Introduction Do you remember the theme of the book of Romans? It s found in Romans 1:16-17; the just shall live by faith. In that simple sentence are found the great themes of the gospel, salvation and righteousness. Paul has spoken of sin (chapters 1:18-3:20); salvation (chapter 3:21-5:21); sanctification (chapters 6-8); sovereignty (chapters 9-11) and now Paul will speak about the Christian s service (chapter 12:1-15:13). That service includes consecration to God (chapter 12); subjection to authorities (chapter 13); and consideration for the weak (chapter 14:1-15:13). Paul leaves his digression about Israel s past, present and future and will now address the practical matters about service and conduct of the committed Christian. The form and style is characteristic of Paul in all his teaching epistles; first doctrine, then duty; first belief and then behavior. Responsibility follows revelation. First principle and then practice. The committed Christian is first and foremost a servant. If what we believe does not effect the way we behave we reinforce our critics who claim Christianity is a pretense and a fiction. Roy Laurin: All our professions, our desires, our ideals, our hopes, our intentions, will count for nothing unless we manifest holiness in thought, word, and deed in all the circles of daily life and activity (p.417). Paul s attention turns to the great themes of commitment, consecration and service. This is God s will for your life. I can say that without fear or hesitation that God desires and God requires service from each and every person who names the name of Jesus Christ as Savior. Service requires commitment. Commitment is something precious, rare and valuable in our culture. Rarely will people commit to anything or anyone. Paul knew that human beings are by nature self-centered ( for all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus ; Phil.2:21). We leave in an age of narcissism, vanity, and selfishness. Paul knew that we must change the way we think if we are to change the way we behave. We Christians are called to commit to Christ. To commit means to pledge or assure; to bind or obligate. John McCain the former presidential candidate and senior Senator from Arizona wrote in his files on Leadership: In the final years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese moved us from small cells with one or two prisoners to large rooms with as many as 30-40 men to a room. We preferred this situation for the companionship and strength we could draw from our fellow prisoners. In addition to moving us to new quarters, our captors also let us receive packages and letters from home. Many men received word from their families for the first time in several years. The improved conditions were a result of public pressure put on the North Vietnamese by the American public. In our cell was one Navy officer, Lt. Commander Mike Christian. Over a period of time Mike had gathered bits and pieces of red and white cloth from various packages. Using a piece of bamboo he had fashioned into a needle, Mike sewed a United States flag on the inside of his shirt, one of the blue pajama tops we all wore. Every night in our cell, Mike would put his shirt on the wall, and we would say the pledge of allegiance. I know that the pledge of allegiance may not be the most important aspect of our day now, but I can tell you that at the time it was the most important aspect of our lives. This had been going on for some time until one of the guards came in as we were reciting our pledge. They ripped the flag off the wall and dragged Mike out. He was beaten for several hours and then thrown back into the cell. Later that night, as we were settling down to sleep on the concrete slabs that were our beds, I looked over to the spot where 1
the guards had thrown Mike. There under the solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling, I saw Mike. Still bloody and his face swollen beyond recognition, Mike was gathering bits and pieces of cloth together. He was sewing a new American flag. Mike Christian knew something about sacrifice, perseverance and commitment. Mike Christian also knew what kind of pressure can be brought to bear if you dare think differently or act differently. Paul appeals to the Christian to live a life of consecration and commitment (v.1a). That we present our bodies a living sacrifice (v.1b). We are the objects and subjects of God s love. It makes sense that we should do this. Commitment requires a certain attitude a kind of non-conformity to the things of this world and a radical conformity to the character of Christ (v.2). The Basis Of Commitment (v.1a) Romans 12:1a; I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, Do you remember Paul s pray and plea to God in chapter 11:33-36? God s riches are unfathomable. God s judgments are unsearchable. God s ways are unknowable. God s wisdom and knowledge unobtainable. God s resources inexhaustible. The Lord s grace has brought righteousness and salvation; The Lord s Spirit now controls your mind and will. Paul appeals to the mercies of God to serve as a sufficient motivation to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Our motive: the mercies of God Our manner: present our bodies a living sacrifice Our means: a refusal to conform to this world; but rather a transformation by the renewing of our mind. Paul s dedication and commitment is based on love Paul does not say I command you