#18 A Renewed Mind Produces Right Behavior

Ephesians 4:22-24
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
 
So last week we covered the concept that when we are born again in Christ, the old man is put off, and the new man is put on; furthermore, the believer who has a revelation of this truth allows a process to ensue where the mind is renewed. When the believer becomes more and more aware of how God is creating a new creation in Christ and how the plan of God works through the operation of grace working in the heart of man, he learns to rest in the finished work of Christ, allowing an inner change to take place, allowing a new thought pattern to emerge, a renewed mind:
 
Now, Paul begins to exhort the Ephesians this way...Ephesians 4:21
If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
 
If you've really been taught the doctrines of Christ, and you're beginning to operate with a renewed mind, then some new behaviors will begin to emerge, because bondages will be broken in your life, because Jesus defeated the forces of evil at the cross.
 
Ephesians 4:25
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
 
John 8:33-52
They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
 
Psalms 51:6-7
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
 
In the John passage, we're given a glimpse on why God hates lying so much; simply stated, lying finds its genesis in the father of lies; furthermore, it's a tool Satan used to deceive the first family and throw God's creation into disarray. God hates a lie because it keeps everything concealed and shrouded in darkness. God wants His people to tell the truth.
 
The Psalmist found this out the hard way. Through his disobedience with Bathsheba, Uriah the Hittite, a mighty warrior has been murdered in battle. The illegitimate offspring of their unholy union is also dead, and David has fasted and repented in sack cloth and ashes. Now, he has picked himself up from the floor and with time for reflection, he sees himself. He sees his own ways, his failures, his schemes, his lies. He sees how his methods have grieved the heart of God, and with all this, he puts stylus to papyrus and writes: God desires truth on the inward parts and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom.
 
Let me say this child of God, "If you want God to make you to know wisdom in the hidden part, in the deep recesses of your Christian spirit, you better quit living a lie with Him. You don't have to come clean with the preacher, and I'm sorry if this makes you feel uncomfortable, but God wants truth. You don't have to come clean with me, but you better come clean with Him.
 
...for we are members one of another.
 
In reality, the whole underlying context of this passage we are studying is discussing how people should live amongst their brothers and sisters, remembering that we are all members of one body. But before we move forward notice how the Apostle points out the fact that we definitely shouldn't be lying or operating in deception with one another. We're all members of one another. All this time the Holy Spirit has been painting a picture of the eternal family of God i.e. the body of Christ, and the thought is why would we want to lie to and deceive our own body? We're in this together. We're all on the same team, and we're all supposed to be about the Father's business operating for the same purpose, so why would we operate like the enemy of our soul and lie about and to one another?
 
Ephesians 4:26
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
 
The emotion of anger is attributed to God in the Old Testament and to Jesus in the New Testament. With this in mind, it's important for us to understand that there is such a thing as righteous anger. Righteous anger will have at its source a stand against something that's in opposition to God. The Greek scholar Vincent makes the point that righteous anger isn’t only condoned in the New Testament but it’s expected.
 
As an example, let's use one of the passages we discussed last week. We used Hebrews three to describe God's people not operating with a renewed mind towards God because of an inability to perceive His ways, and being influenced by the world (Egypt) so that their "worldview" was changed.
 
But now let's use the same text to describe a time when God gets mad:
 
Hebrews 3:7-11
Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
 
So here we see that God is swearing according to His wrath that He's not pleased with the behavior of His people. To be truthful, the biggest part of the problem is that they didn't know His ways, which resulted in improper behavior. Furthermore, because they refused to learn His ways and stop the error of theirs, He said that He wasn't going to let them enter His rest.
 
Maybe there is a sobering message here for the people of God that transcends time: learn the ways of God and hearken unto them. Then, just maybe then, you will find rest for weary soul.
 
Our main point though is that it's possible for Christians to become angry especially when one person's behavior seems to be contrary to the will of God in a situation. But we must remember two things:
 
(1) there are certain behaviors we can exhibit when we're angry that aren't godly that would be sin by themselves.
 
(2) our text says that we aren't to let the sun go down upon our wrath. Now, Sister Toot used to use this specifically in marriage situations, and she would tell people to make up and kiss before they went to bed, and while there is some truth to that, the reality is that we better not let anger simmer and embitter our hearts towards anyone.
 
