Romans 12:1,2 *
Dear Friends in Christ,
It’s an illustration – or a variation of it – that some of you have probably heard down through the years, but it is worth hearing again and sets the stage for today’s message…
In a distant land in a former time, a new shipment of slaves had arrived. Because they were viewed as investments, it was customary to put the slaves on display for buyers to examine before the auction would begin. One particular slave, a young female, stood out among the rest in her beauty, health and strength. On top of that she was well educated. She was a rare find.
Everyone expected her to command the highest price once the bidding started. They were right. When she came up the bidding was fast, furious and far higher than normal. It finally came to an end, but not before setting a new record for the price of a slave.
As she was being led off the auction block, a man came up to her. But he didn’t come to claim her. Instead, he handed her a short two sentence note. It read: “I have purchased you and paid the price. You are now free to go.” The young lady was stunned. She asked the messenger who did this. He pointed her to a man in the distance who was walking away.
So she ran after him. When she caught up to him, she fell on her knees in front of him and thanked him. And then she said, “Sir, I know I am free and that I don’t have to serve you. But now I want to.”
Moved by an act of mercy so deep, so profound, and so telling about the provider, the natural response of this slave woman was to willingly offer a life of voluntary service to her gracious benefactor.
I’m sure you see the parallels. Enslaved by a master named Sin and powerless to break free from its eternally damning consequences on our own, Jesus Christ paid the price for us… not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death (Catechism, explanation to Second Article). Now we are free to voluntarily serve Him and to be continually transformed by Him
In our text for today the Apostle Paul addresses this whole topic. We might call it
AN ESSAY ON THE CHRISTIAN’S LIFE
1. Grateful appreciation
2. Voluntary presentation
3. Ongoing transformation
Therefore, I urge
you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then
you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and
perfect will.
Up until this point in the book of Romans Paul has mostly concentrated on theological matters. Now he launches into the portion of his letter where he talks about the practical impact these great spiritual truths have on the Christian’s life. So with the word “therefore” Paul takes us back to everything he has told us about God’s grace and salvation in the first 11 chapters of this book. There we learn of “God’s mercy.”
In 1976 a Christian philosopher by the name of Frances Schaeffer wrote a book that is still referenced today. It was a critique of Western Civilization from a Christian perspective. Its title was this question: “How Should We Then Live?”
That’s a good question. How should we, as Christians, then live? Here is Paul’s two fold answer. First, “in view of God’s mercy.” Secondly, as “living sacrifices.”
We live our lives first and foremost “in view of God’s mercy.” Actually, the Greek word here is a plural and could be translated “God’s mercies.” We live our lives in view of the myriad mercies of God. They may not always be on our radar screen and in our down times we may act as if they aren’t there, but God’s mercies and gifts to us are 24/7.
And they run the gamut of our lives. God’s mercy to us spans the minutest of everyday things – like being able to breathe; to the greatest of spiritual things – eternal life in heaven; and every thing else in between. Even the troubles we have that we would so dearly love to evade or avoid or escape fall into the category of God’s mercies. How? Because very often they drive us into a deeper reliance upon and relationship with God, and God uses them as His tools in our spiritual formation.
The hymnist wrote: “Every
morning mercies new … Fall as fresh as morning dew.” As Christians we
understand this. As a result we live our
lives in grateful appreciation for all God has done and continues to do
for us. This, then, moves and empowers
us to voluntarily present ourselves as “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”
This, of course, is a contradiction in terms. Or at least it would have been to those early
Christians with a Jewish background.
They could remember animal sacrifices being made at the
(Sidebar: Through these sacrifices God was impressing upon His people the seriousness of sin, while at the same time preparing and pointing them to the ultimate sacrifice for sin that would come in the person of the Savior, Jesus Christ. That sacrifice took place on the altar of the cross. And as the writer to the Hebrews tells us, as the final sacrifice for sin Christ brought all those preparatory sacrifices to an end.)
Animal sacrifices were done and had served their purpose. Now Paul tells us we are to be living sacrifices. In other words, just as a sacrifice was completely given over and wholly devoted to God, so are our lives as Christians. And in view of God’s mercies, this is not difficult. In fact, like the slave girl in our opening illustration, it’s something we want to do. So our lives become an act of voluntary presentation to God each and every day.
