Not of this World
In a world where people want everything else to be blamed for their behavior, would it surprise us to find we are responsible for our own choices? A friend and I were talking about this the other day in fact. She is a counselor and hears from people on a daily basis who want to shift blame to others for their poor decisions. There is something to be said for background and environment playing a part in our upbringing, but, there does come a point where we are responsible for our own decisions. We have to take responsibility for our own actions. Paul’s first sentence in this chapter would support this. He says, “I urge you”... The Greek word for this is parakaleó, which means to exhort, encourage or call for a response. Paul is saying, I am calling on you respond and make a decision here. We have a decision to make – how are we going to live the life Paul has described for us in the first 11 chapters? Here is what he says:
Vs 1-2 Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Phrase 1: Therefore brothers, by the mercies of God
We will take these two verses a phrase at a time. First, let’s deal with the therefore. I will remind you of what my dad always says – if there is a therefore we must look at what it’s there for. What has preceded these verses? In chapters 1-11, we find a theme – because of God’s great grace, we have been forgiven and can now walk a life in the spirit rather than the flesh. All we have to do is say with our mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that He has been raised from the dead and we will be saved. Because of Jesus’ choice to walk to the cross and die for our sins, we have grace. It is not by works, (the law cannot save us), but by the grace of God. So, by, or dia in Greek, which means because of or on account of, God’s mercies… Everything that came before and everything that follows hinges on the mercy of God. We would not be having this Bible Study without the mercy of God. His mercy is everything. The law was unable to save – it only glaringly illuminated our sin. God gave us a foreshadowing of His great mercy in the sacrificial system throughout Leviticus and this culminated in Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God who came to die for us on a cross so we might have abundant life in Him. Without God’s mercy, we are done for. It is the focus of all that is. Paul has identified several aspects of God’s mercy in the preceding chapters. They include, adoption in Jesus and identification with Christ, the giving of the Holy Spirit to live within, a promise of help in all affliction, a confidence that there is no separation from the love of God and a confidence in God’s continued faithfulness. So on account of God’s amazing mercy Paul says this…
Phrase 2: I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice
And here is where the choice comes in. I urge you – parakaleó you. Paul is giving them a choice. To do what? Present their bodies as a living sacrifice. The people in Paul’s day understood sacrifice. We may have a harder time. For you baseball fans, it’s when the batter hits the ball in such a way that he will get out, but everyone else advances – and maybe even scores. Something has to get out, lose or die in order for something or someone else to win. Sacrifice always involves lose. So, what is a living sacrifice? Paul has gone into great detail in the first 11 chapters to show that there is nothing we can do – no works – to earn salvation. It was through the sacrifice of Jesus – His death – that we have salvation. So, a living sacrifice is not a way to earn more salvation. It is not a work we can do to circumvent what Christ has already done on the cross. It is something that takes place after we come to faith in Christ – a way of life that is counter cultural. Something still has to lose – now, it’s our life within the cultural context. When I was young I first heard the expression “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” I’m not sure, but this is probably an American expression. It means to elevate yourself without any outside help. Maybe you’ve heard a child put it this way: “I can do it myself!” This is what people who still believe the law is a way to salvation feel. I can do it myself! But we can’t, so God did it for us. And now we are to be living sacrifices – people who turn away from how society does things to live for Christ. We live every minute of everyday as an offering of service to God. Our culture would call us to serve ourselves – do what makes more money, cater to our own desires… But, as a child of God, we have a new mindset – one that looks to the Father first. We have a new desire – to please Him. This brings us to the next phrase:
Phrase 3: I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God
The standard for our living sacrifice is no different than the standard was for the original sacrifices. They were to be holy and pleasing and so are we. The service we give to God – our living sacrifice – is not given out of selfish means. We are not looking for praise or admiration for the service we give. We are not looking for it as a means for personal betterment or getting our name in lights. Our only desire is for the service we give and the work we do to be holy and pleasing to God. In our current culture, name recognition is important. It is on our buildings, sports stadiums, and even race tee shirts highlight their sponsors. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of this, until it comes to our spiritual service. What we do for God should be for Him and Him alone. I often hear of the great things people do, but I have also seen what people have done without getting any credit whatsoever. They quietly live out their faith in service of others and the Lord. We have to be willing to gain nothing, be unnoticed and remain unrecognized for our gifts and acts of service. This isn’t easy, because we all like to have just a little recognition and thanks. Jesus said it this way in His sermon on the mount: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” Matthew 6:1-4. This is why a living sacrifice looks like this:
Phrase 4: This is your spiritual worship
Our living sacrifice doesn’t look for recognition because it is an act of worship. When you are a walking living sacrifice, dedicated to bringing God all the glory, you are in a constant state of worship. Your attention is on God, so the lack of personal gain means nothing to you. Your only goal is to highlight God, to uplift God, to point to God. And if what you are doing, even if it is “good”, takes away from God, you just don’t do it. The best example I can think of is Eric Liddell. I may have mentioned him in a previous Bible Study, but for those who don’t know him – he was a runner in the 1924 Paris Olympics, His story is recounted in the wonderful movie Chariots of Fire. When the race dates were posted, he found his trial heat was on a Sunday. Being a devout believer, and having preached many times about abstaining from work on the Sabbath, he knew he would be unable to run. The British officials could not understand it. What did it matter? This was the Olympics after all! Couldn’t he, just this once, go against his religious principles? Eric Liddell was not swayed by their arguments and was ready to step away from the glory he would have gained from running. His devotion to God mattered more to him than his devotion to the glory of winning an Olympic medal. (As a side note, he was given another chance to run another race on another day, which he ended up winning!) His response was counter cultural. No one understood it. But, he was not deterred from doing what was right in God’s eyes.
