The New Sacrifice

I subscribe to the magazine Christianity Today, which is sometimes interesting and other times irritating. This week, an article from the new issue caught my eye. Ligonier Ministries asked Americans a set of 34 theological questions. One was “Must churches provide entertaining worship services if they want to be effective?” People could respond that they agreed strongly, disagreed strongly, agreed, disagreed, or were unsure. Among people who attend evangelical churches at least monthly, that is churches that believe salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone (“evangel” means “gospel”), 34% of people either agreed or strongly agreed. 40% of male evangelicals said the same. Ladies, only 31% of you checked “yes.” That’s certainly better, but still not particularly encouraging.

Forget about the general population - a large portion of people who go to gospel preaching churches think that their church should entertain them to be effective. Does that seem like a strange definition of success to you? There is little that is entertaining about repenting of sin, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. There are not many tickets sold to holding the hands of the dying or of crying alongside the broken hearted. The heart of who churches are called to be is decidedly un-entertaining.

But, I really think those numbers are too low. If we included all of us who want to hear something “deep” which does not challenge our lives and those who want the feel-good experience of checking the box of self-righteousness, I think the number of people who come to church looking for what they can get is much, much higher.

We look for victory in our Christian lives like that. We struggle with sin and try to get everything from God that we can to answer our problems and clean up our messes. But this is not the way that the Christian life works. If we want 2019 to be the year that our Christian life advances the most, it must be not about what we can get from God, but what we give to God.

We have all been to T-ball games, where the little boy swings with all of his might, knocks the ball into the air and then runs to third base. The wrong goal or the wrong priorities can undermine all of our effort. It doesn’t matter how hard you hit the ball if you run the wrong direction. It doesn’t matter how much you do as a Christian or we do as a church if those are the wrong things.

At rock bottom, having the right mindset is key to fruitful behavior. And in 2019, there are countless people trying to change your mindset. Some for your good, like your employer having you contribute to your 401k by default. Some not for your good, like the commercial trying to convince you that the real hangup in your dating like has been drinking the wrong kind of soda. These press on your mind consciously, but others do it without even realizing it. When all of your friends start eating at the same restaurant, watching the same TV show or listening to the same music, your ideas about what is good and bad are subtly - but genuinely - shifted.

If your mind if shifted to the wrong thing, what you can get instead of what you can give, running in that wrong direction is a whole lot worse than a lost point for a five year old in a ballcap. The cost can be your family, your joy or even your soul. And I want to point out our big idea this morning right away:

Big Idea: Your mind will be shaped by something.

You are not a brilliantly rational person. Neither am I. We buy more because there is music in the store, eat more on a bigger plate and - for better or for worse - take on the characteristics of our friends. All of these pressures mold us - so let’s make sure we are being molded by the right ones.

Let’s open our Bibles to Romans 12, verses 1 and 2 this morning to see how God says we ought to posture our lives, so that we can avoid those kinds of mistakes. As you are turning there, let me jog your memory about where we are.

This passage is resuming our series through the book of Romans. Chapters 1-8 laid out a theological basis: that we are all sinners, who have through corrupted minds, turned from God to ourselves, but that God became a man and died on the cross to be punished instead of us. Because of this, whoever will place their faith in Jesus will be made a new creature. Yes, the old temptations will still be there, but the new life of God inside of you begins to turn things around. It is a journey that ends in total victory, with new bodies in eternity, free from sin, sickness, disease and death.

The natural question of “Where does that leave me now?” is answered in two phases. First, he lays out in chapters 9-11 the implications for God’s Old Testament people, the Jews, and Gentiles. But of much more pressing concern to us, in chapters 12-the end of the book, he introduces us to the practical ways that these truths should change our everyday lives.

So, as we get ready to dive into this, would you stand with me if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word?

Romans 12:1–2 KJV 1900

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. 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.

And the people said “Amen.” You can be seated.

