A Living Sacrifice: God’s Servants

Transcript

JR 9
09/11/2022
A Living Sacrifice: God’s Servants
Romans 12:1-2
Jesse Randolph

In 1813, a child named Robert was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the youngest of five children. He was the son of a prominent Scottish lawyer. As a young boy, Robert was an eager and a gifted student. He had learned the Greek alphabet by the time he was 4. He enrolled at the University of Edinburgh by the time he was 14. But, later, in his teenage years, though he was raised in a Christian home, Robert was drawn to the vices and the pleasures of the world, which in his day meant playing cards and going to concerts and dancing. But then in 1831, when he was just 18 years old, Robert’s eldest brother died young in his early 20’s of a stroke. His brother’s death greatly grieved Robert. It shook him. It rocked him. And it also awoke him from his spiritual slumber. In Robert’s own words, his brother’s death was “the first overwhelming blow to my worldliness.” Robert was soon thereafter awakened to spiritual life. God saved him. Not long after that Robert was drawn into ministry. And over the next 11 years, which proved to be his final 11 years, Robert, whose full name was Robert Murray M’Cheyne, lived a life marked by his radical commitment to Jesus Christ.

M'Cheyne was a sickly young man. He was given to overpowering heart palpitations. He was given over to fainting spells. And though his physical maladies would seem like the perfect excuse to throttle back in his service to Christ, M’Cheyne didn’t think that way at all. Instead, he lived a life of total abandonment to Jesus Christ. No doubt finding over and over, to paraphrase Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12 [verse 9], that the grace of Christ was sufficient for him. That the power of Christ was made perfect in his weakness. M’Cheyne’s dedicated service to Christ was shown in two specified ways. First, it was shown in his pursuit of personal holiness. The pursuit of personal holiness was of utmost importance to this man of God. He is often quoted as saying, “Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be.” His holiness was tied directly to him being a committed man of the Word and of prayer. In fact, there are bible-reading plans named after Robert Murray M’Cheyne. Second, his dedicated service to Christ was shown in the various ways that he pushed himself to the very limits of his physical capacities for the sake of the advancement of the gospel of grace. Even when doctors were telling him that doing so could shorten his life. For instance, there was one especially cold February (I know we don’t have those here) in Scotland, where over the doctor’s orders, M’Cheyne preached 27 times in 24 locations, just in the span of that month, trudging through the snow and the cold, and very clearly wearing himself down.

Well, M’Cheyne’s zeal for Christ would, as the doctors predicted, take its toll. At the age of 29, now weak and sickly and tired and frail, M’Cheyne took ill with a fever from which he never recovered. He passed into eternity on March 25, 1843, having made a brief but profound, eternal impact. Having completely burned himself out for the sake of the gospel. Having held nothing back. Now though he was only given 11 years on this planet as a Christian, those 11 years, undoubtedly were of supreme devotion to Christ. In fact, when he died, a fellow minister wrote this of him, he said, this is of M’Cheyne, “Indolence [laziness] and levity and unfaithfulness are sins that beset me; and his living presence was a rebuke to all these, for I never knew one so instantly in season and out of season, so impressed with the invisible realities, and so faithful in reproving sin and witnessing for Christ.”

What the life of Robert Murray M’Cheyne shows us, is that far more important than how long you live this life, is how you live this life. And our text today is going to show us how to live our lives. We’re going to see that we are called to live lives that are fully submitted to the sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ. To live lives that are sold out in service to Jesus Christ. That we are called to leave nothing off the altar, as it were, but rather, to live lives of total abandonment, as living sacrifices for the One whose ultimate sacrifice has saved our souls and reconciled us to God.

We’ll be in Romans 12 this morning. I invite you to turn with me in your bibles to Romans 12. And we’re going to be camped out today in verses 1-2, in a passage that undoubtedly is familiar to many of us here this morning. But I think would be an appropriate one for us to revisit, as we look to a new season of ministry here at Indian Hills. Romans 12:1-2, God’s word reads, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

These verses, though just two, are loaded with theological truth. They are vast in height and width and breadth and depth. And we’re going to attempt to scale them and unpack them line upon line, word upon word, here this morning. As we’re going to see, we have two main ideas this morning which correspond to the two verses we’ll be working through. And the two main ideas are these: we are called to place our bodies upon the altar and we’re called to place our minds upon the altar.
More on what I mean by that as we work through this text.

