Living Sacrifices: Embracing God's Mercies and Transformation
Summary
In Romans 12:1-2, Paul urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. This call is rooted in the mercies of God, which Paul has elaborated throughout the book of Romans. Our lives, our very existence, are based on God's compassion and mercy. Everything we have, every joy and trial, is a testament to His grace. Paul emphasizes that our authority as pastors and elders is not inherent but ministerial, rooted in God's Word. We must remember that the flock is God's, not ours.
Paul's use of "bodies" rather than "hearts" or "beings" is intentional, challenging the Roman and Jewish mindset that often separated the spiritual from the physical. God redeems the whole person, including the body. We are called to live self-sacrificially, giving our entire being to God, not just parts of it. This is our reasonable service, our fitting and authentic worship.
Paul warns against conforming to the world, which pressures us to adopt its ideologies. Instead, we are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. This renewal is a complete renovation, a work of the Spirit that enables us to discern God's will. We must recognize our need for this renewal daily, understanding that our minds are affected by the fall and require constant cleansing.
Having the mind of Christ means embracing humility, recognizing our dependence on God's grace. Those who understand God's sovereignty and mercy should be the most humble, aware of their own wretchedness without Him. Our lives should reflect the humility of Christ, who emptied Himself and became obedient to death on a cross. This humility is the foundation for a life transformed by the Spirit, continually renewed by God's Word.
Key Takeaways:
- The Mercies of God: Our lives are grounded in the mercies and compassions of God. Everything we have, including our trials, is a testament to His grace, leading us to repentance and greater contentment in Him. [06:01]
- Whole Person Redemption: Paul emphasizes presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, challenging the separation of spiritual and physical. God redeems the whole person, calling us to live self-sacrificially, giving our entire being to Him. [09:20]
- Conforming vs. Transforming: The world pressures us to conform to its ideologies, but we are called to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. This renewal is a complete renovation, enabling us to discern God's will. [34:19]
- The Mind of Christ: Having the mind of Christ means embracing humility, recognizing our dependence on God's grace. Our lives should reflect the humility of Christ, who emptied Himself and became obedient to death on a cross. [42:39]
- Daily Renewal: We must recognize our need for daily renewal, understanding that our minds are affected by the fall and require constant cleansing. This renewal is a work of the Spirit, enabling us to discern and approve what is good and acceptable to God. [41:50]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:22] - Introduction to Romans 12:1-2
[01:01] - Prayer for Understanding
[02:15] - Authority in Ministry
[04:13] - The Mercies of God
[06:01] - Living Sacrifices
[08:01] - Presenting Our Bodies
[10:06] - Spiritual vs. Physical
[12:13] - Self-Sacrifice in Marriage
[14:17] - Daily Living Sacrifices
[16:27] - Purpose of Our Existence
[18:33] - Seasons of Distance from God
[20:20] - Reasonable Service
[23:17] - Logikos: Our Authentic Worship
[26:36] - Conforming to the World
[30:06] - Peer Pressure and Love
[34:19] - Transformation and Renewal
[37:16] - Discerning God's Will
[41:50] - The Mind of Christ
[44:50] - Closing Prayer
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
- Romans 12:1-2
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Observation Questions:
1. What does Paul mean by urging believers to present their bodies as a "living sacrifice"? How does this differ from the traditional understanding of sacrifice? [06:41]
2. Why does Paul emphasize the renewal of the mind in Romans 12:2? What is the significance of this renewal in the life of a believer? [34:19]
3. How does Paul describe the relationship between God's mercies and our response to them in Romans 12:1? [06:01]
4. What does Paul warn against in terms of conforming to the world, and how does he suggest believers should respond instead? [27:14]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of presenting our bodies as living sacrifices challenge the separation of spiritual and physical aspects of our lives? [09:20]
2. In what ways does the renewal of the mind lead to transformation, and how does this enable believers to discern God's will? [34:19]
3. How does embracing humility and recognizing our dependence on God's grace reflect the mind of Christ? [42:39]
4. What role does daily renewal play in maintaining a life that is holy and acceptable to God? [41:50]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt pressured to conform to the world's ideologies. How did you respond, and what might you do differently now to resist such pressure? [30:06]
2. Consider the areas of your life where you might be holding back from God. What steps can you take to present your entire being as a living sacrifice? [10:50]
3. How can you actively seek the renewal of your mind in your daily routine? Identify one specific practice you can incorporate to facilitate this renewal. [35:37]
4. In what ways can you cultivate humility in your interactions with others, reflecting the mind of Christ? Think of a specific relationship where this could be applied. [42:39]
5. Identify a trial or challenge in your life that you can view as an opportunity to experience God's mercies. How can this perspective change your approach to the situation? [06:41]
6. How can you ensure that your spiritual worship is authentic and fitting, as described by Paul? What changes might you need to make in your worship practices? [24:06]
7. Think of a person in your life who may be struggling with conforming to the world. How can you support and encourage them to seek transformation through the renewal of their mind? [27:14]
Devotional
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Quotes
"Paul appeals to the Romans with the divine authority as one writing Scripture. He says, 'Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,' or the compassions of God. Now, it is interesting that he uses this language which is very fond or very frequent of the Apostle Paul. He is very fond of this language, 'By the mercies of God.' And again, that word can easily be translated, 'the compassions of God.' Well, it needs to be asked, why would Paul say it like that? Why would Paul use that language, 'the mercies of God'? Why not just 'the mercy of God' or why not just 'the grace of God' or 'the compassion of God'? Well, in many ways it is because of what Paul has been doing throughout the entirety of this epistle." [00:04:00]
