Keys to a Wonderful Church Life - Part 1: Eliminate Stinking Thinking
The Book of Romans
Romans 12:3-5 (Reading vs. 1-5)
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - October 23, 2016
(Revised August 6, 2021)
BACKGROUND:
*Remember that Romans 12 marks a big shift in Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome. Pastor Steve Weaver explained that "the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans mine the depths of God’s gracious purpose and plan for the redemption of sinful humans." (1)
*There, Paul spelled out the truth about our terrible sinfulness and our desperate need for God's salvation. Paul made it clear that salvation can only come by grace through faith in our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ.
*This is the heart of the good news about Jesus. He died on the cross for all of our sins. But three days later, Jesus rose again from the dead, and now He will give eternal life to everyone who receives Him as their Lord and Savior.
*In chapters 9-11, the Holy Spirit led Paul to discuss the future of the Jewish people, and the bottom line is that they too can only be saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. He is the one and only Messiah promised in the Old Testament Scriptures, so the only way to be just in God's sight is to live by faith in Jesus Christ. But how are we supposed to live this new life we have as Christians? That's what Paul began to discuss in Romans 12, and this is his theme for the rest of the letter. (2)
*Tonight in vs. 3-5, Paul began to talk about how all Christians fit into God's Church, and in these verses, God gives us some keys to a wonderful church life. Let's begin by reading vs. 1-5.
INTRODUCTION:
*I always admired Zig Ziglar. He was one of the best-known motivational speakers in the country. Zig said that he was the kind of optimist who would go after Moby Dick in a rowboat, and take a bottle of tartar sauce with him. (3)
*One thing I remember Zig saying years ago is that from time to time "we need a check-up from the neck up. And we need to eliminate stinking thinking." That is exactly what Paul is trying to do in these verses: Eliminate our stinking thinking. How can we do it?
1. FIRST: WE HAVE TO GROW IN THE GRACE OF GOD.
*We must grow in the grace of Almighty God, and we know this is true because of something we see in vs. 3. There Paul wrote, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
*Notice at the beginning of that verse Paul said he was speaking to them "through the grace" that God had given to him. Paul was saved by God's grace, and then he grew in God's grace. That's why Paul could be led by the Holy Spirit to write this letter. The Apostle's life had been transformed by the grace of God. So, think about how God's grace changes our thinking.
[1] THE BIGGEST CHANGE OF ALL COMES WHEN WE ARE SAVED BY GOD'S GRACE.
*As Paul tells Christians in Ephesians 2:8-9, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
*Think about how much God's grace worked in our lives in order for us to be saved. We didn't choose to be born in a country where the Bible is so freely accessible. There was nothing we did to earn the blessings of living in America. This is nothing less than the amazing grace of God!
*It was total grace to be born in the United States, and even more grace to be born in the Bible Belt. Far fewer believers live in the western states. In 2008, Gallup reported that only 59% of people living out West believed in God, compared to 86% in the South. I would think this gap is even wider today.
*On top of that, most of us had the grace to grow up in Christian families. Like one man said, "My Mama believed in drugs. She drug us to Sunday school and church every Sunday!" Why did you get to grow up in a family like that? The amazing grace of God! There was nothing you ever did or ever could do to deserve it. (4)
*The greatest act of God's grace was sending His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. And when we received Jesus Christ as our living Lord and Savior, we were saved by God's grace. Nothing could ever change our thinking more than that!
*Christians: Our thinking changes so much that 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." And in 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul even tells us that "we have the mind of Christ."
*God can change any life! Liz Curtis Higgs is a great example of this truth. Some of you ladies are familiar with Liz. She is the author of 37 books with well over 4 million copies in print. One of Liz's best-known books is BAD GIRLS OF THE BIBLE, and if anybody ever needed to be changed, it was Liz Curtis Higgs.
*Years ago, Liz was one of the top disc jockeys in America, and she lived a wild life without God. Liz had the evening show on the same station where Howard Stern had the morning show. And one day Howard told Liz, "You know, you need to clean up your act." Church: If Howard Stern tells you need to clean up your act, you really need to clean up your act!
*Liz was also a radical feminist. But she had a Christian friend who kept inviting her to church. After a long time, Liz said, "Okay, I will go to church one time and ONE TIME ONLY."
*That week, the pastor happened to be preaching on Ephesians 5, where the Bible says, "Wives submit yourselves to your husbands." That was not a good verse to start with a radical feminist, and Liz got mad.
*But she continued to listen and heard the other part of that passage that says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it." When Liz heard that part, she leaned over to her friend and said with a cynical voice, "Well, shoot, I'd gladly give myself to any man if I knew he would die for me."
