Hello Friends!
Welcome Back! Let’s continue our journey through the book of Romans – “The Romans Road to Righteousness.”
Welcome Back! Let’s continue our journey through the book of Romans – “The Romans Road to Righteousness.”
The Roman’s Road to Righteousness (Chapter 12:1-8)
This week we will begin reading chapter 12, verses 1-8 as we consider our lives as Living Sacrifices of Service to God…
Having
now concluded eleven chapters
of profound and thrilling doctrine defining what God
has already done for every believer, the Apostle Paul
does not then say, "here's what you need to get from God."
He says, "here's what you need to give to God!"
The key to powerful Christian living is not getting something more from
God – but giving all we have to
God! Above prayer, praise,
giving and serving, there is one act that is supreme and
all encompassing of which a believer must do in his life as a true worshiper – offering oneself as a living sacrifice!
The
key to spiritual victory is not getting all you can get from
God, but giving all you have to Him. There's a big
difference between the two! There are many people today literally flocking into
churches and spiritual “experiences” with the expressed purpose of “getting
more of God.” However, the issue is not what they must get from
Him. But rather, what they must give to Him – This is the supreme act of true spiritual worship!
That
is
the issue Paul is addressing here in these tremendous passages of Scripture…
Living Sacrifices to God
The
central concept in these initial verses is the very important phrase – "a living sacrifice":
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service – Romans 12:1
Paul
begins with the phrase "I beseech you.”
The word "beseech"
means to plead – parakaleo – “I come alongside to call you to
this!” It is a word of tenderness and gentleness. Although Paul could command
his readers to do these things through the authority given to him by God as a
chosen Apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul instead lovingly pleads with us to
heed his request in humble submission to God! And what are the “mercies of God” that Paul speaks of here?
They are everything that God has already done
for the “believer” listed in chapters 1 through 11 – God’s “love,” “grace,”
“mercy,” “peace,” “kindness”
and “salvation” in Jesus
Christ – Halleluiah!
Here
we also find that the primary “sacrifice”
we are called to “offer” to “God” is ourselves! The
Lord no longer desires that animals be offered to Him, because that Old
Testament era has ended – no more dead animal “sacrifices”
for “sin” are accepted!
Rather, He requires the “living”
souls, bodies, minds and wills of Christian men and women as a “reasonable service”
– our “logical debt” to God! The
central act of a New Covenant “believer”
is the presentation of all that we are as a "living sacrifice" to God – Praise the Lord!
Next Paul tells us that one of the very basic keys to
being able to “offer” our “bodies” as an “acceptable” and “living sacrifice” to “God” is to be sure that our “mind” is being “transformed” and “renewed” by His Word:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God – Romans 12:2
The
original construct of this sentence denotes the fact that Paul’s readers were already
being “conformed”
to the “world”
in their thinking! Therefore, Paul presents this truth with a negative
thought and then a positive thought:
First
~ We must NOT be "conformed to this world!“ The word
for “world“
– aion – means “age.”
This is not the word kosmos meaning the planet or “creation”
so to speak. This present “age”
is the fallen and unredeemed philosophy of humanistic life which comes through
music, movies and the media. We must not allow this present “age” to “conform”
us to its godless image. Incidentally, the word “conform”
denotes someone being squeezed into a mold. Rather, we are eternally “called” by the Holy Spirit to “not” allow
ourselves to become “conformed”
to the purposes, ethics, standards and moralities of this wicked satanic “world” system.
Second
~ We ARE to be “transformed”
by the “renewing”
of our “mind” through the Word
of God and by “dying” to our
old “sin” nature – every
day! These are the two most critical and essential elements
in holding to a Biblical worldview and will indeed “prove” the “good and acceptable” & “perfect will of God”
for obedient Christian living!
This
“spiritual” battle is won
or lost in the “mind”
of the “believer!” This “world” system is an instrument of Satan to
promote his anti-God goals and ambitions. We see it everywhere today!
The spirit of this “world”
is pride, boastfulness and ugly ego. Therefore, it is with our “mind” that we make choices
as to whether we will express the “new man”
in the “holiness” of Jesus
Christ or allow our “flesh” to
act in satanic “ungodliness”
toward God. Since we are to “present”
our “body” and our “mind” to “God”
as “acceptable”
and “perfect,”
it must be “renewed” day by
day as an obedient act of the will – Life-long Sanctification!
Service to God with Spiritual Gifts
The
“grace” that was given to Paul
by God, he now uses to speak an important warning to “everyone” in the Christian family.
We are not to think “more highly”
of ourselves than we ought, but to think “soberly”
according to how God has “dealt”
to every believer the “measure of faith”
that has been “given” to us:
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith – Romans 12:3
Service
begins with dedication and humility. The proper godly and “soberly” attitude is the result of a
self-surrender to God. If we've given everything we are to God, then we’ve
nothing left of our selves. That's the attitude of true humility! It flows out
of our self-centered abandonment to the perfect “will”
of God. In other words, Paul says “Don't have an exaggerated opinion of your
gifts.” There is no pride or false humility here! We are to “think” of ourselves according to the “grace” God has “dealt” to us with the “measure of faith” – the spiritual
insights, sensitivities, capacities and comprehensions to use that spiritual “gift” – which is indeed different
for every Christian.
