Romans 12:1-2
How do you live a holy lifestyle?
Pre-Message
Intro
Prayer
Message
I appeal to you therefore
1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 10:1; Eph. 4:1
brothers
by the mercies of God
F. F. Bruce has written: ‘It was well said by Thomas Erskine of Linlathen that “in the New Testament religion is grace, and ethics is gratitude”. It is not by accident that in Greek one and the same noun (charis) does duty for both “grace” and “gratitude”.’ God’s grace, far from encouraging or condoning sin, is the spring and foundation of righteous conduct.
to present your bodies as a living sacrifice
ch. 6:13, 16, 19; [Ps. 50:13, 14; 1 Cor. 6:20]; See 1 Pet. 2:5
The verb “present” in this verse means “present once and for all.” It commands a definite commitment of the body to the Lord, just as a bride and groom in their wedding service commit themselves to each other. It is this once-for-all commitment that determines what they do with their bodies.
holy and acceptable to God
Then our feet will walk in his paths, our lips will speak the truth and spread the gospel, our tongues will bring healing, our hands will lift up those who have fallen, and perform many mundane tasks as well like cooking and cleaning, typing and mending; our arms will embrace the lonely and the unloved, our ears will listen to the cries of the distressed, and our eyes will look humbly and patiently towards God.
holy and acceptable to God
The possibility of bringing pleasure to God provides a powerful motivation for complete surrender of self.
To teach that accepting the free gift of God’s grace does not necessarily involve a moral obligation on our part is a heresy of gigantic proportions. The popular cliche “He is Lord of all or not Lord at all” is absolutely right.
which is your spiritual worship
Epictetus, the first-century Stoic philosopher: ‘If I were a nightingale, I would do what is proper to a nightingale, and if I were a swan, what is proper to a swan. In fact I am logikos [sc. a rational being], so I must praise God.’
Some people think that all it takes to be a Christian is to scribble a cheque or to give a few hours of service here and there on special projects for the church. But that’s not what believers are called to. My life is to be set apart and consecrated to God. That is what is acceptable to him; that is what delights him; that is what pleases him; that is the appropriate response to him and for him.
Do not be conformed to this world
The other danger to recognise is that nonconformity can be as vicious a trap as conformity. There is such a thing as nonconformity for nonconformity’s sake. We all want to be different, so that in the group we will stand out. There are Christian distortions at this point. Often Christian ethics is determined simply on the basis of antithesis—if the world wears lipstick, the Christian doesn’t wear lipstick, to show that she is spiritual rather than worldly. If the world goes to movies, Christians don’t go to movies, to show that they are more spiritual, more pious. That’s nonsense, that’s the kind of attitude the Pharisees had, which distorted the truth. Christ calls us to a special kind of nonconformity: a refusal to conform to the sinful patterns of the world, to patterns of disobedience.
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind
suggests both that the transformation is effected by God, and that believers must cooperate in order that it take place.
The renewal of the mind enables the believer to discern what is good, what is pleasing to God, and what is perfect. And having discerned it, that same renewal sets him to the task of performing what is seen as the will of God.
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God
The renewal of the mind enables the believer to discern what is good, what is pleasing to God, and what is perfect. And having discerned it, that same renewal sets him to the task of performing what is seen as the will of God.
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
It is good because it brings about moral and spiritual growth. It is pleasing to God because it is an expression of his nature. It is perfect in that no one could possibly improve on what God desires to happen.
Do you want to know what the will of God is? You have to study the Word of God. You have to think like God. You have to have a new mind. And if you want a new mind you have to study the Word of God more rigorously than you have ever studied anything in your life. There is no magical way to know the will of God, apart from knowing the Word of God.
Do you want to know what the will of God is? You have to study the Word of God. You have to think like God. You have to have a new mind. And if you want a new mind you have to study the Word of God more rigorously than you have ever studied anything in your life. There is no magical way to know the will of God, apart from knowing the Word of God.
To sum up, Paul’s appeal is addressed to the people of God, grounded on the mercies of God, and concerned with the will of God.
If you want to live a godly life, then it is indispensable to your spiritual growth that you dig into the Scriptures deeply, to understand what God is revealing. This is part of the sacrifice of the Christian life. There is a sacrifice of your body and there is a sacrifice of your mind.
Close
To sum up, Paul’s appeal is addressed to the people of God, grounded on the mercies of God, and concerned with the will of God.
The possibility of bringing pleasure to God provides a powerful motivation for complete surrender of self.