If you get to know me, you will learn that if I feel like there are some things going on between us that aren’t right, I will have to talk to you because I can’t live that way.
 
Matthew 5:23-24
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

The scripture says that if someone has a problem with you, that you're to go to them. I’ve learned through the process of time that it's easier for me to get things out in the open. I've learned something through the last several years: Satan wants to play tricks on my mind. Maybe he doesn't mess with you that way, but he does me, so I disarm the situation. I go to the person. One day, I may come to you and say, "Hey, is everything alright between us?"
 
And your response may be, "Yes, why."
 
And then maybe I might for a second feel silly because I made myself look foolish, thinking something was wrong when it wasn't, but I've actually learned something else about that: humility and humiliation come from the same thought, and Matt needs humility, and I've learned something about that:
 
1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
 
Jesus likes humility, and I really like Jesus : )
 
The main point is bring your situation before the Lord. Don't hold onto something in your heart that you can't change, letting it simmer and fester into a mess. If you do, you are hurting your own walk with God.
 
Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.
 
In the KJV, there is a colon after the previous verse meaning the translators felt like there was a direct connection between verses 26 and 27, so the idea would be that if you do let the sun go down on your wrath, or you're not letting God deal with your frustrations about these things, then you could give place to the devil.
 
In addition to that we should understand that there are multiple ways that we could give place to the devil, so what does this thought of giving place to the devil even mean?
 
The word for "place" in the Greek is literally topos, and the overall thought describes a foothold or giving permission for someone to enter and live in a place, so in this sense, when a believer allows anger to simmer, he's opening a door and allowing Satan to move in with his seeds of bitterness in hand.
 
But it should be understood that it's not only anger that allows this process to ensue. The gospel teaches that "In Christ" we have protection from the powers of darkness. We are clothed in the armor of God, which we will get to soon enough, and when we get there, we will learn that Jesus is our armor. You can't get better protection than that.
 
However, when we open a door, Satan sticks his foot in quickly, and now he's wiggling his way into the heart. He wants permission through the free will that God gave you to come in, and so he works his subtlety. As he works quietly and softly he wiggles a little more: whispering, “this isn't that bad." 
 
Whispering, “This won't hurt you. Some people are just overboard with Christianity. They operate in legalism. You, on the other hand have been given freedom. You can do this. They may not be able to, but you can."
 
And as we do the conscience is seared and he wiggles a little more and we let him in a little more and the whole while he's not really forcing himself. Instead, he's just waiting for us to give him permission. And before you know it, you've rented him a topos, you've rented him a room, and you've given place to the devil.
 
Ephesians 4:28
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
 
We would all agree that stealing is against the character of God, so don't steal, which is an act of taking away from someone else. But notice how this first part of the verse, which describes taking from others, is contrasted to the next part, which describes labor for the purpose of having something to give others.
 
The "old man" takes; whereas, the "new man" gives. And don't just pass over the wording labour here:
 
Labour- kopiao= To toil, labor, be weary and fatigued.
 
Remember what God said to Adam after the fall:
 
Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
 
The curse has brought manual labor. It's caused hard and fatiguing work, even the sweat of the brow to take place. But hallelujah we can glorify God with the way we work.
 
Maybe as they watch us work, they would ask in their hearts, "Why is this guy different? Why is this girl different? The work load is more; I'm becoming frustrated, but they seem to be happier. I'm slacking, but they're working harder."
 
Ephesians 4:29-30
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
 
The word corrupt literally means rotten. There are some words we can speak that just aren't redeeming. In other words, their purpose isn't of God, they are slanderous and injurious to the body of Christ, and God wants His people built up. I looked up the English word grieve in my Bible app and this is the only time the word is used in the New Testament. While there are certainly other ways the Holy Spirit can be grieved, we know for sure that speaking rotten words to people or about them will.
 
Instead, our words are to produce edification, a building up where grace is ministered to the hearers. It is beholden upon us as followers of our Lord to learn the truth of the gospel and minister the word in such a way that they are learning grace and God is changing their lives.
 
Ephesians 4:31
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
 
Bitterness- poison: hatred
 
Wrath- passionate anger that's not rooted in righteous purposes. In other words it's human anger and probably demonic in origin. The difference between wrath, which is thumos in Greek and anger is that this word describes a sudden outburst of passion.
 
Anger- orge anger is a mind set that remains in a state of anger and is contrasted to the outburst passion of thumos.
 
