20260719 Romans 12: Serving is Worshiping
The Book of Romans • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Let us continue to worship God
OT Reading
1 Make a loud shout to Yahweh, all the earth. 2 Serve Yahweh with gladness; Come before Him with joyful songs.
NT Reading
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of workings, but the same God who works everything in everyone. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
Let’s bow in prayer
Introduction: Serving is Worshiping Romans 12
Romans is written to display the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit for those who are in Christ
Paul begins the Book of Romans with a powerful declaration in verse 16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
And so Romans displays to us the power of God through the power og the gospel to save those who are powerless in their own strength against the coming wrath of God
But not only does God the Holy Spirit save us, He also emoowers us
And so when we get to Romans 12 we now see that we are saved to worship
1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Worshiping with an eternal perspective in order to live a life that is pleasing to God
But what is worship?
Worship is attending church, worship is singing, worship is placing yourself under the teaching of the Word of God, worship is prayer
But in order to answer this more fully, I simply want us to allow the apostle Paul to explain worship for us based on Romans 12
And so let’s begin with 4 words: Who, What, Where, and Why
Romans 12 gloriously gives us a description of the Who, What, Where, and Why of the Christian life:
(1) Who are we in Christ? Living sacrifices of praise
1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
(2) What are we to do as living sacrifices? Serve others according to the grace given us
3 For through the grace given to me I say to each one among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound thinking, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another,
You may not know it, but we now encounter some of the most controversial teachings in all of Scripture
The controversy is not over the word “grace”
Part of it is the phrase “a measure of faith”, but the context shows that he is not talking about saving faith but the ability to trust God and to serve according to that measure of faith
The parable of the sower
The servants who were given different amounts of money
The controversy in this portion of scripture is in verse 6 and it is the word “gifts”
The spirituals, or spiritual gifts
Peter will teach that there are two kinds of gifts: speaking and serving
Our current culture has added a third category - sign gifts
Signs of what? God’s power? - we have the gospel
Our spiritual superiority? Paul has just commanded us to be humble
Trying to say that the apostolic gifts of healing, not to be confused with God’s ability to divinely heal,
and the speaking in tongues, known languages in Acts for evangelism and to authenticate the gospel going from Jerusalem, to Samaria, then to the Gentiles, and the speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians for personal edification
as a sign for today that you have reached a higher level of spirituality is what Paul calls in Corinthians an attempt to prove spiritual superiority over others
Let’s look at verse 6
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 88.66 χαριτόω; χάρις, ιτος
88.66 χαριτόω; χάριςa, ιτος f: to show kindness to someone, with the implication of graciousness on the part of the one showing such kindness—‘to show kindness, to manifest graciousness toward, kindness, graciousness, grace.’
χαριτόω: κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ ‘the Lord is with you, you to whom (the Lord) has shown kindness’
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 57.103 χάρις, ιτος; χάρισμα, τος
χάριςb, ιτος f; χάρισμα, τος n: (derivatives of χαρίζομαιa ‘to give graciously and generously,’ 57.102) that which is given freely and generously—‘gift, gracious gift.’
χάριςb: τούτους πέμψω ἀπενεγκεῖν τὴν χάριν ὑμῶν εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ ‘I will send these men to convey your gracious gift to Jerusalem’
6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the faith; 7 or service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 57.103 χάρις, ιτος; χάρισμα, τος
χάριςb, ιτος f; χάρισμα, τος n: (derivatives of χαρίζομαιa ‘to give graciously and generously,’ 57.102) that which is given freely and generously—‘gift, gracious gift.’ χάριςb: τούτους πέμψω ἀπενεγκεῖν τὴν χάριν ὑμῶν εἰς Ἰερουσαλήμ ‘I will send these men to convey your gracious gift to Jerusalem’ 1 Cor 16:3. χάριςb may also occur in contexts in which the meaning of ‘generous gift’ may imply the purpose of gaining some favor or benefit. In Ac 24:27 (θέλων τε χάριτα καταθέσθαι τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὁ Φῆλιξ ‘Felix wanted to be offered a generous gift by the Jews’) the implication is that of ‘a bribe,’ but probably spoken of euphemistically here as ‘a gift.’ χάρισμα: ἵνα τι μεταδῶ χάρισμα ὑμῖν πνευματικόν ‘in order that I might share with you some spiritual gift’ Ro 1:11; τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ ζωὴ αἰώνιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν ‘but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Ro 6:23.
