LIVING TO PLEASE GOD

Background Passage: ROMANS 12:1-8,

Lesson Passage:ROMANS 12:1-8

BIBLICAL TRUTH: CHRISTIANS WORSHIP GOD BY USING THEIR BODIES, MINDS, AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS TO PLEASE HIM.

KEY BIBLE VERSE: ROMANS 12:1

When returning to the church campus one Sunday afternoon for a meeting, I saw a worker emptying the outdoor garbage cans on the patio and stopped to speak to him.

“How long have you worked for the3 church?” I asked.

He smiled. “Oh, I do this each week as my ministry to the body of Christ. During the week, I work as a doctor”.

It occurred to me as I walked away that though the worship service was over, worship continued through the ministry of this doctor. Later I learned about our church's “Levite Ministry” through which members use their ministry gifts to clean the church campus before and after church services.

Do you see worship as a scheduled event, as a devotional activity, or as a way of life? Paul taught that living daily as a sacrifice, including the use of our spiritual gifts to serve the body of Christ, is spiritual service that is highly valued by God.

BACKGROUND PASSAGE OVERVIEW

In the Old Testament, priest alone performed temple service (or ministry). In the New Testament, all believers are priests and perform services according to their natural or cultivated ministry gifts. Now, God's temple is in the believer's heart, and the believer's sacrifice is the life that is lived.

Knowing God's will comes by seeking to be transformed by God inside out and refusing to be shaped by the world “out-side in.”

Like the human body, the body of Christ is made up of many members with different gifts for different functions. Though all members are different, all are important to the body of Christ.

Chapter 12 represents a shift in Paul's writing. In the first eleven chapters, Paul's primary focus was on Christian doctrine. In the remaining chapters, Paul's primary focus was on Christian living. Though the emphasis was different in the sections, neither section should be considered a stand-alone study. Instead, together they are two necessary parts to a single theme.

Consider this: Christianity is not just a series of doctrines or beliefs (chapters 1-11), but is actually a new way of living, empowered by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Christianity is not simply a set of instructions on how to live (chapters 12-16), but is, rather, a faith walk based upon the historical event of Jesus' incarnation, atonement, and resurrection.

I STUDY QUESTIONS 1.What are we to present as a living sacrifice? (12:1)
2.How do we discover God's will? (12:2)
3.How are the church and its members compared to a human body? (12:5)

WORSHIP: PRESENT YOURSELF (ROMANS 12:1)

Romans 12 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

VERSE 1 ~ The word therefore marks the transition from doctrine to practice. Based on all that God has done for us through Jesus Christ, our reasonable response, according to Paul, is to practice spiritual worship through the lives we live.

The backdrop for Paul's idea of spiritual worship is the temple service performed by priests in accordance with Levitical law. Everything priests did in temple service (from cleaning the temple to preparing sacrifices for the altar) was considered an act of worship before God, or spiritual worship.

Paul's appeal (I urge you) for believers to conduct the same priestly service is based on the new covenant, in which God considers every believer a priest (referred to as the “priesthood of the believer”). That means that priestly worship is no longer reserved just for the Levitical priests of the Old Testament. Why? God no longer resides in a physical temple but in many spiritual temples—the hearts of His believers. Another good translation of spiritual worship is “your reasonable service” (KJV).

Present refers to the manner in which the priest carefully and properly places the sacrificial offering on the altar so that the sacrifice faces God. When we present our bodies as living sacrifices, we surrender our lives and place them in God's hands, in a way that He can use for His purposes. Our usefulness to God is based on our lives being holy (or “set apart”). Paul taught that the self-absorbed life is not a worthy sacrifice to present for worship. On the other hand, a holy life presented to God as a sacrifice is pleasing to God (or “incredibly satisfying”).

WORSHIP: RENEW YOUR MIND (ROMANS 12:2-3)

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

VERSE 2 ~ Living a life dedicated to God means that we join God in His purposes in the way He uniquely designed and shaped us as individuals. As we live out this God-called service, we discern or discover how God wants us to join Him in His work. Seeking God's eternal purpose (trying to discover God's will) is a lifelong pursuit for believers everywhere.

Notice that Paul's mention of God's will immediately follows his mention of living as a sacrifice of worship. Discovering and living out God's will has meaning only within the context of spiritual worship. To seek life purpose for self serving reasons misses the point of each person's reason for being alive. God's purpose for our lives is ultimately about Him and His glory, not us. God does not exist to help us fulfill a self-centered purpose in life. We exist to bring glory to Him through fulfilling God's purposes.