Clamor- the word describes the croaking of a raven and is connected to the outburst of anger. In other words, yelling in association with anger.
 
Evil speaking- the word in the Greek is blasphemia, and it describes slanderous words. Why would we want to purposefully say things about people if we knew that they would hurt them.
 
Malice- badness, depravity, naughtiness. In this passage of thought, malice seems to be the root behind all the previous behaviors, so we see a person who lives in a state where his mindset is anger, he has passionate outbursts of anger, his words are loud and full of bitterness and slander; ultimately causing injury instead of edification.
 
The concept of malice is also used in these verses and describes things left over from the "old man" and shouldn't remain present in the new man:
 
James 1:18-24
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
 
Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
 

#17 The Renewed Mind

Ephesians 4:20-21
But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
 
Paul's referring to the previous passages of scripture where he described the other Gentiles, those that are unredeemed, the ones he spoke of previously that were in ancient days without the Christ, the covenants, and the promises of God; and specifically, he discusses their "walk," which literally describes a person's manner of life or how they conduct their business. Ultimately, the exhortation is don’t walk in darkness like those without the promises you have:
 

Ephesians 1:18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know...
 
Paul is addressing the church in Ephesus and saying, "You aren't like the other Gentiles who walk in a darkened state towards the truths of Messiah:
 
But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him...
 
The word learned is specifically instruction. Paul's point is that the church of Ephesus was instructed in the truths of the Christ...if so be that ye have heard Him... One Greek scholar makes the point that this verse could have been translated, "If as is the case you were taught Him."
 
The prepositional phrase that we speak of often is utilized twice in these verses:
 
(1). ...have been taught by him... Is literally en autoi or "In Him.”
 
That's why I repeatedly draw the stick men on the board. I'm trying to ever keep in the forefront of your Christian mind that as a new creation in Christ, you've been translated into a new sphere, a new environment, a new kingdom, from darkness to light, you live in a new place, a new "house," a new "neighborhood," a place called "In Him."
 
In this new sphere in which you abide, there is abounding grace and instruction from the Holy Spirit for you to be taught the things of God. In this place, you learn Jesus. We aren't just talking about the historical figure named Jesus. Jesus' message is who He is.
 
What are you talking about? The other day Robert and I were in El Toro eating after we had been working, and we ran into someone Robert used to go to church with. At one point, he challenged me and said, "I asked my Pastor if he could tell me what the gospel was, and he couldn't," so can you tell me-- what is the gospel?
 
I responded, "Jesus is the gospel!"
 
"No, that’s what my pastor told me too, but the gospel includes things like repentance also," was his retort.
 
I would never want to be demeaning but your brain isn't firing on all cylinders sir. You think you've dug deep, but you're still just scratching the surface, because Jesus is the gospel:
 
He doesn't just preach on Jubilee or the kingdom of God. He is the jubilee and the kingdom
 
He is the Sabbath
 

He is the resurrection and the life.
 
He is repentance, because when one embraces Jesus, that person is turning from the world and turning to Jesus.

He doesn’t just preach deliverance. He is the deliverer.

He is the truth, the way, the life….
 
(2). ...the truth is in Jesus:
 
en Ieosus or "In Jesus."
 
Once again, we are faced with this prepositional phrase, describing a new place in which the believer resides, and in this place, the truth of God is found!
 
Ephesians 4:22
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
 
The thought of putting off has the essence of a person removing a garment, a garment that is old, worn out, and outdated. The word conversation used here is an outdated old English used in the same fashion as walk, and once again, describes, the manner of lifestyle or one's behavior.
 
When the whole thought is considered together, the idea is that our lifestyle and behavior should no longer reflect the "old man's" lifestyle and behavior; instead, our life should reflect the new man that lives in Christ.

So who is the "old man?"
 
In a generic fashion, the "old man" is who we were born in Adam, when we were physically born under sin’s dominion. The pictograph of the stick man we commonly refer to teaches that in God's mind, the "old man" died in Christ at the cross, was buried with Him in the tomb, and resurrected with Him as a new creation in Christ (Romans 6:3-6; Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
 
Specifically, regarding our "old man" today, how can we know when he attempts to come alive
Maybe the safest thing to do is for the preacher to use himself as an example. That way no one gets offended because he’s talking about himself-- not you.
 
