Transformation through Grace

Prayer:   Dear Lord and Master of our lives, we praise Your holy name.  You are a great and mighty God, the Creator of all things and Judge of all people.  We are eternally grateful that by your grace we have been transformed into Your likeness and are humbled by that thought.  Praise Your name, the name above all names.  Amen.

Main Scripture: Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Associated Scriptures:

Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts. Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip (Proverbs 4:23-24, The Message Paraphrase).

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.  Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God (Romans 8:6-8).

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

Correlative Quotes:

Though he beseeches you to do it, he claims a right to it! It is but your reasonable service. Do we need to be entreated to be reasonable? I am afraid that we do, sometimes. And what are we to do? We are to present our bodies to God, not our souls alone; to make real, practical work of it. Let this flesh and blood in which your body dwells be presented to God, not to be killed and to be a dead sacrifice, but to live and still to be a sacrifice, a living sacrifice unto God, holy and acceptable to Him! This is reasonable. God help us to carry it out. [1] – Charles Spurgeon

Sacrifice is here taken for whatsoever is by God's own appointment dedicated to himself; see 1 Pet. ii. 5. We are temple, priest, and sacrifice, as Christ was in his peculiar sacrificing. There were sacrifices of atonement and sacrifices of acknowledgment. Christ, who was once offered to bear the sins of many, is the only sacrifice of atonement; but our persons and performances, tendered to God through Christ our priest, are as sacrifices of acknowledgment to the honor of God.[2] – Matthew Henry

…not by a mere outward disconformity to the ungodly world, many of whose actions in themselves may be virtuous and praiseworthy; but by such an inward spiritual transformation as makes the whole life new—new in its motives and ends, even where the actions differ in nothing from those of the world—new, considered as a whole, and in such a sense as to be wholly unattainable save through the constraining power of the love of Christ.[3]– Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

Study:

Introduction

Chapters 5, 8, and 12 of the book of Romans are three of that most powerful and important chapters in the Bible.  Chapter 5 introduces us to the doctrine of, as well as the benefits of, justification.  Chapter 8 is a treatise that explains the assurance of our salvation as well as the security of the believer through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.  Finally, Chapter 12 describes our alien nature as a result of justification and gives us a guide for our conduct. 

Chapter 12 acts as a gateway to entering into a life of obedience for the believer.  It is the introduction to a handbook of conduct to be used by those who wish to live and walk by the light of God.  This journey of obedience is led by His Spirit. We see in these three chapters the gifts that come with justification, the guarantee that results from justification, and the responsibility that is inherent in our justified relationship.

The first eleven chapters of Romans have been dedicated to the instruction of the believer in the Theology of Salvation and the relationship of God to the Jews as a result of their rejection of Christ as their Messiah and Savior.  Paul now moves on to the last five chapters where he will discuss the walk of the believer.

Taking the Next Step

The instructional part is over.  Now that we know God as our Savior, we understand the process by which we have received our salvation, and we know for sure that God keeps His promises as in the case of Israel; it is time for us to become what God has created us to be.

1. He created us to be His servants: Paul understood that God had called him as a servant when in Romans 1:1 (NASB) he says, “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” He was given and accepted the humble position of bond-servant (2 Corinthians 4:5), he was given a gift, apostleship, and he was given an assignment, spreading the Gospel of God to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Paul knew that his job was to serve God.  The gift of salvation is free.  However, it does come with a responsibility.  We must in order to learn our responsibility.
2. He created us that we might grow spiritually: Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NASB) says, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” It is time for us to move beyond just learning about God and what He has done for us. We now have a greater task.  We must live the life that we see in Christ. 

Because we have accepted Christ as our savior, we are spiritual beings.  Now that we have the Holy Spirit as our “helper” (John 14:26) we need to take the next step and begin to live a spirit filled life (Ephesians 5:18).

3. He created us to do righteous acts: Ephesians 2:10 (NASB) says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” We were created to do good works. The righteousness that God has given us, the righteous life that we have in Him, should now be transformed by His power into the righteous actions that we have now been called to do. 

Peter says in 1 Peter 2:16 (NASB), “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil but use it as bond slaves of God.”  Furthermore, James 2:26 (NASB) tells us, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”  Salvation brings life.  God commands us to walk in that life.  Colossians 2:6 (NASB) says, “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.”

4. He created us with power for action: God has not only commanded us to live a righteous life, He has also given us power for action. In Phil 2:12-13 (NASB) Paul tells us, “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” God is at work in us in order to work through us. 

When we perform the works of unrighteousness, we separate ourselves from God and His Spirit has to spend all of His time working in us convicting us to repent and return to God.  However, when we are doing acts of righteousness, we are in fellowship with God, we have His power, and He works through us to others. 

Hebrews Chapter 11 gives us a list of people in the Old Testament who by their faith “performed acts of righteousness.”  How can we ever measure up to their example?  How can we show our gratitude for the precious gift of salvation?  We can’t.  Even the good works that we do, we do in the power of the Spirit of God.  However, as the presence of God works through us to others, they see Him.  The praise they bestow on Him for the works He does through us is enough for God.

The Spiritual Service of Worship

Presenting our bodies as “a living and holy sacrifice” (vs. 1) means that we must not become like those who are controlled by the world system (vs. 2).  We do this by the transformation or renewing of our minds.  We live a life that is pleasing to God by doing God things with God’s power.  We must love God, love others as ourselves (Luke 10:27), read and study the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15), pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17), give to promote God’s work (1 Corinthians 16:2), be a living witness to those who need Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20), and practice obedience (Luke 11:28).  These are all spiritual works of righteousness. 

Paul is introducing a truth here that changes us forever.  We are to sacrifice ourselves daily so that we will prove the existence of God and He will be glorified in it.  Our righteous actions will prove that the will of God “is good and acceptable and perfect” (vs. 2).  In doing these things, others will see what we have in Christ and some will want it for themselves.

Summary Statement:

God has wonderfully saved us.  God wants to miraculously work through us.  Our salvation is complete when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior.  Our works of righteousness are a reflection of our salvation.  Just as our salvation is an action begun and completed by God for His glory, our righteous actions are begun and completed by God for His glory.  He wants and expects us to do both.

Lessons within the Lesson:

What does it mean in verse 1 when Paul encourages us “to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice?”  Read Romans 3:23 and 1 John 1:6 and 8.

In what ways is “a living and holy sacrifice” the same as the Old Testament sacrifice of the lamb by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement?

Describe “your spiritual service of worship.”  Read Galatians 5:16-18 and Galatians 5:25.

How should “your spiritual service of worship” experience affect your day to day life?  Read Hebrews 2:18 and 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 and 31.

[1] Charles Spurgeon, Sympathy and Song, Public Domain, 1872, spurgeongems.org/vols61-63/chs3517.pdf, P. 6.

[2] Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (Unabridged), Volume VI, (Acts to Revelation), Public Domain, 1706, bitimage.dyndns. org/.

[3] Jamieson, Robert, D. D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David, "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible," Public Domain 1871, Copy Freely, P. 2424.