A Living Sacrifice

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

Expository Sermon

A Living Sacrifice

A Sermon Presented in Partial Fulfillment for the

Requirements of the Course

Preparation of the Sermon Expository Preaching

HOMI 501

By Bruce M. Wareing

August 31, 2008

Introduction

I want to thank you all for coming out this morning. I know you were told last week that I would be speaking and you showed up any way.

Great pastor story

I read a story the other day about a pastor who on a particular Sunday night did not feel constrained by politeness or time. He just let go and let the Spirit have His way. On his way home, he was feeling good about his sermon, and looked over at his wife and said, “You know, there just aren’t a lot of great preachers anymore.”

His wife responded, “your right, and there is probably one less than you think.”

I am not a great pastor, but God’s Word is great and I am sure that when we look into it and apply it to our life, it can make for some great results.

As you open your Bibles to Romans 12, I want to give you a context for today’s passage.

CONTEXT

In the book of Romans, God, through Paul, lays out the particulars of His love relationship to those people who truly love Him. The first part of Romans, chapters 1-11, is God explaining how much He has always loved us. In these chapters, God demonstrates that His love is unconditional and eternal toward those, He chose before creation. He shows us that His love is not earned, that we cannot be worthy in our actions, and even in our unworthiness, through Christ, we have great blessings.

The Rev Adrian Deileman listed many of the blessings which Paul tells us of when we are in Christ:

-in Christ we are justified by faith (4:1f)
-in Christ we have peace with God (5:1f)
-in Christ we are made righteous (5:12f)
-in Christ we are dead to sin and raised to new life (6:1f)
-in Christ we are set free from sin and misery and are able to follow the Spirit (7:1f)
-in Christ there is no condemnation (8:1f)
-in Christ we are free not to walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit (8:5f)
-in Christ we are daughters/sons and heirs of God (8:12f)
-in Christ we have a glorious future hope (8:18f)
-in Christ our prayers are heard (8:26f)
-in Christ God works everything for our ultimate good (8:28)
-in Christ we are elect (8:29)
-in Christ no charges are laid against us (8:33)
-in Christ we are conquerors (8:37)
-in Christ nothing can separate us from God's love (8:38f)
-in Christ we are grafted into the tree of Israel and are now part of the people of God (11:11f)

The rest of the book of Romans, chapters 12-16, is the Lord letting us know what He wants from us, how we can live in a manner which demonstrates our love for Him. Paul boils all of this down to one urging that we find in our text, which is to present our bodies as a free-will gift to Him.

Read text: Romans 12:1-2

Paul starts this passage with the word “therefore.” As a pastor I knew liked to say, “Whenever we see “therefore”, we should ask ourselves “wherefore”. Another way of starting this passage would be to say, Because of the love I have told you about, and all of the blessings we have in Christ, by these mercies, I urge you to sacrifice your body to God.

One of the common elements of Paul’s writing is that when he “urges” us to do something, it is usually something that is very practical, or it introduces a section of his letter that is more practical than spiritual. You see examples of this style later in this book, for example in chapter 15 verse 30, “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me.” While prayer may be a spiritual act, never forget the practical aspect of it. Again in chapter 16:17, “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrance …” We also see this in 1 Cor, 4:16 “Therefore I exhort (same Greek word) you, be imitators of me.” Now I don’t know about you, but if I have someone with the spiritual knowledge of Paul offering me practical advice, I am going to sit up and pay attention.

Proposition

In response to all that God has done for us, it is our reasonable service to want to give our entire being to Him.

I. Our life is to be an offering, set apart, and pleasing to God

For us living in the twenty-first century, this passage does not paint as vivid a picture as it did for Paul’s audience living nearly two thousand years earlier. The people he was writing to were used to seeing animals being hauled to an alter and being offered as sacrifices. When Paul urges them to present their bodies as a sacrifice, you can imagine the images that flashed through their minds. But is this all that much different than what Jesus told those that wanted to follow Him? Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell us He said that if any man wants to come after Him, “he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” When Paul urges us to present our bodies as a sacrifice, he is not just talking about mental acknowledgment of Christ, nor is he asking us merely to give up Sunday mornings to come to church. He is saying that our entire life is to be offered to God.

Have you ever thought about the one being sacrificed? When a bull was sacrificed, it was not for his sins: it wasd for someoneelse's. When Christ alowed Himself to be sacrificed it was not for His benifite: it was for ours. Paul is asking us to be a sacrifice "pleasing to God." We are not to do this with a self serving attitude; but to serve God and others.

Notice the qualifiers which Paul attaches to our sacrifice.

We are to be a LIVING sacrifice.

This is much different than the sacrifices that Paul’s audience would be used to seeing, in that while the sacrifices of Paul’s day came to the alter alive, once it was sacrificed, it was over. We are to continually live our lives day in and day out as a sacrifice for God.

