You Do You...For Christ!

Scripture Reading

Romans 12:1–8 (NLT)

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

Focus Statement

God has made each of us unique and had given us unique gifts, passions, and graces to have a KINGDOM impact on the world.

Point of Relation

As you can see, I am dressed a little differently than I normally am...

and I am doing that purposefully today…

Because this is who God created me to be...

a little zany, full of humor, fun loving, with an incredible fashion sense...

a person who loves to rock and roll , loves tattoos, and actually loves to be in community…though as an introvert…that may be where the word sacrifice comes in.

But I have trained myself to be as extroverted as I can be...

and to put myself out there even though my insecurities SCREAM STOPPPPPP the whole time! LOL!

Things to Consider

But not all of us can be me.

In fact…only I can be me.

God made each of you different…unique...

and each of you have a tremendous lot to offer God and the Kingdom of God through your uniqueness...

if you are willing to be a LIVING and HOLY SACRIFICE to God.

What Scripture Says

First, before we talk about the passage itself, let’s look at the wording of Paul’s opening of chapter 12.

Paul pleads with us the Romans, and by extension with us, to be living and holy sacrifices…which Paul says is the way to TRULY WORSHIP God.

So, what does it mean to be a “living” and “holy”sacrifice, the kind God will find acceptable?

What does it mean to be living?

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What does it mean to be holy?

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What does it mean to be a sacrifice?

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The word for “living” in Koine Greek (which is the kind of Greek spoken in the Hellenistc Ancient Roman empire) is zao (ζῶ), and means literally to live, to breathe, to be among the living (not lifeless, not dead).

It is also connected to animal life and animal sacrifice...

Wherein animals were burned alive as a sacrifices to the gods.

So, Paul is clearly using the word as a metaphor in both ways.

First, he is bringing up the sacrificial system where as people in the ancient world, not just Jews, would sacrifice things of great value to them...

and nothing is more valuable than your best, most prized livestock.

In the Jewish culture, sacrifices was to atone for one’s sins...

and people would literally place their hands on the scapegoat or lamb or bull and pass their sins on to the animal...

which would then be slaughtered and/or burned to appease God and avoid God’s wrath.

Paul is saying, then, that we should present ourselves as those living creatures to God...

but…not to be slaughtered or burned alive...

because Paul is also using the word zao to indicate God’s desire for us to live abundant and fruitful lives in service of God’s kingdom.

Remember, zao literally means live, to breathe, to be among the living (not lifeless, not dead)

With that said, it is important to underscore the connection to the sacrificial ritual in temples, Jewish or otherwise.

The word for “holy” in Koine Greek is hagios (ἅγιος) means set apart, consecrated, morally blameless or religious, sacred, holy, and/or a saint.

Thus, Paul is calling his readers, the church in Rome, to live blameless lives…and to be set apart as a saint for God...

and, btw…all Christians who do the will of God.

That means, you…me…anyone of us Christians are the saints of God.

And finally, the word sacrifice, indicates giving something up for someone or something else.

To make a sacrifice, one has to offer that which is most valuable to them for the good of something greater than them...

In the ancient world, people would regularly volunteer to be sacrificed...

in order to save their villages and tribes from natural calamities, wars and other such things.

But, given the stress on God wanting us to be LIVING…or to be alive, to be breathing, among the living (not lifeless nor dead)...

Given that God wants us to be LIVING SACRIFICES...

God is calling us to give up our lives…

to sacrifice what we would see ourselves doing, how we would see ourselves living....

to give up living for ourselves in order to live for God.

Now that we have done the word play,

We can really begin to understand what Paul is calling for Christians to do here.

To sum it up,

Paul is telling us that we are to set ourselves apart (or holy) as a sacrifice ready to LIVE FOR GOD.

Living…therefore also has spiritual connotations...

Those living for God are spiritually LIVING...

Those who are not are spiritually dead.

Then Paul instructs us how to do that...

and I will some it up this way:

YOU DO YOU…for Christ! Amen?

Whatever gifts you have, whatever your personality is…all of that…can be used to serve God.

All any of us have to be willing to do is to be authentic to who we are but in a way that brings others to know Jesus Christ.

If you are into reading, how do you bring others to know Christ through your passion of reading?

If you love music, how do you bring people to know Christ through music.

I think of my good friend Shane, who goes by the name the Reverend Leviathan.

He’s not actually ordained, but he is an Orthodox Christian who attends concerts dressed as a priest...

and when people ask why, he shares with them his story.

He loves music and is using his passion for God.

He is a living sacrifice…one of the saints.

What This Means for You

What are your gifts and passions?

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What brings you vivacious life and joy?

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How can you sacrifice yourself and your passions for the glory of God?

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In other words, how can you allow God to take the steering wheel in your life

and direct you to use your gifts for the Kingdom of God?

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What This Means for Us

We as a church also have to recognize that while we are all Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ’s family, we are NOT all the same.

Different people have different gifts...

and the church is supposed to be the safe space where those different gifts can be nourished, nurtured and grown...

so that each of us can be authentically witnessing to the freedom and LOVE we have in Jesus Christ.

We should not be bickering, dissenting, pointing fingers at others who don’t have the same gifts as we do...

or aren’t able to participate in things...

Rather Jesus Christ through Paul tells us this:

YOU DO YOU for Christ....

and allow others, heck encourage and support them to do so.

Then together, each of us will be having a KINGDOM impact on our world...

With more than enough opportunities for each unique person out there to com to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Amen? Amen!