Walking Upright in a Fallen World
Romans 12:1-18
Romans chapter 12 is really a commentary on how Christians ought to behave. Apostle Paul moves theology to practice. He gives guidelines for living as a redeemed people in a fallen world. Since we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; saved by His grace and empowered by his Holy Spirit, we should offer ourselves to God. Paul is calling for absolute surrender. Today, there are many teachings on total commitment. There is a great difference between total commitment and absolute surrender. Commitment is an act of the human will, while surrender is the act of giving the human will. Paul suggests that we present ourselves as living sacrifices to God as those dead to sin but alive unto God. Paul has skilled guide us to this point. How can we walk upright in a fallen world? How can live a Christian life and not conform to the walk and way of the world? Paul calls on each of us to take personal responsibility for our actions. He makes his appeal based on all the mercies that we had received from the hand of a loving God. In the early chapters of Romans, Paul has proved to us the depravity of man and man’s inability to save himself. But God loved the world that He gave his only Begotten Son that we might be redeemed and brought back into a right relationship with God.
Since God has redeemed us, justified us and reconciled us to Himself, Paul pleads with us to give ourselves to God and his service out of a heart of love and gratitude. Observe that Paul does not give us a command, but a heartfelt pleads for absolute surrender. He does not demand or command us to surrender out of compulsion. God desires our sacrifice as loving sons and daughters not driven servants or slaves. There is a different in the way one interact with servants and the way one interact with sons. In Christ, we have been received the family of God as sons. Paul pleads with us as believers on the grounds of our new relationship with God as our loving Father. Paul uses the kind favor of the Father as his leverage of persuasion for our surrender. God is looking for compulsory service, He desires willing submission. God could force us into compliance to His will for He is stronger than we. God could command and demand our praise and worship, but He simply invites us to come, to give and to surrender to Him. Paul calls for a response of heartfelt gratitude. Since God has been so good to us, the most reasonable thing we can do is to give ourselves to God. Christ willingly gave himself for us, so we should willingly give ourselves for Him. Paul calls it a reasonable thing, a rational thing and the only sensible thing we can do. The believer should possess a single-minded devotion to God in devoted service, holy pursuits, and good deeds. Their love for God should be the motivation for all their service. Recently, a minister was sharing this idea with his congregation and he quoted the lyrics of a song, “It wasn’t the nail that hail Him (Jesus) to cross. If He had come down, my soul would still be lost.” The songwriter concludes that, “It was love that held Jesus to the cross.” Then he asked his congregation, “What holds you to your cross?” The idea was, If Jesus’ love for us held Him to his cross, then our love for Jesus should be our motive for bearing our cross.
Paul lifts several ideas for consideration in our text, Romans 12. If we are going to be successful in walking upright in God in a fallen world, we should give God our bodies, minds and service. First, consider the thought, “Give Your Body to God.”
Offer Your Body to God
Romans 12:1 ΒΆ 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.”
When Paul mentions the word "sacrifice", his audience understood perfectly what he was talking about. Animal sacrifices were an intricate part of both Jewish and Gentile culture. The animals selected for the sacrifice were those without spots or blemishes. Once the animals were carefully selected and inspected, they were placed in the hands of the priests. The priest would receive the animal and using a special knife would let out the blood catching it in a basin. Every parts of the sacrifice would be used. The blood, the fat, the flesh, the hide and hoofs were used until nothing remained. The blood was sprinkled to atone for the sin, the fat would be burned as a sweet savor to the Lord, the meat was roasted for a fellowship meal and the hide and hoofs were burned outside the camp. Even the ashes that remained had a purpose. When the sacrifice was over, everything had been consumed.
Paul calls every believer to this kind of surrender. We should give ourselves God in this same way, not holding anything back. The animals were killed and became dead sacrifices; we are called to be living sacrifices. The trouble with living sacrifices is they keep slipping off the altar. Absolute surrender becomes difficult for the believer because some of the desires of the flesh are very much alive. Believers tend to struggle with a desire to please God and the desire to please ourselves. Living sacrifices have a tendency to crawl off the altar when the flames get hot! Paul still calls the believers to give themselves to God in response to the great mercies they had experienced. We are to live our lives as if we were dead to sin, but alive unto God. God wants our body in His service.
People will say occasionally, “I couldn’t be with you, but my heart and mind was with you.” God need more than our heart and mind, He needs our body. When the world is sick, they need our hands to bring healing. When the world is sad, they need our voice to bring a word of cheer. When the world has fallen down, they need our hands to lift them up. God needs our body.