To visualize what this looks like today, let’s look at our young men and women entering the military. The first thing that the military does when a new recruit comes into boot camp is to strip away any identity of their prior civilian life. The military give them a new identity that is inseparable from the government which they serve. The military gives them new clothes, a new place to live, even a new hair cut. After the training, they are told where they are to go, and what they are to do. Does the military member argue or reason with the orders they get? No, they serve. When they are sent into harm’s way, do they refuse? No, they serve. I am telling you today, that when Jesus tells us to pick up our cross daily, and when Paul urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, we are being called to service! We are not being called to intellectual assent. We are not being called to go to church. When we say that Jesus Christ is Lord of our life, do we really mean that? Do we give Him control? Or do we want to maintain the seat of authority in our life? Think of your life as a living sacrifice in light of chapter 6 verse 16 of this book, “ Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” When we pray and say that we are making Jesus Christ Lord of our life, we are presenting ourselves to him as a slave.

2. Our sacrifice is to be HOLY.

What does it mean to be holy?... The Bible speaks of the Holy City, the holy prophets, His holy hill,…what do these things have that make them holy? They have been set apart by God, for His use. That leaves the question which begs to be answered, how can I set myself apart to be holy? Paul gives the answer in his 2nd letter to Timothy. In chapter 2 verse 19-20 we read,

19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

20 Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

By abstaining from wickedness, we can set ourselves apart for His service, and in doing so, we can present bodies as a holy sacrifice.

3. Lastly, our living holy sacrifice is to be ACCEPTABLE or pleasing to God.

Paul elaborates on what it means for us to live a life which is acceptable to God later in this book of Romans. In chapter 12, verse 17-18 he states,

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

And what does Micah 6:8 tell us? “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

God gave the law to Moses on tablets, but for us, He has written it on our hearts. Jesus told His disciples that after He left, He would send the Holy Spirit. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit living inside you. One of the blessings we receive with the Holy Spirit is His leading in our life. You don’t need me to stand up here and tell you what is acceptable to God. You have God living inside you telling you what He desires.

TRANSITION

The problem for many of us is that we are not willing to listen when He instructs. We would rather stay in our comfort zone because we are afraid of stepping outside of what the world expects, or maybe we don’t want people to think we are strange; But,

I. Paul tells us that this sacrifice is our reasonable or spiritual service of worship in light of the mercies of God.

Paul says that for us to offer our bodies as a living, holy sacrifice, acceptable to God is our spiritual service. Some of your translations will translate this word as “spiritual” and others will have “rational.” And with very little imagination, you can see that our English word logic is derived from this word. In our twenty-first century American mind set, it is a stretch to see how the same word can be translated reasonable and spiritual. Some people outside of the church might even say that when these two words are put side by side, they constitute an oxymoron. But in the Greek, it carries both of the meanings. The best way to define and understand this word is to say that it has to do with the real nature of something, and that it belongs to the sphere of the spirit or mind. To be able to comprehend this, it is necessary to realize that God created us as spiritual beings. In other words, it is only logical or reasonable as spiritual beings, to desire to offer our bodies, our minds, everything that makes us who we are, to the God who has blessed us in so many ways. To do otherwise, would not be true to the nature that God has indwelt us with. The Stoic philosophers put it this way, “If I were a nightingale, I should be singing as a nightingale; if a swan, as a swan. But as it is, I am a rational being therefore I must be singing hymns of praise to God.”

Let’s bring it down to Earth and up to our day. I love my wife, and she says that she loves me. Now I know that she has wanted a gazebo for a long time. So for a week, I sacrifice my time and with great effort, I build a gazebo for her. I finish it late at night and in the morning when she is getting ready for her day, I make her breakfast and have it served in the new gazebo. What should I logically expect her to do? I would expect her to at the very least have breakfast with me and show her appreciation. What do you think would go through my mind if she looked at my efforts then responded by saying, “sorry you have to eat breakfast by yourself, but Wal-Mart is having a sale and we need some coffee so I am going to pick some up.”

Would it be any less logical than for you or I to read about all that God has done for us and not to offer Him everything we have? If as humans we think we deserve something for the sacrifice of a little time and energy, how much more does God deserve for the sacrifice of His Son to save us from an eternal hell?

TRANSITION

OK, in reflection of the first 11 chapters, Paul has convinced you that it is reasonable to want to offer this sacrifice that God desires; but, how can I a sinful man present this body as holy and acceptable?

II. We cannot walk in close fellowship and stay conformed to this world.

Have you ever thought of what it means to be conformed to this age? I remember when I was in high school and it was the “thing” to be different. The young people of the day thought that they had to be free to “express themselves.” That is why we all had to have long hair, wear funny colored shirts, and bell bottom pants. To this day, if you want to see conformity, look at the youth of our nation. My daughter is in college and we talk about the attitudes of the students, and you can just see how they are being shaped into thinking in the way which is advocated by the liberal mindset on the campus, they are teaching them to be “tolerant.” This is another way of saying they should accept sin and false religion and embrace a lifestyle of debauchery, as an acceptable alternative.

Our society is trying hard to demand conformity of our minds to the “politically correct” way of thinking and acceptance of non-Christian values. The big problem is that too many of us are like the frog in the kettle. We have so slowly allowed ourselves to look like and think like the world around us, that we never even noticed that it has just about killed us spiritually. We allow ourselves to be desensitized by watching filth and vulgarity on TV. A friend of mine made this point very clearly the other day. She told her little sister that a particular TV show was not good for her to watch. So I asked her a question. If it is not good for your little sister to watch, why is it OK for you to watch? She responded by telling me that she could watch it and tune-out the sex and vulgarity.

