BAPTISTWAY PRESS Adult Online Bible Commentary By Dr. Jim Denison, Pastor, Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas Studies in Romans: What God Is Up To Lesson Eleven Live in Response to God s Mercy Focal Text Romans 12:1-8 Background Romans 12:1-8 Main Idea God s great mercy in our lives calls us to give ourselves wholly to God, using our gifts in serving God and one another. Question to Explore To what extent have you given yourself to God, using your gifts in humbly serving God and other people? Quick Read When we surrender to God and use our spiritual gifts, we experience and share the abundant life of Jesus. Commentary W. Edwards Deming was one of the first experts in what we now know as Total Quality Management. 1 During the Second World War, he helped define principles of quality analysis and development, which promised to revolutionize American business and industry. However, at the end of the war, there was such a global demand for American products and services that industry decided it didn t need what Deming had to teach. He was soon forgotten and ignored. The Japanese, however, knew they needed what Deming could give. Their economy was in shambles, and Made in Japan was synonymous for junk. So in 1950 the Japanese Page 1 of 8 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in Adult Online Bible Commentary are from The Holy Bible, New International Version (North American Edition), copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
invited Deming to hold a series of seminars for their business and industry leaders. The series became a national organization and network that totally reorganized the Japanese economy and industry around principles of absolute quality. While Americans were manufacturing to make money, the Japanese began manufacturing to make satisfied customers. The result? In 1960, Japan had 1% of the American automotive market. Now, Toyota has supplanted General Motors as the worldwide leader in vehicle sales. The transformation of Japanese industry is due in large part to W. Edwards Deming and his quality revolution. American manufacturers have now embraced much of what Deming taught. What we have needed in American industry, we also need in America s churches. Expanding by addition will never bring the world to Christ. If I could win one person every day until I retired at age 65, more than 5,500 people would become Christians as a result. But there are 114,000 unchurched people living within three miles of my church s campus, and more than 1,000,000 lost people in my city. By contrast, consider the results of spiritual multiplication. If I could win one person today, and the two of us each won one person tomorrow, and the four of us each won one person the next day, do you know how long it would take to reach the world? 33 days. In that time, 8,589,934,592 people would know Jesus, far exceeding the population of the planet. Romans 12 begins the practical section of Paul s letter to the church at Rome. Here the Apostle built on the theological principles he had made clear: all need Christ, for all have sinned and come short of his glory; both Jews and Gentiles can and must be saved through faith in Jesus; we must pay any price to share the gospel with the world. Our Lord is the God of the universe, the only One to whom all praise is due (Romans 11:33-36). When we stay surrendered to Jesus Lordship, refuse the world s mold, and use our gifts in the Spirit, we will share Jesus hope with a world dying to know his grace. Is there a greater privilege than this? Stay surrendered to God (12:1) Our text begins: 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 (Romans 12:1). Therefore connects to God s mercy which Paul expressed well two verses earlier: Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? (Rom. 11:35). God has given us life and life eternal, this present day, and every possession and ability that is ours. We are to remember God s mercy, every day. Now the Apostle wished to urge the Romans to respond. He used a word that in classical Greek exhorted troops who were about to go into battle. He addressed Page 2 of 8
brothers, showing that what followed was intended for believers. Here he was not going to explain how to become a Christian but how to live as one. We are to offer or present (NASB, NRSV) ourselves to God. Here Paul used a technical term for giving or yielding a sacrifice. Bodies points to the entire life, not just our Sunday worship or religious activities. Such sacrifice is to be living, not dead; daily, not sporadic; a lifestyle, not a single observance. We do not settle this commitment with God once for all, but every day. Such a life is holy, answering to Paul s earlier command: Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness (6:13). This lifestyle is pleasing to God, the moral equivalent of sacrifices offered in the Old Testament sacrificial system (see Leviticus 1 7). Living every day in submission to God is the definition of true worship: this is your spiritual act of worship. Worship translates a word that means that to which a person gives his or her entire life. Our physical worship is defined by church attendance and religious observance. But our true, spiritual worship is defined by the surrender of our lives to God. Jesus could not have been more blunt about this matter: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? (Luke 9:23-25). Paul could not have been more transparent: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). With God, success requires surrender. It has been noted that every heart contains a cross and a crown. When I am wearing the crown, Jesus is wearing the cross. When I am wearing the cross, Jesus is wearing the crown. Which is true for you today? Refuse the world s mold (12:2) The second principle for living as a true disciple is the mirror image of the first: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2a). How are we to obey these precepts? Page 3 of 8
