May 28, 2023 Sunday Sermon Romans 12:1-21

Introduction

Romans Romans 12:1–21: The Gospel Expects Sacrifice

“The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar!”

(Unknown)

The expectation of the Gospel is Sacrifice

We are exhorted to personally sacrifice.

romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 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.

I know, I've said this several times in the book of Romans, but this passage, as well as probably one of the most important verses in the Bible. Paul has just gotten done walking through teachings on sin, salvation, sanctification, and sovereignty. Now he is pivoting to challenge the believers to truly act on the truth they have received. This word here describes how he is stressing, appealing to them, asking them urging them to put in the practice.

Romans A. The Exhortation to Personal Sacrifice (12:1–2)

parakaleo (to urge, call, exhort, encourage),

The conclusion of the last chapter was that we are on saved by gods mercy. We all stand condemned by our sin, and it is the mercy of God that saves us. In view of this mercy, Paul makes a case that we should offer our selves as living sacrifices to God. We should offer ourselves to live life's that honor him for how he changed our life.

Romans A. The Exhortation to Personal Sacrifice (12:1–2)

“in the New Testament religion is grace, and ethics is gratitude’ (Letters, 1877, p. 16). It is not by accident that in Greek one and the same noun (charis) does duty for both ‘grace’ and ‘gratitude’ ” (Bruce, p. 213).

Paul describes the sacrifice that we offer to God as our spiritual art of worship.

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

If we have the kind of focus described in this passage in Hebrews, the kind of awkward view that he talks about, then sacrifice makes sense. If we look throughout the Bible, from the very beginning worship was accompanied by sacrifice. It was always accompanied by sacrifice.

It's interesting when you look at the root form of the words that Paul uses for worship in Romans, you find many of those words point to service. In other words to worship is to serve.

This idea of sacrificing ourselves, and putting God first is difficult for us to hear. Especially in America we are married to our comforts aren't we?

Romans A. The Exhortation to Personal Sacrifice (12:1–2)

Oswald Chambers says, “We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself. If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you—and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ” (My Utmost, June 13).

What could it look like to be a “Living Sacrifice today?

1. **Charity and Helping Others:**

This could mean volunteering at a homeless shelter, donating to charitable causes, or simply helping out a neighbor in need. The idea is to sacrifice one's time, effort, or resources for the benefit of others, in a way that reflects God’s love and mercy.

2. **Practicing Forgiveness:**

Christians are encouraged to forgive others as God has forgiven them. This can be difficult, especially when someone has deeply hurt or wronged you. However, practicing forgiveness can be seen as a form of 'living sacrifice', as it often involves putting aside personal feelings of anger or resentment.

3. **Leading a Moral Life:**

This could mean adhering to Christian ethical standards in all aspects of life, including work, family, and personal relationships. It could involve sacrificing personal desires or preferences that conflict with these principles.

4. **Devoting Time to Prayer and Worship:**

Christians are encouraged to dedicate time to prayer, worship, and studying the Bible. This might mean sacrificing leisure time or other activities.

5. **Sharing the Gospel:**

Christians are often encouraged to share their faith with others, despite potential ridicule or rejection. This could involve sacrificing one's comfort or social standing for the sake of spreading the Christian message.

Let’s continue in the passage

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 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.

Someone who has truly sacrificed himself to God, will refuse to be conformed to the patterns of this world. She will relentlessly commit her self to honoring God and being OK with being different.

Or as one translator interprets this passage:

Romans A. The Exhortation to Personal Sacrifice (12:1–2)

“Don’t let the world … squeeze you into its mold.”

So how do we do this?

How do we avoid being pushed into the mold of the world?

And what are we avoiding?

The Bible has a number of things to say about the age we live in

Galatians 1:4 ESV

4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

1 Corinthians 1:20 ESV

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

1 John 5:19 ESV

19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

We live in an age, for people only out there to serve themselves. We live in an age, full of people prefer in their own thoughts and beliefs, to save themselves, and having no room for God.

