Life on the Altar
Notes
Transcript
Life on the Altar
Life on the Altar
graduates...
i remember my own graduation…
people always want to know...
how will you answer the question… “What’s next?”
it’s an exciting question when you know the answer
of course when you don’t know how to answer it… it brings on all kinds of anxiety doesn’t it?
Romans 12 is the transition in Romans where Paul moves from doctrine to application… the practical. Based on all the information to this point, how should we live?
1 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. 2 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.
PRAY
let’s take the 2 very important verses one at a time this morning...
vs. 1
appeal, urge, beg of you.... not a command
i think the language here is important
this must be the decision of the romans, this must be our individual decision … surrender to God must be completely willing
“brothers” - shows Paul’s humility… puts himself on their level
“by the mercies of God”… this is the motive.... the reason for living this way
therefore....
summarizing everything Paul has said in the first 11 chapters…
the whole doctrine part of the book
which is the doctrine of the Fall
man made in God’s own image… falling and sinning against God
they worshipped the creation instead of the creator
but being condemned… they cannot save themselves
then comes chapter 3. those incredible 2 words… “BUT NOW”
and we learn about justification by faith alone
paul continues telling them they were dead with adam but now alive with Christ!
he goes further… they’ve been adopted into sonship by God the Father
and all of this is why we now live the Christian life
when we understand our dire situation, that we are on our way to eternity without God and then we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, from that moment on everything changes!
Taylor Swift - Everything Has Changed
I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now
All I know is we said, "Hello"
Your eyes look like comin' home
All I know is a simple name
And everything has changed
i love and it’s so fitting at the end of the song she changes the lyric in the chorus to...
All I know is a new found grace
All my days, I'll know your face
All I know since yesterday
Is everything has changed
that’s what Paul is saying here… by the mercies of God
Because of all of this… in light of all of this…because of what God has done…everything has changed
and the only logical response we have is to…
OFFER EVERYTHING TO GOD!
LAY OUR LIFE ON THE ALTAR
and that is our first point today:
OFFER YOUR ENTIRE SELF TO GOD
Paul tells them to “present yourself as a sacrifice”
1st-century people knew and understood the imagery of sacrifice. they had stood by and watched as THEIR animal was slaughtered and burned in an act of worship.
and here Paul is saying, present YOURSELF as a sacrifice to God
this verse echoes what Paul had said back in chapter 6 of this letter to the Romans:
13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Paul says to present bodies (your entire self) as a “LIVING” sacrifice
the word LIVING reminds us of what God has made us which he wrote in
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
we are dead to sin.... alive to God in Christ… therefore the sacrifice of our self is a “LIVING” sacrifice
this very verse condemns the thought of “continuing to sin once we are saved.” are we perfectly glorified yet? no… but how can someone who is dead to sin continue to live in it on a consistent basis?
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The New Bible Commentary 12:1–2 The Heart of the Matter: A Renewed Mind
Paul encourages us to look at our entire Christian lives as acts of worship. It is not just what is done on Sunday in a church building that ‘ascribes worth’ to God, but what God and the world see in us every day and every moment of the week.
it’s our thought life
it’s our motives
it’s our choices
it’s how we take care of our bodies
it’s our attitude
all of these things are our true spiritual act of worship
vs. 2
2 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.
2. Do not be conformed
Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behavior in order to fit in with a group.
[chameleon picture]
we all know people who live this way don’t we? their personality, their choices, their attitude.... everything changes based on the situation they find themselves in… or the group of people they’re around
Paul isn’t talking about being all things to all people here which he recommends by the way in order to be a good evangelist
he’s talking about the purpose of Christianity. the purpose of salvation. which he tells us in
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
we’re to be conformed to the image of Christ… not the world
remember that offering our entire self to God is our true act of worship
we cannot be conforming to the world all week long and then show up to church on sunday and expect our 60-90 minutes of singing, praying and listening to the word will count as true worship
if we’re doing that we’re no different than those in Isaiah the Lord spoke of when he said...
13 And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
when you worship like this it isn’t worship at all. you’re not worshipping God, you’re patronizing God.
3. Be transformed
word here is metamorphoo
where we get our word metamorphosis
which is just a great image of the change that takes place in the christian
picture the caterpillar, in love the world.... can’t get enough of the earth, one day has had enough.... and then transforms, metamorphoo into a butterfly with wings that take him to the sky… never to return to being a caterpillar again.
we are to love this world no more.. and instead be transformed into a new creation
Paul says this transformation takes place by...
the renewal of your MIND
take note of the present tense use of the word renewal… which means it is a continuing renewal that Paul has in mind here
this is what the bible does for us
as we read it, we get to know God
and as we get to know God, our minds are transformed
motives change
choices change
examples of moving from conforming to being transformed:
money - world “end all be all”
sex - whatever i want, however i want it, whenever i want
world view - no objective truth… what’s true for you might not be true for me.... maybe there’s more than one god that can get you to heaven
when our minds our transformed we no longer think like the world
SO THAT… you will be able to discern what God’s will is
we can discern his will because our minds have been transformed
Douglas Moo says, “God has not given Christians a set of detailed commandments to guide us. He has given us His Spirit, who is working to change our hearts and minds from within, so that our obedience to God might be natural and spontaneous.”
what is good and acceptable and perfect
i want you to read this part of the verse as....
God’s will is that thing in any specific situation, that is good and acceptable and perfect. And knowing it, the transformed person will set out to do it.
So.... how will you answer the question, “What’s next?”
what school will you attend?
what degree will you earn?
what career will you begin?
what city will you live in?
who will you marry?
all really big, important questions to answer.... but the question i’m most interested in your answer to is this...
will you lay your life on the altar to God?
will you deny yourself?
will you pick up your own cross?
Voluntarily climb up on the altar and offer your entire life as a sacrifice to God?
Jesus voluntarily allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, the altar where his ultimate sacrifice made it possible for us to receive God’s mercies
that act should compel us to deny ourselves, and lay our life on the altar for him as our true act of worship.
PRAY