Transcription
[Music] If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 12, or on your iPhone, Romans chapter 12. As we continue our series on Romans, if you're new today, we've been in a series on the book of Romans now for many, many months. And we come today to a watershed moment in our study of this incredible book. I say that because for 11 chapters, Paul has been explaining in glorious terms, with theological depth, the monumental work of God in the saving of our souls. It's more than forgiveness, so that in itself is massive. God has done so much, and Paul has been taking us through that and helping us grasp some principles that for some, it's the first time you've ever heard it. And we've glory in it, and we've celebrated it, and it's encouraged us. And now, as you come to Romans chapter 12, from here to the next five chapters, to the end of chapter 16, Paul does invariably what he does in his writings. He gives us the theological truth, and then he helps us apply it in our lives. We move from orthodoxy to orthopraxy. We move from going deep in the Word of God, understanding some dynamic theology, to now applying it in our life. And what Paul does, as Paul is not one to just make suggestions. As we read through these next five chapters, it is filled with imperatives. It is filled with commands. It's "do this." "This is what you do." "This is the way you live." In fact, it's very, very interesting, just by way of a little bit of trivia. There are 13 commands total from chapter Romans chapter 1 through chapter 11. When you come to Romans chapter 12, there are seven commands. In fact, there are more commands in Romans chapter 12 than in any other chapter in the New Testament. So Paul is saying, this is how you live. The life gets intensely practical from this point on. And frankly, outside of being saved, there is nothing more important than the way you and I live out our faith. The issue for the Christian isn't just, can you talk the talk? The issue is, can you walk the walk? I mean, one of the biggest criticisms that unbelievers have of Christians is that they are hypocrites. That's why Romans chapter 12 and verses 1 through 2 is so important because it gives us a foundation for all of Christian living. It gives us a foundation. What, what do we need to do? How do we need to think about our service of Christ? So we're gonna jump right into it. And as we do, we're gonna see four areas. And I hope you'll take notes because this, this is in one part complex. It's got some depth to it. On the other hand, if you don't get this, a lot of Christianity doesn't make sense and will not come together for you. So let me give you four areas. And maybe you've got the James River app. You can check it out. Get on there. You'll find the notes. You'll find the scriptures that will help you. Also, let me just encourage you to check out the podcast because that's a way to get the Word of God in your heart so that you've heard it once. You got what you heard it at this point. This hearing, but then for the week, to listen to it again, that it might sink deep into your heart, that it might find application in your life. Four areas for faithful Christian service. Number, the person we're gonna look at is the rationale for our service. And the rationale for our service is the mercies of God. We put it to you this way: What is it that motivates you and I in the Christian life? Why do you serve the Lord? What is it that causes you to, to love God, to follow God, to live a life of faith? Why do you come to church? Why are you in a life group? Why do you go through Grow Track? Why, why do you go to the prayer meeting? Why do you live for God, not just on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday? Here it is. Romans chapter 12, verse 1. Paul says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God." I've highlighted three words there. The first one, "appeal." In the Greek, it's *parakaleo*, and it means "I urge," "I beseech," "I implore," "I exhort." "I command" could be the idea. Very interesting. If you're a, a student of the Bible, you've heard a word like that. *Parakaleo*. We, the Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete. He's the exhorter. He's the encourager. He's the one who beseeches us. He's the one who urges us. He's the one who calls us. Here, Paul is saying, by the power of the Spirit, I'm appealing to you. I'm urging you. Therefore. And that word is interesting because anytime you see that word, anytime you see the word "therefore," you got to ask, "Why?" It's "therefore" and always it's because of what's ahead or what's behind it. What's already come. So it takes us back to Romans chapters 1 through 11. He says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God." He could say "mercy of God," but he's talking about all the things we talked about in Romans chapter 1 through chapter 11. And so he, he sees it as the manifold, the multitudinous mercies of God. And remember what we talked about, Romans chapter 1 and verse 16? "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." In fact, the gospel is so powerful that you preach it to somebody, it changes their life. It starts there. And then from there, we watch as Paul unfolds this wonderful plan of God, showing that there's no one righteous, not even one. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God has made available to us a justification by faith through Jesus Christ. Remember justification? I, I just have to show this to you because I don't ever want us to forget this. Justification is the act of God whereby the sinner is given faith to believe. Listen, sometimes people will say, "Well, you know what? I don't, I just don't feel like I have the faith to believe." Ask God to put it in your heart. It doesn't take much. Just a tiny little drop of saving faith. You know, you didn't have the faith to get saved unless God gave it to you. