The Call To An Exemplary Life

While in Louisiana for the memorial service for her brother, we drove by a home we built while working as an engineer on the railroad. The home was a super nice home with 3,000 sq ft. On previous trips we witnessed it was empty and deteriorating. This time we were shocked; I wish I could show you a picture of it. Windows were broken out, the trim was horrible, you couldn’t see the concrete drive because of trash, weeds were 5-6’ tall, and pine saplings were growing around the house—right next to the house. I could only wonder, would Chip and Joanna of Fixer Upper restore the house? Would the crew from Flip or Flop take on the project? Will someone renovate the home?

Sometimes a person’s life can get into “shambles.” Sometimes it seems impossible to change. I worked with a sex offender who had spent 12 years in prison for molesting a small child. In my group one night he broke down crying and said, “I don’t want to be like this.” It was not going to be easy for him to get the images and thoughts to stop, even though he was not seeking out children. What does he do? Can he change?

In Romans Paul is writing to a mixed audience, Gentiles, and those of the Jewish faith. They were brought up among the cultural beliefs and practices of the Greco-Roman World. Rome was the epicenter of nearly a million people. From a “religious” view they were polytheistic. LGBTQ+ lifestyles go all the way back to the Greco-Roman. Morality was skewed by the culture, much like what we see in America.

Their beliefs, values, lifestyle, and politics set the stage for future civilizations, including those of the American policies today in terms of values, government, and self-image. (The Greek and Roman Influence over Modern America) So, here we are. David Jeremiah has book, I Never Thought I Would See the Day, in which he asked, “Is Western Civilization in an accelerating decline? Do we think we can rescue the world? What do we do if we realize we can’t change America fully to Christianity? We are seeing too many churches adopting “progressive” beliefs and practices? What do we do?

I. Dedicating our life to God (Romans 12:1)

What does Paul mean? Paul helps us with this question. He, and other authors of the New Testament, often spoke about the non-Christian culture; however, they focused on changed lives of individuals, especially believers. This is where Paul draws our attention. He is talking to Christians in this passage.

The word beseech, urge, can be translated “exhort”. The New American Standard Bible interprets pa?a?a?? “I beg you to grant.” It means Paul is inviting, calling from the perspective of being close-up and personal. With Paul putting in the context of “God’s mercy” we have an invitation that we don’t deserve.

In Romans 12:1 he sets the stage for what is needed for us to experience what he talks about in verse 2. The word he uses for sacrifice is thysian, here it means being consecrated and offered to God. Paul says to do that is our “spiritual act of worship.” Worship is not the determined by the music we sing, gestures that are popular, rituals, and so forth. In the New Testament worship is related to expressing our faith in obedience and adoration of God—some focus on the adoration and less on obedience by separating the body and soul. Paul views body (servanthood) and soul (spiritual) intricately related. Servanthood is his latter in Romans 12.

When we are consecrated and surrender/submit, who we are to the service of God this becomes a holy act that pleases God.

II. Transforming our way of thinking (Romans 12:2)

The mind is incredible. Our thought patterns influence our behavior. I have talked to my grandson about this. Proverbs 23:7 says,

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

“Eat and drink!” he says to you,

But his heart is not with you.

When our minds are transformed, renewed, remodeled we develop Gospel-morality and we are ready to make thing right in here (heart), in the body of Christ, and to the ends of the earth. This is what happened when Jesus touched Zacchaeus’s life. He was changed from an unethical tax collector into a person with a generous heart—he repaid those he had defrauded four times that which he had taken from them. He blessed the poor by giving them half of his wealth.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”