Romans Lesson 22

Introduction

Very pleasant good day to you and welcome to Let the Bible speak. May I encourage you to get your Bibles and be opening to the book of Romans and chapter 12 in that book, where today we’re going to study one of the great chapters of the Bible. Romans chapter 12 actually begins a new line of thought in this grand book. The first eleven chapters have been dealing with a doctrinal question of how we can be saved or justified by grace through faith. But now in Romans chapter 12, he begins a series of exhortations, which really conclude in chapter 16. So the last five chapters you might say begin and are based on some of the early verses of Romans chapter 12. It really teaches us what it means to be totally consecrated to God.

And begins a series of points that show us the great changes that occur in one’s life when he is consecrated to God. Have you ever known a miserable Christian? I have. I’ve known some who who believe in the Lord and they want to go to heaven, but they don’t really enjoy serving the Lord. They usually ask him the kind of questions, Well, preacher, do I do I really have to attend every time the church assembles for worship? How much do I have to give? A preacher, what difference does it make? Who my friends are? And right off when we begin to have those kind of questions of how much do I have to do? You know that they’re really sort of wanting to know kind of a list of do’s and don’ts and and sort of a checklist, and they are really happy about giving their wholehearted service to God.

1. Present Your Bodies a Living Sacrifice

They want to go to heaven, but they’re sort of miserable on the way. Someone said they really have too much of the world still in them to enjoy being a Christian, and maybe too much of the gospel in them to really enjoy being in the world. And therefore they wind up being miserable in both places with a divided conscience. But Romans chapter 12 starts about an exhortation that says, Give yourself wholly to the Lord. Let’s read the first two verses and you’ll see the flow of thought here. When he says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Now you notice where he says, I beseech you, I urge you, I encourage you to present your bodies a living sacrifice. But notice it is based on something. I beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of God. Now, the mercies of God have been described in these first eleven chapters of the book of Roman. The fact that the Lord gave his life, not because we deserved it, but because God commended his love toward us. By the grace of God, he provided the means of salvation. His mercy is overflowing. It is abundant. And when we really begin to conceive or have the concept of what really the love of God involved, as Romans chapter 5, particularly in verses 6 through about 11, that describes how that we were enemies of God as sinners.

We were ungodly. And yet Jesus Christ still gave his life for us, and God gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. When we understand something about the mercy of God, then there’s a desire to want to please the Lord, not just because we have to.

Present your bodies. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Now, to the Jew, at least, who was reading this, he certainly understood the idea of sacrifice, of giving up something that really was desirable unto him. In fact, under the law of Moses, when a Jew brought an animal sacrifice, he was to bring the firstling of the flocks, what that which had no blemish to it, that which was preferable to him. But he gave the best he had unto God. And when the crops came in of the harvest, he brought the first fruits of the harvest. Now he says to the Christian, you present your bodies as a living sacrifice. What that really means is there’s total consecration involved in this. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 19 through 20.

The apostle, therefore, in that passage says, Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own. Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. We ought to be totally given unto God. In fact, this total consecration to God, that is a living sacrifice, it changes our life. You may recall back when we were reading in Romans chapter 6, where he spoke about that change that takes place even when by faith we obey the Lord. In Romans chapter 6 and verse 2, he says, How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death.

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Believers who repent of their sins become new creatures at the point of baptism. That’s when they are immersed into the death of Christ. That’s where the blood of Christ washes away their sins. But they rise to walk in newness of life. In fact, we become dead to sin, but alive to Christ. So we become a living sacrifice. Back in Romans 6, verses 11 and 12, he speaks how that we are indeed dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof.

There’s a change that takes place. Well, really, Romans chapter 12 introduces several changes. First of all, it is a change in our attitude toward God. Indeed, we become totally consecrated to Him. But then as we go through the chapter, we’re going to see that it involves changes in our attitude toward our fellow brethren in Christ, toward fellow man. There’s an attitude change. If we’re consecrated to God, we take a different attitude toward the abilities or the talents that we ourselves possess. But also in our spirit and attitude toward one another, we begin to love our brethren with brotherly love, the Bible says.

