What does it mean to Put Off and Put On? – Part 1

Biblical counseling seeks to help a person transform via heart change. That is the primary meaning behind Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23.

And 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. Rom.12:2, NASB

and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, Eph. 4:23, NASB

In both verses, Paul gives an imperative in each passage: be transformed (Romans 12:2) and renewed (Ephesians 4:23).

Why?

Romans 12:2 features another imperative when Paul writes that we should not conform to this world.

To be conformed to something means to assume an outward expression that does not reflect what is really inside, a kind of masquerade or act. (MacArthur Study Bible).

Paul goes to great lengths to explain the gospel in Romans 1-8. In Romans 1, he explains in detail what is wrong with the world (Rom. 1:18-32). Romans 12 is about applying the gospel, and Paul fears the Romans will drift back into old habits. He fears that their outward expression does not reflect the inward transformation they profess when they were saved. In other words, did their heart really change?

Both the ESV and NASB state, “do not be conformed to this world,” while the popular NIV renders the passage, ‘do not conform to the pattern of this world.’ Scholars note that a better translation of the word “world” is age.

To not conform to the age means to conform to the system of beliefs, values, or spirit of the age at any time in the world. This sum of contemporary thinking and values forms the moral atmosphere of our world and is always dominated by Satan. (MacArthur Study Bible)

Drifting into idolatry is a constant temptation, even for the redeemed. The Satanic spirit of the age infects many a church as shepherds refuse to shepherd and instead provide a “gospel lite” message that rarely even mentions sin. 

What is offered up instead of the gospel and its application is pop psychology, which promises self-fulfillment, success, and improved self-esteem, which works to make the church more like the world.

The Bible teaches a different message that includes warnings, often a sharp edge, to the gospel, as it reminds believers that the heart is very deceptive (Jer. 17:9), which usually means to follow that which we feel rather than what we believe to be true.

The word mind in the New Testament is usually synonymous with the heart, meaning the control center of every person. Strongs defines the mind as follows:

The mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, and determining. 1a the intellectual faculty, the understanding. 1b reason in the narrower sense, as the capacity for spiritual truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things, of recognizing goodness and of hating evil

To renew one’s mind means to renovate or reorient back to truth in the context of Romans 12:2. This is accomplished through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the study of God’s word. The result should be a non-conforming Christian to the ways of the world.

Hendriksen and Kistemaker explain it like this:

Finally, the apostle describes the glorious result of this continuous transformation: “So that you may prove what is the will of God …” This is a very significant statement. It shows that to discern the will of God for their lives believers cannot just depend on their conscience. Conscience is indeed very important, but it must constantly be sent back to the school of Scripture to receive instruction from the Holy Spirit. It is in this manner that believers become and remain aware of God’s will

In this case, the word “will” does not mean decreed will but moral will. A person whose life has been transformed by the gospel and who knows the Scripture will understand the depravity of the spirit of the age and avoid it no matter the cost.

In the next installment, we will look at Collisions 3:1-17 to see Paul’s warnings and encouragement.
For more on Heart Change, see http://mensdiscipleshipblog.org/what-is-heart-change/, which can be found at http://mensdiscipleshipblog.org/blogs/ the Men’s Blog at Reigning Grace Counseling Center.

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