Picking it up in verse 1, Paul here to the Romans says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God.” Let’s start our time this morning, by unpacking that word “therefore.” There are three “therefores” in the book of Romans. The first is found in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The second “therefore” is found in Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And now, we have this one, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God.”

Now, each time that we see a “therefore”, whether its here in the book of Romans or elsewhere in the New Testament letters, its purpose is to transition from one group of thoughts to the next. And as we’re going to see, our two verses here in Romans 12:1-2 mark Paul making this titanic transition from his comprehensive discussion in Romans 1-11, of what God has accomplished on our behalf through Christ Jesus, to the practical outworkings of how we are to live today in light of those truths. Therefore, “therefore” is a highly significant and important word. Because what it indicates, is that what Paul is about to say in Romans 12 and throughout the rest of the book of Romans, about how we are to live as Christians, is anchored in and cannot be divorced from the doctrinal truths that he’s articulated in Romans 1-11. The one flows out of the other. Right living flows out of right doctrine. Orthodoxy produces orthopraxy.

J.C. Ryle made this crystal-clear in his time. And by the way, if you haven’t read anything from J.C. Ryle on practical Christian living, I suggest you do so. He wrote over 100 years ago, but the words he writes, they sound like they were written a few months ago. Here’s what Ryle said about the importance of understanding and adhering to and living out sound doctrine. He says, “The consequences”, again, this is a hundred years ago, “of this widespread dislike to distinct biblical doctrine are very serious. . . It produces what I must venture to call, if I may coin the phrase, a ‘jelly-fish’ Christianity – that is, a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or power. A jelly-fish, as everyone who has been much by the seaside knows, is a pretty and graceful object when it floats in the sea, contracting and expanding like a little delicate transparent umbrella. Yet the same jelly-fish, when cast on the shore, is a mere helpless lump, without capacity for movement, self-defense, or self-preservation.”

“Alas!” says Ryle, “It is a vivid type of much of the religion of this day, of which the leading principle is, ‘No dogma, no distinct beliefs, no doctrine.’ We have hundreds of ministers who seem not to have a single bone in their body of divinity! They have no definite opinions; they are so afraid of ‘extreme views,’ that they have no views at all. We have thousands of sermons preached every year, which are without an edge or a point or a corner – they are as smooth as marble balls, awakening no sinner, and edifying no saint! . . .we have myriads of respectable church-going people, who have no distinct and definite views about any point in theology. They cannot discern things that differ, any more than color-blind people can distinguish colors. They think. . .everybody is right – and nobody is wrong, everything is true – and nothing is false, all sermons are good – and none are bad, every clergyman is sound – and no clergyman unsound. They are ‘tossed to and fro, like children, by every wind of doctrine;’ often carried away by some new excitement and sensational movement; ever ready for new things, because they have no firm grasp on the old; and utterly unable to ‘render a reason of the hope that is in them.’”

Ryle was against jellyfish Christianity. Paul is against jellyfish Christianity. The Lord Jesus Christ, as we’ve seen from our last series in Revelation 2 -3, is against jellyfish Christianity. All this to say, the word “therefore” here in Romans 12:1 is important.

Back to our text. Paul says, “Therefore I urge you.” That word “urge” there, is another important one. Paul here is giving a strong word of exhortation. That word “urge”, “parakeleo,” can also be translated beseech or implore or entreat. In fact, that’s the word that is used in Hebrews 3:13, which says, “But encourage [parakeleo] one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

The point is this, Paul here is not being stoic. He’s not being apathetic. He’s not being passive. He’s not laying a bunch of options on the table like carpet samples or paint chips or wedding cake flavors. No, he’s beseeching and imploring and urging his audience to do what? Well, as we’re going to see, he’s urging Christians to live lives of total commitment to Jesus Christ. To decisively dedicate ourselves to Him and to His purposes. Not to have one foot in and one foot out. But rather, to have ribs of rock, and spines of steel, and hearts of faith, as we purposely and intentionally love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, [Mark 12:30-31].

