Teaching Notes

Embracing the Change, Part 4

                                                                                                                        Challenges to being transformed

Let’s look at the scripture from Romans 12:1-3 in this last installment of this lesson.


Romans 12:1-3 (The Message)
Place Your Life Before God

1-2 So here's what I want you to do, (God helping you): Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.


3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.


This scripture talks about three key points of where we are to change or be transformed.

1. Commitment – in verse 1 it states, “here’s what I want you to do”. This talks about making a commitment to do something. Also Paul gives them this instruction with a very important clause, he says “with God helping you”. This means that the apostle Paul was talking to the people of Rome to make a commitment to the things of God but not in their own power but by God’s power. That is a word called “sanctification” that means becoming more godlike in our life. So, what is this commitment to?

The commitment is not to what people expect, but what God is requiring from you. This does not mean that you are not to obey rules, but it is stating that you seek God’s truth first, and then you obey rules that are in keeping with the will of God.


2 Corinthians 8:5 –And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.



2. Living sacrifice – Paul was asking the people to allow God to change them from the “inside out”. What this meant was more than “doing” things in front of people. You know what I mean. You won’t curse around the church people, but you curse around your friends. You do things in front of your parents but you are another way in front of others. Paul is saying don’t live a double life. Let the change be from a changed heart and mind.

1 Corinthians 6:20 - you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Romans 6:13 - Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.


3. Respond to the will of God. – In the verse it reads that we are to “readily recognize” what God wants and then respond accordingly.

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Ephesians 4:22-24 - You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Exodus 23:2 - "Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,


Why do we need to be transformed? – To prove what is good, acceptable and God’s perfect will


2 Timothy 3:16, 17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Phil 1:10-11 - so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.


As you reflect on the lessons over the last weeks, what do you take away from this lesson? What do you want to change? Let me pray for you at this time:


Lord, we thank you for this opportunity to help these that are now reading the lessons presented earlier. I ask that you would help those reading this lesson to make the commitment they need to be all that you have called them to be. Transform the minds and help them make the commitment to live for you, your way, amen.