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. (Romans 12:1-2)
There is a tension within our culture. On the one hand we see the need for and have a desire to change. This is true about certain things, especially concerning ourselves. We are bombarded with the message that if we were only slimmer, tanner, better dressed, more "in style", better looking, better financed, or better perfumed, we would be happier, more satisfied. The media puts out the propaganda and we buy it. We buy it because deep inside there is much we want to change. The desire to change for the better is one we all have.
On the other hand, there is a real hesitancy to change. We are uncomfortable with the uncertainties that change may bring. At one time, the Duke of Cambridge is reported to have said, "Any change at any time for any reason is to be deplored." That sounds like the old saying, "Come weal, come woe, my status is quo."
The following is a letter the President of the United States, dated January 31, 1829.
President Jackson,The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as railroads. The federal government must preserve the canals for the following reasons.
One, if boats are supplanted by railroads, serious unemployment will result. Captains, cooks, drivers, hostlers, repairmen and lock tenders will be left without means of livelihood, not to mention the numerous farmers now employed in growing hay for horses.
Two, boat builders would suffer and towline, whip, and harness makers would be left destitute.
Three, canal boats are absolutely essential to the defense of the United States. In the event of the expected trouble with England, the Erie Canal would be the only means by which we could ever move the supplies so vital to waging modern war.
As you may well know, Mr. President, railroad carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by engines which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.
Sincerely Yours,
Martin Van Buren
Governor of New York
Why is it that we resist change so ardently? Perhaps we fear that change will make us more
unhappy with our situation than we are today.
The truth is that some change is not only inevitable, it is sorely needed. The Bible speaks to this need within us. And it gives us the prescription which will get the job done. It is not for a miracle cream to hide all our blemishes. In fact, the medicine may surprise you — not because it tastes bad; it’s worse than that. In order to make you better, this medicine will have to kill you first.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy… (v. 1a)
We are challenged by the mercy of God. Without Christ we all stand condemned before God. We are sinners by nature and choice. But in spite of our sinfulness God loves us. He sent Jesus to die for us to set us free from sin and the terrible consequences of sin, eternal death. By His great mercy He saved us. Therefore we must respond. We cannot remain as spectators looking on. Someone once described a football game as twenty-two men on the field badly in need of rest being watched by seventy-two thousand people in the stands badly in need of exercise. While football may be a spectator sport for most of us, Christianity certainly should never be. We must get involved in the action. We must never take the mercy of God for granted. It ought to motivate us to get on the field.
Notice the plea here. Paul says, I urge you… Often, as Christians we need to be urged on. At times we become apathetic in our commitment. Perhaps our minds have been occupied with the things of this world and we need to be reminded of our real priorities in life. Here the Holy Spirit pleads with us to take heed of what He is about to say.
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. (v. 1)
We are urged to make a presentation to God. It is a presentation of our very bodies. You see, we are so bound up in our bodies. It is one of our biggest sources of temptation. It is the visible representation of what the Scripture calls "the flesh" — those desires within us which wage war against the life of the Spirit. That is why we need to offer them to God as sacrifices. In doing so, we commit our bodies to Him and yield them into His control.
You may say, "Why would God even want it? I mean, it’s not all that great. It has B.O. It snores. It has a bad heart. Sometimes it thinks evil thoughts. It’s a real hang-up to me. And you’re telling me that God wants my body?" But God does want it. He has said that it is pleasing to Him. He has said that it is a holy sacrifice. God will receive your body if you will offer it to Him.
But He wants this sacrifice alive. Remember, it is living sacrifices that are required. Now you may think this is contradictory. How can there be a living sacrifice after it has been sacrificed? There must be some mistake here. How can we die and live at the same time?
We must understand that the death we experience when we come to Christ is a very real one. It is a death to self. That is the cost of commitment. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." If we are not willing to give God our all, we are not willing to truly follow Him. And when we give Him our all, we make ourselves a sacrifice, and we die. But through this death to self comes resurrection life.
There were two living sacrifices in the Bible, Isaac and Jesus. Both were offered to God. When Isaac was spared and allowed to live, it was said of him that he received back his life. He had already been offered in the mind of Abraham three days earlier when God spoke to Abraham. Jesus died on the Cross for our sins and rose again in resurrection life. We too rise to newness of life as we lay down our lives at the foot of the Cross of Christ. But you cannot experience resurrection life until you experience death to self.
This we must do. It is a high priority for the Christian. We cannot cultivate the Christian life before we consecrate the Christian body. This is called our spiritual act of worship. It is true worship. It is an act of worship. It is the most spiritual act we can do.
You see, we, as believers, can live on one of three levels, the sensual, the soulish, or the spiritual. By sensual I mean that we are ruled by the senses. We are ruled by our desires. You may be a Christian and be sensual. You will not go to Bible study because it is too hot, or cold. You will not come to worship because you are too tired. You will not work with certain people because you are uncomfortable. This is Christianity on its lowest plane.