And note what comes next, “Therefore I urge you, brethren.” Paul here, is not addressing unbelievers. Rather, he is addressing and writing to Christian believers. He’s writing to those who are already on the team. To those who’ve already entered through the narrow gate. Who are walking on the narrow path that leads to eternal live. To those who have already turned their backs on the world, and who are already living for Christ and His purposes. It’s to those believers that Paul here is making his earnest appeal, based on the gospel truths they know from chapters 1-11, to live consistently with the gospel message they have received and trusted in.

And the appeal he makes, we now see, as we keep on working through verse 1, is “by the mercies of God.” He’s urging these brothers in the faith by “the mercies of God.” Now, that phraseology, “the mercies of God,” is both at the same time laser-focused but also quite broad-reaching. And what I mean by that is this. In this little phrase, “the mercies of God,” Paul really is capturing all that has been stated in the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans.

In fact, it you would turn with me over to Romans 1, as we take the world’s fastest jet tour through Paul’s magnum opus, “But the Mercies of God.” Let’s go to Romans 1 first. By Paul using the word in Romans 12, “the mercies of God”, he’s first appealing with a reminder of who we once were. Romans 1:22, we once professed to be wise, though we were fools. Romans 1:25, we exchanged the truths we knew about God for lies. Romans 1:18, we suppressed the truths that we knew about God in unrighteousness. Romans 1:29, we were filled with all unrighteousness and wickedness and greed and evil. Also Romans 1:29, we were “full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, [and] malice.” Roman 1:30-31, we were “gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.” Not the greatest resume. Now jump ahead to Romans 2, as Paul continues this assessment. Romans 2:4, we were the ones who at one point had stubborn and unrepentant hearts. Jumping ahead to Romans 3:13, our throats were open graves, the poison of asps was under our lips. Romans 3:15, our feet were quick to shed blood.

Romans 3:23, we had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We did not seek God. We went astray from God. We ran from Him. We hid our face from Him. We were in sin. We were given over to our sin. And, if we’re being honest, we loved our sin. And all because of this, the state that we were in, the depths of the sin that we were in, we faced the righteous wrath of God. That’s all wrapped up into this phrase, “the mercies of God,” realizing who we once were.

But also wrapped up in that phrase, “the mercies of God,” is a reminder of our salvation.
Flip with me to Romans 5, Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The Lamb of God, the ultimate Living Sacrifice, the true Burnt Offering shed His own innocent blood on our behalf. Jesus Christ bought us with His own blood. “By His scourging,” or His wounds, or His stripes, Isaiah 53:5, “we are healed.”

Also wrapped up into this phrase, “the mercies of God”, is a reminder of the life-altering effects of our salvation. Flip with me to Romans 6:16-18, “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

You were once slaves to sin and ungodliness, but now you are slaves, the text tells us, of righteousness. You were once spiritually dead, but now you’ve been spiritually resurrected. You are now a new creature in Jesus Christ, and your life has been forever changed by the resurrection power of Christ. You have become, if you trusted in Christ, a son or a daughter of God, a joint heir with Christ. You’ve been adopted into God’s family and a heavenly inheritance awaits you, which is guaranteed by the deposit of the indwelling Holy Spirit in you.

Last, wrapped up into that phrase in Romans 12:1, “the mercies of God,” is a reminder of the eternal perspective that’s brought about by our salvation. Look at Romans 8, we now live our new lives in Christ (Romans 8:28, surely a very familiar verse to most, Romans 8:28) with this perspective: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” We lay our heads on the pillow every night knowing that every circumstance, trial, and event in our lives, God is orchestrating for His glory and for our good. We lay our heads on the pillow every night knowing that no matter what is going on in our lives at this very moment -- every situation that we find ourselves in -- every conversation we find ourselves in -- every quandary or dilemma that we find ourselves in -- we know at the same time as all that’s happening around us -- look at Romans 8:38, “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The God, who knows the beginning from the end, is arranging all things and purposing all things according to the counsel of His perfect will. This includes Romans 9, His sovereign election of His people. This includes Romans 10, the power and impact of His gospel as it goes out. This includes Romans 11, His future plans for Israel.

