What Is Shaping You?

So this quote that circulates periodically says it's easier to fool people than

to convince them that they've been fooled.

It's attributed to Mark Twain.

Now, it sounds like Twain.

Looks like Twain, right? It looks convincing when somebody puts it over a black

and white photo of himself or of him.

That's quotation marks, his name, sometimes even a fancy font.

This is practically the internet's version of a peer review right here.

But there's just one problem researchers have never found reliable evidence

that mark twain ever said these words,

many people believe it because it it sounds right it looks right it has been

repeated so often that nobody stops to ask is this true and if that could happen with this quote,

something harmless like this it's fairly fairly harmless quote can it,

can it also happen with the beliefs that shape our identity or our relationships,

or our morality or our politics our definition of success what about our understanding of god,

so here's the main question that i want to explore today what lie have i protected.

Well, why have I protected because it comforts me, or it excuses me,

or it affirms me, or keeps me from having to change.

Our scripture reading today comes from Romans chapter 1, or sorry,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 12 verses 1 and 2.

So it says, Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy,

to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

This is your true and proper worship.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is,

his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Paul presents two forces here that can shape a human life. It's the pattern

of the present age and the transforming work of God.

There's no neutral option. Everyone is being formed by something.

What is it that's shaping you?

See, up until chapter 12, Paul has spent the previous 11 chapters explaining God's mercy.

Humanity? Well, we've sinned. We can't rescue ourselves, so God acts.

And his answer is, of course, Jesus Christ. Jesus died for us sinners,

and God justifies those of us who trust him.

He frees us from condemnation. He gives us the Holy Spirit, he adopts us as

his children and promises that nothing, nothing can separate us from his love.

And then in chapter 12, Paul starts out, therefore, therefore,

by the mercies of God, Paul doesn't begin with, transform yourself so that God might show you mercy.

No, he says, because God has shown you mercy, offer yourself to him.

Our obedience is our response to his grace, not the price of his grace.

God's mercy comes first. Before any command, there's mercy.

Before surrender, there's mercy.

Before renewal, there is mercy. And before change, there's mercy.

There's always mercy first.

Some people hear a message about reading the Bible and they immediately feel

guilty. They say, I know I should read the Bible more. I should be better.

But the gospel doesn't say to read enough chapters and perhaps God will receive

you. The gospel says that while we were still sinners.

That God came to save us. God sent his son Jesus to come down and save us.

That's the message of the gospel.

It's not a ladder that we climb to get to God. Scripture announces the mercy

by which God came down to humanity in Jesus Christ.

And because God has shown mercy, Paul says to present the body as a living sacrifice.

Not just to present your thoughts or your time on Sunday mornings,

but your whole life, your time, your work, your money, your habits,

your relationships, your speech, your ambitions, your loyalties,

even your private conduct.

It's all to be placed at God's disposal.

A living sacrifice says, Lord, there is no locked room.

There is no area marked private in my life that you are not allowed to challenge,

and that includes our minds, it's possible to surrender certain behaviors to

God while refusing to surrender the beliefs underneath them.

It's possible to say, Jesus is Lord, while quietly adding, but he's not allowed

to question my opinion, or my resentment, or my desires, or my identity,

or my definition of success.

So it's it's not just a matter of how much of the bible do i know see god renews

surrendered minds but that surrender means giving god permission to contradict us.

Let's look at the mold of this age paul continues he says in romans 12 to do

not be conformed to this age and it describes a pattern of being of being shaped according to a pattern,

this present age. It has a mole that it's trying to shape us by.

It offers its own definitions of truth, of goodness, of freedom,

and love, and identity, and justice, and success.

It offers its own definition of the good life, and its influence is just gradual

enough that any beliefs might be absorbed before we really have time to examine them consciously.

It's not just our generation, by the way. Every age has had stories that feel

unquestionable to the people living at that time.

Every political group has assumptions that it protects, and every family has

patterns that it calls normal. Every person has desires capable of making a lie feel true.

But Jeremiah warned us that the human heart is deceitful, and that the Lord

is the one who searches it.

It doesn't mean that our feelings are worthless. Feelings tell us about pain,

about joy, about desire.

But our feelings are just witnesses. Feelings can't be the final judge.

