LIVING SACRIFICES

September 17, 2017

Pastor Mark F. Bartels

Old Testament Lesson; Jeremiah 15:15-21

Gospel Lesson; Matthew 16:21-26

Sermon Text; Romans 12:1-8

The text we will look at for today is taken from Romans, chapter 12, verses 1 through 8. This is in our Savior's name.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice – holy and pleasing to God – which is your appropriate worship. Also, do not continue to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you test and approve what is the Will of God - what is good, pleasing, and perfect. So by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think in a way that results in sound judgment, as God distributed a measure of faith to each of you. For we have many members in one body, and not all the members have the same function. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. We have different gifts, according to the grace God has given us. If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith. If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If it is encouraging, then encourage. If it is contributing, be generous. If it is leadership, be diligent. If it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.

These are your words, Heavenly Father. Lead us in the way of truth. Your Word is truth.

Amen

If you were to divide up the book of Romans into part A, and part B, Romans, chapter 12, (that we just read) is the beginning of Part B. Part B talks about how to live a Christian life. It begins with a bang. It says,

“...offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.”

That means these eyes, these ears, this mouth, these hands, these feet, all of our body, all of that, should be totally, totally dedicated to the Lord.

Talk about beginning with a bang! It goes on from there, and says, “Let your mind be transformed.” So my mind, my way of thinking, all of my thoughts, should be in conformity with God. So it is this picture of total, total giving myself, totally to the Lord, and total to service to the Lord. It is kind of like when Jesus said,

“Love the Lord your God with ALL of your heart,

ALL of your soul,

ALL your mind,

ALL your strength...”

So, it begins with this huge bang. And, you say to yourself, “Yes, yes! I want to do that. I would love… to totally dedicate every aspect of my body to nothing but service to the Lord, and every aspect of my mind to nothing but service to the Lord. So, Pastor, how do I do that? How do I do that? Can you give me five, six, seven steps to make that happen?”

That is a question. How can you be motivated to totally, totally use everything you have in Christian living to God's service? I want you to look at the only motivation there is. Our scripture reading for today begins this way, “Therefore...” “Therefore” means, “Let's look at everything that was just talked about in the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans.” What Paul says is all based on that. He says, “Therefore in view of God's mercy...”. The first eleven chapters of the book of Romans are laying the foundation for how to live a Christian life. The first eleven chapters lay out in bold, vivid, clear, powerful, amazing detail what it means, when we talk about the mercy of God.

Now, interestingly, the first three chapters start out, and they just 'level you'. I mean, the first three chapters of Romans are going to 'level you, and nail you'. The first three chapters of Romans begin by saying, it doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter if you are a Gentile, who never, ever, ever saw the Word of God. You are without excuse. You are a sinner. It doesn't matter if you are Jewish, you know all of the Bible, you know every passage in the Bible, and all of the laws God has given. It doesn't matter. You have sinned. It doesn't matter who you are. Here is ultimately what Romans chapter three says. It says,

“There is no difference.

All have sinned.

All fall short of the glory of God.

There is no one who does good, not even one.

They have all together become worthless.”

Wow! What a way to start out the Gospel of Romans. But, why would God do that?

Let's say you are the guy, or gal who is handing out the brats at our church picnic, today. Somebody walks by, and as they grab a brat, they say, “Thank you.” And, then they keep going.

Next in line is some poor, little, child who has been transported here from Africa, where there has been famine for years, and years. And, this little child has lived off of scraps all of those years. When you hand that child a brat, that little child's eyes begin to water. He begins to gobble it up. And then, he runs over, hugs your leg, and gives you a kiss. There is an example of someone who understands what they have just been given. It is such a gift to them.

You won't understand the mercy of God, until you see how much you need it. And so, Romans starts out by showing how much you need the mercy of God. Once it lays that out, then it starts to pile on what the mercy of God is.

In Romans chapter four and five, there you see the heart of God. You see this change that has taken place in the heart of God toward sinners, because of what Jesus did. You see the heart of a Father who is merciful, looks at you for Jesus' sake, and He says, “For the sake of my Son, I declare you, YOU, not guilty. You are justified.” That is mercy!

It goes on from there in the next chapter, where it talks about reconciliation. God is not your enemy, anymore. He has made peace with you. He has reconciled Himself to you, through Jesus, through the mercy of Jesus. That is mercy!

It goes on from there, and talks about baptism, and how God has washed you, and cleansed you in the perfect life, and death of Jesus. He sees you as clean, and forgiven for Christ's sake. That is mercy! That is mercy!

It goes on from there, where it talks about how God saves you, not because of any command you have kept, but simply because of the promises He made. God never, ever, ever, ever breaks a promise. His promise is to be gracious to you in Christ. That is mercy!

And so, having laid that all out, then begins Romans chapter twelve, about living a Christian life.

“Therefore brothers, in view of God's mercy,

offer your bodies as living sacrifices.”

You see, that is a life changer. It is a life changer, when I truly begin to comprehend the depths of God's mercy. When it says, “Offer your bodies as living 'sacrifices'”, that is really a stunning little word that is used for 'sacrifices'. It is actually a word for 'burnt offering'. It is “totally giving up, and burned up”. It can't be used for anything else. It was used for that one purpose. If you lived in Bible times, and you read that phrase, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, burnt offerings”, you would immediately be transported.

(For us, this happened two thousand years ago, so we have never witnessed it.) But, you would be transported to the temple, and you would see, (in your mind) 'a sacrifice, a burnt offering' taking place. You would see an animal, whether it is a little lamb, or some other animal, and you would see that animal, (and this is very personal) on the altar for you. You see, if you sinned, or when you sinned, some innocent animal, an innocent animal, the animal hadn't done anything wrong, nothing, but, this innocent animal, in your place, was slaughtered. It bled, and was burned up. And, it was a picture that that's how sin is paid for. That animal, in essence, didn't live for itself. It lived for you. It didn't die for itself. It died for you. Talk about mercy!