So Matt's "old man" had multiple bondages and character flaws:
 
I was consumed with the party and whatever that entailed. I said it last week, but I will say it again, "Whatever made my flesh feel good I wanted a lot of it."
 
But anything that wasn't fun I ran from. Things like responsibility or work.
 
For instance, all I was concerned about was smoking pot and drinking, which killed my desire for work. Even after I was a Christian, my mindset was bent to the way it was before. I was the first to volunteer to go home early even though I now had a wife and kids. I thank God that over time, He has changed that about me drastically.
 
Another aspect about me was that I always had to have my way in relationships. It didn't matter at all what the other person wanted. I was going to get what I wanted no matter what or I wasn't going to play anymore. Over time, God began to convict me. I have a long way to go, but I constantly think about the other person's position and opinion. It doesn't mean that I always agree but I'm mindful of others.
 
When it came to spending money, if I wanted it, I went and got it. It didn't matter whether I had the money to pay for it. Purchase today pay tomorrow. I should be clear when I say this. People can do what they want with their own money they work for, but if we live outside of our means, then we have a root that needs to be dealt with. For me the root was that if I want it, I'm going to get it whether you like it or not. This went on until I got to the point where I didn't like it anymore, because it doesn't matter how much money you make, you can still live above your means.
 
I used to feel like I had to win every argument. God's still working on me, but when I realize that I'm acting like the "old man," I can shut up, and I can say I'm sorry when I'm wrong.
 
There are many other things that people continue in attempting to fix their problems. They continue to allow their "old man's" logic to fix their problems:
 
Men and women both still seek companionship in an attempt to fill a void in their lives that only Jesus can fill. They attempt through material possessions to fill voids, through drugs or alcohol, through a better job, through....
 
Men try to prove their manhood by dominating relationships and attempting to rule their spouse in fear, and some women allow themselves to be used as a vessel, like Eve did, for the serpent to once again usurp the position of the man’s spiritual leadership in the home, which throws everything in the house into chaos and disarray, and just as the fall left God’s children in a place of heartache and pain, the children of the family are left in disarray. And then she wonders why he won’t step up and lead? Oh please you wouldn’t let that man lead if he wanted to.

People attempt to fix their financial burdens by more financial burdens but they never let God deal with the over spending issues in their lives.
 
These are some specific issues that affect people's daily lives, but the commonality is that they represent "old man" behavior that was supposed to have died in Christ at the cross. However, if we don't understand how the Holy Spirit works in our lives through the finished work of Christ, then we continue to struggle.
 
So how does it work? God operates in sovereignty within our free will. If there is an area, He wants gone, but we want to cling to, He allows the wilderness wandering to ensue. He allows certain things to take place in our lives to bring us to the end of self in that area He wants to deal with. I can assure you that God has more patience than we do, and if we refuse to submit in a certain area, then He just waits and lets us have our way until finally one day we say, "No mas. No more God. I quit. I give up and defer to your will."
 
Lastly, about this verse is the phrase...according to the deceitful lusts...literally means a delusional craving for something that is forbidden. When my flesh desires something contrary to the will of God, and I'm moved in that direction instead of towards the Father's will, I'm being deceived by sin and operating according to the mindset of the "old man."
 
Ephesians 4:23-24
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
 
The terminology here: "renewed in the spirit of your mind" is reminiscent of the terminology used in chapter one "...that the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened."
 
Does the mind have a spirit? Does the understanding have eyes? The thought is that when the spiritual aspect of man is born again, that man's spirit is quickened or given life towards the things of God (Ezekiel 36:25-27) and a renewal of the mind ensues. In other words, the Spirit of God through the word of God begins to transform and renew the thought processes, better yet, the viewpoint in which this vapor called life is seen is transformed i.e. renewed by the Holy Spirit.
 
This process requires various factors to be in place. For example, the Holy Spirit must be living in the heart of the person, so they must be born again. Secondly, the word of God must be preached, taught or understood in such a way that the believer is made aware of how the renewed mind takes place.
 
The reason I emphasize this so much is because for so long I was taught that all I had to do was read the Bible and my mind was being renewed. While it is true that reading the word introduces me to the truths of God, if I don't spiritually understand the underlying meaning of the text, my mind will be tricked, with the help of unknowing preachers into believing that it's the simple act of reading pages in the Bible that's renewing my mind when the reality is that-- it's a spiritual understanding of God's word that changes the context of my worldview.
 
