Good morning, everyone. My name is James. It's nice to be with you this morning. Let me pray for us.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word to us. Thank you for that part of Romans 12, which Flora has just read.
Be with us this morning as we look at your word for us today. Amen.
There is a man here whose insecurity causes him to question his place before God.
And so he acts to please people and to please God.
There's a sister here who questions her value and feels the need to talk herself up in front of other people and before God.
There's a mom here who sees her sin and thinks that she is the very worst mom.
And she's constantly comparing herself to others.
And there's a brother here who feels that God is so awesome and is so good that God is demanding more and more of him.
And he feels like he should be doing more as a Christian, but ends up feeling guilty.
We have a distorted view of God.
And it distorts our view of ourselves and our relationship with other people.
One of my temptations, one of the things that I do personally is that it can lead me to, my view of myself can lead me to question my value.
It can lead me to think, does God really want me?
Do people actually want to hang out with me?
Do my friends really want to hang out to me?
Or am I just a burden on them?
We are in the book of Romans.
We're in a series called Made New and we're up to chapter 12.
We've seen over the last number of weeks how good God has been.
That God shows his goodness and his love and mercy to a people who are undeserving.
And now we see at the start of chapter 12, the first word that Flora read for us before was therefore.
Therefore, what is the impact of all that God has done through us in Jesus?
How does it change our lives?
Paul is going to start with our relationships with God.
And then our view of ourselves and then others.
Because we have a distorted view of our God.
And it impacts all of our relationships.
And the challenge will be today to see how when we have a clear view of our relationship with God,
it helps us to see ourselves right.
And it shapes every relationship we have.
There are three points this morning that you'll be able to find in the St. Paul's app.
And if you don't have that app, you can scan the QR code in front of you.
The three points, new life, a new view of ourselves and new service.
But I'm going to spend the majority of our time together on that first point.
Those first two verses, I was tempted to just preach on just those two verses.
Because I think it has so much there for us.
I'm going to spend the majority of our time in those first two verses
before I quickly move through the second and third point.
So have Romans 12 open with you this morning on a phone or in your Bible.
Be taking notes.
That is good for us.
This passage starts with that word that I mentioned, therefore.
And you always need to question what the therefore is.
Therefore.
Paul has told us about the good news which comes to a people who don't deserve it.
How we can totally trust in God, the one who makes salvation possible.
And now he says, therefore.
Because of God's great love for you, therefore.
Because of salvation by faith, therefore.
Because of justification by grace alone, therefore.
Live differently.
The next two verses, verse 1 and 2, are a summary of the entire Christian life
following all that God has done in these last 11 chapters.
So, verse 1.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
This is your true and proper worship.
Therefore, because of all that Paul has said about what God has done,
live a radical life as a Christian.
And the motivation is God's mercy.
It's the only sufficient motivation for a life of gratitude.
Back in Romans 8, Paul argued that a Christian cannot lose their salvation.
And so mercy and grace is our only motivation to have a radically different life.
If a Christian could lose their salvation,
then our motivation would be fear or guilt.
I'm not living right.
I'm not living as God wants me to.
I need to work harder so I can make sure I'm saved.
And then, how does that work out in other relationships?
I feel guilty before God that I'm not working hard enough.
And then I see the people around me.
Well, they're still sinning.
You know, I need to tell my kids.
I need to tell people around you, you need to be doing better.
You need to be reading your Bible more.
Aren't you worried about this sin that you're still holding on to?
This is where religious guilt comes in.
This inner view that I'm not accepted and loved by God
and I always need to do more and more.
It leads to anxiety.
It leads to fear.
And the person who relates to God out of fear
believes that they will get what they deserve in a season.
Have you ever had that thought, you know, that kind of calmer thought?
Ah, do you know what?
I haven't really gone to church recently.
And, you know, I've gotten sick.
I've gotten COVID.
Maybe this is God punishing me because I haven't been obeying Him.
Fear leads us to think that we get what we deserve in a season.
It leads to anxiety before God and other people.
But this is not the gospel.
God has already given us mercy.
He already chooses to love us.
And so Paul encourages us that we are motivated by mercy,
not by fear, not by guilt, not by needing to do anything.
That's been the point of the last 11 chapters.
We're motivated not by that.
We're motivated by God's mercy.
Live differently.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters,
in view of God's mercy,
in view of God's wonderful mercy,
offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God.
This is your true and proper worship.
Offer your body as a living sacrifice.
The first call for us in view of God's mercy is to live as a living sacrifice.