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, so that no one can boast." That's what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2. He gives us faith to believe. And we receive forgiveness of all sin. All sin, past sin, present sin, sin you haven't even committed yet, forgiven at the cross. This is, this is news that seems too good to be true. A lot of people say, "Well, how can you forgive sin that I haven't, I haven't yet committed?" He forgave all your sin at the cross. And you, you weren't alive to commit one of them. I mean, sorry, forgives all your sin. And he assigns to us the righteousness of Christ, so that when God sees you, when he sees me, he sees us clothed then in Jesus' righteousness. He sees us as righteous as Jesus. Paul goes on to say in Romans chapter 5, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." So now we're at peace. We not only have the peace of God, we have peace with God. And we've been united with Christ. That means what happened to him happened to us. We died with him. Romans chapter 6. We died to sin. We're dead to sin. Sin is not dead, but we died to it. And we've been raised again with Christ to a newness of life. And we no longer are under the law. We don't, we don't keep rules as a means of having righteousness. We got that with Christ. We're not under the law. We are under grace. "And there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." No condemnation. He goes on and says in Romans chapter 8, that what God has adopted us as his children. That in eternity, before time began, God predestined us. He elected us. He chose us. He chose you. He said, "I want her. I want him. I want her and him and her and him and him and him." And he chose us. He settled his heart on you before you were ever born. Your birth is not an accident. I don't care what the circumstances. God willed your creation. He planned for your salvation. And he's got a plan for your glorification in heaven. Oh, what an amazing salvation! He puts the Holy Spirit in our hearts. And that Spirit is interceding with us, for us, with groanings that cannot be uttered. He's praying for you all the time, interceding. And we know because of that, "all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." Because of that, they can't separate us from the love of Christ. We are more than conquerors. In fact, he says, "through him who loved us." And God has this plan of salvation that carries us from eternity, before time began, to eternity when time is no more. And this plan is massive. It's magnificent. It's, it's more wonderful than you and I can imagine. It's why Paul says in Romans chapter 11, in verse 33, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God? I mean, God taking sinners. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. While we were enemies, he loved us. Can you imagine the God of the universe taking us, adopting us, changing us, planning glory for us in the eons to come? Can you come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity? Have you ever come on it? No. This deep, deep wisdom. It's way over our heads. We'll never figure it out. He goes on to say this in Romans chapter 11, in verse 36: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." Yes, yes, yes. That's "Amen." "Amen." "Amen." That's what "Amen" means. Lord, grant us now. That is the rationale for our service. That's why you serve. You say, "Well, no, I serve because I feel called." No, you serve. First, you may feel called. You may feel gifted. You may have a heart for something. And all of that has its place. But none of that is primary. All of it is secondary to the reason why you and I serve. Is because we have beheld the glory of God and the mercy of God. And we've seen God's great love for us. And now our question is, "God, in light of all you've done for me, in light of all your mercies, what can I do for you?" This is the rationale for our service. God, you've done so much for me. What can I do for you? And I would just suggest to you this morning that if you're a Christian and you're not serving God wholeheartedly, it's because you don't know what he did for you, or you have forgotten what he did for you. Because to know it, to experience it, to remember it, is to say, "God, whatever I can do, you've done so much for me. Whatever I can do for you, I'm a man." That's the rationale for our service.
Second, I want you to notice the response of our service. How should we respond to this rationale, this mercy of God? Paul says, "We should sacrifice our body." Look at it. Romans chapter 12: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God." In other words, in light of all that God has done, I urge you to do this: "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." And that word "spiritual" is really an unfortunate translation in the ESV because the word in the original, in the Greek, is *logikos*. We get our word "logic" from it. In other words, what Paul is saying is, the only logical response to the mercies of God is to sacrifice your body. When you really understand the enormity of what God did, when you really understand how magnanimous he was, when you understand the majestic plan of God and the lavish grace of God that was poured out on you, the thing that makes sense is to say, "God, you've done so much for me. You have all I am. Here it is. It's yours." I