’s infinite and omnipotent mercies, be being transformed. Loved ones, listen. It is morphin’ time. And by the power of God, we shall morph indeed!

What does that look like? What is it that God empowers us to do, that serves as the agent by which we are transformed?

The Agency of Transformation

What is our “morpher?” According to Romans 12:2 the key we hold to our transformation is the intentional and active steps we take to renew our thinking. Paul writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

In collaboration with remaining sin in our lives, and with our supernatural spiritual adversary the devil, the world asserts very formidable influence opposed to our transformation. It goes without saying that we live in a world characterized by the most crazy-making mindset.

A week ago, I was in a fine dining restaurant in Charleston, SC. I went to the restroom area, and found there was one door, with little images that I’d never seen before. They were little figures with a circle for a head, and then a square box shape for a body. I looked for the word, “men” and/or “women.” Not there. I went in, and there is a nicely dressed female coming out of one stall, a well-dressed gentleman walking into another stall. And two other women washing their hands at the sinks. I stopped and looked back at the door, with my face apparently displaying some confusion. And the one woman looks at me, shakes her head, and says, “I know.”  As if to say, “It is what it is.” The mindset of the world is, “I yam what I yam.” The gravitation pull toward conformity to the world is extraordinary.

And that’s why actual transformation in our lives depends on God’s incomparably great mercies. And transformation in our lives is accomplished through an ongoing recalibration of our mindset to the framework of God’s good.

Change, on our part, begins up here. Think about it. We fix our minds on something. It might be something we want, something we don’t have. It might be something that happened, something that’s happened to us. Whatever it is our mind is fixed on, generates an emotion. And emotions generate behaviors. So whether they’re reactions, responses, words, decisions, attitudes—they are all contingent upon on what we think. And therefore, one of the fiercest allies of our worldly discontent, and sinful behaviors is what is introduced into our imagination.

This is why the things we read matter. The things we watch matter. The things we listen to matter. Curriculums matter. Interpretations matter. Teachers matter. Truth matters. Because thinking matters.

But the mind is more than just the seat of our thoughts. It is nerve center of our world view. And loved ones, the transformation, the morphing, Paul has in view involves more than simply changing our minds. It involves a worldview made new.

I had a conversation about a year ago with a couple who professed to be followers of Jesus. They were not married, but they were sleeping together. And when I asked, “why would you do that? Why would you give in to that?” Their response was, “That’s just what couples do.” According to who? According to the mindset of the world, that’s who. You see our brains don’t simply have the ability to “perceive and to detect.” Our minds have a posture, a disposition, a bent. And the natural bent is toward conformity to this world. And that bent is what must be renewed. And the bent, or disposition of our mindset is made new by God’s Word and by the working of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:4-5 says, “When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but [and here’s the power] according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal [same word as Romans 12:2, and the only other time Paul uses it] of the Holy Spirit.” 

You see it’s the Spirit of God by whom we are transformed. The Spirit of God renews our minds by opening the eyes of our hearts to the glories of God in the face of Jesus. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed [morphed] into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

So what part do we play, then, in being transformed? Loved ones, listen. Read you Bible from cover to cover. Give yourself to the discipline we share in our discipleship huddles of revisiting the Word you hear on Sunday. Revisit this Word, and let it dwell in you richly. Revisit this Word and be sure you are applying this Word and doing this Word before you jump to another Word, in another study, or from another sermon, or another book. Make a habit of meditating on Word of Christ, and His person and His perfections. And loved ones, pray and pray and pray Romans 12:2, so “that by testing (and seeking and pursuing the renewing, the recalibrating of your mindset) you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Do this, standing on the mountains of God’s mercies. Do this, in reliance on the massive His massive, towering mercies, and you will be transformed.  

Now where is this going? Paul has no intention of us merely exchanging the world’s moral standards of behavior for God’s moral standards of behavior. His goal reaches far higher. So what is the purpose of our being transformed?  

The Purpose of Transformation

Most simply, so that our whole lives would communicate how much God is worth. Be being transformed that so that your entire life is an expression of worship. “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” (Romans 12:1).

It’s a remarkable analogy. In Jewish temple worship, the sacrifice was always a dead body, not a living one. The sacrifice was laid on the altar and some parts of it were burned. Some parts were eaten. But that was the end of the animal. No more existence. Clearly, that’s not the end Paul has in mind. He has already put forward this idea of presenting ourselves to God in Romans 6:13:

“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 present your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

—Romans 6:13

That means our arms and legs, and hands and feet, and mouths and minds—every part of our body—is to be an instrument played for the praise of God. Or, according to Romans 12, a sacrifice, not just living, but moving around and doing stuff for the purpose of holy and acceptable praise to God.

And the purpose of a renewed mind is so that we might test and discern what is the will of God, and what is good, and what is acceptable, and what is perfect—that is, what is of ultimate value.  Do you know what is of ultimate value? We present ourselves to a good many things. We offer ourselves, our lives, our bodies to a good many things—many of which are good—and some that aren’t. But the point of being transformed is that we might effectively, and faithfully, test and discern that which is of greatest value, and then present our bodies—arms and legs, hands and feet, fingers and toes, teeth and tongues, eyes and ears, every member—to God, every day, as an expression of the kind of spiritual worship of which God is worthy.

So dear friends, on the basis God’s mind-blowing kindnesses, in planning our deliverance, in working out our rescue, in dying in our place, forgiving all our sins, making us his children, declaring us innocent, pronouncing us righteous, loving us eternally, giving us the most precious gift of his Holy Spirit, and renewing our minds, it’s morphin’ time. Be transformed. And may God be glorified!