"Really, that is what Romans is all about. If you were to sum it up in one sentence 'What is Romans about?' it is about the mercies of God. It is about the compassion of God. It is about the grace of God in its manifold manifestation. That is not just what Romans is about. It is what the gospel is about. It is what the Bible is about. The Bible is about God's compassions, His mercies, and how God is selective sovereignly in how He demonstrates and displays and shows His mercy. All of this is by the mercies of God, the compassions of God that Paul appeals to them." [00:05:27]
"Our entire existence, our very being, whatever we have, whatever happinesses or joys that we have ever experienced, even the pains and the trials and the miseries that He has had us to endure in His sovereignty, we all know is because of His compassion and His mercy leading us to repentance, leading us to have greater contentment in Him, leading us to be more and more tired of the sin in our minds and bodies and the sins that surround us in this world and more and more desirous of our eternal home. It is all on the basis of God's compassions, His mercies that we can do anything, that Paul even pleads with us to 'present your bodies as a living sacrifice.'" [00:06:22]
"Well, scholars suggest that it is very likely that the reason he said 'bodies' was intentionally to grab the attentions of the Romans, because the Romans, especially those who had studied philosophy, knew well that it had always been believed that the material, the physical, is bad, and that the spiritual is good. And so, it was very likely that Paul knowing that, was trying to grab their attention and even to be a little bit offensive in being blunt so that they understood that what Paul meant was not just their spiritual being, not just the good spiritual part of their being, but rather their bodies as well." [00:08:12]
"God in His work redeemed the whole person including the body. So, again, likely to grab the attentions of the Romans, but also perhaps to grab the attentions of all of those Jews who were in Rome and coming back to Rome who also needed to hear that God in His salvation not only saves the heart, He not only saves the mind; He saves our entire being. Now, we all understand this, don't we? But how often do we, or Christians that we know, how often do we live as if God gets our spiritual part, that our spiritual part of our lives belongs to God, but that our physical part, sort of belongs to ourselves?" [00:08:39]
"Paul says that in presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice we are doing so because it is holy and acceptable to God. It is holy and acceptable to God. It is acceptable to Him for us to present our bodies. And this is Old Testament language, language at the sacrifice where animals were to be brought holy and acceptable and living. They were to be brought, not already dead, of course; they would be killed and slaughtered and sacrificed there. But you can imagine what that would have looked like in the Old Testament sacrificial system, coming to the tabernacle and then the temple, the house of meeting as they would bring these large animals." [00:13:04]
"Many of us live our lives, sort of playing games with God. We think that if we make one sacrifice for Him He now owes us. We do a little something for Him and we think, 'Okay, God, I did that little thing for You last week. Remember how good I was last week. Remember that thing I did, that generosity, that self-sacrifice, the way I took care of that. Remember how patient I was with my wife last week.' And we play these little games with God. We think, 'Okay God, I did that good thing for You. I did that good deed for You last week. Now, it is Your time to repay me.'" [00:14:17]
"Coming on a daily basis, coming and being living sacrifices, living in this way on a daily basis is tiring for us sinners, because it grinds against who we naturally are. But this is how we are called to live our lives, the daily living sacrifice; coming to God, presenting ourselves to Him, being ready to serve, being ready to suffer, being ready to do whatever it is God has called us to do, even when it means doing one of the hardest things for many of us to do, and that is to say, 'Please forgive me. I am sorry. I was wrong. I repent of my sin.'" [00:15:43]
"Why are we here? It is because God wanted you. He didn't need us. He wanted us. And so, He decided to choose a people for Himself in Christ before the foundation of the world because we were the primary thought; the earth and what God made was secondary. The earth was created for us to inhabit so that God might have a people for Himself to love and to show His affection to and to pour out His compassions upon. We exist for God. God made us and gave us breath so that we might be His people now and forever. That is why we are here. That is why human beings exist." [00:17:37]
"Paul exhorts, 'Do not be conformed to this world.' Now, that language, we certainly understand, it is the language that we use when we are conforming something. To conform something means to be pressured into or squeezed into a mold. Again, to be pressured or squeezed into a mold It is interesting that Paul uses that word, isn't it? Because it is as if he is suggesting that the world has the power to do that to us. And notice that throughout Paul's letters he is constantly warning the church to beware and to be warned and to be on the lookout for those who would be conforming them, those who secretly creep in, those who with their big talk and their smooth talk and flattery." [00:26:54]
"The language of conforming, the language of pressuring into a mold, is the language of what the world is trying to do. They are trying to infiltrate. They are trying to constantly get us to think the way they think, to grasp and have and share their mindset. And if you have noticed at least in recent years, it is not like it was years ago, at least here in the States where they wanted us to agree with this or agree with that. Have you noticed? The world now wants us to adopt their entire religion? They have put every aspect of their principled religion together in one package and they have said to us, 'If you don't accept it all, we will have nothing to do with you.'" [00:29:44]
"Paul writes, 'but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.' It is interesting that Paul uses these words together, because the word 'transform' is very much the same thing as the word 'renewal.' And did you know that this word 'renewal' is a word that we don't really find elsewhere in ancient Greek literature? In fact, some scholars say that Paul probably coined this word. And it makes sense, doesn't it? Because why else would any ancient Greek writer or philosopher ever have the need to come up with a word that describes a new mind? They would have no concept of what it was to have a completely renovated mind, because they believed it was just a matter of education, just a matter of training, just a matter of learning." [00:34:19]
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