"Role-model Saints" Romans pt. 18
Opening Illustration: Bluefish TV.Com - History of sacrifice
Thesis: Paul in chapter 12 tells us that we must be role models saints for this world and not act worldly but instead act like living sacrifices for Jesus. This in turn will make us a hero in the eyes of Kingdom of God.
Scripture Text: Romans 12:1, 17-21:
1Therefore, 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.
17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 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."
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Introduction:
As we have been progressing through the many life changing teachings of Paul in Romans and especially in chapter 12 we have discovered that as a Christian we have been called to be role-model saints for the Kingdom of God. This means that we are to be willing to offer up our lives, our time, our resources and our most precious possessions to Jesus. My heart keeps being drawn back to verse one of chapter 12 and this verse just keeps leaping off the page at me. It almost flashes at me every time I read it. Let me ask, "How many of you know that when the Holy Spirit illuminates a text like this then you have to pay attention to the message?"
So let’s reread the verse in a few translations today to here what the Spirit is saying to us today and to the Church of Jesus Christ:
"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."(NIV, Romans 12:1).
"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him." (The Message, Romans 12:1).
"Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God (CEV, Romans 12:1).
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." (NLT, Romans 12:1).
So what springs out of this verse to you? So what does it say about being a
"Living sacrifice?" Let me share a few thoughts as we wrap this chapter up today and prepare for our Baptismal service this afternoon:
1. A role-model saint should desire to be a living sacrifice for the Lord because of their salvation -- which includes the reception of His mercy - His grace and His forgiveness!
2. A role-model saint understands that to worship God means that you give yourself to Him as a living sacrifice for His purposes and for service in His Kingdom.
3. A role-model saint takes their everyday life and they surrender it to God each and every morning they actually surrender their time, their schedule, their work, and their plans to Him each day and this pleases God.
4. A role-model saint understands that the most sensible way to serve God is by giving Him every dimension of our life. They do this because it makes sense!
5. A role-model saint knows that the way to serve God is to present your self to Him with a pure motive and a pure heart. Saints therefore know in their hearts that God will accept their sacrifice and give them an eternal reward in Heaven.
I have stressed repeatedly over the last couple of months that being a living sacrifice is revealed to us by what follows verse one in Chapter 12 of Romans. I have stressed that the other 26 character traits all point back to the fist character trait found in this chapter. The truth is we cannot comprehend what it means to be a living sacrifice today in our society if we are not willing to hear the voice of the Spirit who is telling the church of today to live as the other 26 traits tell us to live.
Let’s review the character traits of a role-model saint and a hero for the kingdom of God that we have explored so far from Romans 12:
A role model saint is a living sacrifice for the Kingdom of God.
They have chosen to give up their life to Christ because he chose to give up His life for their salvation.
A role-model saint lives holy in an unholy environment.
When a person observes a saints life they see a person living different than the rest of the sinners.
A role-model saint lives a life that pleases God.
They live a life that makes God smile!
A role-model saint does not conform to the behavior pattern of this world’s inhabitants.
They instead conform to the image of Jesus Christ and seek to live godly imitating His lifestyle.
A role-model saint has had their mind renewed by God’s Word.
They have a point of view that has an eternal perspective and a Biblical world view rather than a corrupt self-centered mindset.
A role-model saint does not think they are someone special because they have a sensible view of them self.
They do not over rate themselves and live a prideful arrogant lifestyle.
A role-model saint chooses the path of love over hate.
The hero in the Kingdom of God imitates the character trait of God. God is love and he choose this approach to others so the saint also needs to choose the path of love over hate and behave like God does.
o Quote: "You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving."
A role-model saint hates evil and also holds on for dear life to that which is good and godly.
o This hero does not hold onto that which is evil.
A role-model saint is devoted to other saints through the bond of love.
o The role-model saints bond together in love like the Band of Brothers did in Easy Company and many other combat outfits in World War II.
A role-model saint keeps their spiritual zeal for the Lord and for service to the Kingdom.
o It means we love Jesus more today than we did yesterday and we make him the focus of our life.
A role-model saint honors others in the Kingdom over themselves.
o Role model saints honor others from their unit as they fight against the enemy of our society and to the church of Jesus Christ.
o We all need to remember that all role-model saints will be honored with the Medal of Honor in heaven for our service to the Kingdom.
A role-model saint is joyful in their life.
o Role-model saints are individuals who are filled with joy, happiness and freedom which draws others to the Kingdom.
A role-model saint is patient in affliction.
o Role-model saints show tremendous poise and peace under stress and pressure.
o These saints look at the Lord for help in their time of trouble and do not place the blame for their hardship on the Lord.
