LIBERTY UNIVERSITY LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

COMMENTARY Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:17-20

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. B.R. LOWMAN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE SPIRITUAL FORMATION PLED 520

BY CHRISTOPHER BIGGER MAY 30, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS ROMANS 12:1-2......................................................................................................................1 EPHESIANS 4:17-20...2 BIBLIOGRAPHY4

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 We are called to answer the demand of God to be devoted to him in more than just our congregational worship; we are called to be devoted in both body and mind as illustrated by Paul in Romans 12:1. The believer is called upon to submit themselves as a living sacrifice so that those that are lost in the world may be pointed towards the Savior by that noticeable difference that Christians should portray to those around them. This living sacrifice of the body is called out specifically in order to show the difference between the Old Testament sacrifice of death. The living sacrifice of the body is imperative to the Christian walk with Christ in that we are called to yield to the will of God in order to carry on the work of grace and mercy through us.1 This giving of body is a representation of the spiritual surrender that every believer is called to live out in their lives. Everything that we do in our lives is therefore called to be done as if to the Lord, even the most mundane part of our lives is to be devoted to Him in order to live out the hope that is within us. We are also called to not conform to this world. In other words, we must strive to exist outside of the cultural norms that society dictates. Even though we are called to be in the world, we must distance ourselves from becoming ensconced in the sin nature that pervades the world, once again providing the demonstration of something different that points the world towards Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume I. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1989. 553.
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4 Christ. Further we need to put all that we see to the test of the Spirit to determine the will of God in our lives. This discerning consists of in depth examination of our spiritual standpoint as it compares to the standard of Jesus. Even though the goal of Jesus like perfection is knowingly unattainable, we are nevertheless called to strive towards that goal. The measure of our spiritual formation is intertwined with this growth towards that standard. Working toward dedicating the body, mind, and spirit toward being the living sacrifice that God calls us to be leads the Christian on a journey to delve into the spiritual search for a deeper and wider relationship with Him in order to live out the love of Christ. Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ! Ephesians 4:17-20 This passage opens with an admonition to the Christian to refrain from walking in this life as the Gentiles walk. This is meant in the sense that Christians are called to be set apart from the world in which they live.2 This is also a point of distinguishing the understanding that the believer has in Christ from the misunderstanding that a non-believer has of the love, grace, and mercy of God. The issue at hand is the hardened heart against the working and touch of the Holy Spirit. In the mindset of the unsaved, God is not a reality and therefore cannot be understood. This misunderstanding results in the darkness that is prevalent in this world. This Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume II. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1989. 39.
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5 misunderstanding of the truth of God is also the anchor to which the lost have tethered their sinful lives. Without an understanding of who God is, sin becomes the focal point of the life of the lost. Satan uses this devotion to sin to keep the unbeliever in a state of blindness to the light of Christ as well as a state of confusion as to the true love and grace of Christ. The Christian is therefore called to keep from patterning their lives after the unsaved. The emphasis in this passage is on the mind, for it is a change of mind and heart that leads to the salvation of the soul. The entire outlook of a person changes once they accept the gift of grace provided through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. This change is integral to the spiritual formation that should be a part of the Christians life. Once the change comes upon the sinner and he becomes washed in the blood of the lamb, he is set apart from the worlds depravity. This setting apart is best illustrated in Pauls description of the world being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. This alienation is the separation that all lost souls feel as they seek to fill the missing peace in their lives. This admonition is concluded with the exclamation that the impurity, greed and over sensuality of the world are not what the believer learned in Christ. The spiritual development that a believer is to strive for is summed up in Pauls calling of the believer to live a life set apart.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

6 Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume I. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1989. Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume II. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1989.