The heart can reveal what's happening inside without reliably declaring what is ultimately true.

So researchers have kind of been able to demonstrate this in something they call choice blindness.

At Lund University in 2005, there was an experiment where participants were

asked to choose between two photographs of faces and depict the one that was

more attractive to them.

On some of the trials, the researchers would secretly hand them the face that

they had not chosen, and then they would ask them to explain their choice.

And many people failed to notice that switch and confidently supplied reasons

for preferring the face that they had not actually chosen.

It's kind of a matter that the

human mind can lose the election and still deliver the the victory speech.

That experiment doesn't prove that every judgment is false, but it does remind

us that sincerity is not infallibility,

confidence is not confirmation, and a belief does not become true merely because

it feels deep or personal.

So, and I ask again, what lie have I protected?

Have I protected the lie that what feels right must be right?

Have I protected the lie that everybody else needs correction more than me,

have I protected the lie that hidden sin can remain hidden or that forgiveness

removes the need for repentance have I protected the lie that God exists to

approve the life that I've already decided to live,

have I protected the lie that a faithful Christian should always try to earn the world's approval,

and if you are protecting that last one I'd say you've already chosen your answer

to the next question that I'm going to ask here,

am I prepared to be hated for Jesus's name?

Jesus told his disciples in John chapter 15 that if the world hated him,

John 15 · chapter mention

hated them, they should remember that it had hated him first.

He said they would be mistreated on account of his name because the world did

not know the father who sent him.

I do want to stop and clarify something about that, that people,

some people tend to get wrong on that verse.

Jesus did not tell Christians to become hateful so that they could claim to be hated for him.

1 Peter 4, 14-60 says, There's a difference between suffering because someone

bears Christ's name and suffering because somebody behaves like an evildoer or meddler.

But we also have to be careful not to go too far in the opposite direction because

not every criticism is persecution.

Sometimes criticism is correction.

Sometimes people are not rejecting jesus but they're reacting to a christian

who is arrogant or careless who is cruel or dishonest or just needlessly offensive,

we must be honest and truthful with the word but we're to do it in love the

goal is not to make people hate christians the goal is to love christ so faithfully,

that losing the world's approval will not make his disciples deny him?

Let me ask another question related to that. If obedience to Jesus costs us

our reputation or our opportunities or our comfort, if it costs us our acceptance, is he still Lord?

Yeah, of course he is. But if following Jesus doesn't cost us anything,

isn't it just possible that our faithfulness might be getting confused with acceptance.

Paul doesn't say only to identify what's wrong with the world.

He says, do not be conformed.

The danger is not only that this age tries to mold us into its shape,

but that a different kind of mold is waiting and found a willing home within our hearts.

Jesus had another way of describing this kind of influence, this corrupting

teaching, something that works quietly but persistently, seeking to spread out

through our whole lives. He called it leaven.

And beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

But Paul does not stop with just saying no to the world. An empty mind does not remain empty.

An exposed lie must be displaced by the truth. And I mean must be displaced.

God's truth does not simply move in beside the lie and share the space with

it. That lie must be brought into the light, surrendered, and replaced.

Paul says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

On the free Methodist tradition, we call this God's sanctifying work.

And that sanctification begins when we receive new life in Christ.

But it continues as the Holy Spirit makes us increasingly like Jesus.

So entire sanctification then describes a surrender in which believers fully

consecrate themselves to God and trust the Holy Spirit to purify the heart, to heal its,

divided loyalties, and to fill it with holy love.

It's not sinless perfection, but it's a heart that's made wholly available to

God, a life governed by love for God.

It's the work of the Holy Spirit. It's not a self-improvement project that we complete alone.

2 Corinthians uses that same transformation language and says that the Spirit

changes believers increasingly into the image of Christ.

See, Romans 12.2 does not say that reading the Bible is a magic formula.

It says that the mind must be renewed.

The wider context of Scripture shows us that the Holy Spirit uses God's truth

to teach, to expose, to correct, to train, and to form God's people.

2 Timothy says, Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching,

rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that God's servant is

equipped for every good work. Scripture is thorough.

It teaches what's true. It rebukes what's false. It corrects what's wandered,

and it trains a person to walk differently.