I would like for you to do a little self evaluation at this point. Do you find yourself conforming to “this age?” Does your speech and actions at work and at home mark you as any different from your non-Christian coworkers? Are you willing to take a stand that goes against the popular and politically correct view on moral issues? Have you became so desensitized to sin that you are willing to be bombarded with vulgarity and sex and then just overlook it? If you do a true evaluation of yourself, and find that you have been conforming to the world, then praise God if you are unable to find the joy and peace that you had when you were first saved.

Rather than allowing the world to “squeeze you into its own mold” Paul told believers to be “transformed by the renewing of your minds.” You see, the mind is the control center where a believer’s thoughts, feelings, attitudes and decisions take place. Listen to what Paul tells the Ephesians, reading from chapter four, he states,

that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

God gave me the opportunity last week to talk with a young man who although he professed to know Christ, was totally conformed to the world. He is trying so hard to be happy, yet people who know him see that he is continually depressed and full of rage. I asked him if he knew that he was living outside of the will of God. And, as I expected, he knew he was. I then asked him if he felt bad for the way he was living. He didn’t want to answer this question, and I let it just sit in the air for a while. Finally, he admitted that he felt conviction for his actions, but he was not willing at that point to repent and give control of his life back to God.

I earnestly pray for this young man, because I know firsthand what he is going through. You see at one time, I was like he is now. I was a Christian who had strayed from God. For four years I fought with God, not willing to give my life as a sacrifice to Him. I tried to relieve the conviction that He was placing on me by going to church and acting the part at least on Sunday. I even moved away from my friends to avoid the temptation of the sinful lifestyle I had been living. But I was not willing to let go of the control of my life. Finally, I conceded to God, I felt like a boxer who just couldn’t go on for another round, and I said to God, “OK, I may never have fun anymore, but I am going to do it Your way.” It was at that point that I offered my life as a living sacrifice, and I allowed God to transform my mind. You see, when I quit fighting God, I got peace.

TRANSITION to conclusion

Accepting Christ is a onetime moment in history, a single event. But the Christian walk is a lifetime relationship of love and growth. The Bible tells us that while we were still enemies of God, He loved us so much, that He sent His Son to die for us. But it does not stop there. After we accept Christ and become His children, His love continues, and it is so great that He is not willing to neglect us or our relationship with Him. As we mature, God shows us areas of our life that we have not yet surrendered, or obstacles which stand in our way to a closer relationship with Him. We sometimes have to give up things, or sometimes, it may be that he is calling you not to give up, but rather to take on something.

CONCULSION

I want you to take a moment right now to reflect on the love God has shown to you, realizing that the sacrifice that God, through His Son Jesus Christ has given for you. Think about all that you have been given through Christ. Isn’t it only reasonable that you would want to present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God? Shouldn’t our lives reflect that sacrifice?

Where are you with God? Have you accepted the gift of salvation that God has so graciously provided and offered to you? Is there something in your life that is stopping you from fully offering your body as a sacrifice to God? Maybe God is calling you into service and you are not willing to set yourself apart for Him. Or maybe there is a sin that you are not willing to give up thus making your life unacceptable as a sacrifice.

If you have not offered your body, as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, pray that He would help you to do this now.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament, electronic ed. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000, c1992, c1993

Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988)

John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985)

Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers (Garland TX: Bible Communications, 1996, c1979)

Robert H. Mounce, vol. 27, Romans, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1995)

James D. G. Dunn, vol. 38B, Word Biblical Commentary : Romans 9-16, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002)

Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Matthew Black et al., The Greek New Testament, 4th ed. (Federal Republic of Germany: United Bible Societies, 1993, c1979)

The Good News: The Gospel By Jerry Vines

Scripture Text: 1Cor. 15:1-8

Introduction: We are living in a world filled with bad news; but the Bible is a book filled with good news.

Propositional Statement: The gospel is good news.

I. First compliment: Christ paid/died for our sins–verse 3

A. Sub-compliment Christ is a divine person: God came down to earth

B. Sub-compliment Christ is a human person: God became a human

C. His death was unique

1. He suffered more than any man

2. He died spiritually

3. He died for our sins

Transition: Christ took on death and sin on the day He died and He won.

II. Second compliment: Christ put away our sins – verses 4

A. He was buried, this illustrates our sins were forgiven

B. God does not bring our sins back up after He forgives them

Transition: What punctuation mark do you have after “He was buried”?

III. Third compliment: He rose again the third day – verses 4-8

A. His resurrection vindicated His word verses

B. His resurrection vindicated His work

C. He was seen by many

1. Cephas

2. The twelve

3. Five hundred

4. James

5. Last of all Paul

Transition: Paul states he was born out of time (an abortion), the gospel saved him.

Conclusion: .

A. Review Christ died Christ was buried, Christ rose again

B. Application you must believe in your heart, if it is not to be in vain

C. Direction confess with your mouth and believe in your heart you will be saved