Psalms 51:10

51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! ¹ 

Renew a resolute spirit within me! ² 

Romans 12:2

12:2 Do not be conformed ³  to this present world, ⁴  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve ⁵  what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Ephesians 4:23

4:23 to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

Hebrews 6:6

6:6 and then have committed apostasy, ⁶  to renew them again to repentance, since ⁷  they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again ⁸  and holding him up to contempt.

¹ sn The heart is viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s motives and moral character.

² tn Heb “and a reliable spirit renew in my inner being.”

³ tn Although συσχηματίζεσθε (suschmatizesqe) could be either a passive or middle, the passive is more likely since it would otherwise have to be a direct middle (“conform yourselves”) and, as such, would be quite rare for NT Greek. It is very telling that being “conformed” to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a “permissive passive,” suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.

⁴ tn Grk “to this age.”

⁵ sn The verb translated test and approve (δοκιμάζω, dokimazw) carries the sense of “test with a positive outcome,” “test so as to approve.”

⁶ tn Or “have fallen away.”

⁷ tn Or “while”; Grk “crucifying…and holding.” The Greek participles here (“crucifying…and holding”) can be understood as either causal (“since”) or temporal (“while”).

⁸ tn Grk “recrucifying the son of God for themselves.”