I want to immediately draw your attention to the sacrificial language in this text. “Present” is the word used for bringing an animal and laying it on the altar. Of course, the word “sacrifice” is itself right there in the first verse. That word “service” is not like “public service,” but refers to the service of the priests. It is the work of worship. Good, acceptable and perfect are all terms used to describe the fitness of an offering. God wants to change your mindset from “What’s in it for me?” to “Here I am!”

Let’s look at that first verse in a little more detail.

Romans 12:1 KJV 1900

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.

Explain

Paul tells us that he “beseeches” us to be a living sacrifice. The word “beseech” in English means to beg, but the word here has a little more force than that. Somewhere between a request and a command, it is like your mom saying “I thought I asked you to pick that up?”

So, he is instructing us that this is the thing we ought to do. Be a sacrifice. Sacrifice is obvious a weird concept for us, but for the ancient world, whether Jewish or pagan, it was a vivid part of everyday life.

Obviously, the Jewish sacrifices are primarily in Paul’s mind, and even that was a complex subject. There were 5 different kinds, some were animals, some were plants. One signified asking for forgiveness, one symbolized gratitude, one pure worship. There was a drink offering, which was wine poured on top of another offering - kind of a side dish. But they all held one thing in common: they had to be perfect. You could not pick the sickest cow, who was one tip from the grave, and bring it to God and call it good. God deserves the best, and offerings were required to reflect this.

Now, in Christianity, we no longer practice those animal sacrifices. It is self-evident that the blood of bulls and goats could never really take away sins, they were just signs of the need for a sacrifice. They all pointed toward the One Sacrifice which truly would take away sin . Jesus could die for our sins because He never sinned, in word or action. He was acceptable as a sacrifice because he was flawless. God Himself come down.

Unlike Him, we are naturally unfit as sacrifices for God, because we are not perfect. You understand what I mean: it is not that I wear glasses or that you have high blood pressure. We are unfit as sacrifices because of our sin. This verse begins with the word “therefore,” because it is the natural culmination of everything that has come before. All of that talk of “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” and “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life” comes to a head here.

But, here is the incredible part, when we are saved, God makes us acceptable. He takes away our sins and makes us fit to be His children, and fit to be His offering. I think this is the best way to take “by the mercies of God.” Present your bodies as living sacrifices, made holy and acceptable to God by His mercy. God makes us beautiful, and we give that beauty back to Him. The one perfect sacrifice of Jesus enables all of us to become sacrifices. Not of animals, laid unwillingly on an altar, but as the next point in your notes says: living sacrifices.

Be a Living Sacrifice

The fundamental Christian attitude is of continually giving our lives up. Saying to God, I do not just die for you, I offer up my life itself for you. Every part of my life belongs to you, here on this altar.

This, the end of the verse declares, is your reasonable service. That phrase is a difficult one, and other translations render the word “reasonable” as spiritual, true and proper or acceptable. It is worshipping with our minds and is the way that makes sense. We are not dumb animals being led to the slaughter. We are human beings, who recognize what Jesus has done for us and respond by choosing to give ourselves to Him. The whole idea is to change our perspective about who we are and what we are for.

Illustrate

Perhaps the example which readily comes to mind is Isaac. If you are not a Christian, this story is going to seem grotesque and incomprehensible to you, the kind of thing which could justify any manner of evil. Be here on Sunday night in four weeks and I will explain it all to you. Right now, let’s all catch the force of the narrative:

Abraham had waited decades for a son and finally had one: Isaac, the one who would receive all the blessings God has promised. But God came to Abraham and told him to go and offer Isaac as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah.

Now, Abraham was an incredibly old man, shuffling his feet up the mountain. Isaac was a young man or teenager, carrying the lumber for the sacrifice. But Abraham is able to bind Isaac and lay him on the wood? How is that possible? The only way I can imagine is if Isaac stretched out his hands and said “I trust you, father.” A living sacrifice!

