Romans 12 - How Do You Get the Life You've Always Wanted?
A Living Sacrifice
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans chapter 12 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible. Romans 12:1-2 is my life verse. It came at time in my life, where I was a Christian but not living my life totally for Christ. It gave me a paradigm for how to live the Jesus-shaped life based on the mercy He had shown me.
In chapter 12, Paul transitions from teaching on the future of Israel to how we should live our Christian lives. He begins with "therefore" showing that this is the natural progression from everything he has taught in Romans thus far in chapters 1-11.
Note Paul says, "I urge you". Paul is passionate about their growth as disciples of Christ. Paul says, "In view of God's mercy". Meaning our discipleship to Jesus is always a response to the mercy God has shown us in Christ. First of all, we "offer our bodies to Jesus". We offer them as a "living sacrifice". This language would be important for the Jews, who were more acquainted with the sacrifice of animals whose blood covered their sins.
But as we offer our bodies and minds to Christ, we are making a living sacrifice. It is not obviously to atone for our sins but a response to the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Paul also says to not be "conformed to this world". I like another version which says, "do not be squeezed into the world's mold". There is a certain way of living in the world which is centered on me and getting my desires met in whatever way I please.
Instead Paul says to "be transformed". The word for "transformed" is the same as our English Word, "metamorphosis". It is a complete change of being. It is organic and lasting. It is a transformation of the way we think, which is accomplished by the "renewing of our mind". Notice transformation is about training our bodies to not be enslaved to our sinful and training our minds to think with the "mind of Christ".
One of the ways we do this is by reading, meditating, and applying scripture in our lives. You are reading through the bible chapter by chapter which is great. Memorizing scripture is another great way to apply this verse.
When we undergo this kind of transformation, "We prove what God's will is". We are able to do God's will in the power of the Holy Spirit, as we offer our bodies and minds to him.
Finally, I love what Paul says. God will is "good, acceptable, and perfect". Doing God's will will always be the best thing for us. It will give us the, "Life we've always wanted" and the life for what we are were made for.
Humble Service in the Body of Christ
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Because of the grace that has been given to us, we should never think too highly of ourselves, which is pride. This is not that we think should badly of ourselves, but with sober judgment. Meaning we are made in God's image, so we are good. But, we also can fall back into our sinful nature if we are not careful.
Then, Paul talks about how we work together as the body of Christ. We all have been given spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ. Paul teaches about this at length in 1 Corinthians 12 - 14. Paul illustrates a couple of gifts. To prophesy is to speak forth the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God and scripture contains the word of God, so we speak the very words of Christ to others. Prophets are important in the church because they call us back to God.
Serving is so essential to the body of Christ. Jesus says, "The greatest among us is a servant". A servant has given up their and serves a new master. Our master is Jesus, as we give up the right to control our lives and submit to His lordship.
Teaching is also essential in the body of Christ. The teaching gift takes the Word God has given us and explains it so we can understand it and apply it in our lives. Teachers can take God's Word, which can often be complicated to read (especially the Old Testament), and makes simple.
Encouragement is also very much needed in the body of Christ. We all get discouraged from time to time. The devil loves to discourage us, because a defeated Christian is an ineffective Christian. Sometimes discouragement can even cause someone to doubt whether they are saved. Encouragers are always building people up, bringing out the best in others, and know when people are down.
Giving helps the church to grow and supplies it with the resources necessary. It helps fund buildings, pay staff, and also contribute to the needs of other churches and Christian organizations, who all need funding. Though we are all called to give generously, some people have an extraordinary ability and the means to give above and beyond.
We need leaders to run the church. Leaders receive God's vision for any given church and then create a plan and strategy to make it happen. Of course, every church's mission is to be and make disciples of all nations, but strategies vary from each church's context and setting in its community.
Finally, the gift of mercy keeps us centered on God's grace. It keeps us from being judgmental of others, as we remember the mercy we need. We are less likely to criticize and judge others when we realize without God's mercy, we are nothing.
Love in Action
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
As he does in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul moves from the gifts we have, to how we exercise them. He says in 1 Corinthians if our gifts are not used in love, they are worthless, like a noisy gong or clanging symbol. Notice all of the "one anothers". Paul frequently uses this phrase, and it reminds us that we carry out this kind of love in community. We love the others in our faith community. We grow in love only in the live we live out together.
Though online church is great, if that is all someone is getting, they will find it very hard to grow in their faith. Why? Because there is no one to carry out their "one anothering" with. Paul list's several examples of how this "one anothering: is done. It all flows out of what it means to be a living sacrifice and servant for Jesus.
I love this last one, "share with the Lord's people who are in need." Sometimes we can get isolated and just worry about our own church. Some churches have more resources than others. We need to have a kingdom mindset and realize it is not just about us. There are churches and organizations all over the world we need to partner with including those in our own community.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink, In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Here are so more examples of how we "do life together". They are all characteristics of what a disciple of Christ should look like. This is how disciples act. At times it may be difficult but the Holy Spirit gives us Jesus' power and presence to do the things he would do if he were us. As we sing,
"They will know we are Christians by our love by our love. Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love!"
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