I told you that would be a fast jet tour through Romans. All of what we’ve just gone through is all back-story to what Paul appeals to us in Romans 12:1, as he appeals to us by “the mercies of God.”

Now, I have to say, if the truths in all of that back-story don’t remind you, don’t inspire you, don’t motivate you, don’t excite you, don’t put a charge into you, I honestly don’t know what ever could. These truths about God and His character, these truths about us and our depravity, these truths about the great salvation we’ve received, should flood us with gratitude, with joy. And the rising tide of these truths really ought to motivate us to live these sold-out, sacrificial lives for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, however that may look.

In Psalm 116:12, the anonymous psalmist there asks this question in the form of a prayer, he asks, “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” In other words, this psalmist was actually at a loss for words in his setting, in his context he didn’t know what to give. Our passage today provides the answer, the answer the author of Psalm 116 was seeking. Here in Romans 12:1, Paul says, “I urge you.” I appeal to you, I beseech you, to do what? Look at what comes next, “by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God.”

Let’s start by looking at the first few words there, “present your bodies.” The word “present” here has roots that go all the back to the days of the Tabernacle. That portable place of gathering and worship that the Israelites would transport from place to place, before the time of Solomon’s Temple. And the word “present” here means to surrender, to yield up, to offer, to hold nothing back. Think of the Israelite worshiper back in the days of the Levitical offering system, who was called to present his choicest animal as an act of worship to God there in the Tabernacle. That would be the original setting of this word “present.”

Now, how do we carry that concept forward to the current church age? What is it that we, as Christians, are to present? Are we called to bring in our lambs and pigeons and turtledoves (and here, bats) into the sanctuary to offer a sacrifice to God? No, no, we don’t do that. No, what we present Romans 12:1 is telling us, we present our bodies. Look at what it says, “present your bodies.” Paul here is using that word “bodies” to represent the totality of who we are and what we are. We are called as believers to give ourselves completely to God. From the top of our head to the bottom of our feet. When we’re young and when we’re old. In the morning and in the evening. On weekends and weekdays. In seasons of great joy and anticipation, and also those seasons that are especially dark or disappointing. Whether we feel like it or not. We are called as Christians to present all of ourselves. Every fiber, every molecule, every atom that makeup these bodies to God.

That means we are to give Him our minds. Every thought, every worry, every fear, every dream, every hope, every prayer, every ambition. That means we’re to give Him our eyes, what we look at, what we glance upon, what we gaze upon, what we stare at, what we focus on whether it’s a screen or a person or an object. We’re called to give Him our ears, who we listen to, what we listen to, the way in which we listen. We’re to give Him our mouths, the way we speak, what we say, how we say it, to whom we say it, how loud we say it, the tone with which we say it, what we share, what we hold back. We are to give Him our hands, what we do, how we work, what we lay hold of, what we touch. We’re to give Him our feet, where we go, what we pursue, the path, the direction that we take.
That’s God’s design for all of us here today, who have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation. We’re to be continually and always presenting to God all that we have and all that we are to Him, in light of all that He is and all that He has done on our behalf on the cross.

Then look at what Paul says next in verse 1. He says, “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” That’s a striking piece of imagery. As Paul here’s referring to Christians as living and holy sacrifices, he has a clear reference in mind. You got to remember, this is Paul, Philippians 3:5, “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.” It’s that Paul. And what he has in view here as that guy, is the Old Testament Levitical system of sacrifices. And under that system, the Israelite, what he would do is he would bring his animal to sacrifice. He would kill it with his own hands. And then with the help of a priest, he would bring it to the altar in the Tabernacle and offer it up to God. And as the sweet-smelling aroma of that burnt offering would waft up into the heavenly throne room of God, it pleased God. And an atonement was made, albeit temporarily.

But as we also know from Hebrews 10, which was read in scripture reading this morning, the entire Old Testament sacrificial system -- the sacrifices, the Tabernacle, the priests -- were all but a shadow. They were symbolic. They all pointed to the ultimate Living Sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who as our Great High Priest, offered Himself up to be the ultimate Sacrificial Lamb to offer atonement for our sins. Jesus’s death on the cross nullified, it abolished, the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. The result being that there is no more need for sacrifices to be made for sin. The same Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, has swept all the old, dead victims off the altar of God. And based on the finished work of the Great High Priest, we now have access to God. We can come to Him. We can approach Him.