If believers are going to walk upright in a fallen world, they should present their bodies to God. That’s just how Christian ought to behave. Give God your body in praise, worship, service and good works. This dark world needs the light of God to shine upon it. Apostle Paul calls the redeemed people to absolute surrender. To be a living sacrifice is to live life under God’s control. We owe everything to God who reconciled us and showered us with so much favor. Paul pleads with us to serve God out of love, devotion, and gratitude.
In their former life of sin, they were slaves to sin. They obeyed all the dictates of the flesh. Satan was a cruel taskmaster that tormented and molested every part of the former life. Satan dominated their minds, hearts and bodies. Since Christ has made us free, out of gratitude to Him, we should offer Him absolute surrender. We must give themselves completely to God, not a payment for sin, but in gratitude for the mercies of God. We must live for God, worship God, obey him, and take His side against sin and unrighteousness. We must present our bodies to God as dead to sin and as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Walking upright begins by offering God your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. It is the reasonable thing to do. God wants us to give him our best. Our bodies, our lives are to be offered in service to him with the intentions of it being holy and pleasing to God. Our bodies are all we have to offer which includes our emotions, our mind, our thoughts, our desires, and our plans. The body represents the total person. To live for God and walk upright, we must give him all that we are. Offer our Body to God. God has so much that he wants to do through us but we must be willing to offer ourselves for His work. He will not force us or compel us, but He invites whosoever will to come.
Offer Your Mind to God
Ro 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.
Though the believer may profess, "I'm presenting my body to God" it will not happen without redirecting the mind. The mind controls all of the body's actions. We must offer our mind to God. Our body cannot do right with a do wrong mind. Paul suggests that our minds can be renewed by the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. This process happens from the inside out. It is totally necessary. Believers can never walk upright in a fallen world without renewing their minds with the Word of God. The believer lives out his existence in a hostile environment under Satan's control. There is current in this world moving in opposition to the flow of God. There is a mindset learned while in the world that is pulling the believer away from God towards his old life. His old mindset must be changed by the washing of the water of the word. We must determine to stand against the spirit of the world and cleave to the truth of God's word. We must despise sin and wickedness and love righteousness. The renewed mindset is more than resisting evil things but it is bringing our thinking under God's control. The word "conform" implies to mold or shape. The spirit of the world flows out of a heart of greed, selfishness, pride, high mindedness, envy, hate, and lust of all things. While the Spirit of God flows out of a heart of love, selflessness, humility, giving and sharing.
Our minds must be renewed in order to conform to God's way of thinking. As we read, meditate and act on God's word, a transformation begins. Our goals and plans begin to line up with His goals and plans for our lives. God’s word will set the standard for our lives. We will use His word to determine what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Our ambitions and dreams will be determined by heavenly and eternal truths and not by this evil, temporal and transient world system. Our minds become informed , our actions start to conform to God’s pattern for living and our lives are transformed by the Holy Spirit into God’s original design. We become Christ-like, knowing what God requires and walking obedient to His way. The word Paul uses for "being transformed" is metamorphosis. A metamorphosis is not something we can do on our own. If we present ourselves as living sacrifices, God through the power of the Spirit and the Word will transform us.
There is a story told of a very ugly man with a hideous face. He was a good and kind, but people were terrified of him and would not stay in his presence very long. As you can imagine, he was very lonely. The thing he wanted most was to marry the major’s beautiful daughter and to be loved by her. So he decided to wear a mask of a handsome face so that he could win her love. He kept this mask on 24/7. Soon he was married to the mayor’s daughter and living the happy life he had always wanted.
After a number of years his wife began to notice that his handsome face was indeed a mask and asked him to show her his true face. And because he loved her and could not bear to refuse her, he slowly took off the mask, bracing himself for the gasp of horror he knew would soon be coming. But instead of screaming, his wife just smiled. The man ran to a mirror and realized that the years of wearing the disguise had transformed his face into the handsome features of the mask. When we put on Christ and wear his face, we find our lives transformed into his likeness.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Paul encourages the believer to offer their bodies to God, offer their minds to God and then offer their ministry gifts to God and to the body of Christ.
Offer Your Gifts of Service to God’s People
Romans 12:4-8 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Paul uses the concept of a human body to teach how Christians should live and work together.
Just as the parts of the human body function under the direction of one central control center, the human brain, the body of Christ must function under the directions of its one head, Jesus Christ. God gave us ministry gifts so we can build up the Church, build up others and build ourselves as we are used in His service. In order to use our gifts effectively, we must realize first of all, that every gifts and abilities come from God for the benefit of the body. Secondly, we must understand that not everyone has the same gift. Thirdly, we must recognize that our understanding of who we are in Christ and the gift we have can greatly increase our effectiveness in the body. Finally, we should dedicate our gift to the service of God, for the benefit of His body, for the Glory and Honor of God, and not our own.
