Romans 12:3-8

Part 1:

Sabbatical overview:

Reference the preaching schedule and responsibilities for Randy and Bob

Attentiveness to God-

Listening- has been encouraged

And not feeling the weight or pressure of having a sermon ready

“Experiencing God”- Henry Blackaby

Attentiveness to Family-

Weekend trips

Attentiveness to Self-

Coaching once a month

Part 2:

Romans 12:1-8

Romans 12:1–8 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

The portion I want to zoom in on is verses 3-6

SLIDE 2- The NLT says it this way:

3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] 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.[d] 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.

Working Backward:

We are called a body- verse 5

We understand the imagery- how different parts of the body must work together for the body to function well

“Each member belongs to the others” verse 5

We can recognize the necessity of this reality but do we function this way?

As members of this one body do we see ourselves as “belonging” to each other

Marcus Yoder mentioned some of this last we- we overlay our western culture onto our reading of scripture and it is very individualistic- when in reality scripture was meant to be studied and interpreted as a group, Paul’s letters would have been ready by “groups” of people- there was the the concept of I, me, my then. It was we, our, you all.

The body can only function if its members “think of themselves with sober judgement” or “have an honest evaluation of themselves” verse 3

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.

“Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness”-CJ Mahaney in his book “Humility True Greatness”

Paul says it this way- “in view of God’s mercy, according to the grace he has given you”

Its not a demeaning do ourselves, its an honest evaluation

That kind of perspective only comes from a mind that is daily being “renewed” -verse 2

Those with a mind that is being “renewed” are those who have given themselves to God as “living sacrifices” -verse 1

After this recap in the other direction from in view of God’s mercy to healthy body with members belonging to each other

All of this is held in view of/response to the mercy of God and His gifts to us

What are we saying here:

We can try all the “human” ways of effecting the body life of the church through organizational skills, group dynamics, gift assessments etc.- but we will be left frustrated

Why?- because there is a theological dimension- that is each member of the church holding a right view of themselves in view of God’s mercy and the gift of grace He has given them

Paul understands who he is and the role he has to play according to “the grace given me” verse 3

He is the apostle- he has be gifted this authority to speak this way- its his “gift” to exercise for the benefit of the body

Later in verse 6 he uses that same phrase when he is discussing the different gifts that are given to members of the body- “we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”

What we know from scripture about these gifts

These grace gifts are manifestation of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit

Some might make a distinction between natural talents and abilities and spiritual gifts- maybe there is a distinction to made- I am more hesitant to do that because at least here Paul do not make that distinction

Paul himself possessed apostolic talents prior to his conversion- the way he used those changed drastically after his conversion

That is not to diminish the role of the Spirit in the gifting and use of the gift- but who’s to says what the Spirit might sanctify to use in the church

He gives the gifts and he empowers the use of the gift- for the common good- the use of the gift is an indicator of its source- is it for the good of the body

To understand more about the body- see Paul’s first letter to the Corinth church that he would have written about 2 years prior to this letter

In it he takes 2 chapters- 1 Corinthians 12-14 to unpack what he spends 4 verses on here in Romans

Slide #3

Where are you taking your ques when it comes to who you are and the role you have to play as a member of the body?

In Christ:

Do we have a status problem?

Did the Roman church have a status problem- maybe, see what Paul has to say in chapter 14 and 15

He is dealing with the same issues that we deal with day- mainly casting judgement upon each other for various reasons

Remember, all Christians do not have the same function in the body of Christ- its only in Christ that diversity finds expression in unity

That which unites us is Christ- Slide #4

Romans 12:5 NIV

so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Romans 6:11 NIV

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1 NIV

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

What is something that is true about all of us who are “in Christ”- we are no longer dead to sin and therefore are free from condemnation

If no believer in the body of Christ is condemned by God- no believer should be condemned by another

Therefore, we are diverse in a grace assignments and giftedness, but unified in our freedom from condemnation in Christ Jesus

Slide #5

Sacrifice is Key:

A healthy body flows out of sacrifice- “in view of God’s mercy offer your bodies as living sacrifices”

A living sacrifice to do what God has gifted you to do

But that sacrifice also includes sacrificing our likes, dislikes, preferences, our partisan positions etc. for the sake of the one who had mercy on us

A healthy body is connected to a healthy view of God’s mercy