Lies, Licentious, and the Renewal of the Mind: A Study of Romans 12:2

“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.” (Romans 12:2)

I’ve been thinking recently about the problem of there being so many immature Christians within the church (in the pews, in leadership, and in the pastorate) who are unable to grow in their faith and, most importantly, discern the truth. In the process of my thoughts, I recalled the verse above and decided to give it some study.

In the previous chapter, Paul has argued that God has used the general Jewish rejection of their Messiah (Jesus) in order to bring non-Jews into the family of God. He then argued that God is using this great influx of non-Jews into the family of God as a means of bringing Jews into that family. This is all by the design of God and Paul refers to it as a great mystery (11:25). Indeed, in 16:25-26, Paul refers to the Gospel and the entire plan of God that is now being revealed as a great mystery (cf. 1:1-2). Up to this point (chs. 11-12), Paul has been explaining how God fulfilled his promise to renew creation by renewing mankind through Israel, the Law, and ultimately Jesus himself. So when he gets to 11:33-36, Paul openly marvels at the unfathomable wisdom and knowledge of God that has constructed and worked out this divine plan. “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” (v. 34)

What follows is a pragmatic teaching on how the Christian should practice and live out their faith, specifically in the context of the faith community. The individual Christian’s walk and way of life is always understood in that relation. We are never to be separate. Indeed, Paul will expand on the idea of Romans 12:2 in Ephesians 4, again within the context of the overall faith community.

So now coming to 12:2, Paul writes this amazing sentence about the renewing of the mind. The word for “conformed” is syschēmatizō and it means “to fashion oneself to a pattern”. The word for” world” is aiōn. It’s the word we get “eon” from and means “age” as in the “Age of Man” or the “Age to Come”. The Israelites conceived of life as consisting of two ages: this present evil (Galatians 1:4) and the age to come (Matthew 12:32). The present age is one of evil, idolatry, and sin and in which corrupt power rules and dominates through fear and lies. The future age is one in which God’s Kingdom is brought fully to fruition and his Spirit has flooded creation with the love.

So what are the patterns of this present age? The answer is voluminous. Here we are talking about worldviews, ways of thinking, basic assumptions, everything from what socio-economic systems we follow to how we treat employees to how we treat our kids, how we perceive sexuality. Some false patterns are generally obvious (thievery), others are more particularly contentious (taxation), and others are generally, if not near universally, unobvious (the inherent violence of government). Of course, the Bible is full of passages that deal with such patterns. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is one of the most famous. And, most importantly, I would add Romans 1:18-32 as well. The former challenges the underlying preconceptions of the reader by showing a better way, the latter showing how such underlying preconceptions appeared in the first place. Indeed, as will become clear, I think Paul in 12:2 is referencing back to his argument in 1:18-32. This becomes more apparent in light of the similar subject matter in Ephesians 4:17-25. We need to avoid falling into the patterns of this world, but we also need to be liberated from the false patterns we are already in. Again, some of these patterns are obviously wrong but many more are so ingrained in our worldview and basic assumptions that we don’t know that they are wrong.

We avoid such patterns and are liberated from them by being “transformed” (metamorphoō). Elsewhere Paul speaks of the Christian believer being transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). The liberation from the patterns of this world is towards becoming more like Jesus. And this is accomplished by the “renewing of the mind”. The word here for “renewing” is anakainōsis and means “to make new” (see 2 Corinthians 4:16 and Colossians 3:10).

God’s main purpose now is the renewal of his creation by renewing humanity back into its proper role (2 Corinthians 5:1; Galatians 6:15; Revelations 21; 2 Peter 3:12-13; Isaiah 66:22; Ephesians 4:24; Ezekiel 11:19). This particularly and necessarily involves the renewal of the human mind (nous), specifically into the mind of Christ. In 11:34, Paul has already alluded to Isaiah 40:13: “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” In 1 Corinthians 2:16, he does so again, adding, “But we have the mind of Christ” (see also Philippians 2:5). So the transformation is becoming like Christ by renewing the mind into one like Christ’s. Thus, in the parallel passage in Ephesians 4:22-24, the transformation into a new self is connected with the renewal of the mind.

But how did humanity get into this position in the first place? In Ephesians 4, again on a treatment of the same theme, Paul talks about not walking in the futility of the mind (4:17), darkened in understanding, ignorant, with hardened hearts (4:18), not being given over to given over to sensuality, every kind of impurity (4:19), and the lusts of deceit (4:22). Instead, we are to walk in truth and reject falsehoods (4:24, 25). Here the need for mental renewal stems both from a rejection of the truth and licentiousness. Again, Ephesians 4 is an expansion of the idea Paul touches upon in Romans 12:2. However, as stated above, I think that while Paul speaks about the renewing of the mind in 12:2, he has first talked about its corruption in Romans 1:18-32.

Here, in the most haunting passage of the Bible, Paul lays out the lot of mankind. They suppress the truth (v. 18), they are futile speculations (v. 21), their hearts are darkened (v. 21), they profess to be wise but are fools (v. 22), and they exchange truth for lies (v. 25). What is more, they are given over to lusts of their hearts and impurity (v. 24) and to degrading passions (v. 26-27). Lies and licentiousness are to blame, just like in Ephesians 4. The result is that “God gave them over to a depraved mind” (v. 28). And God giving them over (cf. 1:25; Ephesians 4:19) is God letting them go, releasing his providential hand, allowing them to reap the inevitable results of their free choices. The result is a depraved mind. While there are many ways in which the human mind can become corrupted in its thinking, I believe Paul focuses on lies and licentiousness because these, more than others, have a more profound effect upon the mind.

So mankind can be liberated from the false patterns of this world, from the depravity of our thinking by being transformed by the renewing of our minds. This mental renewal allows us to prove (dokimázō) what the will of God is. This word dokimázō means to discern, examine, analyze (see Romans 1:28, 2:18). Essentially, the renewal of the mind enables us to understand what God’s will is in this world: things that are good and acceptable and perfect. Belief in lies, false patterns of thinking, and licentious behavior (and approving of such behavior [Romans 1:32]) will impair your ability to understand the truth and figure out what God’s will is.

But how do we get there? Too often we in the Church have approached discipleship in terms of simply teaching doctrine, reciting catechism, topical studies, and requiring assent to fundamental propositions. All of this can be important and can have its place, but it’s not what will renew the mind. There are people out there who have been abused, exploited, and scarred. Their life circumstances have led them to make poor life choices. They are seeking to justify those choices and escape guilt and condemnation by embracing whatever lie, worldview, and thought pattern does the trick. And here’s the thing: they are not fully conscious of it. They are embracing lies and false patterns not because they know they are lies but because they really really want them to be true. They are using falsehoods as a gate protecting who they think they are, while it’s actually a cage preventing them from being who they are suppose to be. That’s how depravity of the mind works. And what is more about these lies and patterns: THEY. GO. DEEP. Telling people they shouldn’t sin isn’t going to cut it. Giving believers a list of propositions of which to assent isn’t enough. A thirty-week series on the top ideas of the Bible won’t get you there. You cannot expect that when a person becomes a true believer that the Holy Spirit will automatically renew their mind without their participation.

True discipleship must involve challenging the underlying assumptions that undergird the thought patterns, the lifestyles, and the worldviews of average Christians. This must be done within the faith community (Romans 12; Ephesians 4), and the best method is to do so by addressing the immediate needs of the people. Most importantly, it requires church leaders (pastors, staff, teachers, etc.) that have already had their minds renewed from the false patterns of this world.