God stopped Abraham when the knife was in the air, and had him offer a ram instead. So he became a living sacrifice in another way. He had been offered up, yet he lived. Of course, a Ram was not an acceptable replacement for a person. The only reason that such a substitution could be made is that there was a better sacrifice coming. Another Son, led up a hill, voluntarily laid on a piece of wood and held there. But when the time came for death, God did not rescue Jesus. He spared Abraham’s son, but not His own. His own was broken for you and for me. Jesus walked to the cross and prayed “not my will, but thine.” A living sacrifice.

Like Isaac, it goes farther than that. Because the third day, He rose again. He was truly and completely sacrificed, but He lives forever more, as a gift for us. And what does He ask in return? That we too be living sacrifices.

Argue

The idea of animal sacrifices repulses us, and social scientists and anthropologists spend a lot of time trying to figure out why they figure so prominently fit into so many cultures. But the idea of real, painful sacrifice of something valuable is at the heart of true worship. So in the Old Testament, valued animals were killed in a bloody mess. In the New Testament, the Son of God was broken in the same way. But now we, previously too bruised and mangled to be sacrifices, have been cleansed by the sacrifice of Jesus and made fit to offer to God, not just in one final act, but every day. Our life itself is a gift, which God gave us and now we return.

Apply

As a church - do we totally belong to God? It is not about our preferences or style, but everything is on the table for Him to give or take as He sees fit? Or do we offer ourselves up to something or someone else? Pride, reputation, money, facilities?

Even as individuals, when you get up and go to work, who do you belong to? Are you offering your labor as a gift to your bank account or your ego? It is too easy, whether you’re a pastor, a mechanic or a rocket scientist to forget who you must belong to. We need to be living sacrifices, presented up to God!

Again, if you have never been saved, you can’t do that yet. Despite all of your best intentions, you cannot offer yourself to God until you, by faith, confess that He has already offered Himself for you and made you a new creature. When you cry out to God a prayer like that, He makes you holy and acceptable to God.

So Christian, you can and you must be a living sacrifice. Imagine a sheep tied to the altar, its neck exposed and its legs stretched out. It can’t hold anything back - all of it is bare and vulnerable. Too many of us are trying to give God half of us, and tangle up the rest. But there is no room for that. You must present yourself to God in a deliberate choice: all of me, every sin, every desire, every goal, every fear, belongs to you. Your mind will be shaped by something, either the self-preservation instinct to ball up, hold onto what you like and leave God the leftovers, or the desire to recognize the love He has already shown and to trust Him with all of us.

And, despite some preaching popularized in the past, there is nothing in the Greek to imply that this is a one-and-done thing. Maybe you truly decide to do it for the first time today, and I pray you will. But there is a continual element of it, because in the very next verse, Paul tells us how this is to be done. The other point in your notes:

Renew Your Mind

Look in verse 2:

Romans 12:2 KJV 1900

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.

Explain

How, in a practical sense, do we make ourselves holy, acceptable offerings to God? How is it that we can truly know His will? We have to recognize that there are two pressures on every Christian. The pressure of the world around you, like a mold on a piece of PlayDoh and the pressure of God within you, birthing Jesus in your life.

The word translated “world” here is not the dirt and the trees, and it is not the people who live in the world. It is the word αἰών, which has the same meaning in Greek as it does in English. It is this age, the systems of this period in history. Under the reign of sinful mankind and all of his failures and weaknesses, there is a definitive pattern. Don’t be conformed to that pattern.

Now, there are a lot of goofy definitions of worldliness. I know people who would not come to our church because of the drum set. They say that is involved in rock and roll music, so it is worldly instrument. Nevermind verses like Psalm 150:5 that say “praise Him with the clash of cymbals.” Too many people think that worldliness is the biblical shorthand for dancing, smoking and watching TV. Give those things up, some people seem to say, and you’ll be really holy.