*Her Christian friend leaned over and replied, "Liz, there is a man who loved you enough to die for you. His name is Jesus Christ. That's how much He loves you." Not long after that Liz dropped her guard and gave her life to the God who loved us enough to die for us. Today Liz faithfully serves the Lord by writing and speaking. The grace of God totally changed her thinking, and God's grace changes our thinking when we are saved. (5)
[2] BUT THAT'S JUST THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO START GROWING IN GOD'S GRACE.
*All Christians are children of God, and God wants all of His children to grow. We are never too old to learn, and God wants us to always be growing in our spiritual lives. That's why 1 Peter 2:1-3 says, "Therefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious."
*God wants us to grow up spiritually. This is also why 2 Peter 3:18 tells Christians to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. . ."
*Paul grew in grace: That's why he was able to write this letter to the Romans. And God has used these words to help millions more Christians grow in His grace. Now God wants these words to help us grow in His grace.
2. HOW CAN WE ELIMINATE OUR STINKING THINKING? WE MUST GROW IN GOD'S GRACE. BUT WE ALSO MUST HUMBLE OUR HEARTS.
*This is part of God's message for us in the middle of vs. 3. Here Paul wrote "to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly . . ."
*God tells every one of us, "Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think." In other words: "Humble your hearts before God and other people." Well, that can be hard to do. But it's crucial, because we can't serve the Lord as we should without a humble heart.
*Paul also tells every Christian "to think soberly." The original word for "soberly" means "to be in your right mind," "to have sound judgment," so A. T. Robertson said pride and self-conceit are treated here as a type of insanity for Christians. Wow. (6)
*And Christian humility makes great sense when we remember what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:7. There Paul asked, "Who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?"
*What good thing, what talent, what ability do we have that did not come from God? -- Not one. The places where we live, our jobs, our mental and physical abilities, the freedom we have, our families, our friends, our spiritual gifts, our ability to take a single step or even breathe, all of these things ultimately came from God. So, in a way, it really is crazy for us to be lifted up with pride. There is no place for pride in the service of the Lord.
*S. I. McMillen told the story of a young woman who wanted to go to a prestigious college, but her heart sank when she read this question on her application: "Are you a leader?"
*With genuine honesty and humility, the girl wrote, "No." Then she returned the application, expecting the worst, but to her joyful surprise, she was accepted!
*And writing with a twinkle in his eye, here's what the Dean of Admissions said in her acceptance letter: "Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower." (7)
*That young woman had a humble heart, and that is not the natural way for us to go in life. But it is certainly the right way to go. And God will bless our humble hearts.
*Remember what the Word of God tells us in James 4:6-10:
6. . . He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.''
7. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
*It is very important for us to humble our hearts. And the best way to humble our hearts is to compare ourselves to Almighty God. This is exactly what Paul did at the end of the last chapter. You see, this caution for humility comes right on the heels of Romans 11:33-36, where Paul wrote these great words of praise:
33. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34. "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?''
35. "Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?''
36. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
*God is infinitely far above us! He can do all good things! And the more we keep our eyes on Him, the easier it is for us to humble our hearts.
3. HOW CAN WE ELIMINATE OUR STINKING THINKING? WE MUST HUMBLE OUR HEARTS BEFORE GOD. BUT WE ALSO MUST UNDERSTAND OUR UNITY.
[1] GOD WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND OUR UNITY AS CHRISTIANS. AND PART OF OUR UNITY COMES FROM OUR FAITH.
*We see this at the end of vs. 3, where Paul tells Christians that "God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
*Obviously, some Christians have stronger faith than others, but as Christians, we all believe in Jesus Christ, so we all have "a measure of faith." It's the faith that puts us in right relationship with God, for every Christian was saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. And that is the only way to be saved.
*We must trust in Jesus Christ. This means I realize that Jesus is the eternal Son of God who humbled Himself to become a man. He died on the cross for my sins, and He rose again from the dead. Truly believing these things, I turn away from my sinfulness. I turn to Jesus, and I receive Him as my Lord and Savior.
*Faith puts us in a right relationship with God, and faith leads us to the right way of living. Paul is saying here that he can ask us to think wisely, with good judgment, because we all have a measure of faith in Jesus Christ.
[2] OUR UNITY COMES FROM OUR FAITH IN JESUS, AND IT COMES FROM BELONGING TO THE BODY OF CHRIST.
*This is Paul's message for us in vs. 4-5, where he said:
4. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5. so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
*God designed earthly things to help us understand everlasting things. This includes our bodies, because right now, all Christians are part of the spiritual Body of Christ. This means we have a miraculous, spiritual oneness with God and each other. And this is true whether we feel like it or not.
*1 Corinthians 12:12 says this about the Body of Christ, "For as the body (our body) is one and has many members (or parts), but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ." This means that right now, all believers are part of the spiritual Body of Christ!
*And 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us how we got in the Body: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. . ." Church: This is not just symbolic language. This is a mysterious, literal, spiritual truth. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become part of the spiritual Body of Christ.
