2 Corinthians 5:17
About this verseAnyone who belongs to Christ is made new from the inside: the old life is gone and a new one has begun.
Romans 12:2
Paul urges believers not to be shaped by the world's pattern but to be changed from within as God renews their thinking.
Do not let this present age press you into its mold, but be changed through and through as your mind is made new. Then you will be able to test and recognize the will of God: what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Try it now
Say the verse aloud, filling in each blank. Tap a blank for a hint.
What Romans 12:2 means
Paul turns from eleven chapters of doctrine to how it is lived, and the hinge is the mind. Conforming is passive — it happens by default, by absorption. Transformation is something done *to* you, and it works through renewed thinking.
The purpose given is discernment: so that you may test and approve God’s will. That makes this a foundational verse for Scripture memory itself, since renewing the mind requires new material in it.
Related topics
Questions about Romans 12:2
What does Romans 12:2 mean?
It calls believers to stop being shaped by the surrounding culture and instead be transformed from the inside as their thinking is renewed, so they can discern God’s will.
How is the mind renewed?
By replacing what shapes it — chiefly through Scripture, which is why memorization and meditation are so often tied to this verse.