√ Re·new·al: the replacing or repair of something that is worn out, run-down, or broken
Romans 2 [NIV]
13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous…15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.
18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
• What “if you know his will and approve of what is superior BECAUSE you are instructed by the law” written on your heart, not a list of do’s and don’ts.
• What if the “requirements of the law” include internal instruction about judgment and renewal for those who are “righteous in God’s sight?”
• Then the accusation of judgment becomes the instruction of the law within us that bears witness to our conscience and the needs of our heart.
• Then our renewal becomes the evidence within us of God’s own defense of our heart as He directs our thoughts toward His righteousness.
“If you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth.“ God is “bearing witness’ to your thoughts through those requirements of judgement and renewal. What is written on your heart is His best option for the renewal of your mind and His best defense of your righteousness. “You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
Read and Ponder - Faith in Daily Life 