A role-model saint is faithful in prayer.
o Role-model saints know that to hear from God and to be in tune with God requires that they have an open line of communication between them and the Lord.
A role-model saint shares with God’s children who are in need - character trait number 15 (vs. 13).
o They have learned to die to self-centered ways and to use their resources to help out others in the Body of Christ who are in need.
A role-model saint is hospitable to others - character trait 16 (vs. 13).
o Saints have learned to care about others so as to be a witness for the Kingdom of God.
A role-model saint blesses those who persecute them instead of cursing them - character trait 17 (vs. 14).
o Saints who are heroes in the kingdom give the gift of forgiveness to others out of respect for Jesus and his great gift to them.
A role-model saint rejoices with those who are rejoicing - character trait 18 (vs. 15).
o A hero for the Kingdom of God is one who is others biggest fan!
A role-model saint mourns with those who are mourning - character trait 19 (vs. 15).
o Role model saints are there for one another in the good times and in the bad times and they know how to come up beside a person who is mourning and mourn with them. They know that in helping someone through the process of grief they are helping themselves as well and who knows this person may be the one to help you through a difficult time!
A role-model saint lives in harmony with others - character trait 20 (vs. 16).
o Thigpen states it well when he says, "The Christian Community that can’t overcome its divisions can’t expect to grow up." (Discipleship Journal, issue 101, pg.36). He goes onto add "The heart of God is broken with grief over His fractured family." Dissension and disunity have hindered more revivals and squelched more revivals than we could imagine.
A role-model saint is not prideful and conceited but treats others with respect and dignity -character trait 21.
o "A proud man has no God!" - Benjamin Whichcote
T.S. - We have reached the 21st role-model character trait and today we will look at the last 6 "Living sacrifice acts and the role-model saints final character traits."
1. A role-model saint does not repay evil for evil in their life - character trait 22 - (verse 17).
a. They instead choose to be a living sacrifice and respond to evil with good - with love!
i. They take the higher road.
1. They choose to take the path of forgiveness and not hate!
b. They choose to forgive others who have wronged them rather than seek and opportunity for revenge.
i. Quote John Bevere, "The Bait of Satan"
1. He states, "In the New Testament it often describes an entrapment used by the enemy. Offense is a tool of the Devil to bring people into captivity. Paul instructed young Timothy:
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare (entrapment) of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:24-26
Those who are in quarrels or opposition fall into a trap and are held prisoner to do the devil’s will. Even more alarming, they are unaware of their capacity! Like the prodigal they must come to themselves by awaking to their true condition. They do not realize that they are spewing out bitter waters rather than pure. When a person is deceived, he believes he is right even though not (page, 7).
2. Bevere adds, "It doesn’t matter how up-to-date you are in new revelations from the many seminars and Bible schools you’ve attended or how many books you’ve read or even how many hours you pray and study. If you are offended and in unforgiveness and refuse to repent of this sin, you have not come to the knowledge of the truth. You are deceived, and you confuse others with your hypocritical lifestyle. No matter what the revelation, your fruit tells a different story. You’ll become a spring spewing out bitter waters that will bring deception, not truth." (19).
c. 2 Timothy addresses how in the last days false prophets will invade the church and lead many of the elect astray. Listen to what the Spirit is saying through these words to the church today:
i. 2 Timothy 3:1-5: 1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God! 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
ii. 2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
iii. John Bevere notes this about our two texts in 2 Timothy:
1. Notice that they will have a form of godliness or "Christianity, but they will deny its power. How will they deny its power? They deny that Christianity can change them from being unforgiving to forgiving. They will boast of being followers of Jesus and proclaim their, new birth, experience, but what they boast of has not been allowed to pierce their hearts and bring forth the character of Christ." (18).
2. A role-model saint chooses to do what is right in the eyes of everybody that they have relationships with character trait 23 (verse 17).
a. We as saints must seek to do the right thing for others because it is an important part of being a living sacrifice a role-model for the Kingdom of God.
i. People who are selfish will not even attempt to do the right thing with others because they only want to do what they want to do.
ii. People who are filled with evil will choose to do the wrong thing and then make excuses as to why they choose the path of sin.
1. Many will blame others for their sinful choices!
b. Paul stated that he never wanted to be a stumbling block to another Christian therefore he tried to be sensitive to position of others.
i. 1 Corinthians 8:10-11: 9Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
1. Paul tells us that we should not use our freedom in Christ to bring down another brother or sister in Christ who are not as mature as we our in our faith.
ii. Quest Study Bible asks the question: "Is something ever right for one and wrong for another?"