Paul is using Old Testament language here of sacrifice.
It's the image of a worshiper coming in and bringing an offering.
It's not an offering that would deal with sin.
We already have that.
That's Jesus.
But this offering was a burnt offering.
This was the best a person had.
They would bring their very best animal,
the one without blemish,
the one without defect.
It was the most expensive and best they had.
It was not their leftovers.
And this offering was always completely burnt.
And it represented a complete devotion to God.
And so what Paul is saying for our lives is
that we ought to be offering everything.
We ought to be offering every aspect of our lives.
We ought to be offering everything.
And he specifically mentions bodies.
Now for us that might seem fairly normal,
but this is into a Greco-Roman context.
And they believed that what happened in the body
did not actually matter.
The religious and philosophical Romans and Greeks,
what they pursued was purity of the mind.
And so they thought that,
you know what,
what happens with the body doesn't matter.
If I choose to pursue anything I like with my body,
sexual depravity,
it doesn't matter as long as I'm pursuing purity of the mind.
But Paul is being inclusive of everything.
We are to offer everything to God as living sacrifices.
We don't just divide parts of our lives out.
We're not to think like the ancient Romans and Greeks
and separate what happens.
I'll offer some of my life,
my money,
my Sunday mornings to God,
but I'm going to pursue the job that I want.
I'm going to pursue the sexual experiences that I want.
I'll parent as I fit.
Paul calls us,
in view of God's mercies,
to offer our bodies,
our minds,
our thoughts,
our hopes,
and our dreams to God.
God wants everything.
Now it sounds a bit greedy for God to want everything.
But when we remember how deep God's mercies are for us,
that his mercy in Jesus,
we only have anything because of God's mercy to us.
And so the most obvious response to God's mercy
is to offer everything as a living sacrifice.
And it's living.
It's not just a once-off,
I have done that.
It is a living thing.
We continue to offer it.
It's a daily giving.
As we continue to read God's word,
we are reminded of his mercy.
And we continue to bring our whole lives before him.
On Wednesday afternoon this week,
of the week just past,
I had to take my youngest to soccer.
I know,
and it's this 45-minute thing
that happens on a Wednesday afternoon.
And Wednesdays,
as we all know,
is the worst day of the week.
It's hump day.
And I feel tired by five o'clock on a Wednesday.
And I had to take him.
And I have this 45-minute window
where I thought,
do you know what?
Do you know what would be really good to do right now?
It would be really good to just drop Micah
and then go and sit in the car and have a nap.
That would be so delightful.
Or maybe even read a book
or just do anything I like.
That would be really good.
And do you know what?
If I chose to do that,
if I needed to rest,
that would be a good thing as well.
Rest is a good thing that God gives us.
But on Wednesday morning,
I'd also been reading my Bible
and I'd been praying for a dad from soccer.
I've had a couple of little conversations with him
about religion.
And I'd be praying that I'd have an opportunity
to talk to him on Wednesday afternoon about Jesus.
And there's this really dangerous thing
that happens when you pray.
God answers our prayers.
So sometimes it's just easier.
Maybe I shouldn't pray that
because God might actually put that situation before me.
So Wednesday afternoon,
I'm thinking,
it would really be good
to do whatever I like right now,
to have that little piece of rest.
But I made the decision,
actually, do you know what?
I should go.
I should see if I can stand there
and encourage my son while he plays soccer
and maybe even see if I can have
a little conversation with this other dad.
And I ended up having a 45-minute conversation
about life, religion, Jesus,
his religion, his background, his thoughts,
and we're catching up this Wednesday for lunch.
Now, you might expect me to do that
as the missions pastor.
I really didn't want to do that.
And it was also a very easy and simple thing.
Now, this is just a very small example
of what it means to be a living sacrifice.
There is the living sacrifice
of offering our lives
and choosing to put our pride
and our lust
and our greed away
and offering ourselves to God.
But there is also
those small things.
Because we can make our lives
look pretty Christian,
but also continue to be self-centered.
Will I sacrifice my hopes
and my dreams
and my rest
and that little 45 minutes I had?
There is that inner battle.
Because rest in that moment
would have been good,
but God actually said
there is something better here.
Here, Paul says,
this living sacrifice,
this life that we have,
we can live it
and it's pleasing to God.
Pleasing to God.
I think this is amazing.
God is already pleased with us.
He said to Jesus at his baptism,
this is my son
in whom I am well pleased.
And God
makes us his children
and he is pleased with us.