Scripture doesn't just provide information, but it confronts us.

It prepares us, and it forms us.

That's why Christians must read the Bible every day, not merely possess one,

not carry one around with you in a pretty bag, not quote one or listen while

somebody else explains it.

It's important that you read it every day.

Some people read the Bible the way they read software terms and conditions.

They just go scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll, agree. Yep, that's all good.

I don't need to read that. No, but agreement without attention is not discipleship.

I'm going to repeat that again. Agreement without attention is not discipleship.

In Acts 17, the Bereans listened to Paul with eagerness, and they examined the

scriptures every day to see whether or not his message was true.

They weren't being cynical. They weren't being gullible. They were being open and discerning.

They received the teaching, but they tested that teaching against scripture.

In our fours youth group last year, we learned the seven checks of critical thinking.

Bias, claim, source, evidence, assumptions, implications, consistency.

But before any of those steps were used to check what we were examining,

there was one foundational step above everything else, and that is,

does this match what God says?

Check the scripture. Does this match what God says? Scripture does the testing.

Critical thinking tools help us to apply God's truth wisely,

but they do not replace God's authority.

Scripture is our always-on filter. It's the glasses that we wear that we see

everything in the world through.

The Bereans checked the Apostle Paul. That means that just because the preacher

said it does not mean that it's authoritative.

Just because I'm up here saying something, I'm not a preacher.

It's not authoritative. Check me on everything that I'm saying here today.

Don't get me wrong, though. Pastors matter, and teachers matter,

and church history matters, and wise commentaries matter.

Mature Christians matter, but none of them replace your personal responsibility to study to know,

god's word for yourself and by the way for yourself does not mean by yourself

private private interpretation without humility can become another form of pride,

that god places believers in a body for a reason he gives us teachers and pastors

and mature friends and wisdom historical wisdom the correcting fellowship of the church,

He gives that all to us for a reason But personal responsibility Is not private infallibility,

So I'm going to give you a simple rhythm Just for approaching the scripture

It's very simple ultimately Number one obviously is Open your Bible,

Open your Bible.

Read the text before reading opinions about it. Read the paragraph,

not merely the sentence. Ask what comes before and after.

Notice repeated words and reasons and commands and promises and conclusions.

You know, I'll say as pretty as

it is, a well-placed verse over a mountain background is not a commentary.

It's useful. It's still scripture. But you need to know the context in which it's being said.

The second is then after you open your bible come willing to be corrected with

a humble heart pray lord do not merely show me where others are wrong but show

me where resistance lives in me,

see if you're only opening scripture to confirm your opinion and you're not

asking god to teach you you're asking god for an endorsement.

Third thing if you have a humble heart and you come in open your bible come

in with a humble heart it will help her to renew your mind so let's,

continuing on this examination of the scripture let's bring everyone everyone's

favorite part of high school english class back and let's ask what is the author

saying here everyone loved that right that was my favorite question what is

the author saying why is it being said,

what response does this text seek i always hated that in english but moving

from fiction to to non-fiction especially in examining the bible bible i want

to know what the author is saying.

I want to know why it's being said.

I want to know what the response attacks seek. I want to know how the original

hearers would have understood it.

How does it fit in with the rest of scripture and the saving work of Jesus Christ?

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Honest questions are not at enmity with our

faith. Ask them. Bring them. Bring them to church. Study them.

The danger is not in the presence of a question. The danger is in protecting,

an answer from an examination because the truth just might require us to change.

And if we've done all these things, if we've opened our Bible,

if we kept a humbled heart, if we let it renew our mind, then we're going to

be living an obedient life or working towards living an obedient life.

Don't stop at just, what does this mean? We need to ask, what must change because this is true?

Is there a sin to confess? Is there someone to forgive or a habit to abandon

or a truth to speak or a fear to surrender?

The evidence of a renewed mind is not just a marked-up Bible,

though that is a beautiful thing. Another quote I love about that is,

a Bible that is falling apart is the evidence of a person that's not, or something like that.

That's one that's commonly attributed, just like the quote at the beginning

here by Mark, it's commonly attributed to Charles Spurgeon, but there really

isn't any evidence that he said that.

