Living Sacrifices
Notes
Transcript
1 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
6 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;
7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Living Sacrifices
Living Sacrifices
Picture yourself standing by a rushing river, its waters wild and fast. On one side, you stand, needing to reach the other, but there's no bridge in sight. Suddenly, you spot a small, shaky raft nearby. It's not sturdy, but it's the only way across. Would you step onto it, knowing it might not hold you, knowing it might mean leaving behind safety for the chance to cross?
Life often feels like that river. Full of challenges, choices, and sacrifices. Sacrifice isn't just a word—it's something we all experience, in big ways and small.
We see it when parents stay up all night for their newborn, when friends give up something they want to help each other, and when people make tough decisions for the ones they love.
But sacrifice isn't easy. It asks something from us—a part of our comfort, our safety, or ourselves. It's like stepping onto that shaky raft, unsure if it will hold, but hoping the other side is worth it.
In stories from the Bible, sacrifice is shown with fire, blood, and giving up something valuable. King David knew this when he said he wouldn't offer something to God that didn't cost him anything. Sacrifice is supposed to be hard, to make us think.
Sacrifice is a word we often hear, especially when it comes to family life. Parents are often reminded that raising good children requires sacrifice. This can mean giving up relaxing vacations, moments of solitude in the bathroom, or uninterrupted nights of sleep.
Sacrifice is also crucial in building strong relationships with our spouses. We might give up personal time to support our partners or even make career sacrifices to help them pursue their dreams. Whether it's returning to school, relocating to a new place, or fulfilling a long-held aspiration, sacrifices are inevitable in life. Making one choice often means sacrificing something else in return.
But sacrifice isn't meant to be effortless. It's meant to demand something from us. In the Old Testament, sacrificial imagery involves blood, death, and fire—far from notions of ease and comfort. Take the story of King David, for instance. When he wanted to dedicate a field to the Lord, the owner offered it to him for free. However, David insisted on paying a price because he believed that true sacrifice requires giving up something valuable.
Indeed, sacrifice requires us to relinquish something meaningful, making it a challenging endeavor. This difficulty is reflected in our text from Romans 12.
So today, as we talk about sacrifice, let's think about the things we give up in our lives and also about the biggest sacrifice—offering ourselves to God.
1 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.
Our Physical Bodies
Our Physical Bodies
The Christian journey starts with a huge act of mercy from God. We can see what this mercy involves in the first 11 chapters of Romans. God sacrificed his own Son to save us from our sins and bring us close to him. A life isn't truly Christian if it's not based on God's mercy. If we're living in fear of punishment, feeling guilty, or just wanting to fit in or be successful, that's not what being a Christian is about. A real Christian life is when we understand that we're only with God because of his mercy, not because of anything we've done.
In the days of the Temple, when people got something big from God, they'd go to the temple and give a special offering to say thank you. Paul talks about this idea, but he adds a twist: he says to give yourselves as a living offering. Back then, they knew about sacrificing animals, but how could you sacrifice yourself and still be alive?
Paul changes the whole idea of sacrifice. Since Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice with his life, we don't need to offer animals anymore. Instead, we're asked to give our whole selves to God. The word for "body" in Greek means not just our physical selves, but everything about us—our thoughts, feelings, and spirit. This might sound surprising to those who think they can please God with just a gift or two. But God wants all of us, not just something.
Imagine a master craftsman sculpting a masterpiece. Each chisel and stroke of the brush is intentional, shaping the raw material into a work of art. In the same way, God created our bodies with purpose and intentionality. Just as the artist values every curve and contour of their creation, God cherishes our physical bodies and calls us to honor them in worship.
The Apostles' Creed, a fundamental declaration of Christian belief, contains an important affirmation: the resurrection of the body. This declaration emphasizes the deep importance of our bodily existence in Christian theology.
When we talk about the resurrection of the body, we don't only mean a hazy spiritual presence beyond death. Rather, it expresses the conviction that, just as Jesus was physically raised from the dead, so will Christians at the end of time. This part of Christian doctrin recognizes the intrinsic worth and dignity of our physical bodies.
