The discourse surrounding the initial verses of Romans 12 reveals a profound exhortation from the Apostle Paul, who implores the brethren to present their bodies as living sacrifices, wholly dedicated to God. This entreaty underscores the essence of a transformed life in Christ—one that is distinct from the carnal mindset prevalent in the secular world. By beseeching rather than commanding, Paul emphasizes the gravity and personal nature of this commitment, inviting believers into a deeper relationship with God through their bodies as instruments of righteousness. The act of presenting oneself as a living sacrifice is not merely an isolated event but an ongoing process, reflecting the continual devotion required of those who have been set apart for God's exclusive purpose. Paul delineates the characteristics of this sacrifice, underscoring its holiness and acceptability to God, thus establishing its significance as a reasonable and spiritual service. This invitation to transformation involves a deliberate choice to eschew conformity to worldly standards, urging believers to undergo a continual renewal of their minds, thereby aligning their thoughts and actions with the divine will. As such, the essence of this text speaks to the collective journey of the saints, fostering a spirit of unity and shared commitment that is vital for the community of believers. Through this lens, we discern the necessity of humility and the recognition that all gifts and abilities are bestowed by grace, further cultivating an attitude of service that glorifies God and reflects the character of Christ in every interaction.

Takeaways:

• The apostle Paul implores believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, emphasizing the significance of this act in the context of their spiritual lives.
• The transformation described in Romans 12:2 necessitates a renewal of the mind, contrasting the spiritual life with worldly standards and expectations.
• A life dedicated to God through service must be devoid of pride, as all gifts and abilities are received through divine grace rather than personal merit.
• Engaging in sincere fellowship and support among fellow believers is paramount, reflecting the commitment to living as transformed individuals in Christ.

Good morning and welcome to our study.

We finished chapter 11, although I feel like we didn't really cover it.

Well, I would.

It's going to take a little more time and probably a little more study that I might be clearer on the study.

We may come back to this in the near future.

But let's move on into chapter 12 this morning in Romans, Romans 12.

Beginning in verse one, Paul says, I beseech you, therefore, by the mer.

By the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable or spiritual service.

Some translations have it reasonable, others say spiritual.

And he says, be not fashioned according to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and perfect and acceptable will of God.

So let's look at these verses together.

First of all, Paul does not use his authority as an apostle.

He does this many times in the Bible.

He wants to present himself as beseeching them and begging them to do this as a part of this new creation, this spiritual life that they've entered.

In other words, he's not going to give an order here.

There are other places where Paul says, for example, in 2 Corinthians 10:1, he says, I, Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ in Philemon 8 and 9.

Wherefore, though I have all boldness in Christ to enjoin thee that which is befitting.

Yet for love's sake, I rather beseech, being such a one as Paul the aged, and now a prisoner also of Christ Jesus.

So what is Paul beseeching them to do?

He says that they present their bodies a living sacrifice.

Oftentimes I've said that this is in contrast to the dead sacrifices of the law, which what it's meant by saying that is that when you kill an animal, it's dead.

You sacrifice an animal, it doesn't continue to live.

So living sacrifices is this that it's an ongoing process.

We continually present our bodies, we commit ourselves, we devote ourselves to God, and therefore our bodies are given over to his service.

Another passage that fits in with this is in First Corinthians 6, when he says that you're not your own when you're bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body.

You see, it is the reasonable, it is fitting for what we are and what we've become.

But then he describes this sacrifice as being that which is holy and acceptable to God.

Our bodies are presented that way because we are saints.

We've been set apart for God's exclusive purpose.

It's as if you've taken.

And this is a good analogy, I'm borrowing it from somewhere.

I don't know who, but someone made a good illustration of a man who's just kicking around in the dump.

And he sees this mug.

And you, like many men, especially men that have large hands, it's very difficult to put you, even your finger in some of these dainty little cups when you want some coffee.

So he's found him a mug, and it's something he can put all four fingers in and have his coffee in the morning.

So he sees this mug, it's the right size.

It's big enough for his purpose, you see.

And so he takes this mug and he takes it home.

He washes the dirt off of it.

He brings it in the kitchen and turns the hot water on, and he.

He washes this thing with soap and rinses it off with hot, hot water.