But no, the evidence of a renewed mind is not just a marked up Bible.

The evidence of a renewed mind is a transformed life.

Jesus says that by their fruit, he will recognize them.

Jesus is, you know, he's talking about recognizing true and false prophets in,

Matthew 7, I believe, but.

Similar thing there. So, Paul says that through renewed minds,

believers become able to test and discern the will of God, what is good,

what is pleasing and perfect.

That word test or discern carries a sense of examining something,

recognizing what is genuine, and approving what survives the test.

The renewed mind does not merely identify God's will as a fact,

but it increasingly learns to recognize its goodness and to desire what pleases him.

And Romans 12 shows us what that looks like. Immediately after those verses

that we read today, Paul starts speaking about humility and serving with spiritual

gifts and sincere love and patience and suffering

and generosity and peace and blessing persecutors and,

refusing to get revenge and overcoming evil with good.

So you know as Paul moves immediately from what believers know that is that

we are God's mercy comes first to what believers know to how believers live

and that's important because,

even Bible knowledge can become a hiding place where we can use scripture to

examine everyone else while refusing to let scripture examine us.

See, if Bible study makes a person more informed but not more humble,

something has gone wrong.

If it makes somebody more argumentative but not more loving,

something has gone wrong.

If it produces confidence without compassion, something has gone wrong.

If it can explain Greek verbs but can't apologize or forgive or serve or tell

the truth when it's costly, oh, that ain't right.

It's easy to let acquisition of knowledge lure us into a trap where we become

legalistic and we lose track of the true purpose and the purpose of a renewed mind is obedient living,

the holy spirit renews the mind so that the whole life can become holy love love expressed for god,

in love for people we don't live obediently to make god love us no we do it

because in jesus christ god has already shown mercy, and his mercy,

deserves access to every aspect of our lives.

So let's return to that quote attributed by Mark Twain. We know that many people,

accepted it because it sounded right and it looked right, and other people kept

repeating it and repeating it, and nobody stops to ask whether it was true.

Well, some lies survive in our heart for the same reason.

Because they sound right. Because they protect something, or your friends repeat them.

Maybe our culture rewards them and sometimes this truth is avoided because it's

just it's just too costly for us to to address and to change,

so meditate again over that question of our the question of our day today what lie have i protected,

what truth has been avoided because it would require repentance,

whose approval has become more important than jesus christ's,

is there a readiness to obey when obedience costs something is there a readiness

to be misunderstood or rejected,

is there a readiness to be hated because of jesus's name and when by the way

when that happens not if that happens when that happens is there readiness to

respond like jesus with truth with courage with holiness and with love.

We're not out here to become suspicious of everyone, or angry at the culture,

or proud of our superior knowledge, or our human reasoning.

The answer is, and always has been, Jesus.

Jesus is the truth humanity resisted. He is the Savior who bore sin and falsehood on the cross.

He is the risen Lord who gives the Holy Spirit to make people new.

And I'd say for the person who has never trusted in Christ, I urge you to come

to him, not because every question has been resolved, but because you recognize the need for mercy.

Turn from sin, trust the crucified and risen Lord, and receive the life that

cannot be obtained any other way.

And for the believer, stop defending the lie.

Bring it into the light and surrender to Christ. Open his word with a humble

heart and ask the Spirit to renew your mind.

Open your Bible, keep a humble heart, let your mind be renewed,

and live an obedient life.

Because God did not redeem the heart so that this age could disciple the mind. Let's pray.

Merciful father thank you for speaking to us through your word.

You have shown us that we do not have to remain trapped in the patterns of this

age or captive to the lies that we have believed.

Through Jesus Christ, you forgive us. Through the Holy Spirit,

you transform us. And through your word, you renew our minds.

So today, we offer ourselves to you again.

Bring into the light every lie that we have protected. Forgive us for the ways that we have resisted.

Let what we have heard today take root in us and become manifest in the way that we live.

And now as we leave this place, may the mercy of the Father sustain us.

May the truth and grace of Jesus Christ guide us. And may the power of the Holy

Spirit renew us and make us holy in love.

Go on grace, go on truth, go surrendered to God and ready to live what is good,

what is pleasing, what is perfect.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.