Does Your Life Please God?
Romans 12:1-21
Sir Arthur Helps is recorded as asking, “Was anything real ever gained without sacrifice of some kind?” After reflecting on that question, the answer appears to me to be “no” – sacrifice is crucial for obtaining important things in life. For many today, though, sacrifice seems to be an abhorrent concept. In a society where instant gratification and personal rights reign supreme, few respect the value of sacrifice.
In Romans 1-11, Paul describes how Christ sacrificed so that we might be saved. Our Lord modeled a life of sacrifice, and through it he provided for us the gift of righteousness that we could not earn for ourselves. In the economy of God, sacrifice is a precious commodity.
In Romans 12:1, Paul moves from describing what God has done for us through Christ to detailing how we should respond gratefully to his gift. From doctrine, Paul now focuses on duty. He shows that Christian ethics emerge out of Christian theology.
Give yourself in worship: Through his grace, God provided the once-for-all sacrifice needed to make us right with him for eternity. In response to that grace, we are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to Jesus. This is the essence of worship – giving our attention, abilities and affection to the Lord. As we sacrifice our agenda for his desires, we are then able to know his perfect plan for our lives.
Use your gifts: As we give our lives to God, we are also called to love and serve others. Reflecting Jesus’ great command – love God and love your neighbor – Paul moves from our personal response to God (vv. 1-2) to our responsibility to the community of God (vv. 3-8). Using the universally understood picture of the body, he points out that every believer has received grace gifts which are indispensable to support the body of Christ. The listing of gifts here is not exhaustive, but the point is clear – we are to know and use our gifts as we worship the Lord and serve his church.
Love your fellow Christians: David Wilkerson said, “Love is not only something you feel. It’s something you do.” His words reflect Paul’s instructions in the latter part of Romans 12. Living in community, even Christian community, is not easy. Our focus must be to live the love of Christ, filled with showing others honor, service, patience, hospitality, blessing, compassion and humility. Imagine what churches would be like if members responded to each other with these qualities!
Treat enemies with kindness: Paul concludes chapter 12 with a challenge to follow Jesus’ command to love our enemies and to pray for them (Matthew 5:44). Just as God displayed his sacrificial love for us while we were his enemies, we are to pass along that love to our potential enemies.
Owens– Lessons in the ETB series for the fall quarter are being written by Ken Owens, director of the collegiate ministry group for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.