But note this, as we come to Him we are still to bring a sacrifice. Now, we don’t bring a sacrifice that would represent atonement for sin. That system has been wiped away and done with. Christ has already paid that price. No, there’s a new kind of sacrifice we bring, in our day, in our time, in the church age. And again, it’s not a dead animal. It’s a living sacrifice. And the living sacrifice is us. We are to place ourselves on the altar, as it were, before God as living sacrifices, as an offering to Him.
Does that mean that we go all Genesis 22 like Isaac and Abraham and throw ourselves on an actual altar, and lay a physical body down to be sacrificed? Of course not. That’s not the living sacrifice that’s in view here.

No, God tells us what a living sacrifice is to be. It’s right here in the text. First, a living sacrifice is a holy sacrifice. It says we’re to be “a living and holy sacrifice.” That’s one that’s consecrated and dedicated and given over entirely to God. Just as the animals that were being sacrificed under the Old Testament system were to be offered without blemish to God. As we present our bodies as living sacrifices to God, we are to be totally consecrated and given to God. Set apart from the things of the world.
What that means practically is that we cannot have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. That means practically is that we cannot have one hand holding onto Christ and another hand holding onto the world. 1 John 2:15 doesn’t allow that. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world,” it says. “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

So, my question to you this morning is, are you that holy, living sacrifice? Are you actively pursuing, by the power of the Spirit who lives in you if you have trusted in Christ, are you actively pursuing holiness and godliness? Are you actively, again by the power of the Spirit, seeking to put sin to death, as you replace old sinful habits and replace them with godly and righteous ones that honor your Savior? What are you doing with your body? Are your feet walking in His paths? Is your mouth speaking truth and spreading His gospel? Is your tongue a balm that soothes, or a burr that bothers? Are your ears listening attentively to the cries and cares and concerns of the people of God that He has placed in your life? Are your eyes looking humbly and patiently toward God? Are your hands being used to serve God? Is your mind, as Colossians 3:2 puts it, set on things that are above? Are you presenting yourself, friends, as a holy and living sacrifice to God?

Second, the living sacrifice is not only to be a holy sacrifice, but one that is “acceptable to God.” And that phrase “acceptable” brings to mind Malachi 1:6-8, where we see this account of the Israelite priests who were bringing to God their defective animals, their blind animals, their lame animals, the leftover animals. While they kept all the healthy animals to themselves to sell in the marketplace. Essentially, what they were doing was giving God their scraps, while they turned a profit on the best and choicest, fattest animals. And what does God say back to those priests in Malachi? I’m going to paraphrase here, but He says, “Nice try. Keep your own leftover sacrifices to yourselves. You bring me the best of your sacrifices.” Paul, here in Romans 12, is bringing that scene from Malachi back into view, and instructing us here to give God our first fruits. To give God the very best that we could offer Him. That which is, to use the language of the text, “acceptable to God.” The entirety of our lives.

And how do you know if you’re giving or offering an acceptable sacrifice to God? Well, it boils down to this question: in light of what you know, verse 1, about the mercies of God, and in light of what you’ve been shown, verse 1, of the mercies of God, are you living a life that is sold out and surrendered and radically committed to Jesus Christ? Or instead, are you giving Him your scraps? Leaving parts of your life off the altar, you could say? Keeping things behind your back, as though you could, from the all-seeing, all-knowing God?

Look at what comes next, as he lays out this form of a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. Paul now says, “which is your spiritual service of worship.” What Paul is saying here, as he calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, is that we need to think this through. The word “spiritual” here, is the word from which we get our word “logic” or “logical” or “logarithm”. This is a word that speaks to reasonableness or acting rationally. Paul here is saying that we need to do the math on this. You know, when we compute and we calculate what God has done for us through Christ -- when we compute and we calculate what’s left of this life is but a miniscule drop of water in the ocean of eternity -- to present ourselves fully and completely to Him as a living sacrifice, is the most rational thing, the most logical thing we could ever do. The numbers, you could say, just add up. By contrast though, to live for this world, to live for yourself, to live for your spouse, to live for your kids, to live for your job, or your career, or your GPA, or your favorite team, or anything else, is totally irrational. It’s completely illogical.

