A Call to lay it all on the Line! Romans 12:1-2
1.I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
His Body Took The Grenade
Some time ago the Portland Oregonian carried the story of the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to an Afro-American soldier from the South. This soldier with several buddies was in a trench during a Vietcong attack when a grenade was thrown into the trench. Without hesitation, the soldier encircled the grenade with his body and took the full force of the explosion.
His commanding officer, in making the citation, said that his sacrificial and heroic act had saved the lives of the other soldiers in the trench.
AS A ASOLDIER… [he laid it all on the line] (HERE IS THE PERFECT PICTURE OF LIVING THE LIFE OF A HUMAN SACRIFIFE)
Background:
This chapter begins the final section of Romans—“Service” (12–16). Paul tells us how to put our learning into practice; and in this chapter, the apostle gives us one picture of the Christian and reminds us of our spiritual duty.
I. A Sacrifice on the Altar (12:1–2)
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Note:
The motive for dedication is love; Paul does not say, “I command you” but “I beseech you, because of what God has already done for you.”
We do not serve Christ in order to receive His mercies, because we already have them (3:21–8:39).
We serve Him out of love and appreciation.
•True Christian service and living must begin with personal dedication to the Lord.
•The Christian who fails in life is the one who has first failed at the altar, refusing to surrender completely to Christ.
Note:
True dedication is the presenting of body, mind, and will to God day by day.
1.It is daily yielding the body to Him, having the mind renewed by the Word, and surrendering the will through prayer and obedience.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Note:
Warren Wiersbe says this about this verse; “Every Christian is either a conformer, living for and like the world, or a transformer, daily becoming more like Christ.
(The Gk. word for “transform” is the same as the one for “transfigure” in Matt. 17:2.)
Paul again in the book of Second Corinthians 3:18…suggest that we are transformed (transfigured) as we allow the Spirit to reveal Christ through the Word of God.
Observation:
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God….
It is only when the believer is dedicated to God that he/she can know God’s will for his/her life.
As his disciples we grow in our appreciation of God’s will.
1.Some Christians obey God because they know that obedience is good for them, and they fear chastening.
2.Others obey because they find God’s will acceptable.
3.But the deepest devotion is in those who love God’s will and find it perfect.
As priests, we are to present “spiritual sacrifices” to God (1 Peter 2:5), and the first sacrifice He wants each day is our body, mind, and will in total surrender to Him.