When we use our gifts wholeheartedly, not holding any back, the whole Body of Christ is blessed and its effectiveness is increased. These gifts are given for the benefit of the Church. Just as the parts of the body has different function, so the ministry gifts of the Body of Christ have different function. The potential of each gift is maximized by operating properly within the body. A body part’s value can only be experienced as it relates the whole. A severed hand cannot benefit the body, nor bless itself detached from the body. Each body part receives its direction from the head. A severed part or gift receives no direction, without direction that part cannot benefit itself or others. Each body part has a different purpose, ability and usefulness, but all parts are equal in value to the body. Likewise, each ministry gift has a different purpose, ability and usefulness, but all gifts are equal in value to the Church.
Paul encourages each believer to give God his body, give God his mind, but also give God his ministry gift. This can best be accomplished as the believer fulfills his role, being faithful and using that gift for the benefit of the Body of Christ for the glory of God. The body of Christ need every God-given gifts, functioning in its properly, supplying aid and assistance that increases the effectiveness of the whole. Our gifts were not given to be source of contention and competition. Our gifts were not given to be a badge of honor or source of arrogance.
Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Together we build up the Body of Christ. We cannot be what we ought to be without the gifts of others in the Church and the church cannot be all it ought to be without our gift being used in the Body of Christ.
Several centuries ago, so the story goes, in a mountain village in Europe, a wealthy nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. He made a good decision. He decided to build them a church. No one was permitted to see the plans or the inside of the church until it was finished. At its grand opening, the people gathered and marveled at the beauty of the new church. Everything had been thought of and included. It was a masterpiece. But then someone said, "Wait a minute! Where are the lamps? It is really quite dark in here. How will the church be lighted?" The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls, and then he gave each family a lamp, which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship. "Each time you are here'" the nobleman said, "The place where you are seated will be lighted. Each time you are not here, that place will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God's house will be dark"
You see, whenever a single is missing, something in the body suffers lack. Our gifts help to maximize and build up the church of Christ. In the process, we ourselves are built up. There is a mutual benefit shared and enjoyed as we offer our gifts of service to God. Every gift has been given from God, for his purpose, to be used in his service. God alone is building His Church. As the lights in the story above, each believer must brighten his corner. When we do, the whole house will be full of light. Every one of us is important. Every one of us is needed. If we give our body to God, our mind to God, we must also give our gift to the Body for the glory of God. The best demonstration of our love for God is our love for God’s people. The best demonstration of our service to God is our service to the people of God. Give your gift to the Body of Christ. Our gift of service will only increase in value as it functions in properly relationship to the Body.
Offer Your Love to All
Ro 12:9 -11Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Paul encourages each believer to give God his body, give God his mind, give his gift to the people of God, and finally, give love to all. Most of us have learned to pretend to love others, how to speak kindly, avoid hurting feeling, and even how to show compassion, but God calls us to real, sincere love which requires concentration and effort. My definition of love is simple. Love desires to give at the expense of self, while lust desires to get at the expense of others. Love is born out of a selfless heart. Lust is born in a selfish heart. This text calls for a sincere love out of a pure heart. God wants us to love in such a way that our care for people actually helps them become better people. The kind of love requires time, sometimes money and always personal involvement. No one else in the community can demonstrate love the way the church can. This text calls on us to look for people who need our love and find a way to love them. Everyone wants to be loved and want someone to love. "Let love be without dissimulation," in other words, we should have no hypocrisy in our love. Do not allow your love wear a mask. Do not allow love to be an empty professions. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. We love God by being obedient to him and we love our neighbor through acts of benevolence, showing that our love is sincere. Believers can walk upright in a fallen world and live as redeemed people of God if they are willing to present their bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God. Offer God your body, offer God your mind, offer God your gifts in service to his Church and finally offer your love to all.
We are God’s ambassadors in a dark world. Jesus reminds us in John 13, that love is the identifying mark of a true believer. The world can duplicate our acts of charity. The world can demonstrate concern through their social programs. Only the Church of God can demonstrate the Love of God in a fallen world.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Give your love to all. This was not literally a new commandment, because the Mosaic Law had said, 'thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself' (Le 19:18). But it was new in the sense that Jesus Christ himself had won the right to send it forth to all the world under the sanction of his own example. The reason we should give love to all is that we have received love from Him. Love one another as I have loved you. If Christians are going to successfully walk upright in a fallen world: Give God your body; give God your mind; give God’s body your gift; and finally give love to all.