You may have the highest IQ in Lincoln. You might have aced all the standardized tests, as you work your way through school. But if you are living in any way for the world, what this is telling us is that’s utter foolishness. The most intelligent and rational decision you will ever make as a follower of Jesus Christ is to totally and completely give yourself to Him -- serving Him with a singular focus, supreme devotion, and uncompromising loyalty.

Using the word that Paul uses here, at the very end of verse 1, that is what constitutes “worship.” True worship is not liturgy, it’s not candles, it’s not chants, it’s not stained glass, it’s not icons or relics or incense. True worship, in fact, is not limited to what we do or what we say or what songs we sing here even in church. No, true worship is this: giving all of yourself, from the crown of your head to the sole of your feet, day after day, hour after hour, year after year, to the God who has saved you. That’s true worship.

As we embark on a new year of ministry here at our church, in the middle of, not just this new year of ministry, but this new season of ministry, what Paul is telling us here is that we need to add it up.
We need to run the assets and the liabilities report, do the profit and loss statement, to do the math, to count the cost. And to make sure that we are wholly pursuing Jesus Christ as true, living sacrifices.
As C.T. Studd, the British missionary from the early 1900’s once said, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”

We’ve only looked at one verse. We’ve got to turn to verse 2. Verse 2, and here’s Paul saying, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” So, if verse 1, we could say, calls us to place our bodies, every aspect of our life on the altar, verse 2 is telling us to place our minds upon the altar. To live as the kind of living sacrifices that God is calling us to be, holy and acceptable, we need not only to present our bodies, we need to do something with our minds.

Now, to start off, we need to protect our minds. We need to insulate our minds. We need to seal off our minds from the corrupting influence of the world. Look at the first few words of verse 2 – “And do not be conformed to this world.” Does this say never go into the world? No. Does this say that we’re to isolate ourselves completely from the world? No. Is this saying that we’re to live a monastic life of isolation? No. In fact, this very phrasing of this language here in verse 2, “do not be conformed to this world”, it’s actually implying that we in fact will be in the world. Living in the midst of the world. And penetrating the world with the glorious, saving message of the gospel of grace. But we’re not to be of the world. That’s the distinction. Though we are like boats that have been dropped in the water, we can’t let all the water around us get into the boat. And not only that, once we’ve been dropped into the water there’s no reverse, there’s no going back to shore. Rather, it’s full steam ahead as ambassadors for Christ, as we call on sinners to be reconciled to God through Him.

So, what we know for sure then, is that when Paul here is saying, “do not be conformed to this world,” he’s not saying, do not be in the world. What instead he’s saying is do not be squeezed into the mold of this world. Don’t become like the world. And what world is Paul referring to here? Well, he’s referring to the godless and evil age in which we live. The “present evil age” as Galatians 1:4 refers to it. And the present age is evil, is it not? I mean, we live in an age that’s the most self-absorbed, self-interested, self-promoting generation that’s ever preceded it. This is the self-esteem generation, the self-love generation, the selfie generation. We live in an age that’s the most anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-truth generation of any that’s preceded it. This is the generation that we all live in, that now openly mocks and scoffs at God and Christ and the Christian message. This is the generation that boos the name of God at political conventions. This is the generation that rejects the concept of objective truth, trading it in instead for the shifting sands of relativism. We live in an age that is the most man-centered, evil and dark, of any generation that’s preceded it. This is the generation that’s usurped biblical teaching and revelation, for instance, on the purpose and meaning of the rainbow, to openly champion and celebrate sin. This is the generation in which boys want to become girls. Girls want to become boys. Married people want to become single people. And everybody wants to usurp the role of God. It reminds me of Isaiah 5:20, where God in that context says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who put [substitute] bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

We, as Christians, are not to be conformed to any of it. We, as Christians, are not to mold ourselves into the image of this evil age. We, as Christians, are not to buy into the world’s values or priorities or perspectives or philosophies. We, as Christians, are to turn a deaf ear to the hollow ideologies of the world. We, as Christians, are to turn a blind eye to the pagan, godless thinking of this world. And instead, we, as Christians, are to adapt the mindset of the psalmist in Psalm 1 [verse 1], not walking in the counsel of the wicked. Not standing in the way of sinners. Not sitting in the seat of scoffers. Or, using the language here of Romans 12:2, not being conformed.