Then there is the soulish level. Here we are talking about the intellect, or emotions, or will. It is possible for a Christian to live entirely in this area and seem to be spiritual, when in fact it only appears to be so. You may take an intellectual approach to Bible study and become very knowledgeable. But knowing truth does not translate into spiritual living. You may live in the emotional realm. You may feel deeply. Thoughts of Calvary bring tears to your eyes. You are moved to tears by some sentimental Christian song about the Savior. You are deeply moved by the suffering in India, or Rwanda, or Haiti, or some other impoverished nation, so that you empty your pockets when an appeal is made. You may shout the hallelujahs in a praise service. But none of these things may be motivated by the Spirit. You may have an iron will, so that you can control your habits. When you became a Christian you were able to quit what you needed to quit, and start what you needed to start. By all outward appearances you look spiritual. But in reality you are controlled by you.
You see, to live on the spiritual plane, you must be controlled by the Spirit. And sometimes the only way we can tell if we are is by being examined in the light of the Word of God, which is the only thing mentioned in Scripture which "penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit" and "judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Our challenge is to yield to God and allow Him to live in and through us, to control us in all things.
Not only are we challenged by God’s mercy we are also changed by
metamorphosis. There must be a transformation ongoing for us to become what we
need to be. When we offer our bodies as living sacrifices we do it once for all
time. That is the connotation of the word offer in the Greek. Then we must adopt a
plan of action which will allow the resurrection life of Christ within us to change us
into Christ’s image.
But we have a problem. There is a danger of the our submitting to the pressures around us as we live in this world. This is the danger, the problem.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world… (v. 2a)
The problem we face is that the world seeks to make us after its own image. There is pressure to be fashioned after it. The word for conformed in the Greek is suschematizo, which refers to an outward appearance or likeness, being shaped after the fashion of something. Now I am not talking about what kind of clothes you wear, or how you style your hair. Being fashioned after the world is more than that. The world is humanity apart from God. It is us going our own way. It is us doing our own thing. The world is putting self at the center. This is the attitude that permeates the world. And you can find it in Christians as well. Some Christians look at church in a worldly way. They choose a church based solely on whether it meets their needs, as if church was to center around them. This is the philosophy of the world.
We are called to reject that philosophy and lifestyle outright. The warning has been issued and if we do not heed it, we do it to our own peril. We must fight against conformity to the world. Now, some things are not worth fighting for. Vance Havner once said, "A dog can whip a skunk, but it just ain’t worth it." Well, this is worth it. This is worth fighting for.
…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… (v. 2b)
But there is a process by which we become more like Christ. It is the process of being transformed. The word here in Greek is metamorphousthai, from which we get our word metamorphosis. It is an interesting word in that it contains the Greek word morphe, which means essence. What we have in view here is a change of nature, not merely an outward change. Just as the change from the caterpillar to the butterfly is so radical that you could not tell they were ever the same, so also is the change in the Christian.
Part of the process is the renewing of the mind. As our minds are renewed, our inner selves are changed. It is in the inner person that we become like Christ. Our minds must be retrained to think in the right way. We are told in Philippians chapter four to think about such things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.We can only do that by meditating on the Word of God. We must seek out every opportunity to read and hear God’s Word. As we read it for ourselves, as we hear it taught in our Bible study, as we hear it expounded in our services, we are challenged with its truth about how we are to live and think. And we must be challenged if we would have our minds renewed. And we must respond to that challenge by committing ourselves to be obedient to that Word.
This brings us to the proof of the change working in us. As we are changed by the renewing of our minds, we come to the place where we not only know the will of God, but we begin to live by it.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (v. 2c)
Only a renewed life can delight in knowing and doing the will of God. Only a transformed mind can test the will of God, to prove that it is good, pleasing, and perfect.
The will of God is good. God only asks us to do that which is good for us. He will not hurt us by His will. He want our best. He loves us and Jesus died for us. How could God want anything but the best for us?
The will of God is pleasing. It pleases God and will ultimately please us. This is because it will result in a right relationship with God and will secure His blessing for us.
The will of God is perfect. Not only does God want good for us, He wants the best for us. He does not want us to settle for second place in His kingdom. His will is perfectly what we need for where we are in our Christian walk. We can submit to His will gladly as believers, knowing we are in the hands of a God we can trust with our lives.
So, we are challenged by the mercy of God to give Him our bodies as living sacrifices. And we are changed by metamorphosis into new men and women as our minds are transformed in meditating upon His Word.
Let me ask you, "Are you His?" I am not asking if you have made a decision for Christ here. I am not asking if you are a Christian. Are you His? Have you given Him all?
A friend of mine was telling me of the kind of church we are developing these days. It is "Church-Lite" or "Christianity-Lite" in its approach. It is the home of the 5% tithe, the thirty minute service with sermonettes for Christianettes. It is the place where the hymn of commitment is "I Surrender Some." Instead of "Standing on the Promises" we are merely sitting on the premises. But this isn’t what God has in mind at all.
You see, He wants everything. Everything! He wants all your time. He wants all your money. He wants all your work hours. He wants all your leisure hours. He wants your family, your wife, your children, your car, your house. He wants all of you! Are you really His?
Be challenged to be changed. Do not be conformed — be transformed. Come to Christ for a change.
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