We live in our age, full of people, much like the time of Paul, who prefer their own wisdom over God's wisdom who choose sin rather than salvation. And who believe they're teaching, and their beliefs will save them. God doesn't just offer us to enjoy a ticket to heaven. He calls us to a life transformation. He calls us to be live in sacrifices who are not conformed to the world we live in.

How do we live different from the world around us?

But here is a crucial question, if we live in the world, how do we not get conformed to it? It doesn't matter how weird your family was growing up. If you spent all your time with them, you told many of the same jokes and you acted like your family. At least, until you became a teenager and tried to be different :-) and even then you had many of the character traits of your family. if we live, surrounded by a world of people made them living without God, how do we live differently?

The only way I truly started to become different from my family is when I moved out, and I got married. We can't completely move away from the entire world we live in. How do we proactively make our minds and lives different?

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 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.

Be constantly renewed in your mind

2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Colossians 3:10 ESV

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

If you like God, he will constantly renew, us through many different means in our life.

Fascinatingly this process a renewal in the word the Paul uses here actually is the root word for metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is what we talk about when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. It's a total transformation that takes place. It's also the same word that is used to describe Jesus when he was transfigured before the disciples that time in Matthew.

Matthew 17:2 ESV

2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

This is the kind of transformation God wants to do in you!

God is making you like Jesus.

In your family, work, relationships, finances and more!

So, how does the transformation happen?

Romans 12:2 ESV

2 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.

First of all it’s something that God is doing.

Secondly it is by becoming obsessed by pursuing the will of God.

When we live a life putting God first, naturally this means we need to know what His will is.

Romans A. The Exhortation to Personal Sacrifice (12:1–2)

the seventh-century Spanish archbishop and scholar Isidore of Seville said: “The whole science of the saints consists in finding out and following the will of God”

If you want to experience the life transformation God offers than spend your energy seeking to know and follow the will of God.

You might say

Romans 1-11 was all about the Mercy of God in light of the sin of humanity.

Romans 12:1-2 is the pivot point.

In view of everything that has come before and all that God has done, how then should we live.

In the first eleven chapters, Paul demonstrates the mercy of God. In the following chapters Paul demonstrates how we should live.

We should be motivated to sacrificial living by the mercy of God.

Conclusion

This weekend as you all know, we honor memorial day. We honor the sacrifice of money for our freedom. We honor the men and women who died in service of our country. The ones who died defending us.

In light of those sacrifices, we should live with gratitude. We should love remembering what we have today, because of the sacrifice of others. We should live differently, because we are reminded of how much what we have costs.

Paul has painted a cosmic picture of the mercy of God in the first 11 chapters of Romans. He's shown as the magnificent scale of our son, and the great need for the mercy of God. He's Russian, the most powerful theological lecture in all of the Bible to help us understand this magnificent gospel. In view of all that God has done for us we are called to live life where we sacrifice what we want for what God wants. We are called to live lives where we put God first.

This probably won't look like a standing in front of a fire in the squad, or going to a concentration camp. But that will mean that we are willing to sacrifice our finances we're willing to sacrifice our comforts or willing to sacrifice our time.

But it also means we need to guard against being conformed to this world. In a digital age, our world and different beliefs are coming at us from every side. Social media is flooding us with all sorts of ideas. We need to be selective and intentional in what we allow in. We need to be obsessive about knowing the will of God and making his will our will. We need to be intentional, about who we listen to and the Contant we take in. We need to live differently because God has shown us so much mercy and God loves us.

So go out from here today enjoy. The privilege is purchased for you by the sacrifices of others. And enjoy the mercy of God that he has shown to you because of Jesus and then respond to that mercy by allowing him to transform your mind. By making your life about knowing and following God's will.

If you need help with that, just flip over in the Bolton and read the three habits of a healthy Christian.

Have a wonderful week.