Man isn’t just born with the attitude that the Lord exhorts us to have. But rather when we have the attitude toward God, understanding his mercy and what he’s done for us, our response to him, when we become a new creature, indeed changes our whole disposition and attitude. Well, let’s read Romans chapter 12, verses 3 through 8, and we begin to see some of the changes that takes place even in our attitude towards self and toward our fellow brethren. Romans 12, verse 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 had dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office.

2. Be Not Conformed but Transformed

So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another, having been gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, where the prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith. Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering, or he that teacheth on teaching, or he that exhorteth on exhortation. He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity. He that ruleth with diligence, and he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. Now, you remember back in verse 2 he said, Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And then he begins to say, What takes place when you are not conformed to the world? The world, in its attitude, usually thinks of self first and pushes self ahead, always trying to get self’s way.

Me first. This is that generation, isn’t it? The me generation. But notice the man who is who is a living sacrifice is not conformed to this world. Two important words in Romans 12 and verse 2, conformed and transformed. Conform means we follow the pattern. Don’t be like the pattern of the world. Don’t have the attitude that the people who follow the devil don’t have that attitude of worldliness. But be transformed. That means change. There is a change going to take place. And he says that when you’re transformed, it is by the renewing of your mind. Your mind is different. How does it become different? Proverbs 4 and verse 23 says, As a man thinketh, so is he. A man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

As our thinking goes, that’s what we act like. That’s what we do. So if our thinking is based upon the word of God, if we’re filled with the word of God in our hearts, there’s going to take a renewing of the mind. There’ll be some changes that will take place. And in the process, what we will show is in our manner of life, we will approve or approve of that which is good. God has given us the way that really brings happiness, of a way that is acceptable, acceptable to him, of a way that is perfect. That is, it fulfills perfectly God’s will in our life. And so change your mind. Renew your mind. Don’t be like the world. As I said earlier, there are some miserable Christians, because they’re still conformed to this world.

3. Not to Think of Himself More Highly

They’re trying to walk two different pathways at the same time. And you cannot do that. But change your mind. Change your actions. Well, how do you do that? Well, the start in verse 3 that we’ve just said, he says, first of all, let every man among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. What’s your attitude towards self? What is your attitude about your abilities or your talents? Scripture says we ought to be humble. Every talent or gift comes from God. 1 Corinthians 4 and verse 7, the Apostle Apostle said, What hast thou that thou didst not receive? And if thou didst receive it, why do you glory as though you did not receive it? In other words, what abilities or talents one may have?

Let him recognize the giver is God. And it isn’t just because of who he is or how smart he is or how diligently he works. Now, the point in these next few verses, we don’t all have the same abilities. We don’t all have the same talents, and indeed there are some who are able or capable to do more than maybe others. But every one of us is important. You remember the parable of the talents Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 25, about verses 14 through 30, he illustrated three different men who, according to their ability, were given different amounts of talents. There was a man who was given five, another given two, and another given only one. And when the master had gone into a foreign country when he came back, he he inquired what they had done with the amount that had been given to each one.

And the man who’d given been given five used it faithfully, gained five others. The man who had been given two talents used his faithfully and gained two other talents. And both of those men were equally blessed. The man with two talents was not required to do as much as the man with five. He was simply required to do what he could. But the man who had ability only to use one talent exclaimed that he had at least kept what the Lord gave him. He hadn’t lost it. He had dug in the earth and buried his talent. He said, I was afraid.

The Lord called him a wicked and slowful servant. We must not measure ourselves by ourselves. Don’t look around at other people and see what they’re doing and determine you’re better than they are, or that you’re not as good as they are, and therefore you’re excused. Either attitude is wrong. But rather understand that every part of the body of Christ has a function. Every part. He illustrated even here about the body, as we have many members in one body, we don’t all have the same office or the same function. And in the body of Christ is compared like in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 12 through 27, like a physical body. Can the head say to the foot, I don’t need you? Can the eye say to the ear, I don’t have any need of you.

