Calvary Road Baptist Church

“BESEECHED BY THE MERCIES OF GOD”

Romans 12.1-2 

He that knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is asleep. Wake him. He that knows not, and knows that he knows not, is a child. Teach him. He that knows, and knows not that he knows, is a fool. Shun him. But he that knows, and knows that he knows, is wise. Follow him.

If we take that little proverb and apply it to ourselves as we have studied Paul’s letter to the Romans, then I trust that we recognize that our ignorance of spiritual things is profound. I hope that we can be likened to children needing to be taught and not sleepers who need to be awakened. Amen?

Applying that proverb to the Apostle Paul, I think we will all agree that he was in no way a fool, but was a wise and spiritually illuminated man of God who deserved to be followed by such as we. Of course, to follow the leadership of the Apostle Paul means to follow his example, to behave as he behaved, to live as he lived.

But there is a truth at this point that needs to be stated. Accepting that the way a person behaves is the result of the way a person believes, we must understand that we will never have any hope of behaving as Paul behaved unless and until we begin to believe as Paul believed.

Of course, this is all predicated upon the assumption that we each have the means to accomplish our goal. That would mean that we know Christ as Paul knew Christ, that we are indwelt by the Spirit of God as Paul was indwelt by the Spirit of God, and that we have access to God’s grace for living as Paul had access to God’s grace for living. Assuming we do know Jesus Christ, and assuming that we are new creatures in possession of the means to live the kind of lives that the Bible holds up for us to live, we must get serious about this business of believing correctly so that we will be able to behave correctly.

Knowing that Paul has laid a remarkable foundation of Biblical truth for us to believe in this letter to the Romans. First, he mustered powerful arguments to persuade us that we needed being justified in the sight of God. And not just us. Paul proved that everyone needs to be justified, because of everyone’s innate sinfulness and wickedness and unworthiness in the sight of our holy God. Paul then continued to construct for us the proper framework of truth so that we might understand the nature of this justification that we are in such great need of. That it is forensic, which is to say that justification is what God does for you, rather than to you, he doesn’t make anyone good enough to go to heaven, but using faith imparts to the repentant sinner standing before God that he will never deserve on his own. Further, Paul showed us that the nature of justification is such that it affects every area of your life, delivering the now justified person not only from the penalty of sin, but the power of sin in his daily life, as well, and deliverance from the presence of sin in the future.

At this point, Paul paused just long enough to deal with the present spiritual state of the nation of Israel. How do they relate to God? What about their need for justification? What is going to happen to them? After all, God did make them some pretty awesome promises. Paul addressed those concerns about the nation of Israel. He vindicated God’s truthfulness and righteousness. And he did so by reminding us of Israel’s past, reflecting on Israel’s present, and referring to Israel’s future according to the Old Testament prophets. And, as if those almost 11 chapters of the most logically airtight reasoning found anywhere in the world weren’t good enough, his hymn of praise to God that we marveled at in Romans 11.33-36 last week finished it all off. We are now in the same ballpark with Paul, insofar as his critical beliefs about God and His plan for justifying lost sinners is concerned.

Now we can discover what kind of behavior ought to follow the belief system detailed in the first 11 chapters of Romans. And if we believe correctly, if we accept as true what Paul taught, and if we properly understand what Paul taught under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, then the behavior he describes throughout the rest of the letter is, by God’s grace, within our reach.

The most important type of conduct that is affected by our beliefs is behavior toward others, relationships. In our text for today, Romans 12.1-2, Paul begins to show us what is proper behavior for the proper beliefs that we now ought to have. And what more important relationship can a person have than his relationship with God?

Let us stand together, reading Romans 12.1-2. Realizing that right beliefs produce right behavior, let us read what proper behavior toward God is in light of the Biblical truths of Romans chapters 1-11: 

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.

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. 

Since behavior actually involves the whole being, notice the two aspects of our being that Paul focuses on, that Solomon would probably have thought was “the whole duty of man” toward God: 

First, THERE IS THE BODY (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.” 

Here Paul calls for the continual presentation of your body to God. Many commentators think that the word “body” here is a reference to your whole being. But Paul usually uses the word “body” in this way to refer to your physical body. When he uses the word in a non-literal way, he usually does so by using prepositional phrases or putting the word in an unmistakable context. That he does not do so here convinces me that Paul, recognizing that human beings are an integral whole, is referring to your physical body. Notice how he deals with your behavior from the physical aspect:

First, there is an invitation: 

“I beseech you.” 

The Greek word translated by our English word “beseech” is used in a variety of ways in the New Testament. Sometimes the word is a begging plea. Other times it is used as an authoritative exhortation or encouragement. Other times the word refers to comforting someone. Let us understand that neither the first nor the last use of the word is what Paul has in mind here. He is neither begging his readers nor comforting us. In as nice a way as possible, this apostle of Jesus Christ is insisting that we take whatever steps are necessary to conform our behavior to fit our belief. Call it an invitation, if you will, but a strong one.

But there is an incentive to support the invitation: 

“therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.” 