And then he sets it up on the shelf and he tells the family, look what I found.

This.

This is my cup.

Now, that suggests, then, here's a cup.

Dad's clean.

Clean.

He's found it for his purpose.

It's suitable for his purpose.

And he puts it on the shelf and he says, now, that's my cup.

In the same sense, we have been taken by God and cleansed and washed by the blood of Christ.

And he set us exclusively apart.

We are his.

We've been bought with a prize.

And so we're to present our bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, that is, as W.

Vines says, it is for God's exclusive purpose.

It's set apart.

We've been called out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

We've entered a new relationship.

As a matter of fact, this word holy, the noun form is the word saint.

We could very easily literally translate the word saint when we saw it in the Bible as holy one or holy ones.

Why?

Because a saint is someone who has been set apart for God's exclusive purpose.

We are his.

And so as a result of that, we're to present our bodies then as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.

That is fitting.

It is reasonable.

But I like the translation.

Spiritual service.

Point is, again, these are figures of speech, and the Bible is full of figures of speech.

It's not to be taken literally.

Going back to chapter six, you'll recall that Paul said that we've died to sin, but we are now alive in God.

And therefore we are to present the members of our Body as instruments of righteousness.

See, that's fitting.

It's befitting the lifestyle that we've entered and the relationship that we have in Christ.

It has nothing to do with the carnal mind or the carnal man.

And so as a result of that, he then goes ahead in verse two, and it certainly makes sense that he would say this and be not conformed to the world.

See, it's not after the carnal mind and the carnal man.

You'll remember in Colossians 3, Paul says, set your affections on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

That's where our citizenship is.

Paul would tell the Philippians.

And that's where home is.

That's where our heart is, and that's where our affections lie.

And so what Paul is beseeching the brethren in Rome is that they not live according to this world.

Now that they are in Christ, They've entered this new relationship.

They are holy and acceptable to God.

It is your spiritual service.

And be not conformed to this world.

That's the contrast.

That would be after the carnal man that would be walking after the flesh.

And Paul said, do you remember in chapter eight that there's no condemnation of them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit.

We're talking about a mindset here.

And God's people who have been bought with this price have a mindset that's different from the world.

So don't conform yourselves to the world's standards, to the world's mold.

This word transformed is the same word rendered transfigured in Matthew 17, when Jesus is transfigured there on the mountain.

The Christian is to be transfigured, and it's by the renewing of your mind.

The change is not brought about suddenly.

It's an ongoing process.

You remember in 2nd Corinthians 4, Paul would say, though our outward man is decaying, the inward man is renewed day by day.

It's a renewal.

How?

It's a renewal of the mind.

We're talking about a spiritual service here.

So we're not talking about how the body physically looks, but we're talking about how we think, what we dwell on.

This is the renewing of the mind, and it's day by day.

It's ongoing.

It's a renewing.

No one transformed their character overnight.

That works on the heart, and it changes who we are.

The gospel in the heart works the change.

And of course, that thoughtful person, he's trying to prove what is that?

Good and perfect and acceptable will of God.

You see, he wants to be well pleasing to the Father.

He says in verse three, for I say through the grace that was given to me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but so to think as to think soberly.

According as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith, so Paul speaks of his being made an apostle as the grace that was given to him.

The same thought here is expressed through the grace that was given me.

I say that every man that is among you, that he shouldn't think more highly of himself than he ought to think.

And why is that?

Because he has received what he has received by grace, by the gift of God.

He has nothing of which to glory or boast about.

Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 12 that there's one body but many members, and they don't have the same work, but they're all necessary, and we're not going to think one is more noble or better than the other.

And by the way, the word office here, there's a lot of terms that tend to be ecclesiastical, that is, to really fit the pattern of institutional churches.

The word office is just a matter of function or work.

In verse 4, it refers to function.

Each member of the body of Christ has a function, has a purpose, has a work, just as does each member of our own body.

And it's an essential part of that body, and it's a very sobering thought.

And Paul deals with this in First Corinthians 12, beginning at about verse 12.

Here in verse 6, he says, and having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophesy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith or ministry.

Let us give ourselves to our ministry.

Or he that teaching to his teaching, or he that exhorts to his exhortation, he that giveth, let him do it with liberality.

