Message from Romans 12:1-21
Notes
Transcript
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:
My wife has this problem. She doesn’t like to put fuel in her vehicle. So she’s always driving it nearly empty of gas! I’m always saying to her, “Martha, you need to stop and fill up the gas tank.” She assures me each time, “Oh, I’ll be fine. I’ll make it.”
A couple of years ago, just a couple of days after we had joked together about her desire to live life on the edge and never fill up her gas tank, the inevitable happened and she ran out of gas!
I was in a meeting a church and I’m already late in picking up our son from an activity, but after multiple missed calls from her, I responded and sure enough, she was stranded with our 3 girls on the side of the road…out of gas. I hopped in my vehicle, drove to my house to pick up a gas can and then made my way to rescue my wife and daughters from the side of the road!
When I arrived, my daughters were sitting on the hood of car waving at me. I pulled to the side of the road and before I could unload the gas can my youngest daughter ran to me and threw her arms around my leg and said, “Daddy, I knew you wouldn’t let us sleep here all night!”
Have you ever been rescued before?
Maybe like my wife you got stranded somewhere.
Maybe you’ve been in an awkward conversation and have needed someone to come rescue you.
The truth is, every human alive has been stranded in sin. Stopped dead in our tracks. From the moment we’re conceived in the womb, we are in need of rescue. And this is exactly what God has done for us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
Romans
The Apostle Paul spent a great deal of time in his letter to the church in Rome explaining just how good this good news about Jesus is for us.
In fact the first 11 chapters of Romans are about the “mercies of God.”
In Jesus we can be made right with God.
In Jesus we can receive forgiveness of sins.
In Jesus we experience compassion.
In Jesus we have new life and can live with hope that God will keep his promises.
And then here in chapter 12, Paul transitions from ALL we have and ALL we are in Jesus to how we are supposed to live.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
God has given us a new identity, a new family, a new start and He expects us to live a changed life. How are we are we to do that?
In “view of” the mercies of God! We never lose sight of God’s mercies toward us! As we think of God’s mercies and continually thank God for all we have in Him we offer our lives as a living sacrifice.
As recipients of God’s mercy “namely the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus” we are to live in such a way that represents the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
Rather than standing in condemnation of others we are moved with compassion for others.
Rather than imitating the world’s pattern of giving someone what they deserve we give and serve whether we think they are deserving of it or not.
When we live in constant view of God’s mercies we are able to live merciful lives.
We forgive others because we’ve been forgiven.
We love others because we are unconditionally loved!
We help rescue others because we ourselves were rescued!
God rescues us and meets our needs so we can meet the needs of others.
ILLUSTRATION: When my father showed me the unconditional love of my Heavenly Father. “Son, I will never let you go.”
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. 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.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
1. In view of the mercies of God live a changed life!
Romans 12:
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Don’t just pretend to love others! Really love them!