Phrase 5: Do not be conformed to this age
It would have been easy for Eric Liddell to conform to societies way of thinking. Paul says, do not be conformed to this age. The Greek word for age is aion and refers to a space or cycle in time. We are not to conform to what is going on in our time and culture. Cultural norms will change, but God never changes. That means, what God sees as holy does not change. It’s easy to get caught up with what is going on in today’s changing world. What we considered taboo years ago isn’t necessarily considered that bad today. I will use the U.S. movie rating system as an example. Over the years, movies have pushed the boundaries of this rating system. What years ago would have received an R rating, now gets a PG-13. More and more violence is presented and accepted, disturbing themes are socially welcomed, and many of us turn a blind eye to what was once seen as troubling. Societies views on sex, violence, and language have changed substantially over the course of my lifetime, and this is reflected in our films. Over the last few weeks, my pastor has been preaching on the 7 deadly sins: wrath, avarice (greed) sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. When spelled out that way, we tend to invoke our inner pride and say, we would never participate in any of them! But, as my pastor pointed out yesterday, temptation doesn’t present itself in the end result. Satan, after all, masquerades as an angel of light.
He is not the ugly, red horned being often depicted in movies and literature.
He looks good and pleasing to the eye. The way believers get caught up in culture over God is one small eye pleasing step at a time.
This is why Jesus, in His sermon on the mount says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.” Matthew 7:13-15. A wolf in sheep’s clothing looks safe, but he’s still a wolf. The gate that leads to destruction is broad, wide and also looks safe! But, this easy path can suddenly become a slippery slope that leads to death. All it takes is one small step at a time. We don’t notice at first how far off the path we’ve strayed. Then, we look around and find we are miles off course. So how do we avoid it?
Phrase 6: Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
By the transformation and renewal of our minds. The Greek word for transformed is metamorphoó. We recognize this word as metamorphosis. It’s what happens to caterpillars when they turn into butterflies. They are no longer recognized as a simple caterpillar. They have completely changed into another shape and type of insect altogether. They do not resemble their former being at all. This is the image Paul is painting for the Roman church, and us. When we “confess with our mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved,” Romans 10:9. Salvation brings on metamorphoo! Our new life in Christ should not resemble our old life in the flesh. The way this amazing transformation takes place is through the renewal of our mind. The Greek word for renewing is anakainósis, and describes a fresh and completely new process or new development. We will metamophoo when our minds take on a fresh, new direction. Our thinking takes a 180 turn away from the thinking of this age and embarks on a new path with the mind of Christ. So often, we rely on our feelings. How do I feel today? What do I feel about this? The problem with feelings is they are subjective, or subject to whatever our emotions might be that very moment. Many a believer have been led astray because of his/her feelings. Nor can we rely on what we do. Our works are not a way to salvation nor are they transformative. Here is a truth: A life based on feelings or on what we do, will never know the transforming power of God because they both ignore the renewing of our minds. It is not how we feel, or what we do, it is a renewed mind that propels us to a transformed life.
Paul describes our transformed mind in this way: Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross,” Philippians 2:5-8. Christ, who, according to Satan, could have called upon the angels to do His bidding (Matthew 4:6), did not. Jesus had every opportunity to conform to society and claim fame and fortune for Himself, but He did not. Instead, He walked as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. He was not swayed by public opinion, nor did He change the trajectory of His mission to please the religious leaders of His day. He was only concerned with pleasing God. His mind was the same mind as God. And, that is what God asks of us. Our lives must be totally transformed by having the mind of Christ. Why?
Phrase 7: so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
It is so we can dokimazo, prove with our life, what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. Do you want to know the will of God – have the mind of Christ. Do you want to understand God’s will for your life? Have the mind of Christ. Do you want to really follow the path God has for you? Have the mind of Christ. Do you you want others to see Christ in you? Have the mind of Christ. Do you want to walk in the will of God? Have the mind of Christ. The only way to walk as a living sacrifice is through the complete metamorphosis and renewal of our minds to the mind of Christ. It is not an easy process – the road is narrow and difficult that leads to life – but it is a path that leads us to the will of God. How is this possible? Only through God who empowers us with His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will enable us to walk as a living sacrifice. He will enable us to metamorphosis and renew our minds.
Society sees believers as narrow, unbending, and even an intolerant people. They want us to bend just a little, tolerate a little sin, and get on the broad path with them. But we can’t. Following Christ will mean going against the mind of this age. Following Christ also means we love and respect people no matter what, without compromising our standard. He did it perfectly. He loved the sinner, dined with sinners, hung out with sinners, yet never once did He sin. He never compromised His holiness. His standard remained steadfast and He asked them to come to it – go and sin no more. Here’s the thing, once you decide to become a butterfly, you can’t go back to being a caterpillar. Think of it this way: once you learn to fly, it would be ridiculous to go back to crawling again. Yet that is what many of us do. We are so afraid to stand firm in our faith, we take to crawling when we can fly. We fold our wings down so we can look as much like a caterpillar as possible. Instead, let’s take to our newfound wings and go with Christ on that narrow, difficult path. Let’s have a true metamorphosis and renewal of our minds as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, so we can prove with our life the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.
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