December 3, 2023
Evening Service

A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1  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. 

Romans 12:2  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.

Paul describes the wonder of God that He shows mercy to us His creation and tells us what our service to Him should be like. We are to present our bodies and lives as a living sacrifice to Him, striving for holiness while realizing His mercy is why our service is acceptable to Him. These are the basics for reasonable service to God and worship to Him; this is how they are applied in our daily walk with Christ. It is very important in our relationship with Jesus to do and act in a manner that is acceptable to Him. This would be in doing things that please Him and living our lives for Him and through Him, knowing that we by ourselves have nothing that is acceptable to God. This is our duty as Christians to live our life in a way that glorifies our Lord Jesus, doing all things for Him and His glory. This is why Paul implored the Romans, as his brothers and sisters in Christ, by God’s great mercy, to give up our lives as a sacrifice to Him. This is the way to have God’s power with us, as we give up our lives to Him, He intervenes in ways we could not possibly do for ourselves and is beyond our understanding. Every day that we live in this life, we receive from Jesus the fruits of His infinite mercy.

Lamentations 3:22  Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 

Lamentations 3:23  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 

Knowing this character of our Lord, then why would we do anything less than to give of ourselves all that we are. We should yield our whole lives to Him daily in all that we are, all that we have, and all we can do. This actually seems very little to make ourselves available to Him daily when we receive such rich blessings when we die to ourselves. It is also acceptable to God through Jesus to do this; the scriptures say it is a reasonable service. We are called by Christ to die to ourselves daily and to live in Christ daily, after all, Christ died for us so that we could have life with Him. When we commit to the Lord Jesus and ask for His forgiveness of our sins, our next thing on the list of our desires should be to become sanctified in Him. These actions will renew our minds, not by changing the chemical makeup or physical characteristics, but by enhancing the qualities of our soul through devotion to our Lord Jesus. Becoming sanctified is not a one and done event, it is a process by which we die to sin to an increasing extent and live to righteousness continuously more. This is the continuation of the renewing of our minds, until it is perfected in the kingdom of Heaven. The biggest obstruction to renewing our minds is conformance to worldly things. If we make our plans for happiness in the things of the world, these will quickly pass away. Taking part in customs and traditions that suit the lusts of the flesh will lead us into a pit that some do not recover. We must set our eyes on the eternal things, which are now not seen. The Holy Spirit within us will guide us in the way of righteousness; we must listen to God through the Spirit and obey when called. In saying this, the way to holiness is to give up our lives to God and desiring His will in our lives, not our own. 

Gifts of Grace

Romans 12:3  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 

Romans 12:4  For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 

Romans 12:5  so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 

Romans 12:6  Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 

Romans 12:7  or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 

Romans 12:8  he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Pride is a sin in us by nature, we like being on the top of the pile, first in line for succession, thought of highly by our peers, but this can be very detrimental to our faith. We should instead be humble and considerate of others, being on our toes to watch out for sin taking hold through pride.

Proverbs 11:2  When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom. 

Proverbs 16:18  Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 29:23  A man's pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor. 

 All believers in Jesus make up the body, one body with Christ as the Head of the body. We share in the body of Christ in unity that we are all a part for a specific purpose through the gifts given to us by the Spirit. Each of us have our designated work to do as a part of the body of Christ, some are purposed for one sort of work, and others are for another type of work. All members of the body of Christ are to do all the good that we can, good for each other in helping and being available to help and for the good of the common benefit as well. If each of us sincerely thought about the powers we have, and how we fail terribly to improve upon them, it would make us more humble. This being said, we are aware that we must not become prideful in our God given gifts, but at the same time, we cannot become lazy about making ourselves available for the benefit of the whole. There is a danger that exists when we pretend to be denying ourselves and exhibiting humbleness, but it is truly for the purpose of not using our gifts for the body of Christ. It is not right to say, I am of no value, so I will sit idle and do nothing, rather we should say and think we know we are of little value, but I will give of all that I am in the strength and grace of Christ Jesus. We have been given gifts of the Spirit from God to use them for the betterment of the body as a whole. Knowing this, we need to engage ourselves in humbleness, being of cheerful nature and diligent to use our gifts. We must think of the whole body and not of ourselves to gain credit to us as individuals, but for the good of the whole in this world and in preparation for the next. 