He that ruleth with diligence, he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.

And so he's using this image of the body.

It's different gifts, natural gifts today.

But no natural gift will enable a man to prophesy.

We tend to think that they go hand in hand.

Paul was an inspired teacher, and a prophet was one who spoke for God.

That is, the God spoke through that individual to the people.

Foretelling future events is not really the main work of a prophet, though he may do that, but rather God delivered an oracle or a message, a divine message, through that individual, it may be prophetic from the standpoint of some future prediction, but it oftentimes is not.

And it's not to be confused with foretelling future events.

He's just an inspired teacher.

And certain other activities among God's people early on required some special endowments.

I'm talking about spiritual gifts which was accomplished through the laying on of the apostles hands.

This ministry, this service is really the idea of it.

It's a service that could be rendered certainly without inspiration.

I mean as long as you're speaking as the oracles of God Peter would say.

And three terms are used that really again befit this spiritual service that we're to offer.

And that is liberality, diligence and cheerfulness.

So that certainly is a part of that process of renewing of the mind.

Paul uses the broad terms here in this list of spiritual gifts.

For example, he would say to teaching, give himself to that teaching.

And he doesn't explain or describe what that might involve.

Whereas in Ephesians 4 he talks about apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

These are all in the same category as teachers.

And so give yourself to that, be devoted to that.

Again this is part of the first three verses.

I beseech you by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

So seeing that you're in this relationship, that you are holy, that you've been set apart for God's purpose, when you teach, you have this gift, give yourself to that, be committed to that.

That's the living sacrifice part of it that Paul is talking about here.

If you're going to exhort, give yourself to exhorting.

If your gift has something to do with giving, then do it with liberality.

If it's regarding and the word rule here again I'm sorry but we're talking not about dictator rule.

We're not talking about anything related to being an authority figure, but rather we're talking about leading, leading by example, that is taking the initiative to lead by example.

And so if you do that, do that with diligence, there should be no half hearted work at all associated with this service that we render unto God and giving our bodies as a living sacrifice.

And from here Paul gives several exhortations which are easily understood.

Sometimes they're difficult to follow, but they're not that difficult to understand.

Among them are things related to love, sincerity of love.

Notice again Just like we're talking about, if you're going to lead, do it with diligence.

If you're going to give, do it with liberality.

You have the same kind of figures or terms used to describe the level of commitment that's involved.

For example, let love be without hypocrisy.

You see, he's defining what it is that we're.

How we're to live.

And so among these, we're talking about people who love sincerely.

We're talking about abhorring things that are evil and adhering to things that are good.

We're talking about loving our brethren, being diligent in business, fervent in spirit, rejoicing that's grounded on hope and patience in trials and steadfastness in prayer.

These are things, my friend, that relate to the spiritual man that we are to present ourselves as.

Now, there are other exhortations concerning the Christian's relationship to others which we'll get into, but let's look at some of these in more detail.

He talks about being diligent, not slothful.

So he contrasts diligence with being slothful.

That implies someone who is sluggish and lazy, mentally listless and uncaring, at least by not giving attention to detail.

As far as serving God and giving it all, the Christian has to be industrious in the Lord's service, diligent in every respect.

And so he says, rejoicing in hope.

Hope sustains us in our undertakings, and certainly it will give us cause for being patient, which is not patient in the sense of, you know, waiting patiently in the Walmart line, waiting to be served.

But we're talking about enduring being steadfast, enduring tribulations and hardships and trials, persecutions even, perhaps.

So patience holds on.

It never quits.

It realizes that if we're going to be serving the Lord, we must be steadfast, realizing that our continuous dependence on God leads to steadfastness in prayer.

And so prayer is part of this service to God.

Indifference, a feeling of self sufficiency and going on with your day's activities without a care in the world, and not giving attention to God and praying to God, neglecting that that's not presenting our bodies, living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service.

Hospitality.

He talks about communicating to the necessities of the saints, that is fellowship, sharing with them, giving to hospitality, entertaining of guests, generously and kindly to be generous toward any who needs anything from us.

And that includes, of course, strangers, which hospitality technically is a Love of strangers.

And then verse 14, Paul says, Bless them that persecute you.

Bless and curse not.

