What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2)?

from the old testament

• Men and women were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27), meaning we were created to think in a Godly manner, representing Him on earth. However, we desired independence from God and rebelled (Genesis 3:1–7). The result was that we became corrupted in our thinking. We see that expressed in Psalm 14, which reads, “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:2–3).
• God gave the Israelites the Mosaic Law, in part, to conform their way of thinking to be like His (e.g., Deuteronomy 6:4–9). As His people, they were to represent His holiness to the other nations (Exodus 19:5–6), and the Law was intended to guide them in that.
• However, the Old Testament also shows the futility of external laws changing one’s heart (one’s way of thinking). For true conformity, God needed to change people’s hearts (Ezekiel 36:26–27).
• The psalmist wrote, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9–11). As God’s word is treasured, meaning loved from the heart, then one’s way of thinking is changed.

from the new testament

• Romans 12:1–2 reads, “… 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.”
• A sacrifice in the Old Testament was to be unblemished, as perfect as possible (e.g., Leviticus 1:3). By being a living sacrifice, Paul meant that the believer is to live in an unblemished, that is, holy, way.
• That is in contrast to worldly, sinning thinking (cf. 1 John 2:15–16). The world’s way of thinking is represented in the first few chapters of Romans. They suppress the knowledge of God in order to sin (Romans 1:18ff), they rely on works to be saved (Romans 2:17–20), and they are all unrighteous (Romans 3:10–18).
• However, the believer is one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 4:5), who gave Himself as a sacrifice to pay their penalty (Romans 3:25). Believers have been given the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), who is sanctifying them and guiding them towards righteous living (Romans 6–8).
• Believers are not perfect and will wrestle with their sinful flesh (Romans 7:15–20), at times succumbing to temptation. That is, they are being tempted to conform to the sinful thinking of the world rather than Christ’s purity (Romans 12:2a). That is why Paul said, “be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2b).
• Paul was not teaching that one can change one's thinking by thinking better. Rather, he was referring to using God’s “means of grace,” His ways of becoming mature. They include reading Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16–17), praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17), fellowshipping with other believers (Hebrews 10:24–25), and serving others in the church body (Romans 12:3–8). As believers engage in these activities, they are hiding more Scripture in their hearts and allowing it to affect who they are. The result of that is a transformed mind.
• While John affirmed that believers will never become perfect until seeing Jesus (1 John 1:8, 10; 3:2), he explained how we become purer in this life: by thinking about Him and His return (1 John 3:3). This is similar to what Paul meant. The believer is to think about “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable” (Philippians 4:8). The result is, “discerning what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2c). A renewed mind is a mind that can tell the difference between worldly thinking and godly thinking.

implications for today

Every generation of believers has lived in societies that influence their beliefs. Living at a particular time in history is like a fish living in a bowl. We believe that everything around us is normal, unaware that the water we’re drinking and swimming in is filthy. We look back at other times in history and point out how Christians failed to protect themselves from errors of their times, all the while completely unaware that we are doing the same thing in our own time! That’s what Paul meant by not being conformed to the world.

He wasn’t talking about not going out and diving headfirst into sin. He was saying that the world’s ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and ideologies are inherently anti-God. But because we are surrounded by them and accustomed to them, they seem normal and reasonable.

The only way we can discern the good from the bad is by allowing our minds to be conformed to God’s way of thinking. That happens as we allow it to be renewed by His Spirit.

There are several ways of doing this, and we must strive to do all of them. First, we must be believers, as the Spirit indwells and transforms only believers (Romans 8:9). Second, we must read Scripture, which is God speaking to us (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Third, we must go to church so that we are correctly taught what Scripture says and means (Hebrews 10:24–25). Fourth, we need to fellowship with other believers so that we can exhort one another as we apply Scripture to our lives (Colossians 3:16). Finally, we must develop our relationship with God by communing with Him regularly in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As we engage in these and other spiritual practices, our minds will be renewed, and we will find ourselves increasingly transformed into Christ’s image.