Choose God over culture You cannot be right with God and right with your culture at the same time. Jesus said, No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the first and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24). You must choose. To conform means to be molded by. Paul s Greek could be translated literally, Stop living by the pattern of the world. So, how are we to refuse the pattern of this world (Rom. 12:2)? Three decisions seem crucial. First, choose people over possessions. The t-shirt slogan says, The one who dies with the most toys wins. Our culture judges the worth of people by their possessions and appearance. Second, choose principle over popularity. If everybody s doing it, it s probably not pleasing to God. Our culture says that premarital and extramarital sex are expected and normal, that alcohol and illegal drugs are safe and exciting, that families and marriage are outdated. What s popular is what s right, in the pattern of the world. Third, choose the eternal over the present. Just do it. If it feels good, do it. These are the slogans of our day. Live for today, for the eternal is irrelevant. We re all God s children anyway. The different religions are just roads up the same mountain. Eternity s secure, and so live for today, or so the world says. Do not conform any longer indicates that these Roman Christians were already conforming to the world s pattern. Apparently, so are most American Christians. Issues like sexuality, basic integrity, and values sometimes don t appear to be different inside the church. What about you? Does the world know you re a Christian? Can they tell you re different by your life? Or are you conformed to their mold? In the words of the old question, If you were tried for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence from your lifestyle to convict you? I found a quote the other day and put it where I could see it: The great challenge of life is to decide what s important and to ignore everything else. Only when you withdraw from the world s account can you transfer ownership to God. The two go together. Where are your deposits today? Invest daily with the Lord The only way to stay out of the world s mold and live surrendered to God is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2). How do we do this? Page 4 of 8
Transformed refers to your inner nature. It s the same Greek word used for Jesus transformation at the Mount of Transfiguration, where he was completely changed (Mark 9:2). So are we to be completely changed into his image. This happens by the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2). The phrase refers to our thoughts, attitudes, and basic character. This happens when we immerse ourselves in the word of God, think its thoughts, and ask before every decision, What does Scripture say? When we pray regularly with God, talk with him through the day, and listen to him. When we worship God on Sunday and on Monday, publicly and privately. The closer we are to God, the better we sense God s Spirit, hear God s voice, and can know God s will. Paul s exhortation requires a daily, lifestyle commitment. Paul could testify, We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Is this your experience? When did you last spend the day with God? Are your thoughts and attitudes being transformed into the image of Jesus? This is God s will for you. Serve in the gifts of God (12:3-8) When we choose to live in submission to God, refusing the priorities of the world, we are ready to serve the King and build his kingdom with great power and purpose. Just as God chose Abram and his descendants as a means to the end of blessing all the peoples of the world (see Genesis 12:1-3), so God has chosen to sanctify us so he can use us. He wants us to be conduits of his Spirit, not merely containers of his blessings. Our worth comes from our identity as the people of God, not from our personal abilities or specific functions within the body of Christ. We are to see ourselves as part of the whole, none of us more valuable to God than another (Rom. 12:3-5). As the Apostle explained to the Corinthians, Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, I don t need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I don t need you! On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we Page 5 of 8
treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Corinthians 12:14-27). God has given us each at least one spiritual gift to be used in serving his kingdom. This issue is so significant that the New Testament treats it four times, including this passage (see 1 Cor. 12:4-10, 28-30; Ephesians 4:11; and 1 Peter 4:10-11). In our text the Apostle lists seven of these gifts. First: If a man s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith (Rom. 12:6). Prophecy refers to preaching the word of God. The Old Testament prophets were more forthtellers than foretellers, predicting the future only as part of their overall purpose of sharing God s word with the world. Such prophets continued their ministry in the New Testament, as the Antioch church shows: In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul (Acts 13:1). Prophecy is the spiritual gift by which a person s public proclamation is used by the Spirit to bring people closer to Christ. Second, if it is serving, let him serve (Rom. 12:7a). This gift enables a person to meet practical needs with unusual effectiveness and joy. We can all serve, but some of us are used by the Spirit to serve in ways that build God s kingdom with great result. Third, if it is teaching, let him teach (12:7b). This gift enables a teacher to speak words inspired by God, and to be used by the Spirit in drawing people into closer fellowship with the Lord. Fourth, if it is encouraging, let him encourage (12:8a). We are all to encourage one another in the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:14; Hebrews 3:13; 10:25). But some of us are especially gifted by the Spirit to speak just the right word of support at the right time. Most of us have been blessed to know someone with this spiritual gift. Fifth, if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously (Rom. 12:8b). We are all called to give of our resources to support the work of God s kingdom (see Acts 20:35; 2 Corinthians 9:7). But some receive the spiritual gift that motivates them to give sacrificially and effectively. Page 6 of 8
Sixth, if it is leadership, let him govern diligently (Rom. 12:8c). This gift enables us to motivate and inspire others effectively. Not all who are gifted to preach and/or teach are also gifted to lead; not all who are gifted to lead are gifted to speak. Some of the most effective spiritual leaders I have ever known have led by their example and service more than by their words. Seventh, if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully (12:8d). We are all to show mercy to others (see Matthew 5:7), but some of us have the spiritual gift of extending mercy to others with great result. Such people are unusually sensitive to the needs of others and initiate acts of ministry in Jesus name. Do you know your spiritual gift(s)? Three methods can help to discover them. One: look for opportunities to minister. Pay close attention to open and closed doors, to opportunities to serve God s kingdom. God never wastes a gift. Two: note the affirmation and encouragement of others. As the body of Christ, we are used by the Spirit to reveal his will to his people. When Christians affirm your work of service, know that the Father may be speaking through them. Three: seek the Spirit. The One who gave us our gifts wants us to know and use them. As we pray, search the Scriptures, and draw close to God in worship, God s Spirit will help us find and utilize God s gifts effectively. Are you serving with your gifts? Are you enabling your class to do the same? Conclusion The pastor of my home church in Houston had on his pulpit a plaque with these words from the Greeks question to Philip in John 12:21: Sir, we would see Jesus (KJV). Shortly after joining the ministry team of Park Cities, I had those words inscribed on our pulpit so I can see them each Sunday. Know that the world is looking for our Lord. Once we choose to submit to Christ as our King and refuse to submit to the world, we are ready to be used by the Spirit of God to extend God s kingdom around the world. As we multiply spiritually, the world will come to our Savior and Lord. Not only is such discipleship crucial to the salvation of the world, but it is also vital to living in the abundant life of Jesus (see John 10:10). When we lose our lives we find them; when we die we live; when we submit to God we know the blessing of God. To find yourself, lose yourself. The less it s about you, the better it is for you. When you are crucified with Christ, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). Then our God will supply all your needs, not according to your thoughts or abilities or achievements but according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19). Then Christ in you is your hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Then you are more than conquerors through him who loves you (Rom. 8:37). Then we can say with Page 7 of 8
Paul, To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me (Col. 1:29). Then, when you die you live. Remember the words of martyred missionary Jim Elliott: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. 2 Do you agree? See www.baptistwaypress.org for additional study materials on Romans: What God Is Up To and on other Bible studies by BaptistWay Press, or call 1-866-249-1799 (M-Th 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; Fri 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. central time). A recent book by Dr. Denison, The Bible You Can Believe It: Biblical Authority in the Twenty-First Century, is available from BAPTISTWAY PRESS. The cost is $4.95 each plus shipping, handling, and any applicable taxes. A Teaching Guide is available for $1.95 plus shipping and handling. 1 See www.deming.org/theman/index.html 2 See www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/faq/20.htm Page 8 of 8