Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers…
God is making an appeal to you. He is beseeching you. He is urging you.
When presented with an appeal, you must respond with either a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. No response is a ‘no’ response. Which will you choose?
This appeal is for everyone who calls himself a Christian (brother). So listen carefully and know that God is aware of your mind and your heart as you hear his appeal to you.
But first, know the basis of the appeal:
…by the mercies of God…
Remember 11:25-32? God’s strange, epic sovereignty works all of history to prepare for himself a people of mercy, rather than a people of merit or robotic obedience. It is very important to God that his people be assembled through the means of his mercy, not their merit or forced obedience. He showers us with mercy through Jesus rather than paying us for services rendered; which brings him glory.
These mercies form the basis for the appeal he is making to you right now. So as you hear it, know that saying ‘yes’ does not earn his favor. You can only say ‘yes’ on the basis of his favor already given to you through Jesus. God’s mercy is the motivation for saying ‘yes’ not the goal.
So what is the appeal?
…to present your bodies as a living sacrifice…
Based on God’s sovereign mercies, present (offer up) something to him. Not just your spirit. Not just your emotions. Not just your soul. Not just your wallet. Not just your time. Not just your thinking. Your bodies.
Deep thinking about the sovereign mercies of God leads to a bodily response. Romans 9-11 was not merely philosophical in implication. Those truths have profound physical implications. Do you see how fleshy this is? Far from distant spiritual platitudes, what we’ve been studying has implications for your:
– Hands
– Feet
– Arms
– Legs
– Eyes, ears, nose, mouth
– Taste buds
– Vocal chords
– Sexual organs
– Stomachs
That body you wash in the shower, that you look at in the mirror as you get dressed each morning, that you exercise on the treadmill, that you drag into the doctor’s office, that you came in here and sat on that pew, that is the object of God’s appeal this morning.
God appeals to you right now: Present your bodies. Offer them as a living sacrifice to God.
What does this mean? It means give it to him. Hand it over to him. Transfer the ownership of it to him. Let go of it into his hands.
In the OT sacrificial system, they would present animals as sacrifices. The owner of the animal would hand it over to a priest who would slaughter it and burn it. There’s a key difference between those sacrifices and the sacrifice God is appealing to you to make this morning. This sacrifice is living. Present your bodies as a daily, practical, living sacrifice.
This is holy and acceptable to God.
…holy and acceptable to God…
Do you want to do something that will please God? If so, think deeply about his sovereign mercies until a fire builds within you that can only be expressed through bodily action. This is holy and acceptable to God.
There are sacrifices that are unholy and unacceptable to God, such as attending religious services or adhering to strict rules as an expression of self-righteousness (Isaiah 1, Matthew 23) and praying or giving publicly to show off (Matthew 6). There are many ways of offering unholy, unacceptable sacrifices. But here, we have one way to offer a holy and acceptable one: our bodies.
Do not give God some things and withhold your body from him. Giving your body to him is your spiritual worship.
…which is your spiritual worship.
We say that worship (loving God) is our number one priority; but what is Christian spiritual worship?
Is it singing? Is it going to church gatherings? Is it giving to church or charity? Is it reading Christian books? Is it being nice? Is it obeying rules?
Here is one way to understand what Christian spiritual worship is: It is the ongoing, sacrificial offering of our bodies to God in response to his sovereign mercies poured out through Jesus Christ.
We call this hour a worship service. Christian, God’s appeal to you this morning is to make every minute of every day a worship service.
Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. This is your spiritual worship.
Maybe you have been given ears to hear God’s appeal to you this morning and you wish to say ‘yes’. You need to know that there is something working against your saying ‘yes’. It is the conforming influence of the world:
Do not be conformed to this world…
The challenge to presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is the conforming influence of this world (or age).
Paul is saying, “In light of what I just told you (chapters 9-11), give your bodies as living sacrifices. This is worship. This is what you’re made for. This is the only logical lifestyle in light of what’s true about God and reality. But beware… The world works day and night to mold you into something else.”
What is the world? It is the scriptural label for the human system apart from God. (1 John 2:15-17)
The world works to mold you through your radio, your iPod, billboards, conversation around the water cooler, magazines, movies, TV, blogs, advertising, business, social scenes, universities and colleges, politics, causes, etc. Any and every human system apart from God is an avenue our enemy will extort in order to conform us. These things fashion a mold that Satan is always trying to press down upon us, shaping us in his image. And it is this pressure that works against our spiritual worship.