It's a delight
to be pleased with my kids
and to enjoy them
and see that
they are enjoying me
being pleased with them.
But can you imagine
that we can actually
enjoy this
with the God of the universe?
The God of the universe
is actually already
pleased with us.
Not because of us,
but because of him.
Speaking of soccer,
as I go to soccer
on a Saturday morning,
there are some parents
who look pleased
with their kids.
And there are some parents
who are only pleased
with their kids
when they're scoring goals,
when they're, you know,
kicking the ball
in the right direction
and not going
in the wrong direction.
You know, this is under sixes,
so any small win is a win.
I work hard
to be the parent
shouting encouragement.
There are some parents
who are shouting
abusive encouragement
on the sidelines.
God is the parent
who is pleased
with their children
whether they are
scoring a goal
or whether they are
chasing butterflies
in the wrong direction.
God is already
pleased with us
and he invites us
to be in a relationship
with him
where we continue
to follow him,
where we offer
our entire lives
as a living sacrifice
because it is pleasing
to him.
What a wonderful delight
that is.
The second aspect
of this radical
Christian life
is that
as we go through
life as a living sacrifice,
it is to be transformed
but not conformed.
Verse 2.
Do not conform
to the pattern
of this world
but be transformed
by the renewing
of your mind.
Then you will be able
to test and approve
what God's will is,
his good,
pleasing
and perfect will.
Paul holds up
two ways to live,
two patterns of life,
the pattern
of the world
and the pattern
of God's will
and they are always
set against each other.
Living a pleasing,
sacrificial life
to God
means to see
the patterns
of thinking
of the world
and not conform
to them
but to see
the patterns
and thinking
of God
and be transformed
to live in that way.
The world
says to us,
you deserve this,
treat yourself.
The world
says you are
the most important.
Everyone else
is wrong.
Don't listen
to them.
The world
says you can
be whatever
you want
and you can
do whatever
you want.
The world
says that
we should
celebrate this
and if you
don't,
well we will
reject you.
You should
chase the dream,
put yourself
first and be
the best version
of whoever
you want to be.
That is the
pattern of the
world that we
live in at the
moment.
But the gospel
tells us
that we
don't deserve
anything good
but God
gives us
mercy and
grace.
We don't
deserve anything
good but we
are loved
and valued.
We can do
whatever we
want because
we are
forgiven
but we can
choose to
love and
obey Jesus
out of love
and thanks to
God in his
mercy.
being the
best version
of me is
not actually
whatever is
in me,
it is Jesus.
That is the
best version
of me so
that is the
version I
pursue.
That is an
identity that
will stand the
test of time
that will not
be shaken by
the changing
shifting pattern
of the world
around me.
When our
identity is
first found
and defined
by God,
it helps us
to see everything
else clearly.
We can see
the patterns
of the world
and we can
test them.
Is it actually
going to help
me to conform
to this pattern
of the world
or am I
going to be
transformed
to live and
follow God's
good and
perfect will?
And so,
we see God's
mercy to us.
We dwell on
God's mercy.
It helps us
understand how
good he is to
us, how he
is pleased
with us in
Jesus, how
we choose to
live for him.
And then it
helps us to
see ourselves
for who we
truly are.
It's our
second point
today.
If I can get
the buttons
to work,
Wendy, I
might get you
to push the
button.
Thank you,
sister.
Now we can
have a new
view of
ourself.
Our primary
relationship is
with God.
That is the
most important
one with us.
When we have
that primary
relationship,
we can
understand who
we are.
And so,
verse 3,
by the grace
given me,
I say to
every one of
you, do not
think of
yourselves more
highly than
you ought,
but rather
think of
yourself with
sober judgment
in accordance
with the
faith God
has distributed
to each of
you.
Do not
think of
your health
more highly
than you
ought, but
think of
yourself with
sober judgment.
Paul has
shown us
that we
are to
live in
light of
God's
mercies.
That's how
we live in
right relationship
with him.
You only need
to be reading
the Old
Testament to
see how
constantly the
people would
remember,
this is what
God has done
for us.
This is the
God who has
saved us from
Egypt, living
in light of
God's mercies,
living sacrificially,
transformed by
his mercy.
And now he
shows us how
we are to
relate to
ourselves.
And he
uses the
language of
sober judgment.
Think of
a person
who is
not sober,
who is
under the
influence of
alcohol or
drugs,
someone who
is not
thinking
clearly.
They will
often, in
my limited
experience,
act in one
of two
ways.