Notice the three ways Paul provides an incentive for his readers to respond: First, Paul uses the word “therefore.” When you read Romans 12.1, this word may not seem to be prominent to you. But understand that Paul uses this word to remind his readers to make their decision to present their bodies to God based on everything he has written in Romans thus far. You ought to give your body to God as the result of needing justification, and as a result of the nature of the justification, you claim to have received if you say you are a Christian. Second, Paul uses the word “brethren.” You claim to be a believer? That means God is your Father. That means, by the Holy Spirit you cry “Abba, Father.” As a member of the family of God, then, you owe it to your Father in heaven to render unto Him what He decides is His due from you. He gave for you the crucified body of the Lord Jesus Christ, did He not? He gave to you the gift of eternal life, did He not? That small sacrifice that He wants back is your body, brother, sister. Is what our Father asks of us such a great thing? Third, Paul makes mention of the “mercies of God.” Does that sound unusual to you? Why not just write “mercy of God”? Why make it the plural “mercies”? Because God’s mercies are shown continually in our lives in a number of different ways.

So, the incentive that Paul is using to persuade believers to present their bodies to God is gratitude. Gratitude for all that God has done for us in the past. Gratitude for what God is continually doing in our lives in the present. That person who does not, then, give his body to God is an ingrate...or he is lost. I say lost because Paul’s description of the typical behavior of unsaved mankind given in Romans chapter one includes in verse 21 the descriptive “neither were thankful.” Being ungrateful is a main feature of the unsaved individual’s attitude toward God.

Third, there is an illustration: 

“a ... sacrifice” 

What kind of sacrifice is called for?

A sacrifice that is living. What does Paul mean, living? Is he referring to a sacrifice that is alive rather than dead? Perhaps, but I don’t think anyone thinks that God was suggesting suicide so that Paul had to inform them that God wanted them alive instead of dead. No. I think Paul is referring to being spiritually alive here. Did God give you spiritual life through Jesus Christ His Son? Then, Paul is telling us that God wants you, now made spiritually alive, to be given back to Him. Think about this. You are God’s by creation. He made you. You are God’s by redemption. He saved you. Now you can be God’s in a third way, by giving yourself, now spiritually alive in Jesus Christ, back to Him. Wouldn’t that be a great and precious present for the Lord?

Second, a holy sacrifice. And what does “holy” refer to? Primarily, the word refers to that which is dedicated. The Greeks thought of holy as being dedicated to the service of the gods. Christians understand that the word refers to being dedicated, set apart, to the service of God. This means, what you give to God you give to no one else. For if you present your body to someone other than God it isn’t dedicated, it isn’t holy. This means you cannot give your body to Billy Bob and give your body to God, as well. Amen? In marriage, you give your body to God, and He gives your body to the person you marry. The fornicator or the adulterer cannot give his or her body to God. The sin must first be put away.

Third, it is a sacrifice that is acceptable to God. Look through your Bible at those sacrifices which were acceptable and unacceptable to God. Assuming the person presenting a sacrifice to God has right standing before God and assuming the offering is holy, that is it’s dedicated exclusively to God, the factor that determined whether it was acceptable to God was the heart condition of the person making the offering. So, what kind of body does God want? He wants the physical body of a truly born again person, a living sacrifice. He wants to be the sole recipient of the body, given to Him and no one else; holy. And He wants your body to be given to Him out of a pure heart’s desire to give back to the One Who gave His Son for you.

Notice that at the end of the verse there is a phrase set in apposition; “which is your reasonable service.” What Paul is telling his readers is that the giving of your body (living, holy, acceptable to God) is the rational and logical service that results from what God has done for you. It just makes sense. Anything less is irrational. Have you given your body to the Lord in this way, Christian? How God has convicted me in this area. So, some years ago, I embarked upon a fitness program to better prepare my body to give to the Lord. And I’m not finished. There is so much more for me to do, especially when it comes to what I eat. But we must realize that the sins of the flesh simply make no sense in light of what God has done for us. Such sins as we commit with our bodies are illogical and expressions of ingratitude. 

Then, THERE IS THE MIND (12.2) 

“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.” 

In addition to a continual presentation of the body, the apostle calls for a continual renovation of the mind. Notice, now, how he deals with your behavior from the mental aspect:

First, there is the obstacle to the renovation of your mind: 

“And be not conformed to this world.” 

The word “world” here is not the common Greek word for “world.” That word is . The word here is the word that is transliterated into English as the word “eon.” And it refers, not to the physical world, but to the age in which we live. We live in perilous times. We live in an age which is dangerous from a spiritual point of view. There is nothing going on in this persuasive world which is conducive to your spiritual growth and prosperity. All is enticing and tempting in the wrong direction. That’s the reason Paul issues a directive. Using the imperative form of the Greek verb, Paul commands us to resist being conformed to this world. And the idiom of the Greek language used here tells us that Paul is commanding us to stop what is happening, to stop a process that is occurring. We live in a brainwashing world. Everything around us suggests and encourages and entices us to think wrongly, to think selfishly, to think materialistically, to think sensually, to think humanistically. And we are being affected by it all. Well, Paul is commanding us to put a stop to it. Stop succumbing to that obstacle which interferes with the renovation of your minds. Stop allowing your thoughts to be conformed to the thinking patterns of this world.

