Series: Romans
Title: Present our Bodies
Text: Romans 12: 1-2
Date: Sept 8, 2019
Place: SGBC, NJ
Romans 12: 1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. 2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Proposition: Knowing we are saved entirely by the mercy of God, nothing
is more reasonable than that we present
our bodies a living sacrifice unto God!
Notice, verse 1
begins “I”—who is our heavenly Father using to deliver
this word to us? The same man who said, “This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Tim 1: 15).
“I beseech you”—I call you to my side, I make this appeal to
you. He doesn’t threaten or use scare
tactics. He says, “I beseech you.” It is “the goodness of God [that] leadeth
thee to repentance?” (Rom 2: 4)
To whom is Paul
speaking? “Brethren.” This
is for the family of God: for you born from above, born of God our Father; for
children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ who have experienced God’s
mercy.
THE BELIEVER’S MOTIVE
Romans 12: 1: I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,…
This is the motive that moves a believer from
the new heart—“the mercies of God.”
What have we seen in Romans?
- Romans 3—we saw we are totally depraved. But God by his grace sent his Son to be a propitiation
through his blood so that through faith we establish the law
- Romans 4—he showed us how Abraham was saved entirely by
grace. Four hundred and thirty years
before the law was given Abraham fulfilled it.
How? Through faith in Christ who
fulfilled if for him.
- Romans 5—“where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,
that as sin hath reigned unto death even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
- Romans 6—we confess in our baptism that we are raised
with Christ to walk in newness of life.
- Romans 7—we are married to Christ, our old husband the law
has no more claims on us.
- Romans 8—there is therefore now no condemnation to them who
walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh
Paul sums it all up in the last few verses of
Romans 11. Speaking of God’s mercy to his elect Jew and Gentile,
Romans 11: 30….32: God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might
have mercy upon all. 33: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past
finding out! 34: For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his
counsellor? 35: Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed
unto him again? 36: For of him and through him, and to him, are all
things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 12: 1: I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God,…
Brethren, if God has
created in us a new heart and shed his love in our hearts showing us the mercy
God has shown in saving us from ourselves then it is the love of Christ that
constrains us; the motive of mercy that moves us from the heart.
THE REASONABLE RESPONSE
Romans 12: 1: I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice,…
He calls us to make a complete sacrifice to
God—“our bodies”—our entire being, bodily members, our spirit, all that
we are. What did our Lord Jesus give to
save us from our sins and make us righteous?
Ephesians 4: 5: 2…Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for
us
Matthew 20: 28: The Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to
minister, and to give his life a ransom for many
Our Savior gave his soul an offering for sin,
he gave his back to the smitters, his beard to them that plucked out the hair,
his body to be broken for us, his blood shed for remission of sins, his entire
self to ransom us from the fall.
Therefore, it is reasonable to give our entire being to him, to serve in
his cause.
2 Corinthians
5:14: For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if
one died for all, then were all dead: 15
And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth
live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Giving his entire
self, not only our spirit, but our body and its members.
1 Corinthians 6: 19: What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own? 20: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Romans 6: 11: Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto
sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12: Let not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts
thereof. 13: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are
alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
unto God.
A living sacrifice—not dead works—read
the rest of Romans, these are spiritual sacrifices typified by the burnt thank
offerings—things we do out of thanks to God for what he has done for us. He is talking about in the house of our Lord
as the house of the Lord. The worship of
Christ—not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Sending forth his gospel so Christ is
exalted and his lost sheep called out. Serving
our brethren who are one with Christ. Using
the gifts God has given us in the measure he has given us. This is why Christ has saved us and called
us!
Under the old
covenant, they came to a temple; under the new covenant, Christ has made us
living stones and fitly framed us together; we are the temple in whom Christ abides. Under the old covenant, they had to come to
the priest; under the new covenant Christ has made us priests unto God. Under the old covenant, they offered up dead
sacrifices; under the new covenant, Christ has made us priests to offer up spiritual
sacrifices. Spiritual sacrifices such as
the calves of our lips in praise to him, our bodily members to serve him and
our brethren and using temporal things he has given us for him, such as, our
jobs to support the gospel and needy brethren, homes to house brethren, tables
to feed them. But he gave it all to us,
it is his anyway.
Remember, a sacrifice
means things have to be given up, lusts of the flesh denied, reproaches borne, painful
things to our sinful flesh. Isaac Watts wrote:
Alas,
and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
But
drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.
In another hymn, he wrote:
Love so amazing, so
divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
A holy sacrifice—The Father set us
apart and made us holy in electing grace.
Christ set us apart and made us holy when he perfected us forever by his
blood. The Spirit set us apart and made
us holy in regeneration. And God set us
apart for God’s use alone! We are set
apart to set Christ forth, to exalt Christ, to bring sinners to Christ. Being sanctified means everything is for
Christ his Son. We do nothing to draw
attention to us but all to draw attention to Christ. That is why God set us
apart and made us holy.
Acceptable sacrifice—there is only one way
we and our sacrifices are acceptable unto God.
The apostle Peter said, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable
to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2: 5). Christ
has made us, and everything we do, acceptable to God.
But if we do these
things, do not be puffed up, but know it is “reasonable service.”
Luke 17: 7: But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding
cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit
down to meat? 8: And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may
sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and
afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9: Doth he thank that servant because he
did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10: So likewise ye, when ye
shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable
servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
NOT CONFORMED BUT
TRANSFORMED
Romans 12: 2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Galatians 5: 25: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the
Spirit. 26: Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another,
envying one another.
If we are not continually
walking in the Spirit, depending on the Spirit, seeking spiritual things, feeding
the inward man with the bread from heaven, then all we see in our day-to-day is
the carnal. We are not equipped to deal
with one another, not equipped to deal with the trials. We will begin to conform to this world
without knowing it! We may begin a job
with the motive of supporting his gospel and helping our needy brethren. But before long cares and riches and lusts
enter in and we will become conformed to this world. Our Master says, “the cares of this world,
and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke
the word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mk 4: 19).
1 John 2: 15: Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16:
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17: And
the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever.
God says, “but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,that ye
may prove” that we may discern and approve “what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” When
we hear Christ exalted, when we are reading his word, when we are seeking
things above, the Spirit blesses the word within so that our new man is
renewed, strengthened. Then we discern
and approve and delight in God’s will, in what God would have us to do. Our old man is put off, our flesh mortified
by the Holy Spirit.
When we are walking in the Spirit, we look at
the temporal things in our life spiritually and handle them as God would have
us handle them. But when we set our mind
on the boat, the waves, the career, the bills, the offenses then we are ruled
by flesh. We desire vain glory. Then we provoke one another and envy one
another.
Galatians 5: 15: But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that
ye be not consumed one of another. 16: This I say then, Walk in the
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17: For the flesh
lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are
contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Here is what God is teaching us.
This is the will of God for his people.
Our Lord Jesus Christ commands every believer,
Matthew 6: 31: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or,
What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32: (For after all
these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things. 33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34: Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Colossians 3: 1: If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2: Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3: For ye are dead, and
your life is hid with Christ in God. 4: When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Then our heart’s desire will be the same as Francis Havergal who wrote,
Take my life
and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Amen!