In a culture where material possessions are sometimes regarded as fleeting or insignificant, the Christian religion emphasizes the sanctity of our bodies. They are not just vessels for the soul, but also essential components of our identity and being. The resurrection of the body states that God's power redeems and restores our physical form, rather than discarding or forgetting it.
This assumption has enormous ramifications for how we perceive our body in the present. It serves as a reminder that our physically should be appreciated and cared for rather than neglected or scorned. Our bodies are part of God's good creation and are essential to our spiritual path.
Furthermore, affirming the resurrection of the body provides hope and solace in the face of death. It promises us that death is not the end—that one day, our bodies will be raised imperishable and transformed to live in God's presence for eternally.
In essence, the Apostles' Creed's statement on the resurrection of the body serves as a forceful reminder of the holistic nature of Christian doctrine. It reminds that God's redemption encompasses all aspects of our being, including our physical selves, and invites us to respect and care for our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit.
The idea of the incarnation is a big word that means God becoming human. This shows us just how important our bodies are to God. Imagine if you could choose any way to show yourself to the world. You might choose to be rich or powerful, but God chose something different. God chose to become a human being named Jesus.
Think about it: God, who made the whole universe, decided to come down to Earth and experience life like one of us. This tells us that God sees something special in our physical selves. By becoming human, God showed that our bodies matter to him.
Jesus didn't just show up and disappear; he lived among people. He ate, he slept, he got tired and thirsty—just like we do. This shows us that God cares about the everyday things we go through in our bodies.
So, when we think about the incarnation, we're reminded that God didn't stay far away from us. Instead, he came close, right into the messiness of human life. This tells us that our bodies are valuable to God, and he understands what it's like to be us.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus showed care for physical bodies by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and ultimately living as a human being.
Our bodies matter to God, implying that they should also matter to us.
While it may seem easier to view "living sacrifice" as a spiritual concept, it encompasses physical aspects as well.
Our actions, behaviors, and treatment of both our own bodies and others' bodies hold significance in worship and daily life.
Worship inherently involves our bodies, encompassing actions such as singing, praying, and serving others, highlighting the inseparable connection between worship and physicality.
Caring for others, including providing basic necessities like clothing, food, and shelter, is a form of worship that involves utilizing our bodies to honor God through service to others.
So let's delve into what it means to offer ourselves as living sacrifices.
1 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.
Living Sacrifices
Living Sacrifices
When we talk about being a living sacrifice, we mean living differently from how the world tells us to. You see, the world around us often tells us that we should chase after things like power, money, popularity, and looking a certain way. These are the kinds of things that many people think will make them happy or successful.
But being a living sacrifice means we choose a different path. Instead of running after these things, we focus on what really matters in life—like kindness, love, and helping others. We don't let the desire for power, wealth, fame, or physical beauty control us.
Think about it this way: Imagine you're at school, and everyone seems to care a lot about who's the most popular or who has the newest gadgets. Instead of getting caught up in that, you decide to be kind to everyone, regardless of whether they're popular or not. You use your time and energy to help those in need, even if it means you don't have the latest things.
In the Bible, there's a verse that says, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them" (1 John 2:15, NIV). This means that when we focus too much on worldly things, we lose sight of what's truly important—our relationship with God and caring for others.
Being a living sacrifice is about choosing to live according to God's values rather than the world's standards. It's about prioritizing love, kindness, and compassion over the pursuit of power, wealth, fame, or physical appearance. And when we do that, we can make a positive difference in the world around us.
When we choose not to conform to these patterns:
We refrain from hating, mistreating, or abusing our bodies if they don't match society's standards of beauty. Instead, we honor and care for our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit like what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
We avoid using our bodies solely to advance our own interests, recognizing that our worth is not determined by worldly success or achievements as Jesus spoke about in Matthew 16:26.
