Romans 12
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A Living Sacrifice
A Living Sacrifice
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.
What is the significance in the wording Paul uses “I appeal (urge)”?
I appeal (urge)
notice Paul did not say he expected, nor did he demand. It was not in Paul’s purview to require Christ’s followers to do anything, simply to encourage.
to you therefore brothers
therefore shows a transition from Paul’s discourse from the following chapters to Jew and Gentile alike, to not get self-righteous and caught up in who is right/wrong.
by the mercies of God
mercies can be translated as “compassion, or being sympathetic towards”. Having a heart for His created beings, God shows compassion or sympathy towards us through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Providing a way of salvation for those who believe, by faith. Here we see Paul urging us to have those same sympathetic or compassionate feelings for others, as God has towards us. Some may see this as a sign of weakness, but truly we find STRENGTH when we model our Heavenly Fathers attitude. But what is it we are to be humbled and sympathetic by?
What is the challenge Paul issues?
to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God
Our bodies are the earthly temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul encourages us that everything we do, in all our earthly activities and life, should model Christ. We are to be different from others! We should live a life that is sacrificial to the ways of God, in a manner that He would find holy and acceptable.
The term “holy” (hagios) is used to define “sacred sanctuaries”. We are to be living a life as a sacred sanctuary for the Holy Spirit.
acceptable (euárestos) in the NT usually refers to God, and is never an evaluation but always the goal of the Christian life. We are constantly to test what is euáreston (acceptable to God) and seek out those things, and reject what is not.
10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
Could our “Christian” actions and attitude be a stumbling block to other believers or unbelievers?
You know, as we look at our lives and the lives of those around us we can encourage people to follow a Christ-like example, but we cannot force them to. But, WE can control our lives and how we show the compassion of Christ to others. Too often, I think we get into a mindset of “this is what God says, and this is the way it has to be” and expect everyone (lost and saved) to live in the same way, under the same convictions, and with the same convictions as we do.
It is often easy to turn people off this way, them seeing us as “holier than thou”, “bible thumpers”, “Jesus freaks”, whatever they may refer to it also. In such, do we become a stumbling block to unbelievers? We will find in a few more chapters where Paul says:
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
What is our spiritual worship?
which is your spiritual worship
Paul goes on to speak of our spiritual worship (logikos) which is translated as logical, rational, or reasonable in our actions. Meaning, we are to perform all our ministry with the logical understanding that we are an ambassador of Christ. If we thing, the ministry we fulfill today is what God asked of the priests and Levites - dedicated in their service of God. They cared for the temple, represented the nation before God, served as mediators between God and the people, served as musicians and singers, etc. Now, we (as Christians) are believer-priests who identify with the High Priest, Jesus. Just as the priests and Levites dedicated their life to the service of God, a believer should offer themselves as a sacrifice to God in service.
By not yielding to the will of God through service and our lives must make us wonder whether we have fully surrendered to Christ. Our dedication is driven out of love - not for what God CAN do for us, but what God HAS already done.
Warren Wiersbe makes this comment “True dedication is the presenting of body, mind, and will to God day by day. It is daily yielding the body to Him, having the mind renewed by the Word, and surrendering the will through prayer and obedience. Every Christian is either a conformer, living for and like the world, or a transformer, daily becoming more like Christ.
18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
This verse tells us that we are transformed (transfigured) as we allow the Spirit to reveal Christ through the Word of God. It is only when the believer is thus dedicated to God that he can know God’s will for his life.”
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.
What does it mean to not be conformed to this world?
By making the decision to follow Jesus, we sacrifice the life to self. This means turning away from worldly desires.
Galatians 1:4 (ESV)
4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Do not be conformed to this world - What is our natural tendencies? We have a sinful body, mind, and mindset. We have the desire to follow what the world says makes us “acceptable” or “successful”. Social status, prosperity, fame, accomplishments, etc. In reading through an article “What Makes Successful People Successful? The 5 Common Traits” on the SUCCESSCONSCIOUSNESS website, this comment was made “If you want to be successful, no matter whether it is in your career, in your business, investment, financially, spiritually or in as a family member, you must first make the decision that you want it. Success will come to you only when you are fully committed and decided that you will go for it no matter what. You must 1) Have big dreams, 2) Always be on the move, 3) Never give up, 4) Expect positive things, 5) Believe in your dreams. Always dream big, take consistent action, never give up, think positively and most importantly, believe in yourself and your dreams.” But notice the theme, “YOU”. It’s what “YOU” do. It’s what “YOU” see as important. It’s what “YOU” dream. Church, it is not what WE can do, but what GOD can do through us that will make us successful. Maybe not in this world, maybe not in this life, but in the eyes of God.
Is there anything wrong with wanting to be successful?
It depends. Our attitude and approach should not be guided by the things of "the present evil age”. We should not be looking at the things of this world to decide whether or not we are successful.
17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
It is separating ourselves from the pattern of the world and aligning ourselves with the will of God.
How do we change our outlook and desires?
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind
The word transformed here is the same word in which we get the term “metamorphosis” and “morph”. If we look at metamorphosis, the Oxford Dictionary defines it as: the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form, or a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.
We should be growing in the likeness and image of God more so every day. Yet, we know not everyone grows (morphs). By NOT transforming ourselves, we stay children.
1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
By transforming ourselves, we seek to be more like God every day.
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
How do we grow?
By renewing our mind. The key to this change is the “mind” (noos), the control center of one’s attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and actions.
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
As one’s mind keeps on being made new by the spiritual input of God’s Word, prayer, and Christian fellowship, his lifestyle keeps on being transformed. This is a continual process that progresses throughout our life.
So how do we progress?
that by testing you may discern what is the will of God We must continually seek what is the will of God. With seeking comes understanding, with understanding comes the ability to discern, and with discernment comes the ability to know His will.
what is good and acceptable and perfect
Paul says here that God’s will itself is what is good, well-pleasing (to God), and perfect. Notice these are not just some attributes “God’s good will”, but what is perfectly good in the eyes of God.
As a Christian is transformed in his mind and is made more like Christ, he comes to approve and desire God’s will, not his own will for his life. Then he discovers that God’s will is what is good for him, and that it pleases God, and is complete in every way. It is all he needs. But only by being renewed spiritually can a believer find, do, and enjoy the will of God.