prophecy - more than preaching, it is the proclaiming of the apostlolic understanding of the Old Testament and the life and work of Jesus
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 33.461 προφητεία, ας
33.461 προφητείαb, ας f: the capacity or ability to utter inspired messages—‘to prophesy, ability to prophesy, to be able to speak inspired messages.’ καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω προφητείαν ‘and if I have the capacity to prophesy’
serving
teaching
8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy—by abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good,
exhort -
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 25.150 παρακαλέω; παράκλησις, εως
25.150 παρακαλέωd; παράκλησιςa, εως f: to cause someone to be encouraged or consoled, either by verbal or non-verbal means—‘to encourage, to console, encouragement.’
παρακαλέωd: ἵνα γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν καὶ παρακαλέσῃ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν ‘that you may know how we are and that he may encourage you’
gives
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 57.96 μεταδίδωμι
57.96 μεταδίδωμι: to share with someone else what one has—‘to share, to give.’ ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μὴ ἔχοντι ‘a person who has two shirts must share with another who doesn’t have any’
leads
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 36.1 ἡγέομαι; προΐσταμαι; κατευθύνω; φέρω; ἄγω
36.1 ἡγέομαιb; προί̈σταμαιa; κατευθύνω; φέρωd; ἄγωd: to so influence others as to cause them to follow a recommended course of action—‘to guide, to direct, to lead.’ἡγέομαιb: γινέσθω … ὁ ἡγούμενος ὡς ὁ διακονῶν ‘he who takes the lead must be like the one who serves’ or ‘he who is the master must be like one who serves’
shows mercy - kindness or concern
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains 88.76 ἐλεάω or ἐλεέω; ἔλεος, ους
88.76 ἐλεάω or ἐλεέω; ἔλεος, ους n: to show kindness or concern for someone in serious need—‘to show mercy, to be merciful toward, to have mercy on, mercy.’
ἐλεάω: ἐλέησόν με, κύριε, υἱὸς Δαυίδ ‘have mercy on me, Sir, Son of David’
(3) Where are we to do this? Within the body of Christ and in the world
9 Let love be without hypocrisy—by abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good, 10 being devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in honor,
Character - this might be the key ord of vs 9
genuine v9
devoted to one another - devotion in brotherly love - Philadelphia - we are called to be a church of brotherly love
giving preference - the last item at the grocery store or the yard sale, the lane closure - we don’t see this in the world
11 not lagging behind in diligence, being fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,
Attitude - What is your attitude?
Diligent - consistent
Fervent - consistent with passion
serving the Lord - an eternal perspective - it is Christ we are serving when we serve others, rejecting the me first, my children first, my family first attitude of the world
12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in affliction, being devoted to prayer,
Reputation
How are you perceived by other believers? How are you perceived by family and friends?
13 contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.
(4) Why are we to do this? Because the Lord has saved us, commanded us, and enabled us.
I exhort you
I say to each one among you
According to the grace given to us
There are some who look at the spiritual gifts as only for a few
Those who say the gifts are like a painters palate and we all have a little bit of each
Some say that they are natural talents
Paul here talks about specific abilities that specific people have - but they are called grace gifts because they are given by the Lord
And Paul in Romans 12 tells us that God has saved us, He has enabled us, and now through Paul He commands us to use our gifts to serve and build up the body of Christ and to share the gospel with the world
Serving is our reasonable act of worship
Let’s pray
You only have to suffer a little while. The God of all grace, who called you to eternal glory in Christ, will see that all is well again. He will confort, strengthen and support you. His power lasts forever and ever. Amen.
