I had pretty much been cruising through high school and university. What I mean is, I was there, but learning was not my top priority and my marks showed it. In my first year of seminary, I did better, but my marks were still nothing special. After the first year of seminary, Carla and I participated in Northern Missionary Training Camp run by Northern Canada Evangelical Mission. After the summer’s experience, we had very little money. We were both returning to school and unsure of how we would manage. When we came home, we were opening all the mail which had accumulated during the summer and in that mail there was a bank note from an unknown donor which was enough to cover my seminary tuition.
As seminary started, I got into my studies, but one day I was finding it difficult to get motivated. I remember quite well that I was sitting in the library, in what is now Providence College, and I knew I had to make a decision. Would I continue or would I quit? I realized that if I was going to continue, I would have to do better than just OK, I would have to really give it my all. One of the factors in my decision to continue and be more diligent in my studies was the fact that I had received the donation. The love shown and the fact that someone believed in me was a strong motivator to continue.
In our study of Romans, we have come to a significant transition point. In Romans 12:1,2 Paul says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – which is your spiritual worship. 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 word “therefore” suggests that what follows is somehow linked to what has been written up to this point. What has been written up to this point is a powerful theological treatise demonstrating the amazing love God has poured out on us. What follows is an invitation, or perhaps more accurately a command, that as people who have experienced this amazing love, we must respond with a diligent obedience to God. We have already noted that the word faith can be translated “faith” or “faithfulness” and I have suggested that in Romans most often “faithfulness” is the better translation. If we truly understand the grace of God given to us, we will understand that the response required is a trust that is obedient to God, in other words, “faithfulness.” What follows in the last 5 chapters of Romans is an explanation of some of the practical implications of faithfulness. From now until the end of April, we will examine that theme, beginning this morning with Romans 12:1,2.
One year I was involved in a building project. A group of men from our church, including a builder, were going to put up a cabin at Simonhouse Bible Camp. I was the organizer and the builder was the expert. We had one day, and I thought we should easily be able to put up the main structure in that time. As we began, I was getting impatient with the progress. We were taking a long time to get the foundation absolutely straight and level. As we talked about this, it became clear to me how important the foundation was. If it is crooked, then the rest of the building will be crooked. If it is straight, then the rest will also be straight. Once we got the foundation properly laid, we were able to do the rest quite quickly.
Do you have a foundation on which you have built your life? Not everyone has a foundation. Some people just drift through life without any basic principles or guidelines. If you do have a foundation what is it? Some people’s foundation is “am I happy?” Some people’s foundation is, “Is everyone happy?” Some have the foundation that “he who dies with the most toys wins.”
When Paul says, “therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy” he is inviting us to recognize that we as followers of Jesus have a foundation. He is inviting us to acknowledge and deliberately choose to stand on a very particular foundation. Are you standing on a foundation? What is that foundation? Is it a solid foundation?
The foundation which we are called to establish in our lives as Christians is “in view of God’s mercy.” This little phrase refers to everything that has been written in Romans 1-11. The life we are building, as Christians, must be built on the foundation of who God is and what God has done for us, the foundation of His mercy.
We have already spent much time examining that foundation, but let me remind you briefly of it once again. Romans 1 began with the recognition that everyone on earth has an understanding of God, but rejects that understanding. Those who are born Jewish have not only an understanding of God’s existence, but a knowledge of his laws. Yet, they do not obey those laws and the conclusion, found in Romans 3, is that all people on earth are under the wrath of God because of their disobedience. Because He is holy, God’s wrath must be poured out on all people, but because He is love, God has chosen to be merciful. He does not want to pour out His wrath and therefore He has sent Jesus. As a human being, Jesus experienced the full power of sin, but he never yielded to it. Because he was obedient, God’s punishment of Him on the cross meant that He died for our sins and bore our guilt. As a result, we are made righteous in Jesus when we put our trust in Him. This gift of grace is for all people – both Jews and Gentiles. It is given to all people on the same basis – the basis of trust. This marvelous gift is a powerful demonstration of God’s love. We are the recipients of mercy.
That mercy of God, that love of God is the foundation on which we must build our lives.
So what does it mean to build on that foundation? How do we respond when we have received an undeserved and very expensive gift? Paul’s first command, and it is a command, is that we must “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”
We have encountered the word “offer” before. In Romans 6:13,19, Paul warned that it was inconsistent for those who have experienced the grace of God to offer their bodies to sin. We have a choice about where we offer ourselves. As he transitions to the ethical portion of the letter, Paul makes it clear that we must and why we must offer ourselves to God. To offer means to give. Have we given ourselves to God? With what kind of an attitude have we given ourselves to God? Do we give grudgingly? Do we give reluctantly? Do we give with the thought of taking back? Or do we give cheerfully and willingly and generously?