1. Here is there answer to this question: Sometimes. Those steeped in centuries-old Jewish tradition found it difficult to believe there was nothing wrong with eating meat sacrificed to idols. To do so would have violated their own consciences. Paul, on the other hand, recognized that he could eat such meat without sinning (v. 8). Still, he respected the sensitivities of those who did not feel as he did, knowing that they could be condemned by their consciences. Also see stumbling block (Romans 14:13) and Strong - weak (Romans 15;1) (1580).
2. I went to Romans 14:13 which stated, "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. Quest stated this about our text, "Anything or anyone that causes someone to sin. If your conscience tells you a certain action is sinful, then it is sin for you to do it. If someone else pressures you into this action anyway-perhaps with rationalizations that the thing is not sinful, then that person has become a stumbling block to you."(1 Cor. 8:9-13) (1568).
c. Please note Paul is not saying that we must please man - because it’s clear in many other texts that we must please God first, Paul is just trying to say to us, "Don’t purposely offend others by being insensitive to them instead choose to lose, choose to be a living sacrifice!"
i. He tells us to be committed - dedicated to being living sacrifices - this means choosing to do the right thing at all times and in all places and in relationships with others.
ii. It means that we as a "Saint" chose to be a positive role-model for the Kingdom of God so as to draw more people to Jesus.
3. A role-model saint chooses to live at peace with everyone if it is within their power to do so - character trait 24 -(verse 18).
a. To live at peace with others is what opens up the opportunity to share the message of Good News to others - being at war with others never opens up the door to minister the Good News.
i. Many people within the Body of Christ are unable to function properly. They cannot fulfill God’s purpose and or calling for their lives because they are not at peace with others.
ii. Their minds are consumed with thoughts or hurt, anger, offense and revenge.
1. These evil thoughts choke out peace in this person’s heart and spirit and it hinders their service to the Kingdom of God.
a. It also makes them bitter people, angry people, miserable people to be around.
2. It entraps them into the spirit of dissension and division and Paul’s calls these the works of the flesh - not of God - not the fruit of the Spirit. Result the person is trapped like an animal in a trap and they slowing dying an agonizing death!
b. A person who is unable to live at peace with others is a person producing the following evil fruits:
i. Hurt, jealousy, strife, anger, envy, bitterness, outrage, resentment, and hatred and the Bible tells us that those who act like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
ii. These fruits of evil will handicap the person who entrapped in their snare and they will do nothing that will bring the Blessing of God into their lives with these fruits. The truth is they instead suffer the curse of these action and attitudes.
iii. I want to pause here for a moment and ask you a question: Are their people in your life who you are not living at peace with because they have offended you?
1. You need to commit with the help of the Holy Spirit to live at peace with them!
c. Illustration - PEACE, PEACE: A true story: A retired couple was alarmed by the threat of nuclear war so they undertook a serious study of all the inhabited places on the globe. Their goal was to determine where in the world would be the place to be least likely affected by a nuclear war. A place of ultimate security. They studied and traveled, traveled and studied. Finally they found the place. And on Christmas they sent their pastor a card from their new home, in the Falkland Islands. However, their ’paradise’ was soon turned into a war zone by Great Britain and Argentina. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
i. The truth is the best place to be is where God called you to be so that you can bring peace into the lives of those who are around you for the sake of the Kingdom.
d. Illustration from Illustrations unlimited - THE DESIRE FOR PEACE: Ramsey MacDonald, one-time prime minister of England, was discussing with another government official the possibility of lasting peace. The latter, an expert on foreign affairs, was unimpressed by the prime minister’s idealistic viewpoint. He remarked cynically, "The desire for peace does not necessarily ensure it.This MacDonald admitted, saying, "Quite true. But neither does the desire for food satisfy your hunger, but at least it gets you started toward a restaurant."
4. A role-model saint does not choose to take revenge on others because they understand that it’s God who will hold everyone accountable in the end ¡V character trait 25 -(Verse 19).
a. The Lord says Romans 12:19 "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord!"
i. The story of King Saul and David address this role-model saint character trait. David was being pursued by Saul - Saul wanted to kill him because of jealousy (Information from Bait of Satan pages 38-42).
ii. David fled for his life but Saul pursued him through the wilderness and one night God led David and Abishai right into Saul’s camp. As the two are standing over a sleeping King Saul, Abishai states in 1 Samuel 26:8 "God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!"
1. He says, "David let me kill him right now and take the sweet revenge that this mad king deserves. Abishai had many good reasons to kill this lost king. He had murdered 85 innocent priests and their families in cold blood. He was chasing him and David with 3,000 soldiers to kill them. David had been anointed the next king of Israel by Samuel the Prophet and David had a legitimate claim to the throne of Israel. The other reason was it was obvious that God had knocked out Saul’s whole army for these two guys to be standing over the wayward king.
