When Christ calls a man... - Romans 12:1-2, 9-12

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

When Christ calls a person, he calls them to come and die. She stood over her husband’s coffin. In the book titled, Extreme Devotion, there is the story of a widow. There were tears in her eyes, but her voice was strong. The bruises on her body told the mourners that she, too, had been beaten as her husband. As Christians, they had refused to take a tribal oath that wasn’t consistent with their Christian faith. For this, her husband was beaten to death. She was beaten and hospitalized. The crowd was still, silenced by the power of the widow’s words and her will. “I, as his widow, also tell all of you, in the presence of my dead husband, that I hate none of those who killed him. I love the killers. I forgive them, knowing that Christ has died for them too.” No one in attendance that day would ever forget the widow’s words or her example of extreme forgiveness and grace. When Christ calls a person, he calls them to come and die. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who is also a Christian martyr, writes, “'When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

Bonhoeffer is using

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

What does it mean for a believer that when Christ calls us to himself, he calls us to come and die?

Romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 ESV

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.

Paul tells the Roman believers that by the mercy of God, present your bodies as living sacrifices. Does he mean, a literal sacrifice losing our life for him, as we have heard in stories from North Korea, the Middle East, and North Africa? Or does he mean it metaphorically, giving all we have in this life for Christ? A close friend of mine told me once that he prays for a spirit of Martyrdom. Even though he will likely never be asked to physically, literally lose his life for his faith. Nonetheless, he prays for a spirit that dies to self in order to live for Christ. He prays for a spirit of martyrdom. Faith is a free gift that should cost us everything. The words of Paul to the Romans contain the same charge to us. Paul calls us to be living sacrifices, and sometimes, he calls believers to simply be sacrifices. What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? There are four ways that I believe we are called to live this.

Romans 12:2

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

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.

Christ calls us to go from a self/worldly focused worldview to a faith-based worldview.

Paul tells us that believers should not be conformed to this world. There’s the old saying that believers should in the world, but not of the world. This is a tough balance. Being in the world can cause a believer to become of the world. Meanwhile, not being of the world can temp a believer to escape the world and lose their witness.

The book called Misreading Scripture through Western eyes has a great example of differing worldviews. The author reminds us that we speak as insiders, which has its own challenges. They (referring to the authors) speak as white, Western males. In fact, they always speak as white, Western males. This cannot be changed. Everything either of them has ever written has come from the perspective of middle-class, white males with a traditionally Western education. There’s really nothing they can do about that except be aware of and to be honest about it. They write as white, Western males who have been chastened to read the Bible through the eyes of our non-Western sisters and brothers in the Lord. But Christianity didn’t start in the Western world. It started in the Middle East before spreading to North Africa, India, and finally, Europe. What started as a Middle Eastern religion turned into a Western religion.

In the book, one of the authors, Randy, recalls grading his first multiple choice exam when he taught in Indonesia. He was surprised by how many students left answers unmarked. So he asked the first student when handing back exams, “Why didn’t you select an answer on question number three?” The student explained, “I didn’t know the answer.” Randy replies, “You should have at least guessed.” He looked at me, appalled. “What if I accidentally guessed the correct answer? I would be implying that I knew the answer when I didn’t. That would be lying!” In Indonesia, guessing on a multiple choice test is possibly lying. Here in America, guessing on a multiple choice test is normal, it’s simply a good test taking skill.

Which takes us back to, what lenses do we bring to life? Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-7, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Back in the days of Rome, it was normal and almost expected for people to take pride in their abilities almost to the point of arrogance. But Christ emptied himself of all his privilege as being the Son of God, a part of the Trinity, and he went to earth taking on human flesh. Just as pride and arrogance in Rome was almost expected, today it’s seems like the same thing can be expected?

But Paul tells us to live each day with the eyes of Christ. As he says in Romans 12:2, “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.” For some, the will of God is to give up everything, including their life. Christ calls us to go from a self-focused and worldly-focused worldview to a faith-based worldview.

Christ calls us to go from worldly power to the power of Christ.

When I was really young, my parents would laugh at an expression I frequently say. When I was having trouble and needed help, I would get flustered and say, “I’ll do it myself.” Well, trying to do it in our own power ultimately humbles us. As I often learned right after saying that. Paul is writing here to Christians who are living in the center of the Roman Empire. Around them, they are sounded by a pagans who succeed through brute force. But that power is fleeting. Regardless of which kind of power in this world we rely, whether it be power derived from physical strength, social skills, emotional awareness, or spending power, none of them last forever. Not one of the people in power during Paul’s day are still in power today.

