Romans 12:1-2 NIV
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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.”
Because of What He Did
“In view of God’s mercy” is what jumped out to me
immediately as I began to read this passage of Scripture this evening. The word
translated as “in view of” also means “through, because of, on account of, and by
the reason of.” All of these work. We are to do what it says here to do because
of what Jesus did for us on that cross in dying for our sins. For, because of
what he did for us on that cross, it makes it possible for us to do what this
says.
So, what exactly did Jesus Christ do for us on that cross? Jesus
Christ, God the Son, left his throne in heaven, came to earth, was born in the
likeness of men, lived on the earth as fully God yet fully human, suffered as
we suffer, was tempted in like manner as we are tempted, yet without sin, and
then was put to death on a cross by his enemies. But this was in God’s plan for
him that he should die on that cross for the sins of the whole world (John 1;
Philippians 2; Isaiah 53; the book of Hebrews; the gospels, etc.).
Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, became sin for us on that
cross so that when he died, our sins died with him, and when he was resurrected
from the dead, he rose victorious over sin, hell, Satan, and death on our
behalf. For he died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his
righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him
who died and was raised. And he died so that we might be crucified with Christ
in death to sin and that we might be raised with him to walk in newness of life
in him (2 Corinthians 5:14,21; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23).
For, Jesus Christ did not die that horrible and painful
death on that cross just to forgive us our sins so that when we die one day we
get to go to heaven. He died to change us, to transform us, to turn us from
darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that we might receive
forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified by faith in Jesus
Christ. He died so that we would deny self, daily die to sin, and daily walk in
obedience to him (Acts 26:18; Luke 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-17; 1 John 1:5-9; 1 John
2:3-6).
For, his grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “No!”
to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and
godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return. For, Jesus gave himself
for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for
his own possession who are zealous for good works. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10).
And the truth that is in Christ Jesus is that we are to no
longer live like the ungodly, giving ourselves up to sensuality, greedy to
practice every kind of impurity. For that is not the way we should have learned
Christ. For we are to put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner
of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and we are to be renewed in
the spirit of our minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like Christ
(Ephesians 4:17-24; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26).
For, because Jesus put our sin to death with him on that
cross, and because he was raised back to life, we can now die with him to sin
and be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him. For our old self was
crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing,
so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin, but so we would now be slaves of
God and of his righteousness, no longer living under the control of sin. For if
we obey sin, it leads to death, but if we obey obedience, it leads to righteousness
and sanctification, and its end is eternal life (Romans 6:1-23).
Living Sacrifices, Holy and Pleasing to God
I hope y’all get this. When we believe in Jesus Christ with
God-given faith, we die with Christ to sin and we are raised with Christ to
walk in newness of life in him. Our old self was put to death with Christ so we
will no longer be enslaved to sin but so we will be slaves (servants) of God
and of his righteousness, to the glory and praise of God, and in the power and
working of God’s Holy Spirit who now lives within us.
This is NOT works-based salvation! This is NOT us trying to
earn God’s grace or our salvation. It is only because of God’s grace to us that
any of us can die with Christ to sin and live to God and to his righteousness.
It is only because of his grace to us that any of us can be putting sin to
death in our lives and living by the Spirit in obedience to our Lord. For this
is not anything that any of us can do in our own flesh, because flesh does not
put flesh to death. It feeds the flesh.
Okay, with that aside, we are being urged here, in view of
(or on account of) God’s mercy to us – his mercy which is described in detail
with Bible references in the section above – to offer our bodies, our lives to
God as living sacrifices. This is not a mere suggestion. This is what should be
the case if we are true followers of Jesus Christ, and if we have died with him
to sin and if we are living to him and to his righteousness.
We, as true followers of Jesus Christ, are to surrender our
lives to the Lord to be lived according to his word and for his praise and
glory. And “holy” means to be set apart (unlike, different) from the world
because we are being made to be like Jesus. And we are to be set apart to God
and to his service. And we are to live lives which are pleasing to God, which
is in accord with what his word teaches us with regard to holy living.
And this is our true, proper, reasonable, and acceptable
worship of God. For we can sing worship songs all we want and never worship God
at all, and we can not sing worship songs and still worship God, although singing
should be included in our worship. For true worship of God is not in rituals or
in the externals of religious practice, but true worship comes from the heart
which is surrendered to Jesus Christ as Lord to walk in his ways and in his
truth.
And we are to no longer be conformed the ways of this sinful
world. We are not to be having all the same conversations, and watching all the
same junk, and telling all the same off-color jokes, and wasting away hour
after hour just watching TV or playing games or just surfing the internet and
reading or viewing stuff that is of no real value to us or being obsessed with
entertaining and being entertained like the world, in practice.
I am certainly not suggesting that we run off and cut
ourselves off from the world and live in a monastery and have no connections
with the outside world. We can live in the world and be aware of what is going
on in the world and still live lives which are separate from (unlike) the
world. But we don’t have to be like the world to connect with the people of the
world, otherwise what do we have to offer them that is different?
Anyway, Jesus Christ died on that cross to give us new lives
not like our old lives, and we are to be living holy lives, pleasing to him, no
longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world. And then we are to be the
light of the world and the salt of the earth, and we are to be taking the gospel
of Christ to the ends of the earth and making disciples of Christ of people of
all nations, teaching them to obey our Lord’s commands (New Covenant). Then we
will be able to discern the perfect will of God for our lives and then do it.
By Gloria
Gaither / William J. Gaither
God sent His son,
they called Him Jesus;
He came to love,
heal and forgive;
He lived and died
to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is
there to prove my Savior lives!
Because He lives, I
can face tomorrow
Because He lives,
all fear is gone
Because I know He
holds the future
And life is worth a
living just because He lives
And then one day,
I'll cross that river
I'll fight life's
final war with pain
And then as death
gives way to victory
I'll see the lights
of glory and I'll know He reigns
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