There are a couple more things to note about this statement. The full encouragement is to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Meaning, Christianity is not an abstract, mystical, intellectual exercise limited to the confines of our mind; rather it will show itself in concrete acts of service performed by our bodies. We are reminded that the Christian life plays itself out in real life and real time before real people. This brings with it both a negative and a positive aspect.
Let there be no doubt that the world, our families, and our fellow Christians watch us. What we look at with our eyes is seen by others. What we listen to with our ears and what we say with our mouths is heard by others. What we nod our heads in agreement to or what we let go unchallenged or what we stand up for or fail to stand up for is duly noted by those around us. For better – or for worse – insofar as we represent Christ.
On the other hand, when we “offer our bodies as instruments of righteousness” (chapter 6), we can do a great deal of good. As we live our lives in view of God’s mercies our feet will naturally walk in God’s paths according to His Word; our lips will speak the truth and spread the gospel; our tongues will not bring criticism, but healing; our hands will not be raised in anger, but offer assistance to those who are struggling. In short, our lives become an offering of praise to Him from whom all blessings flow. That, also, will be noticed. And in the very notice from others, God will be glorified.
This thought is further emphasized by Paul when he equates
the lives we live for God as our “spiritual
act of worship.” Interesting. Usually we think of worship as something we do as a part of our life. For
instance, we come to a worship service and give praise to God. Paul says it goes beyond that. Worship is not something we do for a time;
rather it is an activity that we are always engaged in. Our
entire life is to be an act of worship!
Sounds daunting, but, again, it is something which takes place naturally
as we live out our lives “in view of
God’s mercy.”
So far Paul has told us the Christian life is one of grateful appreciation which results in voluntary presentation to God. With the cross of Christ and the myriad blessings of God constantly in view, we willingly offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices.
At the same time all this is happening on the outside, something
else happens on the inside of the Christian.
A process of spiritual growth takes place that we might call ongoing
transformation. In the final
consideration of our text Paul speaks of this.
He offers a warning and then a promise.
2 Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good,
pleasing and perfect will.
The warning to us as Christians is clear and simple. We are not to conform to the pattern of this
world. Rather, we are to be transformed
into what God would have us be as His Children. As the old saying goes,
Christians are to be in the world, but not of the world. J.B. Phillips captured this idea in his
Bible paraphrase when he put it this way:
“Don’t let the world around you
squeeze you into its own mould, but let God remould your minds from within.”
It would be nice to say that we as Christians are not at all affected by the world, that it has had no success in squeezing us into its mould, but that wouldn’t be true. We know ourselves and the struggles of being in but not of the world. And sometimes we fail. We buy into the world’s relentless promotion of materialism and self-absorption. Christians are not immune from worldliness in the many different forms it takes. Paul knew this as well. So he issues us this warning.
But he also tells how we can rise above the quagmire of worldliness. Paul promises that our minds can be renewed, and that along with this we can be changed – transformed – so that we can actually know and then carry out God’s will. How?
Our minds become renewed as we train them in the Word of God. It is in His Word that God speaks to us. It is in His Word that God’s will can be known. The Word, with its central message of the Gospel, can renew our minds, transform our lives and empower us to live our lives to God’s glory, which is every Christian’s desire.
You see, as we spend time in the Word the Holy Spirit shapes us and forms us. If we think of the Bible as our athletic club, the Holy Spirit would be our personal trainer. He develops within us a Christian mindset which is then increasingly able to discern what is true and what is false, what is worldly and what is Godly.
As Christians we must sift everything through the filter of God’s Word; but if we’re not growing in the Word, this can be difficult.
So the importance of spending time in our Bibles cannot be overestimated. Personal Bible study, a devotional life, getting
involved in the many classes we offer as a church – all are the Holy Spirit’s
conduit for ongoing spiritual transformation.
And with what result? A growing ability
to test and approve what God’s will is
– His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Let’s end as we began. The slave girl in our opening story illustrates the natural reaction of one who has been set free. We are such people. How shall we then live? Of what is the Christian life composed? This is Paul’s answer for us today. Grateful appreciation for all of God’s mercies. Voluntary presentation to Him as living sacrifices. Ongoing transformation through immersion in His Word.
Empowered by His grace, may God grant each of us a life so
ordered. Amen.