If all the body were the eye, where were the hearing? If all were hearing, where were the seeing? Every part of our body, physical body, has an important function. Any part of it you’d like to do away with, your little finger or even your little toe, you want every part. It all has a proper place. So in the body, the spiritual body of Christ. All of us have an important function. Therefore, what is he saying here? Whatever your function, be diligent, what you do. Now, some of these, there’s a list here for about seven different gifts, and some of these are miraculous and some are ordinary. For example, the first one, prophesy. In the age of the first century, where there was direct revelation, there was a need for inspiration, miraculous inspiration.

But even there he says, Look, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith. That is, don’t say your own opinion. You give what it says. And you you only say what you have had inspired. In other words, with the rest of these, which are perhaps ordinary, there are those who can minister or serve, let us wait on our ministry. That is, be diligent. You do what you can do. If you can go out and help those who are in need and wait on the sick, your function is as important as the prophet. If that’s what you can do, you do it. Or he that teacheth on teaching. Or he that exhorteth on exhortation. Now the teaching and the exhortation you may see is uh certainly akin one to the other, but maybe the difference is that a teacher can pass on information that he knows.

He teaches what he knows, whereas the exhorter is able to persuade one to act upon what he knows. There’s some who can pass information on, others who are better at touching the heart and the emotion, and they’re better able at exhorting. And so whatever you can do, you do it. He that ruleth, do so with diligence. Maybe those who are overseers of bishops, elders of a church. Sometimes when they realize the weight of the responsibility, want to want to back off a little bit and withdraw, but he says, Do what you do with diligence. He that showeth mercy with cheerfulness. If what you can do is show mercy, you go do that with cheerfulness. But as he said in verse three, do it or do it according to as God hath dealt to every man.

4. Let Love Be Without Dissimulation

You do what you can do as God has said, according to the gift that God has given you. We’re going to pause for just one moment. When we come back, we’re going to show how that the scripture changes. Consecration to God changes our lives, even in our attitude toward brethren as well as toward enemies. You stay with us, we’ll be back in just one moment. In Romans chapter 12, verses 9 through 13, there are several short admonitions, although worded with just a few words, yet they’re so very meaningful in our lives. All based upon consecration to God will change our attitude toward things of the world, toward our friends and brethren in Christ, and even toward our enemies. But look at some of the changes that takes that take place.

Verses 9 through 13, he says, Let love be without dissimulation, abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good, be kindly affectionate one to another, with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another, not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patience in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the necessity of saints given to hospitality. Really, every one of those phrases could produce a whole sermon in and of itself, and is worthy of more attention than what we shall give right here. But at least what we want to try to do is to get before you these exhortations and the summation. What’s behind them all? That if indeed we’re consecrated to God, we will be practicing sincere love. And sincere love motivates action.

You notice he says, Let love be without dissimulation. That’s the King James Version. Literally it says, Don’t let it be with hypocrisy. Let it be sincere. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 18, there, the inspired writing says, let us love not in word and tongue, but in deed and truth. It’s one thing to have a smile on your face and the face and to say I love you. It’s something else to actually demonstrate that by active goodwill, doing what will help the other. Now you notice there are several things now that follow that. That if indeed we have love that is without hypocrisy, what will there, what will the action be in our life? Well, first of all, we will abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good.

Toward God, if we love Him truly, we will, as 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 11 teaches that we should abstain from the very appearance of evil. That’s 1 Thessalonians 5, 21. But as pilgrims and strangers, 1 Peter 2 says, our lives are such that we have nothing to do with evil. We put off that which is evil and we put on that which is good. Not only that, we love one another with brotherly love. Remarkable that he says, brotherly love, family love. You hear people who will say, Well, you know, we’re blood kin. These are my children, or these are my own brothers and sisters, or my mother and dad. And we generally toward brethren in the flesh take special interest and care in what they’re doing.

And we give them the benefit of the doubt. And we uphold them and we try to help them when they are in trouble. Now in Christ Jesus, there is brotherly love. In fact, he says, preferring one another. In 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 22, he said, seeing you purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. There is no hypocrisy to it, unfeigned love. But this love that we have toward God affects us in our relationship one with the other. There are changes that take place, even in our attitude toward our work. He says, Be not lazy. That is, but rather fervent in spirit. We’re not slothful, the King James says.

