Living Sacrifices

Intro

Good Morning!

It’s really good to be with you today. Well, we’ve already had the pleasure of meeting many of you, and I wanted to say thank you for such a warm welcome. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Joshua VanZandbeek, and my wife Katie and I are Bible College students finishing our degrees at Vanguard College in Edmonton, Alberta. And where we call home right now, with our almost-eight-month-old son, Jonathan, who is full of energy and keeps his tired parents hopping.

Katie and I both feel a call into pastoral ministry with a specific heart for rural communities and smaller towns. We have been seeking God’s heart on where He wants us to go after we finish in April, and we are excited to see where He wants us to serve next.

So, that’s a little about us. We are looking forward to meeting with you some more after the service, and learning more about Leask and the church.

As we turn to God’s Word this morning, would you join me and prayer and commit this time to Him?

Pray

Well, I also wanted to say belated happy New Year to everyone! (Sorry it’s a week late). You know, each new year is a gift. There’s this old adage: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present. Maybe it’s cliched, but it rings true. 2023 is our present, another gift from God, and another opportunity to serve and glorify Him.

This morning, I want to invite you to join me in focusing in on the new year, and how we, as Christians, can choose how to use God’s gift of 2023.

Our passage for today is short, just two verse in fact. It’s Romans 12:1-2. You are welcome to turn in your Bibles and read along with me - I’ll be reading from the ESV - or you can find the text up here on the screen.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

When Katie and I were talking about the opportunity to come and spend the weekend here with you, I asked for her thoughts on good passages to preach on, particularly considering that New Year’s was just last weekend. I was stumped, but I know I’m blessed because she had the answer right away. “Oh, how about that passage in Romans on being a living sacrifice?” What a good passage to focus on for the new year! That’s what we’re going to spend the next few moments doing. Looking at what it means to be a living sacrifice.

What I hope we will walk away with today is a renewed conviction that

Christians respond to God’s mercy and grace by offering up their lives entirely to God’s service.

It’s not just the length of our lives that Paul is talking about. It’s also the breadth. Every area, every part, for as long as we live, is Christ, and for Christ. This is the essential response from us as Christ’s people toward His grace and mercy on us.

So, today we’re going to look at this overarching idea that Paul presents of us offering our lives to Christ for His service, and then focus in on two very important features of this response. Let’s start with the first, overarching response itself: to be a living sacrifice.

Be a Living Sacrifice

Paul spends the first 11 chapters of Romans writing this brilliant exposition of the Gospel message for his readers. Not just for their benefit - commentators think that he was also practicing as he prepared to continue proclaiming the good news from Jerusalem to Spain. So, when Paul speaks of these mercies, he has in mind the entirety of what he has just discussed. On that basis, he says:

Romans 12:1 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Think about that word for a minute: “sacrifice.” What does that mean to you? To some, sacrifice might mean little more than giving up their morning coffee from Tims, or choosing not to eat out every second day. Hard lines. But to others, sacrifice is a whole different ball game. Some of you - I’m sure - know what it means to give up something, even when it’s hard. Maybe you’ve made sacrifices to send kids to college, keep the bills paid, maybe you’ve desperately hoped for something all your life, and have had to give up that because it is not what God has for you right now. Sometimes God asks us to do things we don’t want to do. Hard things. He asks us to lay down that which we value the most.

Consider Abraham for a minute. Probably most of us here know the story of the patriarch of Israel who was giving a son in his old age. A son - an heir - which he cherished. Then God says to Abraham:

Genesis 22:2 ESV

He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

What would you do? This is Abraham’s whole world! He’s waited so long for a promised son. Now God asks him to give that up??

Or, consider the widow from Mark 12:41-44. Jesus sits down, watching the people putting money into the offering box. People - wealthy people - came by and dropped in great sums of money. Yet, for these people, it really isn’t that big of a sacrifice. It is only a fraction of their total wealth. Then this widow comes by - the lowliest of the low. She drops in the box two small coins. Just enough for a penny. That’s about 1.56% of the daily wage for a labourer in those days. And she drops it in the box. It was all she had to live on, Jesus said. But she gave it all to God.