So what do we do?
…but be transformed…
What does it mean to be transformed? It means to turn into something different. This Greek word is the root of our word metamorphosis.
To be conformed is to change in shape, but remain the same in substance. To be transformed is to change substances. It’s what a caterpillar does when it becomes a butterfly.
The opposite of worldly conformation is heavenly transformation. And hear this: you are experience one or the other. You are either moving toward conformity with the world or transformation into something different from the world.
Which is it?
How does one become transformed?
…by the renewal of your mind…
The mind grows hard sitting in this world’s mold, and it needs renewal if we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices. The right kind of renewal transforms us in such a way that we can worship God with our bodies.
How do we have our minds renewed?
…that by testing you may discern what is the will of God…
Don’t be conformed to this world, but be mentally transformed by testing, examining, (proving like a scientist proves theorems in his lab) what is the will of God in your circumstances.
Some examples:
- You’re a young man or woman who recently graduated high school. Thinking deeply about the sovereign mercies of God, you wish to present your body as a living sacrifice through your decisions regarding schools, what to study, where to live, where to work, careers paths to follow, whom or if to date, etc. So you use your mind to examine God’s will in these things. You open a concordance and search for keywords like study, learn, work, marry, etc. You Google, ‘What does the Bible say about picking a career path.’ You seek godly counsel from spiritually mature Christian friends and family or a pastor or church leader. You think and study and search and test and examine to find what is good and acceptable and perfect in this situation. And in so doing, you escape the conforming influence of the world, which says, “Go for the money. Go to the party school. Etc.” Instead you’re transformed by the renewal of your mind as it works to test, examine and prove out God’s will in these things. As you make decisions based on what will use your God-given gifts, what will serve other people, what will be good stewardship of the resources God has given you, what will allow you to best make disciples. This might mean denying your bodily desires for expensive foods and clothes, etc. as you must work and save to pursue God’s will. This might mean working your body more than you have ever worked it before.
- You’re in the “sandwich generation”. Your kids are grown and gone, but now they have grandkids and they’re asking for a lot of babysitting. You also have aging parents who can do less and less on their own. Thinking deeply about the sovereign mercies of God, you wish to present your body as a living sacrifice through your relationships with your kids, grandkids and parents. So you use your mind to examine God’s will in these things. In so doing you escape the molding influence of the world, which would have you become self-seeking in these relationships. Instead, you’re transformed by the renewal of your mind as it works to test, examine and prove out God’s will in this situation. As you make decisions based on what is most beneficial for your kids, your grandkids, and your parents. This might mean using your tongue more intentionally that you’re used to. This might mean offering your ears more than you’re used to.
- You’re approaching retirement. Thinking deeply about the sovereign mercies of God, you wish to present your body as a living sacrifice through this new influx of time. So you use your mind to examine God’s will for our use of time. And in so doing you escape the molding influence of the world, which would have you fill your time with self-indulging leisure. Instead, you’re transformed by the renewal of our mind as it works to figure out God’s will for your retirement. As you decide to use this new resource of time for God’s glory and the good of others. You take younger men and women under your wing, going to lunches and breakfasts and golf outings for the purpose of discipleship. This might mean using your brain to study God’s word so you can teach in an official capacity or a casual relationship. This might mean using your hands to volunteer or even taking your body on a plane to a distant land to carry the gospel to people who haven’t heard it.
Do you want more examples of what this looks like? That’s what Romans 12-14 is. God will show us what presenting our bodies in this way means for:
– Serving the church
– Relating to those who mistreat you
– Relating to those in authority
– Relating to immature Christians
– And a ton of other specific areas
Here’s God’s appeal to you: “In light of my sovereign mercies, give me your body as an ongoing, daily sacrifice. If you wish to worship me, this is what it looks like. Beware the conforming influence of the world. Fight it by using your mind to examine my will in the various circumstances of daily life and you’ll be transformed and enabled to sacrifice your body in specific, practical, real life ways.”
Some Questions:
- Do you understand what Paul means by the mercies of God? If not, re-read Romans 1-11 and ask God to show his mercies to you.
- Are you unmoved by God’s appeal? If so, you need to spend time meditating on the mercies of God.
- Are you moved to say ‘yes’? Apply your mind to figure out God’s will in specific areas of your life. Write them down. Do the work. And allow your mind to be renewed and yourself to be transformed in the process.
