The Word

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with tliberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Romans 12:1-8 (NASB)

What is it saying?

  • Because of the mercy God has shown, present yourself to God as a living and holy sacrifice. This is an act of worship.
  • Don’t be conformed to the world, but be transformed by a renewed mind.
  • Don’t think too highly of yourself; God has given each of us differing amounts of faith.
  • We are one body, each part with different functions but members of one another.
  • We have different gifts that have been given to us and we should put these gifts to work.

What does it mean?

  • Therefore … by the mercies of God
    • References back to Paul’s arguments throughout the entire book. God’s gift of salvation is so underserved and so overwhelming, it should produce a response from us.
  • Living Sacrifice
    • Living because of the victory over sin and death that comes through Christ.
    • Sacrifice calls back to Old Testament sacrifices. In this case, our old self is the sacrificed, replaced with our transformed, new self that is centered on God.
  • Worship
    • A life that is focused on and honors God is worship, not just an hour on Sunday at church.
  • One Body, Many Parts
    • As Christians, we are members of one body with Christ as our head. We’re all pointed in the same direction.
    • We are members of one another, dependent on other parts of the body and we miss out when we try to function on our own.
    • Within that body, God has graciously given us different gifts. They’re gifts from God, put them to use.

What am I going to do with it?

  • Do I daily kill my old self and present myself to God as a living sacrifice, willing to orient myself, my time, and my relationships around whatever brings God glory?
  • What areas has God gifted me in? Am I using this gifts or wasting them? Am I engaged with others in a way that my gifts and their gifts work together to build up the entire body?
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Romans

January 10, 2012

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