It
was the “grace” of God that
ordained Paul to a position of an Apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul had received
from God the direct “call”
to “preach” the “Gospel” and was the last Apostle personally
commissioned by Jesus Christ Himself! To further this thought, Paul then
describes the “many members”
of the “one body”
of who are “in” Jesus Christ:
For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another – Romans 12:4-5
Here
we can recognize that though there is unity at the level of commitment,
there is tremendous diversity at the level of “service.” Just as a physical body
that has “many members,” so
the spiritual body “in Christ”
has “many members” as well.
There is only “one body” but
every “believer” is a
different “member” of the
whole! And not only are there “many members”
without the “same function,”
Paul now shares with us that there are many “gifts”
of which are “differing”
by the “grace” of God:
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness – Romans 12:6-8
Although
we all have “differing gifts”
by the “grace that is given
to us” by God, we must all “use them” in our unity of
commitment – For His glory!
Paul
also reminds us of this truth in his epistle to the Colossian church:
And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ – Colossians 3:23
We
are as diverse in terms of our “ministry”
and “service” to God as we are
in our own individual identity and personality. There are no two
Christians alike and there are no two Christians of whom can “serve” the Lord alike!
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Do you spend as much time in the Word
of God as you do in the allurements of the “world”
today? Do you pray to the Lord on a consistent basis? Have you set your
affections on “things above”
and not on things of this “age”
here on earth? Are your deep desires for the things of God? Not out of
legalistic compulsion but out of a “heart” of gratitude “according to the grace” God has “given” to you? If you are not
living fully for Him… WHY NOT? The “renewed mind” of the growing Christian is
saturated and controlled by the Word of God through the power of the Holy
Spirit. This is the “good
and acceptable and perfect will of God” for every true
“believer” – Let us serve Jesus Christ with our whole heart and
mind!
Here
are some practical thoughts to consider from the Apostle Paul regarding the
discovery of our “gifts” from
God:
Present yourself a “living sacrifice”
Know you're “gifted” by God
Pray for God’s “wisdom”
Seek nothing “for” yourself
Truly “examine” your
heart's desires
Consider confirmation from “others”
Look for the blessing of God in your “service”
Willingly “serve” God and
“others” with your whole “heart”
When you begin to see what your “gift” is… Go
for it!
In
other words, cultivate your “gift”
as it begins to be obvious to you – and others around you! There's tremendous
distinction in all of us! God has given me a “gift” to use for His glory in the
advance of His Kingdom. And God has given you a “gift” to use for His glory in the
advance of His Kingdom. By His Sovereign
design, whatever your “gift”
is… Use it with “cheerfulness” and
“diligence” unto the Lord!
In
closing:
These
excellent passages are the consummate conclusion to the past eleven chapters of the great doctrines outlined by
the Apostle Paul here in this wonderful book of Romans. We must give back to
God all that we are. And that conclusion isn’t always easy
to live by to be sure! But it is absolutely necessary if we are ever to
know the “fullness” of the “blessing” of God and to be able to render
to Him the “reasonable service”
that is due to His Name and to bring Him “glory”
– This is the giving of oneself totally to the
Lord.
Admittedly,
I’m quite frustrated by the particular idea that is so prevalent in
“Christianity” today. It is often said that to be “successful” in living the
Christian life we must get something from God – when the real
issue is we must give something to Him! We will never
know our “gift of service” or
its full potential until we have lived out the precious “promises” found in these passages. If we
are not at the point of total dedication to Jesus Christ, then whatever
we're doing in terms of “ministry”
and “service” is not revealing
to us the full potential of our true giftedness. Why? Because
we're not operating at the level of total
commitment to Him!
However,
this is not something that a person can do unless they're
truly redeemed – “born again”
– and filled with the Holy Spirit. Nothing else can be offered to God if the “soul” hasn't been “renewed” in Jesus Christ. An unregenerate
person cannot freely give his body, his mind or his will
to God. In fact, Paul tells us elsewhere in Scripture of the “natural” man:
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned – 1 Corinthians 2:14
True
“worship” is not elaborate
prayers. It is not liturgy. It is not tradition. It is not ritual. It is not
candles, robes, stained glass, music or songs. True “worship” is not feeling spiritual “goose
bumps” or “liver quivers” in a church service. True “worship” is the intelligent and willful
act of giving to God our whole body, mind and soul – “holy” and “set
apart” unto Him. This is a life of total “obedience” to the Word of God in Jesus
Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit – That's
what God wants from us!
Sadly,
many Christians never fully come to that “sanctified”
place in life! They willfully flirt with the “world”
and the “flesh.” They sow to
their own personal indulgences and desires. They become willing
“victims” of the philosophy, psychology and ideology of the “world” around them. They buy into the
rubbish of this satanic “world”
system. They entertain themselves with the trash of the “world” and they “think” as the “world” thinks. They refuse to come to the
place of total commitment to Jesus Christ discussed in these sobering passages.
Therefore, they forfeit the “fullness”
of the “blessing” that God
would have for their lives…
We
need never fear the “will” of
God! His wonderful ways are “good,”
“acceptable” and “perfect.” Therefore, the “renewed” mind, the submissive “will” and the consecrated “body” go along with the truly redeemed “soul” in Jesus Christ – O’ sweet simplicity!
Please continue reading verses 1-8 of
the twelfth chapter of Romans
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"Lighthouse Publications <><