Marks of the True Christian

Romans 12:9  Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 

Romans 12:10  Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 

Romans 12:11  not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 

Romans 12:12  rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 

Romans 12:13  distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 

Romans 12:14  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 

Romans 12:15  Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 

Romans 12:16  Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 

The love of fellow believers in Jesus should be sincere, not having any form of deceit, not offering up compliments to others just to appear loving in nature. After all, what is a compliment to anyone or anything if it does not come from a place of sincerity in the heart? God’s Divine Grace is sufficient for us in all things; we must detest evil and desire what is good, useful, and kind. We must not only do what is good, but the scriptures say to cling to it, meaning to hold tightly to it to prevent it from leaving us. Everything that Christians should be doing as a duty in our reasonable service to God and others is contained in the word love. An example of this is the love of the parent for their children, it is gentle and natural, not forced and not limited to how the children behave. In addition to this, a love for God and our fellow man, a real zealous love from the truth of the gospel. If we model these attributes of true love in our lives, we will make ourselves more diligent in worldly business and will gain superior skills. God is love and if we have genuine love for Him and our fellow man, we can serve God effectively by the influence of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We can truly honor God when we place our hope and trust in Him alone, especially if we do so with a cheerful heart and praise Him for His goodness. We also serve the Lord by being quiet and still when He calls us to a point of suffering for His namesake, it is not just by work that we serve Him, but also reverence. Exhibiting patience for God and waiting upon Him is a true path to holiness and spirituality. Christians that delight in their hope in Jesus are likely to remain patient in times of tribulation. It is good to remain faithful in our prayer life and not become exhausted of it. God calls us to show kindness to our friends and our brothers, but also our enemies. It is a bad thing to harbor anger and resentments against those who seem to be enemies. True love is kindness in all ways, if an enemy needs something and it is within our ability to supply the need, and then furnish it faithfully in Jesus’ name. We are meant to be courteous and welcoming to strangers and to do good to them and for them. Our duty as Christians is to offer blessings and not cursing. We are meant to have a true good will to all and at all times, not just at prayer time asking for blessings and then when not in prayer cursing them. The love of Jesus in its true form will make us desire to share sorrows and share joys with one another. We should try hard to agree in the same spiritual truths; if we cannot agree for some reason, agree in remaining tender in love for one another. We must be in harmony to the place God in his providence puts us in, no matter what facet of life or vocation, trust in the Lord for everything. The only status in this world that is too low for us as believers is a place of continuing to sin. Our hearts must be thoughtful of others and mindful, not thinking we are somehow above any other, Jesus died so that none should perish and this puts us in our rightful place, not above any other. If we have pride and arrogance of ourselves, this must be put to death to live in Christ.

Romans 12:17  Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 

Romans 12:18  If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 

Romans 12:19  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. 

Romans 12:20  Therefore "IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM; IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD." 

Romans 12:21  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Verse twenty is where we get the adage, kill them with kindness; but the objective is not to kill them or to heap coals on their head, but to show true love through our Lord Jesus. Mankind became enemies with God and they have readied themselves since this time to become enemies with one another. Believers in Christ Jesus must expect to meet with enemies in a world that seldom agree with Christ's doctrine. The bible is clear here about not repaying evil with evil. Acting in this manner is fitting for the behavior of animals that have no knowledge of an existence in the hereafter. Animals do not have a conscious for anything being above them in a sovereign way, their actions are about surviving and not on the higher plain in which our Lord and God exists. We are meant to study and take care to do things that are pleasant and respectable, and to speak the gospel message to all who are willing to hear. The bible says not to avenge yourselves, but to give place for wrath. This is a tough thing for humans, due to our very corrupt nature, when we are wronged; the natural thing to do is to seek revenge. God tells us to allow for His wrath and His vengeance and not to seek it out for ourselves and by ourselves. Actions of the Christian are clearly marked out, and if our enemies are not softened by persevering kindness, we are not to seek vengeance; they will be consumed by the fiery wrath of God to whom vengeance belongs. In verse twenty-one, the bible says to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. The worldly nature finds this a mystery, those that revenge are conquered and those that forgive are the one that conquer. We cannot allow evil to triumph over us, we must learn to have victory over ill will against us, either to change them or the situation, or to preserve our own peace. If we guard our way by the power of God, it is not ours but His that does the mighty work. As followers of Christ, it is better to let God take care of the evil and for us to continue resigned to our own actions. God will enable us to act as He wishes.