But there’s more. In addition to not being conformed, we’re called to be transformed. We need to be transformed. We are to not only pursue consecration, but transformation. Look at the next part of verse 2, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The word for “transformed” there is “metamorphow,” the Greek verb from which we get our word “metamorphosis.” It’s also the root word for what’s described in Matthew 17 as the Transfiguration. When Jesus, who was fully and visibly man as He is fully God, was visibly transfigured in front of Peter, James, and John into that glorious form.
In the context here of Romans 12:2, though, “transformed” refers to Christians being molded further and further into their Savior’s image. It refers to being conformed into Christlikeness. This is not a facade-level change. Rather, this is inward, radical, lasting change.

And how does that happen? It says, “by the renewing of your mind.” Note what’s not being said here. Paul is not instructing these believers and us, to clear out our minds. He’s not charging us to sit around in a circle and contemplate our existence, gazing at our navels. Our mind doesn’t need to be emptied. No, our mind needs to be washed and scrubbed and reprogrammed. To use the word of Paul here, it needs to be “renewed.” And how is that to happen? Well, our minds are renewed by the life-giving, Spirit-breathed, inerrant, all-sufficient word of God. Scripture renews our mind. Hebrews 4:12, tells us that the Word, in competition with the so-called wisdom of the world, “is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.” And that passage also says that the scriptures pierced to the division of soul and the spirit, as it discerns the thoughts and the intentions of the human heart.

Is scripture renewing your mind? As you read it, is your thought life becoming more pure and pleasing to God? As you read it, are your thoughts becoming more elevated and transcended, just meaning aimed at God? As you read it, is “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16) being more fully formed in you? As you read it, are you increasingly becoming capable of sifting what you see out there in the world? Whether it be in the political realm, or in news or world events, or you own experiences, through an increasingly sharpened biblical worldview? As you read it, are you seeing your sin for what it is? Hating that sin and resolving, by the power of God living in you, to kill that sin? As you read it, are you growing “in the grace and knowledge”, 2 Peter 3:18, “of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”?

If so, praise the Lord! You’re on your way. Press on. But if it doesn’t describe you, and I am confident that there will be some here this morning that does not describe, though this is a, and has been a bible teaching church. If that doesn’t describe you, I encourage you, I exhort you, to jump in. There are plenty of ways to jump into the corporate study of the word of God here at Indian Hills. In our morning services, in our evening services. In our first hour bible studies. In our mid-week bible studies. And Titus Tuesday for the women. For sure, we have all of that. But also, make sure that you are personally getting into the Word. Reading it. Studying it. Meditating upon it and what it says. Praying over it. Soaking in it. Only then will your mind truly be renewed. Only then will you truly be placing your mind on the altar, as a living sacrifice to God.

Which takes us to the last part of verse 2, the purpose clause here, “so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” If we live the way that God is calling us to live here, as living sacrifices, as people who have placed our bodies on the altar, meaning living lives completely given over to Jesus Christ -- and as we’re living as people who have placed our minds on the altar, meaning living as minds that are insulated from the world’s ways of thinking and at the same time bathed in and saturated in the word of God -- what will be the result? The result, the text tells us, is that you will be able to discern what is the will of God. Meaning, His chosen path for your life.