but rather I beseech you. We do not serve Christ in order to receive mercies; we have already received all these mercies in Christ. Therefore makes its fourth appearance: (1) Romans 3:20 therefore of condemnation; the whole world is guilty (2) Romans 5:1; therefore of justification (3) Romans 8:1; therefore of assurance (4) Romans 12:1; therefore of dedication What are the mercies of God that Paul appeals to? Why the sum and the substance of all the themes presented in the first eleven chapters Why make a commitment? Look what God has done for you in Christ God has shown mercy. God has given grace. God has imparted righteousness. We are no longer condemned. We are no longer guilty. We have assurance. We can in fact dedicate ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can give our all for Christ; for He has given His all for us. 2
Spurgeon said; I feel that, if I could live a thousand lives, I would like to live them all for Christ, and even then, I would feel that they were all too little a return for His great love to me. Our commitment and service to Jesus is motivated not by force or fear but love and gratitude. We don t love and serve to obtain salvation. We are saved to serve. We serve not the basis of self-will but rather based on the presence of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not consecration. Salvation is the appropriation of eternal life. Consecration is the application of that life Salvation is getting something and consecration is giving something One is what God does for us the other is what God does through us Consecration is not necessary to enhance or add to the character of salvation but rather our enjoyment of it and the practical application and use of the given to us The Character Of Commitment (v.1b) that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Paul describes the character of commitment using the language of sacrifice. Paul begins with an appeal to commitment or consecration and now Paul describes the act of commitment. Note it is voluntary; you present this like the giving of a gift whenever you give a gift or make a present to someone. The decision is not made by compulsion or manipulation but rather the voluntary act based on conviction. In the Old Testament the presentation of the offering was sometimes called the offering of holocaust. Animals were brought for sacrifice for sin. It required the animals death. We are dead to sin but alive to Christ. What might seem like a paradox becomes a recipe for Christian living. We carry the attitude of death toward the old sin nature and sinful thinking and sinful living. Our eyes used to be used for looking at things that satisfied our lust, our ears to hear words of flattery; our mouths for spreading gossip and lies; but now we live differently. In chapter 6 of Romans present meant yield. Do not present (yield) ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. We present turn over yield our bodies and make them available to the Lord. What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? A living sacrifice is a call to total commitment. There are only two living sacrifices that are mentioned in the Bible. The sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis chapter 22 and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. A living sacrifice must be a willing 3
sacrifice. Isaac had to be willing most people forget Isaac was a fully grown man in Genesis 22. He could have said, No way Dad. Get yourself another sacrifice. Jesus came to the earth and was given a body a human body a body to be used to conform to God s will and accomplish God s purposes. Paul s admonition is voluntary; present and Paul s admonition is personal your bodies. The world teaches that our bodies belong to ourselves. Before we came to Christ many of us used our bodies for sinful purposes in order to satisfy ourselves. We sometimes forget how important our bodies are to God. We can ignore or neglect both body and soul. We can abuse our bodies by overeating or inactivity or ingesting harmful toxins. When Paul writes; present your bodies it means present once and for all. This is a one time commitment like marriage. When you commit to your partner, you commit for life. You should not have to debate whether or not you really made the commitment. And once you commit to marriage you commit to live the life of a married person. Have you presented your body to Christ? Have you dedicated your life to the Lord? You may have wrongfully thought; I thought God only wanted my soul. Wrong. The Lord invites you to offer your body and soul. The Lord invites you to give your whole life. When Paul speaks of presenting your bodies it means your whole life. What does it mean to dedicate or consecrate your self to God? (1) You present your body to God. That simply means you give your body to God. There are two reasons to do this. It is the right thing to do; in light of all that God has done for you in Christ Jesus. It makes perfect sense; it is our reasonable service (logikos). If we worship the Lord apart from a commitment to the Lord; our worship is false. This is the meaning of the text it is your reasonable and spiritual service. This means that whatever you do with your body your body becomes a part of your worship service. (2) You give Him your mind (v.2a) and (3) You give Him your will (v.2b). 2 Cor. 5:9; Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be will pleasing to Him. 1 Cor. 6:20: For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God s. 4
