November 17, 2018 PRESENT YOUR BODIES
Romans 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 is a ‘therefore’ to chapter 11 where Paul is declaring the greatness and the power of God; because of who God is, the only right thing for us to do is to present ourselves to Him. Who are we to think that we are in control, or that we are wise, or that we are powerful, or that we are self-sufficient in our own strength, or that we know best? Certainly, the Christian life is spiritual in nature, but I think we sometimes tend to over-spiritualize the message of the gospel. While much of the gospel deals with the spirit of a man, there is nonetheless to be a very practical outworking, or physical expressions resulting from what God has done in the spirit of those who know Him as Savior. Perhaps you have heard it said that “all that matters is what you believe;” even though that may sound good, it is a lie and is in clear conflict with scripture. One error that comes as a result of over-spiritualizing is that we excuse our behavior by telling ourselves that what really matters is what I believe to be right-or that intentions are more important than the action. A message we see throughout the scriptures is that the gospel, when truly believed and received, has a huge impact on the life we live; it changes lives, changes the heart, gives new desires, and set’s us free from sin. When the gospel has its work in us and when we learn who we are in Him, we are changed at our core; the old gives way to the new, sinful habits are forever broken, love becomes the motivation, fear and depression are dealt with, and hope and joy fill our life. Not to condemn, but if we find that our life is not being impacted in a significant way by the gospel, then we need to examine ourselves and ask God to open the eyes of our hearts so that we may see and experience what it means to be in Christ and for Christ to be in us. We are blessed to be able to demonstrate with our life the message of the gospel-the good news. The prerequisite, or the cause of us presenting our body as a living sacrifice is that of seeing the power of God, of believing that Jesus came as Savior, that He loves us, and that He has adopted us into His family. Let us see that when we, because of who God is, express acts of righteousness, when we bless others, when we give, when we pray, etc., we are actually worshiping God; worshiping Him results in action on our part. Beware: because the world does not understand or believe the power of the gospel, it will try to conform us to fit its pattern. Rather than being conformed to the world, let us make sure that we are transformed by the renewing of our mind and let us present our bodies as a living, holy sacrifice to God-that is the only reasonable thing to do in light of who God is.
1 Peter 1:15 “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;”
Proverbs 3:6 “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Romans 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:1-2 is a ‘therefore’ to chapter 11 where Paul is declaring the greatness and the power of God; because of who God is, the only right thing for us to do is to present ourselves to Him. Who are we to think that we are in control, or that we are wise, or that we are powerful, or that we are self-sufficient in our own strength, or that we know best? Certainly, the Christian life is spiritual in nature, but I think we sometimes tend to over-spiritualize the message of the gospel. While much of the gospel deals with the spirit of a man, there is nonetheless to be a very practical outworking, or physical expressions resulting from what God has done in the spirit of those who know Him as Savior. Perhaps you have heard it said that “all that matters is what you believe;” even though that may sound good, it is a lie and is in clear conflict with scripture. One error that comes as a result of over-spiritualizing is that we excuse our behavior by telling ourselves that what really matters is what I believe to be right-or that intentions are more important than the action. A message we see throughout the scriptures is that the gospel, when truly believed and received, has a huge impact on the life we live; it changes lives, changes the heart, gives new desires, and set’s us free from sin. When the gospel has its work in us and when we learn who we are in Him, we are changed at our core; the old gives way to the new, sinful habits are forever broken, love becomes the motivation, fear and depression are dealt with, and hope and joy fill our life. Not to condemn, but if we find that our life is not being impacted in a significant way by the gospel, then we need to examine ourselves and ask God to open the eyes of our hearts so that we may see and experience what it means to be in Christ and for Christ to be in us. We are blessed to be able to demonstrate with our life the message of the gospel-the good news. The prerequisite, or the cause of us presenting our body as a living sacrifice is that of seeing the power of God, of believing that Jesus came as Savior, that He loves us, and that He has adopted us into His family. Let us see that when we, because of who God is, express acts of righteousness, when we bless others, when we give, when we pray, etc., we are actually worshiping God; worshiping Him results in action on our part. Beware: because the world does not understand or believe the power of the gospel, it will try to conform us to fit its pattern. Rather than being conformed to the world, let us make sure that we are transformed by the renewing of our mind and let us present our bodies as a living, holy sacrifice to God-that is the only reasonable thing to do in light of who God is.
1 Peter 1:15 “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;”
Proverbs 3:6 “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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