Paul is asking us to give it all to Christ, because He gave it all for us. It’s not a repayment, because we could never repay God. It’s also not something that we do so God can owe us something, because as Paul points out just before our passage at the end of chapter 11:

Romans 11:35 ESV

“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”

We bring our whole lives to the altar as a living sacrifice. An ongoing, daily dedication of our entire being to God. Paul calls it “holy” or “set apart.” Every part, every piece, for all the time we are given we are called to set apart for God. This is our “spiritual worship.” The Greek for that phrase “spiritual worship” could be better translated as “service that is in harmony with the truth of the gospel”. We give our full lives to Christ, worshipping Him not just at specific times in specific places, but all the time with our entire lives. We become a “living sacrifice” for God’s glory.

This is the basics of being a living sacrifice, that we bring our whole lives to the altar, and obediently offer them to God for His service. This is pleasing to Him, and as Paul shows us, the right response to the saving work of Christ.

That is our first aspect. But now we need to look more closely at how Paul envisions this to work. This is where we find out the second important feature:

Do Not Conform

Paul says “do not be conformed to this world...” as he begins verse 2. What is good for us to understand here is that verse 2 is subordinate to verse 1 - it fleshes out what verse 1 is saying. So we have seen we are to be living sacrifices - offering our entire lives to Christ. Paul expands on this first by saying, “do not be like the world.” The Greek word for “world,” “αἰών” “Ay-on” translates to “an age”, or “a cycle of time.” Paul is saying, “do not be conformed to the world today, which is riddled with things that easily derail the Christian in their walk with Christ.” He calls the Romans - and us - to not be shaped by this current age, but rather to be set on the age to come. So Paul says don’t conform to your present age, and don’t allow it to shape your life.

One commentator noted this:

Romans Outline

Paul recognizes “the power of social groups, cultural norms, institutions, and traditions to mold the patterns of individual behavior

How does the saying go? “Bad company corrupts good character.” Haha, my mom used to tell me that - she was right. It’s funny how when you get into a crowd of people where you want to fit in, all of a sudden you find yourself laughing at things that are not ok, or encouraging behaviour you know Christ would not be happy with.

I started a new job recently as a PT rental consultant. Great job, I work with people, I help them find solutions, I have a great team of people to work with. I’m enjoying it. But I noticed that a lot of these people are not Christians, and live lives vastly different from mine. Fair enough, but the thing that gets me is how often the joke about things that are wrong, or that I know definitely do not glorify God. I’ve caught myself laughing at that. Why? It’s wrong! Yes, but it’s hard to stand out in the middle of a crowd, in a place where you are trying hard to fit in. It’s a learning curve!

Paul is speaking to the Romans in present tense. He is saying stop conforming meaning that they are currently struggling with that. Little wonder, they were a predominantly Gentile church in the middle of Rome. I don’t know the exact details of their story, but I do know that they were Christians - probably newer converts - surrounded by pagan culture. Influences against God’s way abound. Yet, Paul calls these Christians to stand their ground, and to stop conforming to this world. He says, do not let how this world thinks and acts be your standard, or shape how you think and act.

It’s a timeless call, because the age they lived in and the one we live in are the same. We are living right now in a world still riddled with sin - one that seeks at every turn to turn us away from God. We face a world today full of cultural norms contrary to the moral standards that God has for us. In the face of that, Paul tells us not to allow them to shape how we think and behave.

Ok, so we now know that part of offering our lives to God as a holy, obedient, living sacrifice involves not allowing this age to shape who we are. What then should shape us? Better question, how do we as individuals face the powerful influence of the world in our lives? This leads us to our third, and final, important feature:

Be Transformed

Let’s read the last part of verse 2 together again:

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

... be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Paul says we must be transformed. There’s a striking difference here between the idea of “conforming” to the world, and being “transformed.” Conforming denotes this superficial change, whereas being transformed is something that happens from the inside out. Paul puts it is in a passive sense: “Let yourselves be transformed” (Peterson), meaning that we are allowing the change to take place, we are not necessarily the ones creating it. It is a direct inner-working of the Holy Spirit, changing our hearts, minds, and actions to conform to the will of God.

As Christians, saved by Christ, we are no longer held captive by sin, but instead now walk in newness of life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Transformation by the Spirit of God is an ongoing process. Lest we think that it is a once and done thing, we must realize that the more mature we become in Christ, the more we should be reflecting Him and transformed into His image. This also means that the more mature we become in Christ, the less we are shaped by the world.