They will
either become
very boastful,
they will
think that they
can do
anything, I
can jump
over that
wall, I
can fight
that crocodile,
I can drive
a car, I
can do
anything.
None of
these are
good decisions,
but also
impacted by
alcohol or
drugs, the
opposite can
happen.
Alcohol is a
depressant, and
so people can be
depressed, unwilling
to do anything,
or thinking
lowly of
themselves.
And so Paul
is saying,
don't react in
either of those
ways, think
clearly of
yourself.
Think of
yourself with
sober judgment,
in accordance
with the
faith given
you by
God.
We only
need to go
back to
Romans 3,
which has a
wonderful contrast
that demonstrates
this.
We have
all sinned and
fallen short of
God's glory.
Think of
yourselves as
incredibly low.
We all
deserve his
punishment.
It would be
right to think
of ourselves as
the lowest of
the lows.
And yet the
very next
verse, we
are all
justified
freely by
his grace
through the
redemption that
came in
Christ Jesus.
How can we
think lowly of
ourselves when
God has said
that his son
has died for
us and that
he values us
so highly?
It is this
wonderful
contradiction of
holding these
two together.
We have
sinned and
fallen far
short of the
glory of
God, and
yet in
Jesus he
redeems us
and values
us.
And so we
need to hold
these two
together because
Paul has
warned us
of the
danger of
conforming
ourselves to
the pattern
of the
world.
Our culture
gives warnings
to low
self-esteem.
But really
the biggest
issue of
the world
is egocentrism
and self-centeredness.
Having an
inflated ego,
thinking too
highly of
ourselves.
But we are
called to have
sober judgment,
to think
clearly about
who we
are, in
accordance with
the faith
given us.
Now, when I
first read this,
I thought, in
accordance with
the faith, it
seems like it's
about the amount
of faith that
God has given
to me.
And so if God
has given me
much faith, I
can think highly
of myself.
I'm so
faithful, I'm
really great
because of how
much faith God
has given me.
But if you've
been with us over
the last three
weeks, Paul has
been talking
about the
Christians and
the Jews and
the Gentiles and
how salvation
works for these
groups coming
in.
And so it's
not about how
much faith I
have.
Paul is calling
on the Jews not
to think too
highly of
themselves.
They have come
from a long
lineage of people
following God.
Don't think that
you're better because
you have this.
And Gentiles, just
because you've been
Christian for about
half an hour,
don't think of
yourselves too
lowly, God
has given the
same faith to
each of you.
God is the one
who gives faith,
regardless of
background, regardless
of abilities and
giftings.
God loves us
equally in Jesus.
And so the
gospel prevents us
from thinking more
lowly of ourselves
and more highly
of ourselves.
It's a call to
remember who we
are in the gospel,
valued and loved
by God.
And so when we
are sitting in
God's mercy,
understanding of
who we are,
undeserved and
yet valued and
loved, we
understand how we
relate to other
people.
Because we are
not saved to be
an island.
Christians have
an interdependent
relationship with
others.
We have a new
service.
Verse 4 and 5.
For just as
each of us has
one body with
many members,
and these
members do not
all have the
same function,
so in Christ
we though many
form one body
and each member
belongs to all
the others.
We have
different gifts,
different
personalities,
different histories
and abilities
that equip us
to serve each
other differently.
God has
deliberately
created his
church to be
a beautiful
tapestry of
uniqueness and
difference.
A place where
that difference
is needed and
celebrated and
not just ironed
out so everybody
would look like
me because that
would be a
terrible thing.
And then verse
6.
We have
different gifts
according to the
grace God gives
us.
God is the one
who makes us
righteous by his
grace and he
gives us gifts
by that same
grace.
But these
aren't for our
benefit, these
are to be given
to others.
They are for
others.
We all have a
role to play in
the church.
We need others
and others
need us.
When we see
ourselves with
sober judgment,
when we see
ourselves rightly,
we see that we
are not to be on
our own.
We belong to God
as his children,
but we also
belong to the
church.
And Paul goes
on to list a
number of gifts.
It's similar to
the list in 1
Corinthians 12 and
Ephesians 4.
I'm not going to
extensively look at
this list today,
but you can see
that as we go
through this,
these are gifts
for others.
These are other
person-centered.
And so if your
gift is prophesying,
then prophesy in
accordance with
your faith.
If it's serving,
then serve.
If it's teaching,
then teach.
If it's to
encourage,
then give
encouragement.
