A Beautiful Mind - Rom. 12:1-8

Introduction The Christian is to be in a constant state of metamorphosis, including his mind. When I think of metamorphosis, I think of butterflies. A hairy, little caterpillar goes into a cocoon and is transformed into a beautiful butterfly. In a sense, our minds are to be constantly through this process of becoming more beautiful.  The story of the Nobel prize winning mathematician and economist John Forbes Nash became immortalized by the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind in which he is played by actor Russell Crowe. His mind is called beautiful because of his unparalleled mathematical abilities and his being able to cope with his schizophrenic hallucinations without medicine. Yet, the truly beautiful mind is the one that is being transformed, renewed by the grace and Spirit of God.  The first area of thought renewal that Paul brings up is what or how we think of ourselves. Right thinking is very important because it will invariably result in right doing. The particular sin Paul deals with in this passage is the sin of an exaggerated self-esteem.  I. A Brief Review of Verses 1-2  A. Our whole being is to be consecrated to the lord, 1  B. Therefore, there is no area of our being that should be kept for ourselves.  C. The consecrating of the whole person happens by the renewing of the mind.   D. Consecrate yourself to God and consecrate yourself to one another  E. All the truths of chapter 1-11 give birth to these two applications. II. Consecrate Yourself to One Another  A. Note that what Paul is saying here is a command.  B. Note also that it is a command to everyone who is among you.  C. Why should we recalibrate our thinking?  D. How can I get there? How can I have the right estimate about myself? Well, it is a gospel realization.  III. Don't Think Too Highly of Yourself Because You Need Each Other, 4-5  A. Thinking highly of ourselves often leads to despising others, which is spiritual suicide because we need each other to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ.  B. It is of the utmost importance that we give heed to what Paul says is verse 5: we not only members of the body of Christ, but also of one another.  IV. The Spirit Gives Gifts to the Body of Christ, 6-8.  A. Paul lists seven gifts  B. Note that these are gracious gifts (according to the grace that is given to us in v. 6)  C. The seven gifts briefly just as illustrations of how it is to be done: prophecy, diaconate service, teaching, exhorting, giving, leadership, showing mercy.  D. Three final words about these gifts:  Conclusion  So, what Paul is saying is "don't think so highly of yourself that you decide to do what God has not gifted you to do." Also, Paul implies that we are to be content with the gifts that God has given us, not be upset because we didn't get somebody else's gifts. God has not made a mistake. He has given you exactly what you need to minister to him and his body. http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-beautiful-mind-rom-121-8.html

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