Our Reasonable Service

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice

Rom 12:1-8 “1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; 7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; 8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he t…”

By Way of introductions:

We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable

This is our reasonable service

Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is good, and acceptable, and the perfect will of God.

I. The example of the Donatists

Back around 300 A.D. the Donatists became another sect of Christians. They were accused of having higher standards for those in ministry and rejecting many of the Catholic beliefs. Everyone has good and bad things. They would remove catholic idols and other catholic artifacts and they would re baptize believers based on a model of believers baptism.

In the 300’s A.D., the Diocletianic or Great Perseuction was the last of several Christian persecutions under Roman rule and there was wide spread persecution of the church:

One writer writes: Christians are heavily persecuted. Christians by the hundreds are tried, tortured, slaughtered, and executed for their faith. The persecution ranges from average churchgoers to clergy.

Persecution was not just torture of the body but also the mind and spirit, as many people’s faith was tested and were martyred for their faith.

However, there were also Christians who recanted the faith, from clergy to average congregants, and gave in to Rome and made sacrifices to the Roman Gods to show their subjection. After the persecutions ended there was a divide between the Donatists and the Catholics. However, one of the positions of the Catholics was that if you recanted your faith you could not go to one of their churches.

The question is are you willing to do what the Lord asks you to do. Not what he may ask someone else to do, what he may ask you to do.

A. The Donatists were willing to die for their faith. They had honor and courage.

B. However, they were unwilling to forgive their fellow Christians who were not so honorable and courageous.

Let’s go back to the passage:

Rom 12:3-6 “3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;”

Christian are you willing to do what God is asking you to do?

II. The example of Paul

John 15:13 “13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Let’s look at what Paul was asked to do?

2 Cor 11:25-33 “25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: 33 And through a window in a basket was…”

What is Paul saying? He is saying that he has been there and experienced the worst of it.

Let’s go back to the beginning though:

Acts 9:10-16 “10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. 13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

Like in the example of the Donatists, Paul was someone that they felt that was not worthy to be let into the Christian fold. Paul was worst than recanting the faith, he was actually persecuting and killing Christians.

Ananias was asked to forgive Paul and to offer his body as a living sacrifice and to do what the Lord asked him to do.

Go to Acts 9:26-27 “26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.”

A. So you can see, even in Paul’s life, at one point he was the weak one, the one to be feared. However, at the end he laid his own life down in sacrifice for the brethren.

III. You may have to do it along. You may be the last man standing.

Turn to Matt 10:37-39 “37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

One, none of us are worthy anyways. Right. Yet, the point is still made, that all things that we have must be less than Christ.

Christ is talking about a standard that we should try to live up to.

We are to put Jesus Christ first in our lives.

Turn to John 3:30 “30 He must increase, but I must decrease. .”

What is our reasonable service

3. Often times in this Christian life, be prepared to stand alone.

2 Tim 4:9-16 “9 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: 10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. 11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. 12 And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus. 13 The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments. 14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: 15 Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. 16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.”

Be prepared to stand alone

That is part of the reason that we say the most important thing in your life is your relationship with Jesus Christ, because in the end, Christ is the only one who will never leave nor forsake.

Everything else is in the air.

Turn to Acts 7:59-60 “59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Why do it?

The greater the circumstances, the greater the power of God will be in your life.

Abraham, willing to sacrifice Isaac.

Joseph, willing to forgive his brothers who left him for dead and sold him to slavery.

David, in 1 Samuel 17:25-26 “25 And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel. 26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Daniel 3:16-18 “16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

Throughout history, God has called upon men and women to see who would be willing to serve? Who is willing to give their life as a reasonable sacrifice? Are you? Will you answer the call.

II.