Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.
3 For through the grace given to me I say to each one among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound thinking, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another, 6 but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the faith; 7 or service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with generosity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12: 1-8 LSB
Romans 12: 1-8 In Practice
So far in our study of Romans 1-11 we have seen 4 key elements or high doctrines starting with
- Sin, that this is the state of every man in a fallen world without exception. The Reformers would call this the doctrine of Total Depravity. Romans 1-3 defined sin for us. Romans 1: 18-25, Romans 1: 18-32
- Salvation, everyone's need, no one can earn it. We are justified by faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
- Sanctification, "…21What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.…" Romans 6: 21-23,. We hear a lot about Justification, which is God's freeing us from the penalty of sin through Christ's sacrifice in our place, and this is popular even with those who don't truly love God, but hate consequences. Yet, there is also this process called Sanctification, which is God's freeing us from the power of sin. This is the growth of believers, that they come to know what sin is, hate their own worse than that of others, and our bereaved at the thought of dishonoring Christ, Who died for their sins. "…8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.…" 1 John 1: 8-10. The same God Who is able to save you from hell is also able to change your heart towards sin, to help you realize that there is nothing to go back to, and to desire a holy (set apart) life. Which God did you believe in?
- Sovereignty, Romans 9-11 taught us that it wasn't a matter of man's will, but that salvation was a work of God for His own glory. There is no one beyond His ability to save, those He does not save will face His just wrath toward sin, to the glory of His justice and holiness, and those He effectually calls to salvation will receive His just grace, unmerited mercy, to the glory and honor of Christ unfairly receiving the wages of sin that were owed to His sheep. "…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”…Romans 9: 15-17
Now in Romans 12 we visit the practical reality or working out of all these things. What does the knowledge of our sin, God's Holy nature, and Christ's life and death mean in the life of a believer?
V. 1 Present your bodies as a sacrifice - This is not mere ceremony, not a summer camp conversion or commitment for show and temporary as according to the emotions of a moment. No, this is total commitment, the realization that your body does not belong to, but to Him Who made you and purchased you back from sin with His own blood.
A W Tozer said...
"Present your bodies..."—that is, present your vessel. That must come first. A vessel that has not been presented will not be filled. God cannot fill what He cannot have. Present your vessel.
I think God wants us to be intelligent. He wants us to come to Him. If you were in a bread line in some poor country, and you stood back and would not present your cup, you would not get any milk. And if you did not present the plate or basket, you would not get any bread.
If you will not present your personality, you will not get the fullness of the Spirit of God.
Are you ready to present your body with all of its functions and all that it contains—your mind, your personality, your spirit, your love, your ambitions, your all? This is the first thing. It can be a simple act—presenting the body. Are you willing to do it? - Precept Austin
…19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
V. 2 And do not be conformed to this world - Note, this is accomplished by being transformed. It is the call to being Born Again, a new creature.
Wuest has an enlightening "amplified version" - And stop assuming an outward expression that does not come from within you and is not representative of what you are in your inner being but is patterned after this age; but change your outward expression to one that comes from within and is representative of your inner being, by the renewing of your mind, resulting in your putting to the test what is the will of God, the good and well-pleasing and complete will, and having found that it meets specifications, place your approval upon it. (Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament)
William Newell - Fashioned (conformed) is literally, schemed-together-with. It is the very word of 1Co 7:31: scheme (Greek, schema), made into a verb, with the conjunction along-with (sun/syn), for prefix. The devil will rope you into his "scheme," unless you surrender your body to God to be by Him delivered. - PA
…3For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome, 4because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. 5Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.… 1 John 5: 3-5
Jon Courson asks "Are you a thermometer—adjusting to the temperature of the culture, or are you a thermostat—changing the climate of the culture? If you are a conformer, a thermometer, you’re in for perpetual frustration because by the time you take the temperature and figure out what’s hot, by the time you change your look, or buy the car, or redo your house—the world will have moved on, leaving you out of style. Truly, this is a great mystery to a lot of Christians. They try to make their ministries relatable by analyzing what the world is doing in order to emulate it. But by the time they figure it out and implement it, the world has moved on. That’s why Christians are known for being out of style. What’s the key? Don’t be a thermometer. Be a thermostat. Don’t be a conformer. Be a transformer. Say, “I’m in a whole different place than you are, world. I’m living for eternity. I’m preparing for heaven.” (Jon Courson's Application Commentary) - PA
V.3 Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think - I mean, if you can't save yourself then you didn't, so there is nothing to be cocky about. The Bible describes us as being dead in our trespasses and sins, so someone had to literally bring you back from death. It should be easy for me to find far more reasons for humility than for arrogance, my works, after all, were filthy rags.
…11The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ 13But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’… Luke 18: 11-13
6Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another. 7For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? 8Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!… 1 Corinthians 4: 6-8
Vs. 4-8 Are one body in Christ - Though there are many members in the human body, none are without purpose. It is the same in Christ's body, the Church. There are some members that are more forward, much like the human face, and so we put those members in the pulpit, because they are not only gifted teachers and preachers, but they have more significantly met the requirements that God places upon those positions in the body. More on Qualifications. Not every part of the body is a mouth though, and there are those that Pastor Josh would call the big toe, but trying walking without your big toe. There are those that we never pull out and present, like the liver, the kidneys or the lungs, but a liver shot is quite painful, your kidneys filter out contaminants, and you can't breathe without your lungs.
John MacArthur offers these wise practical pithy comments on what this all means: "As we have seen, the first obligation of the bondservant of Christ is the supreme worship expressed in offering himself to his Lord as a living sacrifice (Ro 12:1-note). That is God’s fundamental requirement for every believer. Only as a living sacrifice can we be what He wants us to be, do what He wants us to do, and thereby “prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Ro 12:2-note). That act of spiritual worship marks the Christian’s entrance into divine usefulness. God’s order of obedience for His people has always been worship and then service. (Ro 12:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) adds the marvelous truth that, although Christ sends forth His servants with a common commission to serve Him, He equips them for that responsibility with greatly diverse gifts. His divine plan for believers is unity in message and commitment but diversity in service. The primary purpose of these verses is to make clear that, although we must enter the place of usefulness for Christ with the same total self sacrifice, we are equipped to fulfill that usefulness in uniquely distinct ways. The purpose of offering ourselves to God as living sacrifices is not mystical or monastic but eminently practical. Devotion to the Lord and active, faithful ministry for Him are inseparable. We cannot be truly sacrificed to Him and be inactive in His work. And, on the other hand, we cannot be truly successful in His work without being genuinely devoted to Him. Service to God brings honor to Him and blessing for us only when it is the outflow of our worship in offering ourselves as living sacrifices. Such commitment naturally and inevitably produces effective ministry. There is no godly commitment without God blessed ministry, and no God blessed ministry without godly commitment. This passage utterly destroys the notion that a Christian can be committed to Christ but be inactive in His service, that he can love the Lord but not obey the Lord, that he can be surrendered to the Lord but not minister for the Lord. True worship cannot be divorced from service. Unfortunately, the church has always had members who piously claim closeness and devotion to the Lord but whose lives exhibit no service for Him. It also has always had those who are busily active in the work of the church but who exhibit little personal depth of devotion to the Lord of the church. Both are a shame to the Lord and are a hindrance to His work, because they thwart the spiritual maturity of the saved and the evangelism of the lost. (MacArthur, J: Romans 9-16. Chicago: Moody Press) - PA