It was all a picture of Christ, the ultimate Sacrifice, who didn't live for Himself.

He lived for you.

He didn't die for Himself.

He died for you.

And so now it says,

“...offer your bodies, your body as a living sacrifice”.

The implication is, as Christians, we are not here to live for ourselves, anymore. It is not for me. It is for Jesus, and it is for other people.

Let's think about what it says next.

“...do not continue to conform to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind”.

The passage says,

“Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to”.

You know studies have just recently been done, and it has been discovered that maybe, because of technology like i-phones, etc., the world is getting less, and less connected from each other. And, young people feel more alone, more separated, more depressed, more disconnected from others. Culturally, there are getting to be bigger, and bigger riffs between groups. The Bible says,

“Don't be conformed to the pattern of this world.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

You see, when we come to church, and we hear God's Word, we hear something totally different. We hear Christ gave Himself for all of us. We then are here, not to curve in on ourselves, and just look at ourselves, and be isolated to ourselves. But, we are here to be living sacrifices, and live for Christ's sake, in mercy to others.

And so, the Bible then begins to put some 'meat on the bones'. How do I do that? How do I through the transforming of my mind, begin to use these eyes, these ears, this mouth, these hands as a living sacrifice, where I am showing mercy, mercy to other people, because of the mercy God showed me? I want you to listen to what it says.

“For we have many members in one body,

and not all the members have the same function.

In the same way, though we who are many,

we are one body in Christ,

and individually members of one another.

We have different gifts,

according to the grace God has given us.”

Now, it is going to list seven different gifts, and these gifts really encapsulate everything that happens in the Christian Church, and in a Christian congregation. The thought here is, “Am I using the gifts God has given to me - this body, this mind, as a living sacrifice, and not for me? Am I living it for others, in mercy to them?”

The first thing it says is, “If the gift is prophesy, do it in complete agreement with the faith.” It is talking about preachers, or pastors. The point is, if God has given you a mouth that is capable of preaching The Word of God, then do it as a living sacrifice. These words that come out of this mouth, they are not to be all about me. This should be mercy to other people, and it should be sharing the mercy of Christ. To share the mercy that Jesus loves you, He died for you. He paid for you. To comfort souls. If that is your gift, if that is your gift, then live as a living sacrifice, and preach according to the content of the faith.

Now, right here we have two pastors, but we need other pastors. There may be some young men here, and your gift is prophesy, then think about using your mouth preaching, using your mouth as a living sacrifice, and someday going to seminary to learn how to do that more fully.

It says, “If your gift is serving, then serve.” If God has given you the gift in this body to help other people, to make food, to help with committees, to help with boards, then live as a living sacrifice. Use the gifts God has given you, in mercy, to help your fellow believers in Christ.

“If it is teaching, then teach.” If God has given you the ability to take the Word of God, and explain it more fully, to go through the Bible history, Bible stories, Bible application, if that is your gift, then use it mercifully for the rest of us. Whether it is in Sunday School, or Christian Day School, or a Bible Class, offer your bodies as living sacrifices.

The next one says, “If it is encouraging, then encourage.” There is somebody you know who is sad, or lonely, or grieving, or down and out, or in trouble, and God has given you the gift of being able to encourage, then use your hand to write a note. Be a living sacrifice. Use your hand to pick up the phone, and call them, and talk to them. Use your feet to go to the hospital, and visit. Live as a living sacrifice.

It says, “If it is contributing, be generous.” If God has given you the gift of having money, then use it mercifully for the body, so that The Word can be preached, The Word can be spread, souls can grow, and more people can hear about Christ. The work of the church can be done. Be a living sacrifice, your whole body, and everything you have to the Lord, in your use of that gift, for what happens here at church.

“If it is leadership, be diligent.” If you’re able to organize and plan and direct, so that the affairs of the church can be accomplished, be a living sacrifice and mercifully use your leadership skills for the body of Christ here at Holy Cross.

“If it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.” That is a gift we have all been given. Be merciful. What does it say?

“Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God,

to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice...”

I want to close with three brief thoughts.

One is this. As I was driving here this morning, I was preparing myself for communion, as hopefully you have this morning. I was thinking about my sins, and I was driving down the road, repenting. I was thinking, “Boy, it is going to be wonderful to stand at the altar, hear the mercy of God, and receive the very sacrifice, the body that was sacrificed for me.” And then I thought, “I am so glad we go to a church that holds The Lord's Supper in such prominence that after The Lord's Supper today, you will have received God's mercy.”

When you walk out of here (thought number two), worship is not over. It is just starting. It says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices. In view of God's mercy.” You know what you receive here. Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, which is your acceptable worship. So, worship continues on, as we live our lives.

The last thought is this. You know, I heard a pastor talking about “offer your bodies as living sacrifices”. He said, “Back in The Old Testament, the sacrifice had to be without spot, or blemish. Then, we think about our bodies, and we might think, 'Well, that is not a very acceptable sacrifice. There are all kinds of spots, blemishes, and wrinkles.' 'I am too tall.' Or, 'I am too short.' Or, 'I am too skinny.' Or, 'I am to big.' Or, 'I am too bent over.' Or, 'I am too whatever.'”

That is not how God measures beauty. I have seen some really, really, really beautiful people. And by beautiful, I mean people who offer their bodies as living sacrifices, and show absolute mercy for Christ's sake, to those around them!

Amen