“Saintly Similarities in the Body of Christ”
Romans 12:3
We have been looking at Romans 12:1-2 for the last few weeks, being challenged by God’s Word and Spirit to the type of lives we offer to God while living in this world: “Therefore I urge you, 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. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Our lives are to be “Living, Holy, Sacrificial, and Acceptable to God”. They should be a “Spiritual service of worship”, no longer conforming to the schematic of this world, but working hard at being transformed by the renewing of our minds”, submitting to the pattern of God’s Word and urging of His Spirit, so that we are proving the Good and Perfect Will of God in our living. What we are actually looking at is the Believer’s Responsible, Saintly, and Sound Spirituality and dedicated, sacrificial Christian Living.
Today we look at Romans 12: 3: “For through the grace given to me I say to EVERYONE AMONG YOU not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
This morning we are going to look at Five Saintly Similarities of the Members of the Body of Christ. They are not inherited genetic traits by physical birth, but rather, acquired traits by being born again.
First of all, to whom is Paul speaking in the book of Romans? At the very beginning of this letter, Paul gave us the answer in Romans 1:5-7: “We have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles (that’s us!) for His name's sake, (the LORD JESUS CHRIST) 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; (the word for “called” is the root word for “Church”, the “called out” or “invited out”) 7 to ALL who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints (holy ones to God): Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
RECIPIENTS of God’s Grace and Faith
We are all very different, yet IN CHRIST we all relate to each other on the exact same basis, because we ALL have received God’s Grace and Faith in Christ. All who have heard and responded to the invitation to come to Christ and the Cross for forgiveness are included. ALL who have received the Spirit of God in their hearts. ALL who have the Hope of Eternal Life. All of those “Saints” are to listen to these instructions because they are the “beloved” of God, called out of the world to represent Jesus Christ IN the World. If you are a RECIPIENT of God’s Grace and Faith IN CHRIST, this is for you because you Recognize that your ONLY TRUE Treasure is in Christ: You realize that God-given Faith and Grace in Christ is the most valuable treasure you possess and it is what the rest of the world so badly needs. You are part of the “Church”, the body of Christ.
We have to stop saying that we “GO to Church.” You probably learned that when you were a kid. The Church isn’t a building; the Church is a group of believers who MEET in a building. The Church is everyone who has been called out of darkness into the Light and Love of Christ. We are the Local Body of Believers who meet together in this building in order to worship our Savior and God; We are obedient here and we are equipped HERE to GO OUT and BE God’s hands, feet and voice throughout the week. (In these next chapters, we will see how God focuses on His design and purpose for the Local Church, demonstrated as the social context of those LIVING by faith in Jesus Christ in this world.)
Grace is God-given, not earned or merited. Faith is God-given not earned or merited, so what do you have to boast about? Christianity is NOT a performance-based religion: It is not “will-power” religion. Christianity is grace-based, Spirit-filled living. It is actually reactionary faith-based living: It is reactionary to God’s Kindness and Grace to us! Your Christian living is a result of what Christ did FOR you: It was begun on the inside of you by the Work of the Holy Spirit, hand in hand with the Word of God, accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ.
High Minded-Thoughts about YOURSELF
2. The second quality naturally follows:, NO ONE of us thinks higher of himself than another. The idea in the Greek is that THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN! (We looked at the Greek work here, Huperphroneo, several weeks back.) It is “to think more highly of yourself than you ought to”. In verse 2, Paul gave a negative and a positive command: “Do not be conformed to this world, (negative) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In verse three, he follows a similar pattern; here is the negative: “Don’t think higher of yourself than you ought.” DO NOT have High-Minded Thoughts about YOURSELF!
We looked at this word when we looked at Romans 11: 20 (Israel was) broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, (don’t think you are better than them because you believe) but fear.” We are to be Holy Branches, dedicated, not to “high-minded”, selfish arrogance, but to Holy-mindedness. We are completely dedicated to bringing God exaltation and glory, not to be arrogant in exalting ourselves to the praise of ourselves.
1 Peter 5:5 says: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, (same root word-thinking one's self above another,) BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” We are all followers, disciples and students of Christ. We are all attending HIS CLASS. We are being taught by the Spirit and Word.
Therefore, We ALL demonstrate the ABSENCE of Prideful behavior. Why is that? Because we are submitting to the Spirit of Christ, being transformed by the Renewal of our Minds. We are continually being filled up with the Word of God. We are not conforming to the World or to self, but to the Spirit and Mind of Christ through His Word. We continually live with the Christ of Calvary before us. His suffering, death, and life are our motivation to live and to bring glory to Him alone, and bring nothing to ourselves. Let Him who BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” (2 Cor 10:17)
GOD-GIVEN LIFE
3. Let me ask you this question: How do you measure your worth or esteem? How do you measure your true VALUE? Paul says: “For through the grace given to me…God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” The measure of everyone’s worth in the Body of Christ is the God-GIVEN Grace and God-GIVEN FAITH poured out upon YOU. How important is GRACE? You did not save yourself from the wrath of God upon YOUR SIN. THAT WRATH was poured out on Jesus INSTEAD of being poured out on you. You, instead, received Grace and Forgiveness.