mean, that's logical. That's the only thing that makes sense. "God, you can have me. You've done so much for me." And I know that that, that who I am and what I am pales in comparison to even just a sliver of what you've done for me. But God, all I know is you've done so much, and you can have every ounce. You can have every inch. You can have every fiber of my being. I'm yours. That's what Paul is saying. J.B. Phillips, in his paraphrase, puts it this way: "I love this paraphrase of this: 'With eyes wide open to the mercies of God,' in other words, God, you've done all of this, 'I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship.'" Listen, this is what's intelligent. The intelligent thing to do, if you have any inkling of what God has done for you, the intelligent thing, the wise thing, the logical response is to say, "God, I'm all yours. Here's my body. I give it to you as an act of intelligent worship." Give him your bodies as a living sacrifice. Back to Romans chapter 12 and verse 1. It says this: "I appeal to you, brothers, therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice." So we're to give our body. Now, let me just say this because I think we need to spend a little bit of time understanding this. I don't want to move through this too quickly because bodies in America are big business. Americans spend billions of dollars shaping, tanning, surgically changing, dressing, photographing, feeding, medicating, caring for their bodies. And the point in giving our bodies to God is not that he's gonna be impressed. "Oh, wow, you improved on what I did." He's not. It's not that he's gonna say, "My, that he'll be impressed with our bodies." Instead, what God knows is that our bodies are the means for delivering his message of grace. People have to see it. They have to experience it. And that comes through our physical service of Christ. Right? Let me take it this way. God is not so worried about how muscular your body is. He cares much more about how merciful your body is. Our bodies aren't made to model fashion, the latest fashion. They're made to model the message of grace. Put it to you this way: In any of our bodies, so we could look a certain way. He gave us our body so we could act a certain way. Now, I'm not saying you got to go around and be Peter Plain and wander Wallflower. But I am saying, let's get the priority right, okay? That it's not wrong that things that people do, as long as that's not the priority, as long as we haven't gotten the cart before the horse, as long as we haven't forgotten that our bodies were given to us to serve Him. So we present our bodies. This is where Christian life or service begins. You have to give your body to Christ. And I say this because there's a lot of people who want to. And you hear it all the time. It's everywhere now. It's so chic and hip to say it. And it's so wrong. "Well, I'm not, I'm not religious. I'm spiritual." In other words, what somebody is saying when they say that is they're saying, "You know what? It's all about what's in here. And it doesn't matter what's out there. And you know what? I love God. And I, and I feel good about God. It feels good between me and God. I'm a sensitive person to God." So it like that doesn't, as a result of that, I don't have to do anything else. And people want to believe that if they love God in their heart, it somehow overrides the responsibility to serve God with their body. But you have to be careful there. There's a huge danger for anybody to dichotomize their service to God and then divide it up like this is how I feel about God. And, and I love God over here. So what I do or don't do over here isn't as important. If you don't pay attention to the actions of your body, you'll get your soul in trouble. Let me say this: If you don't do anything to serve God with your body, or if you do a disservice to God with your body, you will jeopardize the spiritual vitality of your soul. And here's why: Because the body is the beachhead of sin. The body is the battleground for sin. If you doubt that, listen, just think of this: The minute you die, your battle with sin is over, right? We're dead to sin in our spirit, but sin is not dead. We learned this in Romans chapter 6, that sin desires to master you. Sin is there. Sin is seeking the opportunity. And sin tempts your body, or engages your body in behavior that ultimately corrupts your soul and diminishes your spiritual vitality. This is why Peter says, first Peter, and just look at this quickly: "Beloved, I urge you." There it is. "I beseech you. I urge you." "As sojourners and pilgrims." He's saying, "Listen, you're not settlers in this world. You're walking through." "Well, our home is heaven. We're citizens of a place called, we're citizens of heaven." She says, "You're journeying through earth. Abstain from fleshly lusts." Abstain from things that play out in your body. Why? "They war against the soul." They work against the soul. Now, the good news is this: On the other hand, serving God with our body will strengthen your life spiritually. Look at it. Romans chapter 12: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice." That word "present" is a, is a temple term. It means "offer up as a sacrifice," "surrender." It's, here's, here's what he's saying: "God, all of this is yours. All of it. All of the hours this body has is yours. Not, not just Sunday. It's all yours. 