And why should we obey Paul? Because of the objective of renovation: 

“but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 

What God wants to happen is the complete renovation of your thought life. And why is the renovation of your thought life important? Because as a man thinks so is he. My friends, 99 and 44/100 percent of the problems of life that you deal with have their origin in wrong patterns of thinking. But you can be transformed. Your life can be dramatically changed. How? By the renewing of your mind. Understand that the renewing of your mind can only occur, logically, after you stop conforming to this world. In other words, your mind can’t go north and south at the same time. Either your thoughts are like the thoughts of the world or your thoughts are becoming more and more like God’s thoughts. As you have been commanded by Paul to stop being conformed to this world, you have also been commanded by Paul to start being transformed by the renewing of your mind. And how is your mind renewed? It starts with Bible preaching, and continues with personal Bible study and meditation on God’s Word, and ends with thinking God’s thoughts after Him.

The obstacle to renovation is this age in which we live. The objective of this renovation of our minds is to think God’s thoughts after Him. Now, the outcome of renovation, which has to do with the will of God.

First, it’s the will of God discerned. “That ye may prove what is the...will of God.” This word “prove” was used in two ways by the Greeks. It could either mean to test something or to approve something that had been tested and that had passed the test. We do not test the will of God to determine its worth or its quality. That is not pleasing to God. Too many Christians try to do that and are wrong. No. What happens when we are presenting our bodies as living, holy, and acceptable sacrifices to God, and what happens when our minds are being renewed, is that we will begin to heartily agree with and discover how wonderful the will of God happens to be. That is not testing God’s will. That is seeing that God’s will passes any test it is subjected to and meets with the approval of anyone whose mind has been renewed and who now sees spiritual issues more clearly. We discern, then, the goodness of God’s will. See how opposite this is to the world’s philosophy of doing only what they feel like doing? God’s way is doing the right thing and then discovering the joy of doing God’s will, Proverbs 16.3: 

“Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” 

Second, it is the will of God described. God’s will is good. God’s will is acceptable. God’s will is perfect. The person whose mind is conformed to this world doesn’t think God’s will is good, or acceptable, or perfect. But that’s the distortion and perverse understanding of sin twisted reasoning. The renewed mind, however, clearly sees that God’s will is good, that God’s will is acceptable, and that God’s will is perfect. 

Imagine the curious onlooker in Rome. As he considers and ponders these strange Christians and their attitude toward their god, they are seen by most Romans to be very unusual and distinct from all other religious persons, even those involved in Judaism.

Concerning their devotion to God, they are different from all other religions in that they have no priesthood to offer their sacrifices for them. Rather, they offer their sacrifices. And the sacrifices they offer are not to atone for sin.

They claim sin was atoned for by the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So the sacrifice they offer is one of gratitude, not for atonement. And they give to their God no dead offering, but themselves alive, themselves to Him alone and no other gods, and with great stress on their attitude of the heart.

They have virtually no form or ritual but acknowledge that the presentation of their entire bodies is the logical and reasonable thing for every Christian to do. Thus, they do not have gods which are convenient for them but seem to think that they should inconvenience themselves for their God.

And that is not all. Their religion even extends to the kind of thoughts they wish to think. They choose not to think as other men think or to value what other men value. But they seek only the will of their God, which they describe as always good and acceptable and perfect.

Is that the impression that a curious onlooker would be given if he looked at your relationship to God? It ought to be. Why? Because such behavior as this is predicated on the belief that we were sinners deserving only Hellfire, that God saved us by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and that He is deserving of our eternal gratitude and service.

And how do we show God our gratitude? We continually present to Him the sacrifice of our bodies, living, holy, acceptable. That’s the physical aspect of our being. As for the mental aspect of our being, we consciously resist the lure of this wicked age, and seek to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we will recognize the will of God for what it is; good, acceptable, perfect.

Behavior is the result of belief. Right beliefs lead to right behavior. What thoughts run through your mind when it is suggested that you present your body as a living sacrifice and that you subject your mind to the authority of Scripture? Do you cringe? Do you recoil at the thought? Does it seem foreign, alien, distasteful to live for God and do His blessed will? Then your beliefs are wrong.

Perhaps you don’t really agree that you are a sinner, unclean in the sight of God and deserving eternal punishment. Perhaps you don’t really believe that salvation is wholly the consequence of God’s grace and is totally undeserved. Perhaps you think that unsaved people actually have some redeeming qualities and are not totally depraved beings. Perhaps you are not really the person you think you are, a Christian. For if you were a depraved sinner who was saved by the unmerited grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, then overwhelming gratitude would demand the presentation of your body and the renewing of your mind. Nothing less is reasonable. Nothing less is tolerable.

 

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