2. The truth is they are all good reason it looks like the Lord has provided deliverance but David responds to this soldier of his with these words:
a. 1 Samuel 26:9-11: 9But David said to Abishai, "Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’S anointed and be guiltless? 10As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’S anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go."
b. David knew that it’s up to the Lord to avenge him- he cannot take it into his own hands! It’s not up to him but up to God!
3. Bevere states, "How many people today have a heart like David’s? We no longer kill with physical swords but ravage each other with a sword of another kind-the tongue. Death and life are in the power of the tongue!" (Proverbs 18:21). Churches split, families divide, marriages shatter, and love dies, crushed by the onslaught of words launched in hurt and frustration. Offended by friends, family, and leaders, we take aim with words sharpened by bitterness and anger. Even though information may be factual and accurate, motives are impure.
iii. The truth is people today want to do God’s work! Many Christians think that God is dead and He has put them in charge of unleashing personal revenge on those who have wronged them or others.?
1. Proverbs 6:16-19 tells me that this type of behavior is considered an abomination to the Lord: Listen carefully:
a. 16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood. 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
b. A person can wrong you and it all be true but it is still an affront to God for you to take judgment into your hands it is His job not yours!
5. A role-model saint chooses to treat people who have wronged them with acts of love like Jesus did - character trait 26 -(Verse 20).
a. Jesus on the cross role-modeled for us how to treat people who have mistreated us. He chose to show love and forgiveness to the crowd which had Him crucified and mocked Him.
i. Let’s learn another lesson from Jesus - what did He do when He was treated unfairly and unjustly?
1. Let’s look at the scene of the cross:
a. Luke 23:33-37: "When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." 36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."
2. Jesus in the midst of physical and emotional torture chose the higher road of forgiveness and love toward crowd that had been deceived by the enemy.
a. Evil had taken hold of the people and it had blinded their eyes to the good - Jesus looked at them and prayed that the Father would forgive them because they had no idea what they were doing.
6. A role-model saint chooses not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good - character trait 27 (Verse 21).
a. Galatians 6:7-9: 7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
i. When we yield to the sinful nature we set ourselves up for destruction - eternal destruction but if we choose to not be overcome by evil then we reap eternal life.
ii. Paul here in Galatians tells we must not grow weary in doing good - we must stay the course because in eternity those who resisted evil and did the good will receive awesome rewards for their sacrifice.
iii. So in a society that is over run with evil we must as role-model saints - heroes for the Kingdom of God do good to everyone we can because it will make a difference for eternity.
b. Illustration from unlimited illustrations - DOING RIGHT ANYWAY - People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds. Think big anyway. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for some underdogs anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
c. James 4:17: "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins."
Conclusion:
We have gone through all the 27 character traits of a role-model saint - We can see how the last 26 point us back to the first trait which is to be a living sacrifice for the Lord Jesus. We have discovered that those saint who choose to live like sacrifices become heroes for the Kingdom of God. They are individual men and women no different than you or I but all of Heaven will one day look at these Heroes for the Kingdom and each one will be honored in Heaven and receive divine eternal rewards for their sacrifice.
John Wesley said, "Oh, Lord let me not live to be useless!" Wesley understood that for his life to count for eternity then he needed to be a living sacrifice for the Kingdom of God.
Foxes Book of Martyrs states this about this hero of the faith John Wesley, "He founded and led a an Oxford College group which called themselves, "The Holy Club." What he accomplished borders upon the incredible. Upon entering his eighty-fifth year he thanked God that he was still almost as vigorous as ever. He ascribed it, under God, to the fact that he had always slept soundly, had risen for sixty years at four o’clock in the morning, and for fifty years had preached every morning at five. Seldom in all his life did he feel any pain, care, or anxiety. He preached twice each day, and often thrice or four times. It has been estimated that he traveled every year forty-five hundred English miles, mostly upon horseback - John Wesley apportioned his days to his work in leading the Church, to studying (for he was an incessant reader), to traveling, and to preaching - In the last fifty-two years of his life, it is estimated that he preached more than forty thousand sermons - Wesley brought sinners to repentance throughout three kingdoms and over two hemispheres. He was the bishop of such a diocese as neither the Eastern nor the Western Church ever witnessed before. What is there in the circle of Christian effort--foreign missions, home missions, Christian tracts and literature, field preaching, circuit preaching, Bible readings, or aught else--which was not attempted by John Wesley, which was not grasped by his mighty mind through the aid of his Divine Leader?"
Closing Illustration: Bluefish Tv.com "The story of the missionary couple the Burnham’s from Blue Fish TV. This missionary couple became a living sacrifice for the Kingdom of God!