168 hours a week. It's yours. My life, my body, is yours. Lord, use my body to honor you." The basis of Christian service. This is, this is worship. This is a yielding your body to God. And we've seen this idea, this idea of presenting your body. Look at it in Romans chapter 6: "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions, and do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness." So don't give your body over to sinful behavior. But rather, "present yourselves to God as those who have been brought, brought from death to life, and your members" – that's your hands, your feet, your head, your legs – "to God as instruments of righteousness." Give yourself to God. Give your body to God. And this is all over the New Testament. We have to be careful that we don't just spiritualize our service to God and somehow feel comfortable because in our heart we think we love God, but then when we look at our life, we're not doing anything for God. That's not Christianity. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." Right? James said, "Faith without works is what? Dead." You can say you believe in God. You can say, "I love God." But if, but if you don't act that out in your body, through a body surrendered to God, then you have a faith that won't save. Means our body is His. And in 2 Corinthians chapter 6: "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Your body is yours. You are not your own. You were bought at a price." That's the mercies of God. He bought you. He shed his blood for you. He gave his life for you. He did everything for you so that we could yield everything we have to Him. Therefore, honor God with your body. I mean, this, it's the same idea as what we're seeing in Romans 12. You were bought with a price. So now, since He paid so much for you, the least you can do is give Him you. And I'm taking time with this because again, there's a lot of people who think because they love God with their heart, it doesn't matter what they do with their body. But God doesn't just want your mind and your spirit. He wants your body as a living sacrifice. Look at it. Romans chapter 12: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice." Not a dead sacrifice. That system's gone. That was the Old Testament. You got an animal, you slayed it, you gave it to God. But in the New Covenant, there's no animal on the altar. You're on the altar. You're the living sacrifice. Somebody said, "The problem with the living sacrifice, it keeps crawling off the altar." And the more you offer your body to God, the less you will sin. The more. Listen, Martin Luther, the great reformer, said, "Idleness is the devil's playground." Some of you struggle with sin because you're not doing enough for God. I'm not talking about your earning God's favor. I'm talking about you protecting your soul by not having a bunch of free time to get yourself in trouble. You'll be better off to be in a Bible study on Friday night than there in the back seat of somebody's car. You'd be better off to be serving down at the mission than to be at a party. You'd be better off to be, to be using your time to glorify God in some way than to do other things that have nothing to do with honoring God or serving God. The more you offer your God to, with your body, to God, the less you will sin. Now look at it. Romans chapter 12: "It says this: 'I appeal to you therefore, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.'" Two things: It's holy. That means it's set apart. So you're, what you're doing is you're saying, "God, I'm setting apart my life to serve you." This is the call of Christ. You're set apart. You have a purpose. You, when you come to Christ, you now have a purpose you didn't have before. You have a purpose. God wants to use you to glorify Himself. He wants to use you to display His mercy to the lives of people around you. You, you have a whole new purpose. You've been set apart. So you're holy and you're acceptable to God. The idea is that, that it's all of you given to God. And many scholars say Paul has the mindset or in the back of his mind is using terminology of like a burnt offering. Here's what we know in the Old Testament about burnt offerings: All of the body was burned up. All of the body was consumed. And often it says, "And there was an aroma that was pleasing to God." That God said, "This is, this is wonderful. It's it's pure devotion." And Paul sets up that theme and does this in 2 Corinthians. It's really beautiful: "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." In other words, when you and I are serving God with our body, it's like it's a pleasing sacrifice to God. It's like it's, he's like, "Wow, that's, that's awesome." And as we're serving Him, people who are watching us who don't know Christ, we're an aroma to them as well. You live the Christian life in the body. It smells like Christ. It looks like Christ because of acts done in the body. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Now, here's, here's where the rubber meets the road. Do spiritual things with your body. Like what? Serve. Serve. Where are you serving? Do you realize that if you're, you know, our times, I have people say, "You know, I just need a break." And all of us can benefit from a break. But breaks aren't to be perpetual. And there are some here today, and you're hurting yourself spiritually because you've been like on a perpetual hiatus from Christian service. You're not serving in the church. You know, hey, there's plenty to do in the church. Let me tell you, there's a lot that needs to be done. There's a lot of needs that need to be met. There's plenty to do. So, you know, get in Grow Track, get in a life group, meet needs, get involved. Means serve. Give. Say, "God, here's my body. It's for you." Because when you understand what God's done for you, you understand the least I could do is give