If it's giving,
then give generously.
If it's to lead,
do it diligently.
If it's to show
mercy, do it
cheerfully.
I recently did a
gifts assessment.
It's one of the
things that we are
working on as a
church.
I have done these
gifts assessment in
the past.
If you don't know
of them, what you
do is you go
through a bunch of
questions just to
see and help you
identify how God
has gifted you
because he has
gifted us all very
differently.
And two of the
main gifts that
stuck out to me
this time as I
did it was hosting
and evangelism.
And I think that's,
it was really
helpful for me to
do that because it's
reminded me of one
of my great loves,
being part of the
church, having people
at my house and
eating food together.
I'm not sure if
you've done that
with me.
I'm not going to
ask for a show of
hands.
If you haven't been
to my house and
eaten food, I'd love
you to come to my
house and eat food.
Hosting is one of
my favorite things.
I saw these two
gifts, hosting and
evangelism, and I
thought, yes, this
is something I love
to do.
And I saw this as
also a wonderful
combination in a way
that I haven't really
done it, done it in
an evangelistic way.
And so as I
mentioned, I'm having
lunch with this guy
on Wednesday, I
really want to have
him and his family
over and eat food
with them and share
not just bread, but
also the good news
of Jesus.
And so that's one
thing that's
encouraging me, this
other person
centeredness of these
gifts.
Do you know what
your gifts are?
Do you know how
God has uniquely
created you as part
of the church to
love and serve other
people?
Now, I know
because I've done
these in the past.
I know how God
has gifted me and
it's led me into
pastoral ministry.
But I still needed
that reminder to
encourage me to lean
into that, to be
doing that more.
Come and talk with me
after church.
I've got a test that
I can get you to do
if you would like to
do that.
That would be
wonderful and helpful
to be thinking
about this.
A reordered view
of God, a reordered
view of ourselves,
helps us to have a
healthy Christian life
to serve others as
part of the church.
It presents a
wonderful picture of
the church's family,
where we know our
place, we know our
roles, and know the
one who is directing
things.
And the key to all of
it is our relationship
with the head, with
God, the one who is
directing all things.
Because when we don't
have that relationship
first, it all falls
apart.
I did a funeral last
week.
I haven't done funerals
for a while, but I was
involved in a funeral,
and it reminded me of the
impact that happens on a
family when a patriarch or
a matriarch dies.
I'm not sure if you've
seen this before, but
there's often in families
one key person that's
holding things together.
You know, you think
about Christmas time,
all of the different
families get together
because they have to
spend time with that
one key person.
It's the grandmother
who's making sure that
everybody brings the
food and everybody
gathers.
But what can happen is
that when that person
passes, there can be
bickering and infighting.
People don't know how
to relate to each other
anymore because there
is that one person
holding everything
together.
And slowly the families
pull apart.
What used to hold them
together now has gone
and so they're just
divided.
I wonder if we can view
Christianity as just
people who are similar
and so we just spend
time together, but other
than a Sunday, you
know, we're not really
in each other's lives
and that's not
important.
We can try and hold
our Christianity
together without God
at the centre.
It's going to be useless
to try and do that as a
Christian community
without God at the
centre.
He is the key.
He is the one who
defines our relationships.
And thankfully, he'll
never pass away because
he's eternal.
But he is the one who
is over all our
relationships.
He is the one who
gives shape to who we
are and who we are as a
church.
Knowing how good he has
been through much sin
and much rebellion
shapes us and calls us
to forgive one another.
Knowing his undeserved
loves give shape to our
identity.
mercy.
And so, brothers and
sisters, tonight,
tomorrow, sometime this
week, let me call you to
do what Paul did in verse
one, to meditate on God's
mercies.
When we meditate on God's
mercies, it gives shape to
our relationship with him.
It gives shape to who we
are as his people and how we
serve everyone else.
And so this week, sit in
his mercies.
Read a psalm.
Go through the last 11
chapters of Romans.
Just flick through them.
Find a heading.
Read a part.
And just remind yourself of
how good God has been to
you.
Even remember your story.
Sit in your story as a
Christian and meditate on
his mercies and love to
you.
Let me pray for us.
Heavenly Father, we thank
you for your love and your
mercy in Jesus.
That while we were still
far off, you sent Jesus to
die, to come to life, to
give us life in you.
Father, help us never be far
from you.
Help us to draw close to you
by remembering your mercy so
that it would shape our
relationship with you.
Shape who we are as your
people and us as your
church.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.