Titus 3:5 notes how:

Titus 3:5 ESV

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

The inward heart regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit changes our minds and actions to more and more be in tune with what God wants and how we may serve Him. Mind and heart are linked in the context of this passage, and I like how this commentator put it:

Romans Outline

As we allow our thinking to be molded by God’s Spirit, we exhibit the character and values of the order that has already been manifested in Jesus Christ our Lord (Col 3:1–4).

What is that order? Paul ends this verse by saying that this transforming of the mind and heart allows us to test and discern the will of God, that which is good, acceptable, and perfect. Paul noted very early on in Romans that those who did not acknowledge God:

Romans 1:28 (ESV)

God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Those who reject Christ’s salvation and the person and work of the Holy Spirit, do not experience the total transformation from death to life that Paul hammers home in this passage, and elsewhere in Romans. They cannot understand that which is good, acceptable, and perfect - the will of God for our lives. So Paul urges that his readers then, and us now, allow the transforming work of the Holy Spirit to manifest in our lives, so that we may live out this call upon us to be, because of God’s mercies, a living sacrifice.

Conclusion

So we’ve come full circle. Here in Romans 12 we see the calling to be living sacrifices. We have seen, I hope, that

Christians respond to God’s mercy and grace by offering up their lives entirely to God’s service.

And Paul gives us three important features that underscore this offering:

Be a living sacrifice

In verse one Paul note that we offer ourselves to God for His service. This is our “Spiritual worship,” or our response that is in harmony with the gospel message. It is the right response, and those who are obedient to the call to be a living sacrifice please God. We are a living, breathing sacrifice because we give God our everything.

Do not Conform to this world

Paul tells us as we enter verse 2 that to become a living sacrifice we must not be conformed to this world, or age. Instead, as God’s people, destined for the eternal Kingdom, we place our focus on that, and not on the superficial and detrimental influences of sin and the world.

Be Transformed by the renewal of mind and heart.

Paul’s final feature, found at the end of v.2, shows how we are to be transformed: to allow God’s Spirit to work inside of us to transform our minds and hearts, thereby transforming our actions, so that we might understand and do the will of our Heavenly Father.

To be living sacrifices - as we are called to do - it not an easy thing. Remember the widow from Mark 12 that we talked about before: She gave all she had to live on to God service. Abraham was asked to give up his only, precious son. Giving every last pice of our lives to God - dedicating all that we are and have to Him is both a challenge, and an ongoing process.

But it is the response that is in harmony with the gospel message - a response glorifying and pleasing to God.

Sacrificing isn’t like what we read about in the Old Testament anymore. We don’t go to the temple once a week and burn a cow or a sheep or a bird. This is because that form of atonement - which could only be temporary - was ultimately fulfilled in Christ, who gave up his entire life so that we might be freed from sin. Now, in accordance with this message God asks that our hearts, minds, and bodies be set apart for Him.

So, as we close I would like to again consider the New Year, 2023. We have a gift of time on our hands - time for God to continue His transforming work in each of us. Having spent only a short time with you last night and this morning, I can see how God has shaped your hearts with a desire to serve Him in this church, and be witnesses to this community. I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to continue building this desire for God’s Kingdom to increase here in this community through your church. I also encourage you to ask God to search your heart and mind, and show you where you still need to allow Him to transform you into the image of Christ.

David says in Psalm 139:23-24

Psalm 139:23–24 ESV

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

David is saying, “Lord, search my heart, try my thoughts. If there is anything in me that sides with this world, or is in line with that which is against you, tear it out. Don’t allow it to stay.”

As we enter the new year, I invite you to take a moment and ask God to reveal where you have been conforming to that world Ask Him to show you the areas He wants you to work on, and then repent of those things that are not in line with God’s will. Invite the Holy Spirit to work in these areas, and allow God to do that work. Let Him transform you, but be active in asking God to continue making you into a Living Sacrifice - so that your life is to God holy, pleasing, and obedient. As Christians, this is our calling, and our response to God’s mercy and grace. We can be sure that God is with us, and working in our lives to make us more like Christ, and set apart for Him. Ask God to increase that transformation, and be ready to see Him move in your life.

Let’s pray.

Notes:

“Christian worship does not consist of what is practiced at sacred sites, at sacred times, and with sacred acts… It is the offering of bodily existence in the otherwise profane sphere.” Käsemann, in Moo, 1996, p. 754.