Steven Dow puts it like this, “You know when you buy toys for your kids or grand-kids often times on the package in fine print are these words: “Batteries not included.” Do you know what that means? It means that you get the toy, but the power to make it work is not included. That is not the kind of gift that God gives. God’s gift of holiness includes the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit - the power to make it work.” The power of the Holy Spirit is tapped into through the power of prayer. The Holy Spirit gives insight and guidance. The Holy Spirit works through events. When Paul talks about the transformation of our mind, it isn’t simply acquiring knowledge. It is a complete and total change from the ways of the world to our minds being wholly centered one the ways of Christ.

Therefore, from what do you derive your power? Is it your own abilities and skills, or is it the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the Cross of Christ? Christ calls us to go from relying on the wordly power to the power of Christ.

Christ calls us to go from lives characterized by sin to lives characterized by holiness.

Being transformed means that what we think, what we say, and what we do are growing into conformity with Christ. Sin is defined as anything we think, do, or say that God’s law says we shouldn’t have, or anything that we should have thought, done, or said that God’s law says we should have. As we grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ, we grow in lives that are holy. And what does holiness mean? Holiness simply means set apart. A life characterized by Christ is a life that is lived differently. It’s a life that stands out for Christ.

Eugene Peterson, in his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, writes, “in our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.” In the other words, the journey from sin or holiness is a long obedience in the same direction. And it’s a journey that each believer is called to by Christ. In a similar way, martyrs have been set apart by their sacrifice. Their act of martyrdom is an act of being set apart.

Christ calls some to martyrdom.

Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

In the early church, they went through waves of persecution. One day all would be fine. The next, the government authorities would start crucifying believers. One of the reasons that Christianity spread so rapidly was that those who believed in it refused to renounce Christ, even to the point of death.

The story of Polycarp, as recounted in Foxe’s Book of the Martyrs. Hereupon the proconsul said, ‘I have wild beasts; and I will expose you to them, unless you repent.’ ‘Call for them,’ replied Polycarp; ‘for repentance with us is a wicked thing, if it is to be a change from the better to the worse, but a good thing if it is to be a change from evil to good.’ ‘I will tame thee with fire,’ said the proconsul, ‘since you despise the wild beasts, unless you repent.’ Then said Polycarp, ‘You threaten me with fire, which burns for an hour, and is soon extinguished; but the fire of the future judgment, and of eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly, you are ignorant of. But why do you delay? Do whatever you please.’ The proconsul sent the herald to proclaim thrice in the middle of the Stadium, ‘Polycarp hath professed himself a Christian.’ Which words were no sooner spoken, but the whole multitude, both of Gentiles and Jews, dwelling at Smyrna, with outrageous fury shouted aloud, ‘This is the doctor of Asia, the father of the Christians, and the subverter of our gods, who hath taught many not to sacrifice nor adore.’ They now called on Philip, the asiarch, to let loose a lion against Polycarp. But he refused, alleging that he had closed his exhibition. They then unanimously shouted, that he should be burnt alive. For his vision must needs be

accomplished—the vision which he had when he was praying, and saw his pillow burnt. The people immediately gathered wood and other dry matter from the work- shops and baths: in which service the Jews (with their usual malice) were particularly forward to help. When they would have fastened him to the stake, he said, ‘Leave me as I am; for he who giveth me strength to sustain the fire, will enable me also, without your securing me with nails, to remain without flinching in the pile.’ Upon which they bound him without nailing him. So he said thus:—‘O Father, I bless thee that thou hast counted me worthy to receive my portion among the number of martyrs.’ As soon as he had uttered the word ‘Amen,’ the officers lighted the fire.

Conclusion

Christ calls us to go from a self/worldly focused worldview to a God-centered worldview. Christ calls us to go from worldly power to the power of Christ. Christ calls us to go from lives characterized by sin to lives characterized by holiness. Christ calls some to martyrdom.

Richard Wurmbrand, shares a story about his experience with persecution. “Mr. B” had been a Communist state prosecutor during the time Russia occupied Romania. He fell out of the good graces of the Party and was imprisoned by his own comrades. Once he was transferred from a prison where hunger reigned to a mine where the prisoners were given more food since they had to do hard slave labor. At the prison gate he was met by a stranger who immediately gave him something to eat.

The stranger sat near him while he ate. He asked the stranger for how long he was sentenced. The answer was twenty years.

“What for?”

“For having given some food to a fugitive pastor sought by the police.”

“Who gave you such punishment for a good deed?”

“You were the state prosecutor at my trial. You did not recognize me, but I recognized you. I am a Christian. Christ taught us to reward evil with good. I wished to teach you that it is right to give food to a hungry man.”