everything to Him. But can I be honest with you? There are some of you, and you're gonna have a really tough time in. And when I talk about serving in the church, I mean, that's one day a week. There's another six days. Serve. Serve Christ. Use your body to demonstrate mercy. You say, "How?" Help a neighbor. Cook him a meal. Watch their kids. Do, meet a need. Go down, come back by the church. We're open. I'm telling you. I mean, there's all kinds of things you can do. But you know, there's some of you, and you're gonna have a really tough time serving God in the world because you can't even bring yourself to serve God in the church. You struggle to present your body as a living sacrifice in the church. What are you going to do in the world where you got people that are, they're throwing rocks at you for doing it? You said, like, "Well, I mean, like, even lifting your hands." Some of you can't even serve God with your body by lifting your hands. You're like, "Well, you know, that says this is not who I am." It doesn't matter who you are. Use your body to serve the Lord. The Bible is very clear. You're so, "I don't feel like it." It's not about you. I'm not being unkind. I'm not being a smart aleck. I'm simply telling you the truth. I mean, listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 141: "Let my prayer be counted as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." Listen, when you talk about serving the Lord, making a sacrifice, how about just start by lifting your hand? You say, "I don't know. I could do the both hands." Well, how about you just get the one hand at least like this, like you're kind of, you know, taking an oath or something? "God, I'm for you." You know, because it's all over the Bible. How about, how about serving God by saying? You say, "I don't have a voice." Then read. We put the words right on the screen. You know what I'm saying? I mean, how about getting them? How about going through Grow Track? I mean, serve the Lord, and you'll find yourself getting strong in the Lord. A lot of people want to get strong in the Lord. They don't want to serve the Lord. But that ends. So it's impossible. You can't get strong in the Lord if you're not serving the Lord. So why Paul says, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice."
Third, the restoration in our service. You say, "What's that?" There's a restorative work that happens when you and I recognize the mercies of God and we say, "God, here I am. I give myself to you." There is a restorative work that happens in every single person that all of humanity needs. And it's called a renewed mind. Look at it. Romans chapter 12, verse 2: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." When you look at that phrase, "the renewal of your mind," the phrase itself indicates our present condition. That humanity once had a mind. It no longer has. The problem with humanity is that when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, humanity, as it were, lost its mind, lost its head, lost its ability to think spiritually, to, to perceive spiritual reality, to understand spiritual truth. The, the spiritual perception of humanity was incredibly diminished. What remains is just threads, thankfully, because that's how people perceive God in such a limited way. There's still a bit left, but not what was once there prior to the fall. Adam and Eve could enjoy God. They would just automatically keep His commands. They had communion with God. They could sense His fellowship and His presence. And, and their thoughts were good. And their thoughts were loving. And their thoughts were obedient. And there was no struggle going on. But when they believed Satan's lie, their mind, their spirit changed. And they became selfish and sinful in their thinking. Pulpit, sit this way: "Their foolish hearts were darkened." The lights went out. So that now, best, there's only shadows. That's why you and I need a renewed mind. We need a renewal in our thinking. The question is, how do we get it? Look at it. Romans chapter 12: "Do not be conformed to this world." Now, I'm gonna suggest something to you that I think is really important. A lot of times, what people do is they'll take the scripture, they'll see a phrase that is either attractive, interesting, and then they'll build a teaching out of it. And that's not wrong to do. But I think, you know what? We want to do is we want to say, "What is it saying?" Because when we understand what it's saying, I would suggest you, almost always, what it's saying is more powerful than anything we'll fabricate. Additionally, though, that too may have some power. I'll say it because a lot of people are pursuing a renewed mind, but what they're doing is they're doing it in a way that is absolutely antithetical to this verse. You say, "What do you mean?" Well, they're, they're saying, "You know what? If you want ever a new mind, do this, do this, do this." And usually it follows, you know, "Read a lot of the scripture, meditate." You know, it gives all these things that aren't bad in and of themselves. But I would suggest you, that's not what Paul is saying here. If you and I want to have a renewed mind, what do we have to do? Get saved. Obviously. God, I give you all of my body because you want a renewed mind. Works with spiritual strength. And you can't have spiritual strength if you're not serving God. Step two: "Do not be conformed to this world." Conformed, in the original, means "don't be stamped." It's like the idea of a mold. It's, it's the idea of clay being pressed into a mold, being stamped out of the mold. And it's in the passive tense. So it's the idea