And His will for your life here is given this threefold description. His will is “good.” Meaning it’s spiritually good. It’s morally good. It’s for our good. It blesses us with moral and spiritual growth.
His will is “acceptable.” That word is often translated “pleasing.” And in this context, it means what God wills is always pleasing and acceptable to Him. We always think of it the other way. Was it acceptable and pleasing to me. That’s not the context here. This is about what God’s will always being acceptable to Him. He has no regrets. He has no remorse about what He has eternally purposed. And last, His will is “perfect.” Meaning, we could never improve on what God has planned for us. And we could never do so, because what God has charted out for us is infinitely perfect. Because He is infinitely perfect. We here have, toothy, smiling preachers down in Houston talking about living your best life now. But the reality is God has already charted out for us, the best life we could ever live. Though you might think you could pick a better spouse than the one you have. Though you might think that you could pick better kids than the ones that are under your roof or are now in the world. Though you might think that you could pick a better job than the one you currently hold. Though you might think you could select better circumstances than the ones you currently find yourself in. The reality is God has already perfectly planned and preordained exactly where you’re supposed to be. Who you’re supposed to be with. And all that’s happening in your life. And His will is perfect because He is perfect. You’re not. I’m not. Your mind, like my mind, is fallen. And it’s been polluted by the influence of sin. We can only see a few feet out in front of us. Whereas God, who knows everything, sees and knows our past, our present, and our future. Because He’s the One who has perfectly plotted and charted out the whole thing. You cannot improve on, and indeed it would be a futile act to seek to improve on, what God has already perfectly decreed. Because in reality, if you were the one who could improve on what a perfect God has already decreed, you’d be the perfect one, which means you’d in fact be God.

We’ll end this morning where we began. Giving the last word to Robert Murray M’Cheyne. Soon before he died at only 29 years old again, M’Cheyne would write these words, he says: “Oh! brethren, be wise. ‘Why do you stand all the day idle?’ In a little moment it will be all over. A little while and the day of grace will be over – preaching, praying will be done. A little while, and we shall stand before the great white throne – a little while, and the wicked shall not be; we shall see them going away into everlasting punishment. A little while, and the work of eternity shall be begun.”

That’s what I want to camp on. ‘A little while, and the work of eternity shall be begun.”
The question for us, as we close this sermon, as we gear up for this new ministry year, is this:
Are you presenting yourself a living sacrifice? Your body? Your mind? Your whole person? What consumes you? What preoccupies you? What dominates your time and your thinking? What are you most ambitious about? What’s most important in your life? Are you living for this world? Are you living for the one to come? Is your life focused on the present? Or is it focused on eternity?
See, it’s better to die young, like M’Cheyne, living a life radically devoted to Jesus Christ, leaving it, if we could say it this way, all on the field for the Lord. Than it is to die old, in mediocrity, having barely cleared the bar into eternity. To borrow the words of one of my favorites, George Whitefield, it’s better, in view of eternity, to flame out, than it is to rust out.
This isn’t Christianity 2.0, friends. This isn’t varsity Christianity. This isn’t Christianity-plus or Christianity on steroids, or Indian Hills Christianity or Jesse Randolph’s Christianity. This is Christianity 101. It’s rightly been said that Jesus Christ is either Lord of all, or He’s not Lord at all. Make sure you give everything you have to Him. Not just this year but in the years to come as long as He has you on this planet serving Him. It’s the wisest investment you’ll ever make.

Let’s pray. Our great and mighty God, we want to say thank You, for this time in Your word this morning. We thank You for the sacrifice, the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, for sinners like us. Which is our hope, which is our source of optimism and joy and really anything in this life. And I pray this morning that what we take away as followers of the King, of the Lord Jesus, would be a renewed zeal, a renewed passion, a renewed dedication to serving the Lord Christ. In every aspect, every nook and cranny of our lives. And never losing sight of who we serve, whose church we serve. Who gives us life and breath and movement today. Who’s upholding every molecule of this universe. It’s all Him. So, help us to have that eternal mindset, going into this new ministry year, and to not lose sight of that. God, I also want to pray for those, who here this morning might be deceived and they might think that they are on the team. That they think they know the Lord Jesus Christ. And they’re hearing these truths, and they realize, that’s not me. That they’ve never truly repented and believed in the gospel. That they’ve never given their lives, surrendered to Jesus Christ. God, I pray that they would not hear this message, being a message of works-based legalism, where they have to do more to curry favor with You, a holy God. That is a futile task. Rather, help them see, as You open their eyes, that what they need is saving faith. What they need is You to reach down and regenerate and change their hearts. And give them hearts of faith, as they come to faith in Christ. God, help us to be a faithful church for the years You have us here, on this planet, in this building, in this city. Help us to pursue holiness and godliness. Help us to bring honor, praise, and glory to our King Jesus. It’s in His name we pray. Amen. `