In view of God’s mercy, we have every reason to make the offer willingly, cheerfully and generously! The offering is to God. It is in response to what He has given us. As I suggested in the introduction, when we have received a great gift, it is natural and appropriate to respond with gratitude to the giver. Because God has given us such a great gift, it just makes sense to respond to God by willingly offering ourselves.
The offering is the offering of our body. As we discuss our relationship to God, we often discuss it in terms of a spiritual reality. It is perhaps a little unexpected then to find here that we are encouraged to offer our bodies. Do our bodies matter that much? Isn’t it OK if we offer our minds and our hearts? I think this is written in light of Romans 7:22-23 which says, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.” According to this verse, it seems that our hearts want to do what is right, but our body rebels. If we understand the amazing grace we have received, it is not good enough to let that kind of life go on. Daily, we must offer not only our hearts, minds and wills, but also our bodies to God. When we do then our eyes, our mouths, our hands, our whole self will belong to God for His use every day.
Because Paul uses the language of sacrifice we can see that this is a high challenge. People of that time were familiar with sacrifices. Both Jewish and pagan religions involved sacrifices. What the people knew about those sacrifices is that when you offered a sacrifice, whatever you offered was put to death and it was no longer at your disposal. I think that is the idea behind the call to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. When we do, we don’t belong to ourselves any more. Our eyes belong to God - will they see others with the purity and compassion of Christ? Our mouths belong to God - will they speak blessing instead of cursing? Our hands belong to God - will they be busy serving instead of being consumed with self indulgence?
Such a life seems like a high challenge, but Paul points out that it is just reasonable to make this offer. What is translated “spiritual worship” in NIV is translated “which is your reasonable service” in NKJV, which is a better translation. We have experienced this incredible love from God. Why not let go of control of our own life and give ourselves whole heartedly to God. It makes so much sense! Because of God’s mercy, we know that God is going to do what is best. He is the life giver. He is the one who has sacrificed to give us life. Why will He not also give us all we need for life? Why will anything that He gives to us be bad?
The reasonableness of this offer is seen when we compare this call to be a living sacrifice with the first chapter of Romans. There we saw that all who reject God are under the wrath of God, but we are those who have experienced the mercies of God. There we recognized that those under the wrath of God refused to glorify God, but by God’s mercy we are able to offer ourselves as a holy sacrifice to God. There we saw that those who reject God, dishonor their bodies as they are given over to the consequences of their rejection, but those under God’s mercy are able to offer a pleasing sacrifice to God. The people under God’s wrath offer idolatrous service, but we can offer a reasonable service of worship to God. There we saw how “their thinking became darkened” but because of the mercies of God we have the possibility of a renewed mind. Those under the wrath of God reject the will of God, but those who have experienced His grace and have been transformed are able to discern and even reveal the will of God.
It is so reasonable and yet we find it so hard to do this. We want to retain control. We want to do things our way and we are afraid that God’s way will be too hard and too demanding. Why would the one who loves us do that to us. Yes, the walk with Christ will demand sacrifice and yes persecution may be included. But, as we offer ourselves, we will find that this is the way to life. How hard it is for us to let go in that way and to give ourselves unreservedly to God. I know how hard it is. I fight for my right to self determination and quite frankly often don’t trust God. I don’t know why, when I know that He has loved me sacrificially? My hope and my prayer and my desire is that gradually, by the power of the Spirit, I will come to grasp His love deeply and completely and let go so that He has complete control. I want to be a living sacrifice. Lord help me!
Such an offering is an act of worship. In fact, it is really our first act of worship. Singing, reading Scripture, praying are wonderful ways to glorify God for all He has done, but, in light of His amazing grace, our first act of worship must be to offer ourselves to God.
The second response, found in the second verse is that we are called to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
This passage presents two ways of living. The one is according to the “pattern of this world,” the other is according to “God’s will.” Of course not everything in this world is bad. Many things in this world are according to God’s will. Eating, sleeping, kindness, which are things which are in this world, are all according to God’s will. However, there are also many values and worldviews, which are accepted as normal in this world which are not according to God’s will.