of, "Don't let force, don't let something outside you mold you into the world's thinking." Don't passively go along with the world. Romans 12:1-2: "With eyes wide open again," J.B. Phillips, "to the mercies of God, I beg you as an act of intelligent worship." What I'm saying to you is the only thing that makes sense. It's what are you saying? "Give your bodies as a living sacrifice." It's the only thing that makes sense, given what God has done for you. And "don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold." Don't let that happen. So you see, we can talk all day about cultivating a renewed mind. But if you don't purposefully avoid being pressed into the world's mold, I don't care how many things you do, you're never gonna have a renewed mind. World's mold. It encourages people to do the following things: to get things and use people. The world's mold says, "Live for the moment. Don't worry about the consequences. If it feels good, do it." The world's mold says this: "Be who you are. Be true to yourself, because that's all that matters." That's a lot of bunk. That's the world's mold. The world says, "Oh, you gotta be true to yourself because that touches what matters." No, that's not all that matters. The world's mold is that what you think is good for you is what is really good for you. That's not true. The world's mold is public opinion is more important than truth. The world's mold is tolerance is more important than holiness. And we could go on. You can't let the world, with its philosophy, with its view, with its ideologies, you can't let it push you into its mold. In other words, what he's saying is, you've got to take a stand. You've got to say, "God, here's my body. It's all yours." And then what you have to do is say, "And I'm not gonna let the world influence my thinking." So let's get practical about this. If you're watching television all the time, you're being squeezed into the world's mold. I mean, every, every show is the world's mold. What the world thinks, what the world sells, the way the world sells it, what the world values. Your, your hate. And listen, I'm not saying you can't ever watch it. I'm just saying too many people watching way too much of it. And if you're spending more time listening to the world's thinking than you are listening to God's thinking, listen, I can assure you of this: one hour in church won't undo 168 hours of being in the world's mold. It's impossible. You say, "Well, you know, I, I just, I, I just watch it because I'm tired." Go to bed. You say, "You say, but I'm just vegging out." Well, go outside and sit in the garden. You'll have company. Get away from it. When it comes to much of media, I promise you, a dab will do you. I mean, if you're only. Let me just give you some other things. I'm, listen, I'm not trying to be legalistic. I'm trying, though, to give you wise advice. And I will not shy away from giving you wise advice over the threat of perceived to be legal. I'm not, I'm not saying what's gonna make you holy. I'm gonna say what's gonna help you not conform to the world. Listen, if you're only listening to secular music, you're being conformed to the world. You're listening to that stuff, and you're drinking. I mean, how many times? Think about this: that song is there long after that song is over, and the DJ's moved on, and the commercials have come. How many times have you listened to a song only, like a week later, you get up in the morning, or you're walking along, and all of a sudden that song is playing in your mind, or you're humming it? You're like, "Where did that come from?" You're listening to that. You're listening to the, to the world's mold. Is that DJ and the advertisers in the next song? Let's talk social media. You know, you're down with what's going down with every, every celebrity person out there, buying into what they say, what they think, what they endorse, what they're about. You're getting stamped. You're getting pressed into the world's mold. I mean, who are you reading? Who are you listening to? What are you listening to? Who are the most influential people in your life? Are they believers, or are they unbelievers? At some point, a Christian has to say, "Listen, if I'm going to live for God, I can't be pressed into the world's mold. I'm gonna give my body. God, I'm yours. And I'm gonna hold myself back from the philosophy of the world because it is contrary to the way of God, the will of God, and the purpose of God, as well as the wisdom." Romans chapter 12, verse 2: "Do not be conformed to this world." So hold yourself back. Now, watch this, because this is very interesting. "But be transformed by the renewal of your mind." So we got a command here. We've got a command: "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice." We've got a command here: "Do not be conformed to the world." Hold yourself back. Then we've got a command here: "Be transformed." How? "By the renewal of your mind." Transformed. An interesting word. It's *metamorpho* in the original. We get a word "metamorphosis" from it. Choose to describe the caterpillar that becomes a butterfly, that the change that happens. And the word is only used. This word has only used three other times in the New Testament. It's used in Matthew's Gospel and Mark's Gospel to speak of the Transfiguration of Jesus, where we read this in Mark chapter 9: "And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he, Jesus was transfigured before them. He was transformed." What happened? The glory on the inside became visible on the outside. Now, this is the image. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed." Let the glory on the inside of you shine on the outside of you. Live life from the inside out. Let what God has done in you become visible. That's, that's the picture of transformation. It says, "Be transformed." Back to Romans chapter 12. "Be transformed." If this too is passive. It's like, "Let something." You and I can't go around saying, "I gotta get this out. I got a." You can't transform you. I don't know about you, but that's a great relief to me. I'm not in charge of transforming me. I'm not. Nothing is worse than watching a try to show off their spirituality. Right? It's just like, that's awful. What God wants is God is the one who says, "Let, let the glory on the inside of you shine on the outside." How does that happen? The only other time the word is used in the New Testament is in 2 Corinthians chapter 3: "And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." The Holy Spirit is taking the glory that He's placed in us and He's moving it out through us. But He can't do it if you're not serving. And He can't do it if you're so much like the world that you're only listening to the world. He says, "Be transformed. Let God transform you." And the Holy Spirit is working that transfiguration, that transformation. And how does He do it? He renews your mind. Look at it. "Do not be transformed into this role," or "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." That word "renewal" is only used one other time in the New Testament. Here's the thing: You and I don't renew our mind. You, that's a work that requires a lot more horsepower spiritually than you have or I have. Watch this. Titus: "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done." Isn't that so true? "But because of his mercy he saved us, through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." You know what happens? Is as you're remembering the mercies of God, you're saying, "Wow, God, you did so much for me. I just, I just want to present myself as an offering to you. God, you have all of me. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna use my body to declare your glory and to demonstrate your mercy. And God, I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna buy into the world's philosophy. I'm gonna, I'm gonna hold myself back. I'm gonna be in the world, but not of the world." What happens is the Holy Spirit begins to take the glory on the inside, show it on the outside. But how does He do it? What's His vehicle for doing that? He renews your mind. And begins to return it to its pre-fall state. And here's how the glory, here's how the glory is demonstrated. This is so cool. It's the fourth thing, and we close. The result of your service is to discern God's will. Look at it in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2: "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will, what is the will of God." In other words, all of a sudden, you're living life in a different way. You're perceiving spiritual reality. You're sensing the presence of the Lord. You know the mind of Christ, the Bible says we have the mind of Christ. So suddenly, you're not living like the world. You're not thinking like the world. You're not acting or responding like the world. You're responding as the Spirit of God is giving you wisdom that reflects, that demonstrates what's within is now reflected outside. Why? Because the Spirit of God has renewed your mind. And here's the benefit of a renewed mind. When you have a renewed mind, you know the will of God. You know the will of God. You say, "But what I really want to know is, I want to know if I should marry this person or that person." Or, "Well, I really want to know as I go to college here, do I go to?" "What I really want to know is, should I take this job or that?" I really want to know, should I move to Texas or California? You see, what you want is you want the will of God, and you want to just short-circuit it and get to your decisions that go on with your life. And God is saying, "Time out. Here. Live for me. Present your body. Don't conform to the world." And all of a sudden, the will of God begins to be lived out in your life by the power of the Holy Spirit. You perceive things spiritually. You think of things spiritually. You, you say, "How does this work?" So when it comes to taking a job, I don't feel good about it. I don't feel peace. You've discerned the will of God because you have a renewed mind. You're like, "Should I marry that person or not?" Well, they're not a Christian. And I've got the mind of Christ. And the mind of Christ says, "Don't be unequally yoked." I'm not doing that. I'm not going there. Decision made. Lord, give me an understanding to perceive. You go to a place, and all of a sudden, you feel peace there. You feel the presence of the Lord. You feel like God in your heart is saying, "Yes." Or you feel God in your heart is saying, "No." You've discerned the will of God. And here's the powerful thing: What is the will of God? It's good. How could it be anything else? He's good. It's acceptable. It's wholesome. It's, it's approved. It's, it's from God. It's perfect. You couldn't improve on it, no matter what. Because the Spirit of God is renewing your mind. He's giving you that mind. He's putting your mind back to the way Adam and Eve had a mind in the garden, to know God, to walk with God, to be with God. And you'll find yourself living in the very center of God's will because the Spirit of God transformed you, brought the glory in you out by renewing your mind so you could live it out. Makes sense? Thought about how to close the message.
[Music] "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."