Romans 12:2

Romans 12:1 deals with making the commitment and Romans 12:2 with maintaining it.

"The first verse calls for an explicit act; the second commands a resultant lifelong process. These verses are a call for an act of presentation and the resultant duty of transformation." [Note: Hiebert, "Presentation and . . .," p. 312.]

Both activities are important. The present tense in the Greek text of Romans 12:2 indicates our continuing responsibility in contrast to the aorist tense in Romans 12:1 that stresses a decisive act. The "world" (Gr. aion) is the spirit of our age that seeks to exclude God from life (1 John 2:15). The world seeks to "squeeze you into its own mold." [Note: J. B. Phillips’ paraphrase.] The Christian should be continually renewing his or her mind by returning mentally to the decision to dedicate self to God and by reaffirming that decision. This continual rededication to God will result in the transformation of the Christian into Christ’s image (Romans 8:29; cf. Mark 9:2-3). A daily rededication is none too often.

"This re-programming of the mind does not take place overnight but is a lifelong process by which our way of thinking is to resemble more and more the way God wants us to think." [Note: Moo, p. 757.]

The Holy Spirit is the unidentified transformer that Paul set in contrast to the world (Romans 8:9-11; cf. Matthew 17:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 6:17-18; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Colossians 3:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Titus 3:5). "Prove" or "test and approve" involves evaluating and choosing to practice what is the will of God instead of what the world recommends (cf. Ephesians 5:8-10). We clarify what God’s will for us is by rededicating ourselves to God often. God’s will sometimes becomes blurred when our commitment to Him wavers (cf. Ephesians 5:8-10; James 1:6-8). However it is always good. Notice that total commitment to the lordship of Jesus Christ is a prerequisite for experiencing God’s will.

Dedication results in discernment that leads to delight in God’s will. The initial dedication and the subsequent reaffirmation both please God (Romans 12:1-2, "acceptable" or "pleasing"; cf. Philippians 4:18; Hebrews 13:16). "Good" means essentially good. "Acceptable" means pleasing to God. "Perfect" means it cannot get any better.

Romans 12:1-2 are extremely important verses for Christians. They express our most important responsibility to God, namely, submitting completely to His lordship over our lives. The popular saying, "God is my co-pilot," does not give God His rightful place. God wants and deserves to be our pilot, not our co-pilot. Christians should make this commitment as close to the moment of their justification as possible. However notice that Paul addressed his appeal to believers, not the unsaved. Dedication to God is a response to the mercy of God that we receive in salvation. It is not a condition for receiving that mercy. It is a voluntary commitment that every Christian should make out of love for the Savior, but it is not one that every Christian does make. It is possible to be a Christian without ever making this commitment since it is voluntary.

"To require from the unsaved a dedication to His lordship for their salvation is to make imperative what is only voluntary for believers (Romans 12:1; 1 Peter 3:15)." [Note: Livingston Blauvelt Jr., "Does the Bible Teach Lordship Salvation?" Bibliotheca Sacra 143:569 (January-March 1986):38.]