1 Corinthians 4:7 says: “What do you HAVE that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” We have NOTHING that we have not first received as GIFTS of God. Gifts of Grace. Gifts of His Mercy in Christ. THEREFORE, on that account, We ALL Exhibit the Grace of God in Christ FIRST OF ALL in the Body of Christ.
We aren’t compelled by self-centered motives and self-indulgent lives, we are compelled by the Great love of God in CHRIST to exercise healthy BODY-LIFE within the Church. Galatians 6:10 says it clearly: “So then, while we have opportunity, (NOW) let US do good to ALL people…especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” The household of faith is the LOCAL BODY of Believers, the Church. You love your spouse, children, and friends and as a result you spend time with them. Think about this: Do you love the Local Body of Believers and spend time with them because you share God-given grace and God-given faith from the same Lord and Savior? Is it important to BE WITH the Bride of Christ?
SOBER-MINDEDNESS
4. How else are we Similar and Saintly? Everyone of us is sober-minded. We are all to be of a sound and sane Biblical Holy-Spirit-controlled mind and heart. We exercise self-control together. We place a moderate estimate upon ourselves according to what God HAS DONE for us IN CHRIST; we curb our passions and cleanse our attitudes. We overflow to each other with Humility, which is the opposite of Pride. Pride divides and destroys. but humility actually loves and conquers. As each one of us individually offers our very souls, bodies, minds and wills as a sacrifice to God while in this world, in response to His forgiveness by His MERCY and GRACE demonstrated in Christ, but also that WE DEMONSTRATE the Love of CHRIST to each other…and be a witness to the world.
What attitude did Jesus have: Philippians 2:5-8: “5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, (another Command of God’s Will) 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” If we have the Spirit of Christ, and the Mind of Christ, we should have the same attitude as Christ. Paul would say: Keep THAT in your hearts and minds so that you practice Sober-mindedness.
Praying TOGETHER
5. Look at 1 Peter 4: 6-7; It says: “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as MEN, they may live in the SPIRIT according to the will of God. (We talked about that last week. WE live in the Spirit according to the will of God. We HEAR and DO what God commands us to do as the Local Church.) 7 The end of all things is near; (I believe that, don’t you?) therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit (And it doesn’t end there. It really BEGINS there! For the Purpose of What? PRAYER!) for the purpose of prayer.” All of us pray together as Christ’s Bride.
For some of us, praying together is the best SERVICE that we can give. For some, praying may be the ONLY service that you can give. And you certainly CAN and SHOULD pray alone, and with your family and friends, but you should also pray together as Christ’s Local body. Wasn’t the gathering TOGETHER of believers and the fullness of the Spirit of God the catalyst for the early church’s growth explosion? For ALL of us, as the Local Body of Christ, for which Christ DIED, we practice prayer together BECAUSE WE ARE sober minded and we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, and because we KNOW that the prayers of the righteous are powerful against the forces of evil around us. PRAYER, The WORD, and SPIRIT are our defense but also our testimony.
These things are not new to us, are they? We don’t need NEW REVELATION. We have to DO and BE LIKE the church of Acts in OUR WORLD: we are to be reminded of God’s Commands for the Local Body of Believers, and then pray for His Grace and HIS Power, and HIS control in our lives to be OBEDIENT to His Commands, but we CAN’T disregard God’s Design for the Local Body, and then expect God to bless us in our disobedience.
We are called to BE who God intended us TO BE, individually and corporately: Proclaim in your service, in your words and testimony, Proclaim by praying together with the Saints, that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that you believe He died for your sins, and that you believe He arose from the dead for your justification to a Holy God, and that He Alone is the King and Lord of your Life who deserves to be worshiped. Demonstrate and witness with Words AND actions that this Jesus is coming again…soon. He DESERVES the glory of our lives through His Church and through our witness!
“For From Him, and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
In the Church of England, after a communion service, the congregation used to recite these words together: "And here we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies to be a reasonable holy and living sacrifice unto Thee."
OUTLINE:
Intro: Responsible, Saintly, Sound Spirituality and Dedicated, Sacrificial Christian Living.
Five Saintly Similarities of the Members of the Body of Christ:
1. ALL have received God’s Grace and Faith in Christ.
(Rom. 1:5-7)
2. NO ONE thinks higher of himself than another…THEREFORE,
We ALL demonstrate the ABSENCE of pride.
(Rom 11: 20, 1 Peter 5:5,
3. Everyone’s Measure is God-Given Grace and Faith…THEREFORE,
We ALL Exhibit the Grace of God in Christ in the Body of Christ.
(Gal. 6:10, 1 Cor 4:7)
4. Everyone is sober-minded. (Phil 2:5-8,)
5. All of us pray together. (1 Peter 4: 6-7
We are called to BE who God intended us TO BE.