For example, what are the world’s values when it comes to money? Isn’t it true that often the highest value in our society is money? Isn’t it true that people get sucked into gambling because they desire more money? Isn’t it true that things are sold not according to their cost of production, but according to what the market will bear. That is why you can get a 2 l pop for 99 cents in the grocery store, but you pay $3.50 for 500ml. at a football game. Isn’t that why people go shopping in the US even though it may take a job away from their neighbor? The question is, is this a value, a worldview which is according to the will of God? Don’t we rather find in Scripture that God calls us to justice and generosity rather than loving money and self indulgence?
The first step towards a transformed mind is to stop being conformed to his world. John E. Toews suggests that this means that we, “engage in mental resistance to outside pressure to conform to this age.”
The problem is, it is hard for us to distinguish between the two sets of values. Before we became followers of Jesus, our whole life was permeated with the world’s values. After we become followers of Jesus, we still live in a world where all around us people accept the world’s values as absolutely normal. How can we change from being conformed to the world to living according to God’s will?
When people become new Christians we often begin to disciple them by teaching them not to conform to this world. However, we do so by teaching them the things they should not do and the things they should do. When we do that, the time inevitably comes when they test to see why we have given them this list of practices. The time may come when the pressure to conform is so great that they disobey the set of practices we have taught them. The problem is that we have taught them to transform the outward practices, but that is not necessarily the same as teaching them how to live according to God’s will.
So if conformity to this world permeates our hearts and the world around us and if we have often only taught each other the outward practices, how will we be able to live according to the will of God, on the foundation of the mercy of Christ? The text says, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
It is no good saying, “This year I will only watch good shows on TV and read my Bible more often.” If our mind is not transformed on this point, such resolutions will go the way of most New Year’s resolutions. If it isn’t our hearts desire to view that which blesses and if it isn’t our hearts desire to know God through His Word, we may be able to do it, but it will be by the will of discipline. Is that what God wants for us? What this verse teaches us is that we need to have our mind trained to think in a different way. We need our mind transformed according to the will of God. When that happens, doing the will of God will come naturally and we won’t even give it a second thought, we will just do it.
The first thing we need to notice is that the word “transformed” is passive. Because it is passive, “being transformed,” means that this is something that God does in us. Titus 3:5 tells about God at work in us through Spirit empowered renewal of the mind. I believe there are several things which are true about the fact that God is transforming our minds. In one way it is something that is happening to us even though we are unaware of it. On the other hand, I believe it happens much better when, because our foundation is the mercy of God, we deeply desire that transformation and pray diligently and earnestly that God will make it happen in us. When God does it in spite of our permission, we often have to learn things the hard way. When we yield ourselves to God as a living sacrifice and deeply desire such a transformation, we work with God instead of fighting Him all the way.
So we find that the command to “be transformed” is not only passive, it is also imperative. That means we participate. How do we participate? We participate as we give God permission to work in our minds. We participate with God when we immerse our minds with His Word. His Word is “quick and powerful…able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” as Hebrews tells us. God’s Word, spoken to our mind and heart will begin to change the way we think and consequently the way we act.
John Piper says, “The Spirit must work from the outside in, through Christ-exalting truth, and from the inside out, through truth-embracing humility.”
When we allow our mind to be transformed by the power of God, we will be a living demonstration of God’s will. To “prove” means to show that which is genuine. When our mind is transformed, we will demonstrate what God is really like, we will be a demonstration of what it means to belong to Him and we will love to follow His way and know that it is the best way.
The other thing is that we will be able to distinguish between those things that matter and those things that don’t. Our value system will be one of wisdom and what brings life instead of a static list of rules.
John Piper shows what living according to the will of God means in our lives. He says, “You are free in Christ, because when you do from the inside what you love to do, you are free, if what you love to do is what you ought to do. And that’s what transformation means: when you are transformed in Christ you love to do what you ought to do.”
These two little verses are amazing. They remind us of God’s grace, they are very real and they give us hope and direction.
They remind us of God’s grace when they remind us of all that God has done for us in Christ, lavishing His love on us, forgiving our sins and making us righteous.
They are real in that they imply that being Christian is not always easy and that the pressures of this life are sometimes very strong.
They give hope in that they show us that God is working in us to transform our minds and make us completely new.
They give direction by reminding us of the amazing foundation of God’s mercy upon which we are able to build lives of sacrifice, non-conformity which are transformed into Christ likeness.
May our lives be lived on the foundation of the one who has loved us and still loves us. May we respond as we offer our bodies to Him and may we allow Him to transform our minds so that we will live in an utterly new way, bringing glory to the one who will bring us to glory.
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