Rejoice with them that rejoice.

Weep with them that weep.

The greatest blessing that we can confer upon anyone is to lead them to Christ.

And we can't do them that.

If we're cursing people, we're to be merciful and loving.

And if a fellow Christian has a cause for rejoicing, we should rejoice with him.

Too often we carnally minded people will envy the good fortune of others instead of rejoicing with them.

But that's the carnal mind, the spiritual man that has given his life as a living sacrifice.

And renewing that mind, he won't do that.

He won't be envious.

That depicts the carnal heart.

But the spiritual man, the man that is set apart for God's exclusive purpose, realizing the goal is to be well pleasing unto him, he will not do that.

He will rejoice with those that rejoice, and he will weep with those that weep.

We can have sympathy, full sympathy with others in their sorrows.

And then he says, be of the same mind, one toward another.

Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly.

Be not wise in your own conceits.

See, these are things that he tells us not to do.

Why, it's of the world.

It's the carnal mind.

And so the admonition here to be of the same mind is connected to what's said in verse 15, when he says, rejoice with them that rejoice.

Weep with them that weep.

Certainly we are to be with others in the sense of with them spiritually and mentally, to understand what they're going through, and being more concerned about their disposition, their sentiment and their considerations than our own, preferring others, which he also says later on in.

In this text.

So this passage, being of the same mind, it does seem to refer to unity.

Having the same heart, the same attitude, the same mind.

I don't think he's suggesting that we should think alike on every issue.

That isn't the point at all.

But rather to have the disposition, the same sentiment and the love that we should have toward one another.

Each one should enter into the rejoicings and the sorrows of the other person.

When some mother dies, that is, a fellow member of the body of Christ, it should be as if your own mother died.

The American Standard Version should be carefully noted in the marginal reading.

It informs us that the Greek word, here translated condescean, means be.

Carried away with.

In other words, be carried away with their own feelings and their own pursuits and being more aware of what they want and what will please and satisfy them.

Get off of that.

That's the carnal mind.

That's the carnal mentality.

So put yourselves on a level with the lowly.

Accommodate yourselves to others of low degree.

Barnes in his commentary, says, literally being led away by or being conducted by, it doesn't properly mean to condescend, but it denotes more of a yielding being, guided and led in the thoughts and the feelings and the plans of others.

In a note on synonyms under the definition of condescend, Webster simply says, condescend implies a courteous or patronizing waving of real or assumed superiority.

And so it seems that condescend is the wrong word, that it expresses the wrong idea here.

The truth is, as Christians, we are members of one family.

And so one child of God does not condescend when he associates with another member of the family, and he should not feel that he does.

But the egotist and the arrogant, they feel that he condescends when he associates with the lowly.

But the genuine Christian doesn't feel that way.

Be not wise in your own conceits, he says, and such a condition of mind makes a person feel superior somehow to others, superior in their thinking and their conclusions, superior in so many other different ways.

Verse 17.

Render to no man evil for evil.

Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men.

Returning evil for evil settles nothing.

You know, the attitude that the carnal mind has, the men of the world is, I'll just get even with you.

And that's how they live.

If something is done a little that insults them or in some way makes them feel bad, they'll keep a running list of all the things and all the insults.

And it's as if I'll get even with you, they're thinking.

So returning evil for evil settles nothing at all.

It usually just makes matters worse.

But it doesn't befit the child of God.

Is our point besides to return evil for evil?

Well, it puts one in the same class as the evildoers.

I mean, you're no better off, you make yourself no better than the people that insulted you.

So spiteful work is of the devil.

And you know, men of the world look upon retaliation as beneath the dignity of a gentleman.

And it's certainly not an honorable thing.

When a Christian so far forgets himself as to violate the world's standards of honor, he certainly loses his influence for good doesn't he the Greek word here, take thought means to pre think.

In other words, we, we should have these things already decided before we get to that point.

In other words, how are we going to treat people who wrong us?

You know, you don't wait to figure that out until it comes and then just, you know, go with any whim that you feel or feel like getting even with somebody.

But rather you pre think that ahead of time and you work through those scenarios so that when they do arrive, you know exactly how you're going to respond because you've practiced it in your heart and in your mind.

And so it's, it's to think before you adopt a certain course of action.