Paul describes a commitment that is voluntary present. Paul describes a commitment that is personal your bodies and Paul describes a commitment that is sacrificial ; a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God. Paul uses the imagery of an altar. People in Paul s day would have understood the image. It was a place of sacrifice and blood. The Demands Of Commitment (v.2) Romans 12:2; And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Here Paul reveals the demands of commitment. We can no longer conform to the world. Rather, we are to be transformed. One is negative. The other positive. One we are to do the other we cannot do. The word conformed means to pattern after this world or to be poured into this worlds mold. Conformed translates the Greek word schema NLT Don t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. Schema means made like. The word world does not so much mean the physical planet earth but rather the world of human beings; and the way people think about reality apart from God and apart from Christ and apart from grace. This is the temporary world, the world that is corrupt, temporal, fallen, cursed. A paraphrase might read, Don t be conformed to the schemes of this passing age. If the world controls your thinking you are a conformer. If God controls your thinking you are a transformer. We live in a world that desperately depends on opinion polls. 1 Corinthians 7:31 (NKJV) and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away. 2 Corinthians 4:18; While we do not look a the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. A divided Christian is an unhappy Christian. We cannot be divided in our loyalties and happy in Christ. There must be a forsaking of this world and a forswearing of the Lord. In popular culture we speak of split personalities or bipolar conditions. But what happens when you live in two worlds? You are neither normal or happy 5
What are the constant companions of the committed and consecrated christian? A transformed mind. Reasonable service. This is the secret not simply of a good christian life but a great christian life. There is only one way to resist and refuse conformity on the outside and that is transformation on the inside. Paul does not simply want the Christian to refrain from acting like people in the world. Paul invites the Christian to act like Christ. In a very real sense to be like Jesus. This is not an artificial legalism where your life is characterized by what you don t do. But rather the transformation of the heart and the soul and the mind. If we are renewed in our thinking than will experience renewal in our speaking and our living. Roy Laurin: This renewing of the mind refers to the adjustment of our moral and spiritual vision to the mind of God. This adjustment is not instantaneous but gradual. For that reason consecration is a process following a crisis. We present our bodies in the crisis of decision. The transformation takes place in the process of renewing of our minds. The renewal is in fact the continuation of regeneration. Regeneration is the initial and single act, done once for all. Transformation is the continuation of regeneration so that we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (II Cor.3:18) (pp.423-424). Your face will begin to manifest what is in your heart. The renewal takes place on the inside; accomplished by the Holy Spirit to whom we have yielded our lives. It is not simply the process of thinking differently about the world in which you live but a spiritual transformation. How do we have a right mind and a right heart? We must have the mind of Christ and the heart of Christ empowered by the indwelling, the possessing, directing and mastering Holy Spirit....that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God Commitment consecration transformation results in a new way of life. That way of life is the will of God. It comes freely and naturally from the renewal of our minds. We are now in harmony with our Lord. He loves us. We find God s will. How do we find and follow the plan of God and the will of God? Paul notes it is good ; God s will is beneficial in both effect and consequence. We do not have to fear the consequences of obeying God. What will happen if I obey God? I please Him. (1) it is good 6
(2) it is acceptable this means that with our minds adjusted to God s mind we will never find God s will an obnoxious thing (see Laurin p. 424); it will be acceptable to both God and the committed and consecrated Christian. (3) it is perfect complete mature nothing lacking nothing wrong. Let me ask you; are you a committed Christian? Does that commitment manifest itself in joy and victory in your walk with Christ? Consecration and commitment. Conclusion 1. Paul s appeal to commitment is based on mercy; not force or fear. 2. The act of consecration and commitment is voluntary; present ; personal your bodies ; and sacrificial; a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God 3. The argument for consecration; it is reasonable; we are the objects of love, grace and mercy; we are the subjects of redemption We are a part of God s plan. 4. We have a new attitude; a refusal to conform to this world; and a desire to be transformed on the inside 5. We experience a new achievement; practical commitment and spiritual consecration results in a new way of living 7