But it is a lot more insidious than that. The pattern of this world is not fundamentally external - like the transforming in the next clause, the conforming is of our minds. Both may show themselves in external ways, but those are symptoms, not the basic problem. Worldliness is an attitude. What is the spirit of this age? What is the drumbeat of our era? It isn’t really new of course. It is a one letter slogan that goes back to the beginning: “I.” The Spirit of this world is “my happiness,” “what I deserve,” “what’s in it for me!” 1 Corinthians 3:3 says “Where there is still quarreling and jealousy among you, aren’t you worldly?” In 1 John 2, he says that everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and pride of life comes not from God but from the world.

This is why love - real, unconditional, self-sacrificing love - is the mark of a true Christian. Everything in the world, from well-meaning friends to advertisements to social media to Hollywood blockbusters, says “You deserve it! Follow your dreams! Run your own life! Be true to yourself! Let it go! If it feels good do it!” But Christianity says “You are not your own and you will never find real contentment until you stop making contentment an idol. It is not about what you get, but what you give.” Friends, you will be controlled by one of these two paradigms. Which one do you pick?

Matthew 16:24–25 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Back in Romans:

Romans 12:2 KJV 1900

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.

We don’t want to be conformed to the world, we want to be transformed. The word is actually the word we get “metamorphosis” from. An inward explosion, manifesting outwardly. It is only used one other place in the Bible, where it is translated “transfiguration,” when Jesus shows Peter, James and John his glory - glowing on a mountain. His outward appearance was reshaped by His inward truth. Again, he is talking to Christians here. The way we make ourselves a living sacrifice is by resisting conformity with the world, and being transformed instead. Being conformed is easy. My pillow is conformed to the shape of my head, and ice cream is conformed to the shape of the scoop. You just give into pressure. But being transformed - metamorphosized - is a different thing. So Paul tells us how to do it: by the renewing of your mind.

Your mind was made new when you became a Christian. But like a nice silver platter, it starts to tarnish from contact with the world, and needs to be polished. Last night, when I was putting Anastasia to bed, I looked straight at the lightbulb on her lamp, trying to find the switch. You know what happened - despite the nightlight, my eyes were not adjusted, and I almost tripped and broke my neck trying to get back to her bed. Our Christian lives are no different. We spend so much time in the world and so little time with God that our eyes get adjusted to one and we can’t make out the other. If you and I are going to be a living sacrifice, transformed by the power of God, we are going to need to regularly spend time letting Him reshape our minds.

When someone realizes they are a sinner and places their trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the person who comes into their heart and makes them new. The mystery of the Trinity - there is one God, and He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the same Holy Spirit who renews our minds.

How does He do that?

Colossians 3:9–10 KJV 1900

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

The first part of the verse is very similar to not being conformed to the pattern of the world. One precursor to having our minds renewed is to reject temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit. If there is sin in your life which you are aware of, you need to pray to God for forgiveness with the intention of stopping.

But I think the next part may be more practical. We are transformed by knowledge of Jesus. Put more directly, the most important way the Holy Spirit renews our minds is with the book that He wrote - the Bible. The attitude of the age is constantly pressing us into self-worship and self-centeredness. Only by prayerfully reading the Bible can we constantly be reminded of the grace and the love of God. Only by seeing how grateful we ought to be can we smother the temptation to pride. As you come to know more about Jesus, your mind is made new and clear, and you are transformed to be more like Him.

The last part of the verse is clear.

Romans 12:2 KJV 1900

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.

We don’t renew our minds by our behavior. We renew our minds so that we can know God’s will. You notice the same kind of sacrificial language there: good, acceptable and perfect. We offer ourselves up as the offering, and our work becomes the drink offering on it. God will have your actions, absolutely. But they are the side dish to what He is really after, and what we are so reluctant to give: yourself.

Illustrate

Imagine if I made a perfect husband’s checklist. Husbands everywhere would flock to my door, fame and fortune would be mine. Just do these things, on these schedules, and your wife will adore you. I would call it “Wives for Dummies.” Once a day, give a compliment. Once a week, bring home flowers. Once a month, perform a grand romantic gesture (see Appendix F).