Well, you know, you may remember reading about the church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 16, the Lord accused them of being lukewarm. And he said, I would that you were hot or cold. Get off of that middle of the road kind of attitude, that indifferent spirit. But let there be zeal and fervency about what you’re doing and serving the Lord. The next phrase, in fact, says, serving the Lord, and rejoicing in hope. A person who really serves the Lord, his whole attitude and disposition is such that he gives his best to whatever it is. In the New Testament times, slavery was a common thing that was going on at that time. In fact, many of the Christians were servants of another. I’ve always found it remarkable in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 23, where he addresses servants, and he says that they were with with not with as men pleasers are with eye service, that is, not just when your boss is around.

But he says, serve heartily as unto the Lord. There’s a spirit and attitude that I’m not just serving man. As a Christian, even in my job, if I’m an employee working for another, I’m serving the Lord, and therefore I do it to the best of my ability. And so not only should we, because we’re serving the Lord, not be lazy but fervent and rejoicing in hope, looking forward to that eternal life that he’s promised to those who are the faithful, but he says, patient and prayerful. That we are patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. There may be persecution, there may be troubles and try strifes that come your way. But the child of God, because he has hope as the anchor of his soul, Hebrews chapter 6 and 19, he is able to keep on keeping on.

He is persevering, he is patient, and he continues in prayer. That is, his life is of a mood of in and relationship to God, and constantly can appeal unto the Lord and pray unto the Lord, pray without ceasing, and everything give thanks. First Thessalonians 5 and verse 17. But then there is that benevolent spirit also, when it says that he is distributing to the necessity of saints, communicating, providing for.

Who does not look out to and care for those who are needy around him, and then you’ll find one who really doesn’t love the Lord. He loves himself far too much. The man who loves the Lord and has sincere love without dissimulation or hypocrisy, is going to be benevolent in spirit. And more than that, he’s going to be hospitable. The scripture says, given to hospitality. We may live in a generation now somewhat different from the first century. At that time, the motels and hotels were not that available as they are today. And certainly travelers needed to be invited in, or strangers often invited in, even to the homes. Well, today we may not have quite as much that same need, but I wonder if we’ve made our homes havens of selfishness rather than places of benevolent to help others.

5. Overcome Evil With Good

We ought to look out and be hospitable and caring for one another. But now, looking at the last few verses of this chapter, he talks about our attitude even toward enemies. And as I said a moment ago, consecration to God involves such changes that though do not come automatically. They do not come just naturally, but rather because of the mercy of God, we look to others in a different way. How did God look to his enemies? God gave good to us, didn’t he? Now look what he says here in these closing verses, that verse beginning in verse 14 bless them which persecute you, bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another, mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.

Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. Or it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. You notice, even in verse 14, where he says, Bless and curse not. Do good or bless those who persecute you even. You know, the normal eye for eye, tooth for tooth. I mean, I dare you, if you do wrong to me, I’m going to get you back.

But that isn’t the spirit of a Christian. In fact, in the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said, Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. In other words, if you’re persecuted for the sake of Christ, for the for the sake of righteousness, don’t retaliate evil with evil. If God gave good to you, seek the welfare even of those who are doing wrong even to you. Throughout these last few verses, there’s the admonition over and over again that really says, Do not retaliate. Do not let God be the avenger of evil. Don’t you take the law into your own hands. In fact, he says, As much as life in you, live peaceably with all men. Be at peace as much as possible. Now the truth is, peace is a two way street.

You do your part. It may be that others aren’t doing theirs. And sometimes it isn’t possible to be at peace with all. Jesus Christ was hated, finally crucified by men. He wasn’t at peace with all, but he sought peace. He was the Prince of Peace, and he exercised peace and the right attitude toward others. So ought we to follow Christ. In fact, to overcome evil with good. Chapter twelve, you see four verses fourteen, seventeen, nineteen, and twenty one state in principle what the last verse says. Be not overcome of evil. Overcome evil with good. You return good for evil. And then perhaps even by that it’ll be a blessing on those people who will themselves see your good and want to turn to the same Savior that you follow.

Conclusion

Don’t let him lead you into the evil, but you lead the evil into your good. Until our next study, we bid that the grace and the peace of our Lord be with you.