We treat others with dignity and respect, understanding that they are not objects to be used for our own gain but fellow bearers of God's image like what James wrote about in James 3:9.
Look at verse 3
3 Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you.
It reminds us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought:
We don't believe in thinking we're better than others. Instead, we value humility and see everyone as equally important (Philippians 2:3-4).
We understand that titles and social status don't matter in God's kingdom. God doesn't care who's first or last; everyone is important (Matthew 20:16).
God gave each of us different talents, and we're supposed to use them to help each other (1 Peter 4:10-11).
We know we're not perfect and that others have strengths we don't have. So, we work together, complementing each other (Romans 12:4-5).
We realize we need each other. So, we focus on working together and staying united (Ephesians 4:2-3).
Being a living sacrifice means showing love:
We show love by being happy, patient, and faithful, even when things are tough (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
We help those in need and are kind to others (Hebrews 13:16).
Love means being kind to those who are mean to us, celebrating with those who are happy, and comforting those who are sad (Romans 12:15-16).
We get along with each other and avoid being arrogant (Romans 12:16).
Instead of getting back at people who hurt us, we do what's right and try to make peace with everyone (Romans 12:17-18).
Understanding love helps us treat others well, just like God wants us to. We show love by our actions, and this pleases God (Romans 12:1-2).
Just like living sacrificially means giving ourselves to God, spiritual disciplines are the things we do to get closer to Him and show our faith in real ways. As we learn about these practices, we'll see how they work together with our commitment to being living sacrifices, making our connection with God even stronger.
Spiritual Disciplines
Spiritual Disciplines
During Lent we take intentional steps to practice spiritual disciplines that involve our bodies, like fasting. These practices help us connect with God and with each other in meaningful ways. For example, when we fast, we're making a physical sacrifice to draw closer to God, showing Him that He's more important to us than even our basic needs. It's a way of saying, "God, I want to focus on you and seek you above all else." Through these practices, we can either strengthen our relationship with God and others or drift further away if we neglect them.
When we engage in spiritual disciplines, we're reminded that we need God and the support of our faith community. These disciplines aren't meant to be done alone; they're a way for us to rely on God's strength and the encouragement of fellow believers. Just as we support each other in our physical lives, we also need each other in our spiritual journey. Together, we can grow stronger in our faith and support one another through life's challenges.
Taking the time to intentionally set aside our bodies as living sacrifices through spiritual disciplines is an opportunity for self-reflection. It's a chance to ask ourselves important questions:
What unique gifts has God given me, and how can I use them to serve others in the body of Christ?
Where do I need to show more humility in my interactions with others, recognizing their worth and treating them with kindness and respect?
Am I actively seeking peace with others, or are there conflicts that need to be resolved in my relationships?
Am I allowing evil influences to control me, or am I standing firm in doing what is right and good, even when it's difficult?
Do I celebrate with those who are happy and support them in their joys, while also showing compassion and empathy to those who are hurting and mourning?
The Bible tells us that when we live as living sacrifices, not following the crowd, we start to understand what God wants for us. It's not just any plan—it's the perfect, good, and pleasing one from God.
During Lent, a time when we focus more on God, we eagerly wait for His guidance. But here's the thing: we find His direction when we choose to live in ways that are different from what the world says is important. It's like tuning in to God's channel and hearing Him more clearly.
As we do this, something amazing happens. We discover the special talents and abilities that God has given each of us. These gifts aren't just for us—they're meant to be shared with others. When we use them to show love and kindness to those around us, we're doing exactly what God wants us to do.
Now, let's think about you.
How is God asking you to make sacrifices?
Sacrifice isn't the same for everyone. For some, it might mean stepping out of your comfort zone and sharing your talents with others, even if it's scary. For others, it could be as simple as making time to help someone in need. Or maybe it's about figuring out what you're good at, so you can help others better.
Living out our faith, caring for each other, and being humble—it's all a way to worship God. Yes, it might take some effort or bravery from us. But in the end, it's the best way to honor and show love to our Creator.