And so the Christian lowers himself in the estimation of men when he engages in things of the world, thinks beneath him, beneath a Christian's life.

And there are certain things, obviously there are some, some misinformation out there that people are quick to judge and condemn so called Christians.

And I understand that they're looking for things to point a finger at.

But we need not give them ammunition, we need not give them any cause to blaspheme the name of Christ.

In verse 18 he says, if it's possible, as much as in you lies, be at peace with all men.

Strife, fighting with others is not the way of Christ.

So we should do our best without course sacrificing the truth and our loyalty to God.

We should be at peace with all men.

We should meddle in the affairs of other men.

And if we preach the truth, and we should do it with gentleness and meekness, we should speak, as Paul told the Colossians, with grace seasoned with salt.

That's how we should respond to any man or woman, is to do so with grace, season with salt.

So that's the kind of people that we should be to live peaceably.

Now you can notice here in this text, it says as much as lies within you.

I would just say that if every person that has ever known you has nothing but good to say about you, there may be something wrong there.

And I'll tell you why.

Whenever you stand for things that are right and true, you're going to have people that won't like you.

You know, light, they can't coexist with darkness.

And Paul talks about this when he writes to the Ephesian Letter that we reprove darkness just by the life that we live.

We do that.

And when that happens, there will be people who will have something bad to say about you.

That's just part of it.

Paul had enemies yes, even though he tried to live peaceably with all men, he had enemies.

Jesus had enemies.

Jesus had people that envied him, hated him, and sought to kill him.

And yet he was a peaceful man.

And so, while we must contend earnestly for the truth and fight the good fight of faith, we can do that.

And still as much as lies within us, that is, as far as we are concerned, we're going to be peaceful.

We can't afford to sacrifice our personal rights and get our feelings involved in the way we treat others and allow our preferences and, and our thoughts to stir up trouble and strife among other people.

God's people should not be stirring up trouble over things of no vital importance.

And then verse 19, he says, avenge not yourself, beloved.

This gets back to what we said earlier.

But give place under the wrath of God.

Let it go.

It'll be taken care of.

For it is written, vengeance belongs unto me.

I will recompense, saith the Lord.

If thine enemy hunger, feed him.

If he thirst, give him to drink.

For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

And so Paul's addressing them as beloved certainly should remind them that they should feel the same way toward one another and toward him.

That feeling would promote peace and peaceful dealings with others as well, not strife and harsh words.

But there is inherent in man a sense of justice.

There is in all of us a sense of justice.

You notice that even in Hollywood, in the movies that we sometimes watch and get caught up emotionally, we're fighting for and supporting the fellow who's.

Who's going out killing everybody that hurt him, killing everybody that offended him, or maybe hurt some of his loved ones.

And we applaud that kind of person.

That isn't the man of God.

Taking vengeance is really the savage way of exacting justice.

It's not the Lord's way.

And so neither is that sort of punishment tolerated by our governments, really.

So avenge not yourselves.

The individual should not with his own hands try to take satisfaction for injuries.

That's God's job.

Let him do the punishing.

Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 32.

Vengeance belongs to me.

I will recompense, saith the Lord.

And so it's not referring to the vengeance of God that'll take place on sinners at the final judgment.

That's not the point.

You know, under the law of Moses, God took vengeance on evildoers by the.

By different authorities.

So Paul's quoting that part of the law didn't change his application.

And the vengeance here mentioned will be taken in the same way.

A little later on, Paul's going to show how this is to be done.

But instead of taking personal vengeance on an enemy, give him food and drink as he needs.

As what?

Whatever he needs.

If there's any degree of decency in him at all, that will fill him with shame and remorse, and figuratively, it will heap coals of fire on his head.

It may entirely melt down his enmity and his hatred.

And if it does that, why, it'll make him feel comfortable.

And in that, you know he has no evil thing to say about you, and you've accomplished what you've set out to do.

And that is, as much as lies within you, you live at peace with all.

And so, by following this course that's outlined here in this chapter 12, the child of God can overcome evil with good.

All of these things describes the very thing Paul is imploring them to do as they present their bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is their spiritual service.

Well, I thank you so much for your kind attention to these things.

I trust you have a good day and a very pleasant week ahead.