Titus 3:5-6
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
 
This scripture does a good job of explaining somewhat the process I'm speaking of. It's not through the works that we do that the renewed mind is received. Man cannot, through his feeble attempts at reading more Bible, praying more, or fasting more save himself. Man cannot do a regeneration miracle in his own heart through his own works of righteousness; rather, a regeneration miracle takes place in the heart of  a man when he is born again  as taught in Romans 6:3-5, Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Jeremiah 31:31. Human words can't properly describe what happens in the spiritual realm, but let it be known that when a person is born again and sealed with the Holy Spirit, they will never be the same.
 
The word regeneration describes the initial conversion. One Greek scholar likened it to a building permit, which allows the continued work to ensue. The renewed mind is a renovation project. When a person is born again, the Holy Spirit comes to live in them and they now have a receiver.
 
Ezekiel 36:26-27
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
 
That which was previously born of Adam and dead to God has been born again and made alive to God. This event allows the renewing to ensue.
 
The word "renewing" in Titus and "renewed" in our Ephesians text come from the same root and mean exactly that: a process of renewal. So the renewed mind is transformed because the Holy Spirit, through salvation has awakened our spirit from the death of sin, and the process continues as the believer learns and submits to the Holy Spirit's renewal of the mind through the word.
 
One of the big problems we have is that much of our mindsets have been developed from the world; furthermore, we now live in the midst of a timeframe where the church has embraced much of the methodologies of the world, which further obscures the line between godliness and holiness; therefore, it becomes more difficult a process for the mind to be renewed. This same thing happened to Israel.
 
Hebrews 3:7-4:11
 
The revelation God gave me about this passage that connects to the renewed mind concept is the fact that God said, "They always erred because they didn't know His ways." paraphrase
 
As I began to ponder this concept, I asked the Lord, "But why Lord? Why didn't they know your ways? They were Israel, the nation you had created through the promises given to the one man named Abraham. You had delivered them from Egyptian bondage. They previously had known of your covenant through the sign of circumcision you had given Abraham-- why God?"
 
I firmly believe God's answer for me was the same problem that God's people deal with today. His answer was that they had been Egyptian slaves for 400 years, and even though they had been given the circumcision and the promises, as they lived in Egypt, a type of the world, they forgot the ways of God and became indoctrinated with the ways of the world.

Paul has a similar warning for the church.
 
Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed [to be molded from an outer source] to this world: but be ye transformed [metamorphosis the inside {Jesus from the new birth} comes out] by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
 
Essentially, these two scriptures explain the same concept as the one we just covered in Hebrews. Just as Egypt (world) had influenced the mindset of Israel's thinking, the world today wants to influence the thinking of God's people—the church. God doesn't want His people to err repeatedly because they don't understand His ways.
 
In this Romans passage, the exhortation reaches backwards to all the previous teaching that had come forth:
 
Ch 1-3: all men, both Jew and Gentile are guilty according to God's standard of righteousness which was the Law.
 
Ch 3:21-4 & 5: the righteousness of God apart from the Law has been revealed and His name is Jesus. Man is justified and the curse reversed through faith in the sacrifice of the righteous one.
 
Ch 6: upon faith in Jesus and His sacrifice, the old man dies and a new man is resurrected anew.
 
Ch 7: when the believer attempts to live daily for God through faith in works and Law, grace is frustrated and failure rather than victory is the result.
 
Ch 8: there are spiritual laws that are in effect. The only way to victory over sin is through the fact that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set me free from the law of sin and death.
 
Ch 9-11: Israel is an example to the church. They attempted to establish their own righteousness and forsook the righteousness of God which was Jesus.
 
12: the believer is exhorted to live a life of sacrifice, where he becomes a walking worship service for God. Remember, the reader of this letter would have already read Romans chapter 6, where he would have been taught that the “old man’ was dead, and a “new man’ was resurrected; Therefore, when they read the words… be a living sacrifice…this was the exhortation.
 
The person who understands that the old is dead and the new is resurrected gains revelation that he is crucified to the world, he will not be conformed to their ways, and instead his mind is transformed as the new man begins to gain revelation about the wonderful plan of God, which created new creations in Christ. Ultimately, this is the renewed mind—a revelation that the believer is a new creation in Christ.