Discovering God's will comes through doing two things—one negative and one positive. The first is refusing to be conformed to this age. Conformed means molded by an outward pattern of living that is influenced by something external, other than God. In this case the external influence is the age, or the thinking, opinions, hopes, and impulses of the world around us. When Paul wrote do not, his meaning was, “Stop masquerading around in a costume that identifies you with the world when your inner life belongs to God and has been promised to Him.”

Instead of being conformed to this age, Paul exhorted his readers to be transformed, a phrase that describes our outward lives being totally changed to match the inner life that was converted from death to life. This transformation (literally metamorphosis) takes place through the renewing of the mind.

Lifestyle renewal starts with out thinking instead of our will. As long as our thinking is programmed by the world, choosing to make lifestyle changes honoring to God are not likely to bring long-term results. First, a reprogramming of our thinking is needed. As a result, decisions of the will are more likely to bring real and lasting change in how we live. In summary, a renewed mind and a transformed life ultimately demonstrate God's purposes.

VERSE 3 ~ A formidable enemy of the renewed mind is pride. The danger is that God-given abilities and spiritual powers of influence may be used for self-gratification rather than for godly purposes. The personal abilities are granted through God's favor (grace), not because they are deserved but because they are needed for service.

Paul's own testimony was that every capability he possessed to fulfill God's purpose as a living sacrifice came from God's grace. That is a model of a healthy perspective about God's gifts. We should acknowledge them or think sensibly about them (even if we don't fully understand how we are gifted) instead of refusing to accept the idea of giftedness, which is a form of false humility. In this healthy perspective of acceptance, we seek to use our gifts as God guides us (or as we receive a measure of faith) in their use

WORSHIP: USE YOUR GIFTS (ROMANS 12:4-8)

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

VERSES 4-5 ~ Function means “office” or a “way of carrying out a responsibility.” The unfolding purpose of God in our lives is linked on the one hand to our becoming a living sacrifice in an act of worship and on the other hand to our serving the body of Christ. Worship of God and service to the body of Christ go hand in hand.

Paul knew nothing of a live of worship that was disconnected from the body of Christ. Moreover, the most fulfilling service we conduct in the body of Christ is that which matches our God-given gifts. Many parts (many types of parts) are needed for the human body to function as intended. The same is true of the body of Christ.

Different church members have different gifts for different functions. One function is no more valuable in God's eyes than another. The key is that all members carry out faithfully in function they are assigned. When a member of the body of Christ fails to fulfill ministry for which he or she is gifted, then others (probably not as gifted for that function) must make up the difference.

VERSES 6-8 ~ According to the grace given to us me4ans that the spiritual abilities we possess are spiritual gifts (“extraordinary abilities for influence”) sovereignly given by God. As we did not earn or deserve our salvation, neither did we earn or deserve our spiritual gifts.

The listing of different gifts in this passage is not meant to be a comprehensive list. As in other New Testament passages, the list identifies some but not all spiritual gifts. The way Paul represented this list of gifts seems to focus more on the use of the gifts rather than the gifts themselves.

The gift of prophecy (the proclamation of God's truth) should be used within the boundaries of the faith given by God. The gifts of service (or ministry, meaning to “wait on others”), teaching (instruction aimed at understanding), and exhorting (to come alongside another person to encourage or console) should b e practiced whenever we find ourselves in conversation with someone who needs Christ.

The gift of giving to others in need should be done with generosity (or “simplicity in motive”) instead of giving with hypocrisy or pretense. The gift of leading (being “placed in front”) should be fulfilled with diligence (doing one's best with intense effort and determination.) The gift of mercy (showing empathy) should be fulfilled with cheerfulness (literally “hilarity”).

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Understanding how God has shaped you for ministry (or service) within the body of Christ is important to your spiritual worship. Yet, this understanding may not come immediately. The discovery process is part of your spiritual journey and happens over time.

Being shaped for service is more than just knowing what your spiritual gifts are. The way God designed your personality, the events that have shaped your life (especially those that were painful), your inner passion, and your natural abilities all come together to prepare you for service. How are you shaped for service? Think about the following

1. What kinds of ministries appeal to you?
To what specific ministries are you drawn?
What kinds of ministries do you really enjoy doing?
When have others in the body of Christ told you how blessed they were by your ministry to them?
What ministries give you the greatest sense of fulfillment?
What ministries seem to you to be acts of worship of God?
What ministries prompt you to think with excitement, “This is what I was made to do?”

These questions assume you are actively involved in ministry within the local church. Only through serving do you discover how you are shaped to serve.