Sermon Tone Analysis

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.*

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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*

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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.*

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

 

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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.

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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.*