It sounds cute, and I can see some of you have it in mind as a gift for someone sitting near you, but it would never really work. There is no list I could make which would be so exhaustive that it could serve as the basis of a healthy relationship. And the truth is that every husband in the world would look for loopholes: “It never said I needed to give you a long compliment!” or “There is nothing in the book about paying for flowers. The funeral was over, they were done with them anyway.”

It is the same with God. If we try to reduce it to a list of “dos” and “don’ts,” we will find loopholes to justify ourselves or beat ourselves up in despair. God gives a better way. Resist the pressure of this world on the outside, by leaning into God’s Word and letting Him renew your mind. There is no other way. Again, you are going to be shaped by something. Will it be the God who loved you enough to die for you? Or the world that wants to make you serve yourself, for its own benefit?

Apply

Practically, we have got to be aware of the pressures around us. How does the culture at your job or your school subtly lean on you to think in unChristian ways? Who are you friends with on Facebook or follow on Instagram that messes with your priorities, making you jealous of the wrong things and flippant about the right ones? I am not saying that you need to quit your job or switch back to newspapers and AM radio. But I am saying that we need to be aware of those kinds of pressures so we can be on guard against them.

The world wants to sell you a story about what marriage and family should be like. Whether it is a liberal vision where marriage is an outmoded construct and divorce should be quick and painless - follow your heart! - or a conservative one that makes men into tyrants who have no contact with their kids - don’t believe it! Let God’s Word set the agenda. The more you read the Bible thoughtfully, the more surprised you will be at how you can never be totally in step with any movement of the age. The temptation to fit in with the ideologies of some group is powerful, but it is also an empty prize. They will change their orthodoxy and you will change with them or be left behind. So why not just get on God’s side from the start?

Maybe you are wondering exactly how you can go about getting the Word to renew your mind. One way is right here. As we study the Bible seriously as a congregation, week after week, it starts to shape your thinking, hopefully both challenging you and encouraging you. Especially as we go through the rest of Romans in the next 8 weeks, you are going to see it change your whole view of the world. So, if you don’t have a church habit, why don’t you decide right now that you are going to be here every Sunday morning for the next two months. If after that period of time, you don’t notice any change, okay. But at least give it long enough for your eyes to adjust. Two months is of an hour a week is not much to ask of a living sacrifice. So just present yourself. Hit your spouse on the knee or something to let them know you’re serious. If you are already a Sunday morning regular, we do our serious Bible study on Sunday nights. That’s where we go deep. So expand in that way. I know you’re busy and love your TV shows and have ten thousand good excuses why not to make a two month commitment. But I’m telling you that Jesus deserves more than your reheated leftovers. Quit fooling around and say “God, I am really and completely yours!”

Church is a big part. But you also need a plan of personal Bible study. Listening to me is not enough. I am reading through the CSB on a 90 day plan that I pull up every night on my phone. I use the Logos Bible app, because it syncs with our presentation software and you can follow along. Get that, or YouVersion or just read 4 chapters a day. But build a little nudge for yourself. If you have been struggling with Bible reading, get an app on your phone where you can see a big red x on the days you miss. Give your spouse or a friend here permission to ask you every Sunday how many days you read the week before or text you every night for a status update. Make it a priority. Decide right now that having your mind renewed is worth getting up a little early or staying up late. That knowing a friend will keep you on track is worth the risk of embarrassment. Try to read intelligently for two months, and see how God proves His will by the renewing of your mind.

Conclusion

You are going to be shaped by something and you are going to give your life to something. There is no neutral ground. Either you will choose well, or choose poorly. Ray Stedman, a great preacher of the last generation, said it this way: “Now, what are you going to do with your life? Are you going to wrap it up in a napkin of affluence and bury it in forty years of self-indulgence?”

That’s a fair question. If you are not a Christian, do you see the beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice for you and want to sacrifice yourself in return? You are not a Christian by going to church,by having the right family or doing the right things, but by admitting that you are a sinner, believing that Jesus died the death you deserve, and crying out to Him, that you know He has risen again, and is ready now to forgive you and save you.

The famous hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” ends with these words:

“See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.”