*We are baptized into the spiritual body of our Lord. This means we have been totally submerged into the spiritual body of Jesus Christ. And the water baptism we go through is symbolic of this spiritual baptism that God performs on every believer. The Holy Spirit of God does this work of putting us into the Body of Jesus Christ. And from the moment we believe, we are literally in Christ.
*The phrases "in Christ," "in Christ Jesus" or "in the Lord" are used almost 100 times in the New Testament, so this is an extremely important truth. Listen to a few of the verses that talk about believers being "in Christ."
-Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are IN CHRIST JESUS, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
-2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
-Ephesians 2:13 says, "But now IN CHRIST JESUS you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ."
-And Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God "raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places IN CHRIST JESUS."
*Christians: In a spiritual way, we are already in Heaven right now, because we are in the spiritual body of Christ! That is an amazing, miraculous place to be. We have a spiritual oneness with God and each other.
*We all belong to the Body of Christ, and this means we also belong to each other. As Paul said here in vs. 5: "So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." That means we are linked to one another as parts of the Body of Christ. We belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.
*Paul said it so well in 1 Corinthians 12. Here is part of what he said from the New Living Translation:
17. Suppose the whole body were an eye-then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything?
18. But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.
19. What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
20. Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
21. The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you."
26. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
27. Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.
*Christians: We all belong in the Body of Christ. We belong to Jesus, and we belong to each other.
*On July 24, 2002, nine miners in western Pennsylvania got trapped 240 feet below ground in a flooded mine shaft. Think about a building 20 stories high. That’s how far down they were! Rescue efforts began right away. But the rescue crews knew the odds were against them saving those men.
*Almost everybody in the country had their eyes glued on the news from the mine. Those 9 miners were trapped for three days, then, miraculously rescued. Even the mainstream media called it a miracle, because there was such a slim chance that anyone could survive in that flooded mine. The 55-degree water threatened to kill them slowly by hypothermia. And the rescue shaft had to be drilled in just the right place, 250 feet down in time for the men to be saved.
*Those miners were gasping for air, as floodwater rose to their chins. Blaine Mayhugh asked his boss for a pen when the water in the shaft kept rising. He said, “I want to write my wife and kids to tell them I love them." They tied themselves together so that no one could float away or slip under the water, but also so all their bodies would be found if they died. They shared food from a lunch pail that floated by.
*After they were miraculously saved, the men said that it was their decision to bond together that saved their lives. From the outset they watched out for one another.
-If one man got tired, his bond to the other men kept him afloat.
-When one got cold, the other eight would huddle around him and warm him up.
-They vowed that whether they lived or died, they would do so together. And that is a great picture of the Body of Christ! (8)
*But there is another great lesson from that miracle in the mine, because even together, those men were hopeless without help from above. And when their rescue came, all they had to do was receive it: Just climb aboard that rescue cylinder and be lifted up to safety.
*That's what Jesus Christ does for everyone who will receive Him as their Lord and Savior. By His Holy Spirit, Jesus will put you in Him, and you will be saved forever.
*But the Lord's salvation didn’t just take 3 days of non-stop work. It took 3 days in the grave. And Jesus Christ was the only one who could die on that cross for us. Now the Risen Savior is more than able to lift us up to everlasting safety!
CONCLUSION:
*Put your trust in Jesus Christ. Call on the Lord to save you, and He will! He will also make you part of the spiritual Body of Christ, so that together we can live the best life now and forever.
*But here in this world, our Christian life won't be the best unless we eliminate our stinking thinking. How can we do it? Grow in God's grace. Humble our hearts. And understand the unity we have in Christ.
*Let's ask the Lord to help us, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Adapted from: "YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE (EXPOSITION OF ROMANS 12:1-2)" by Steve Weaver - Source: "Thoughts of a Pastor-Historian" - Posted in Expositions, Romans on January 30, 2006 - https://pastorhistorian.com/2006/01/30/your-reasonable-service-exposition-of-romans-121-2/
(2) Adapted from EXPLORING ROMANS by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Christian as a Believer" - Romans 12:1-2 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(3) Sermons.com sermon "Dare to Dream" by King Duncan - Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:1-21
(4) Original source unknown
(5) Sources:
-https://www.lizcurtishiggs.com/about-liz/
-PLANNED FOR GOD’S PLEASURE - "The Purpose Driven Life - Part 2" by Rick Warren - October 5-6, 2002
(6) WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT by Archibald Thomas (A. T.) Robertson - Published in 1930-1933 - Romans 12:3 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2000-2019
(7) S. I. McMillen, in his book NONE OF THESE DISEASES - Source: Sermonillustrations.com email illustration 01/09/2003
(8) "Miners took vow to live or die together" by Larry Neumeister, Associated Press, The Knoxville News-Sentinel July 29, 2002, p. A1. - Source: Sermons.com sermon "I Can Make It By Myself - Five Things Christians Should Never Say, #2" by King Duncan - 1 Cor 12:1-11 - 2005
