Reading: Romans 11:33-36 & 12:1

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!z
How unsearchable his judgments,and his paths beyond tracing out!a
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”j b
35 “Who has ever given to God,that God should repay them?”k c
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things
To him be the glory forever! Amen
Therefore, I urge you,f 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. 

Introduction

  • When God planned the creation of man He determined to create man holy and blameless… Ephesians 1:4
  • His purpose was to create man with whom He could have fellowship… 1 John 1:3
    • But John makes it very clear that that fellowship can only happen if we are holy and blameless… 1 John 1:7
      • If we walk in the light as He is in the light… we have fellowship.
    • Notice that Paul's comments here are reserved for the Brothers… Chapter 12:1
      • Brethren are those people who have given their lives to Jesus…
        • Born again, saved… not just religious church goers. 
  • So what is fellowship … Koinonia …
    • Partnership, sharing in common, agreeing in unity of purpose…
      • It includes, but is much greater than a shared cup of coffee.
        • It is common thinking and purpose. 
      • We call Medway a fellowship… We share our faith concerning Jesus and work together to promote His purposes. 
  • Adam & Eve before the fall were co-regents of creation… Genesis 2:15
    • God put him in the garden to work it and take care of it. 
    • There was unity of purpose and fellowship with God the creator
      • But when Adam fell from grace the fellowship was interrupted. 
  • And that is what the book of Romans is all about…
    • The restoration of fellowship between God and mankind. 
  • Over the past number of months we have seen…
    • Sinful mankind being brought back to fellowship with the Holy God of creation…
      • So Paul who started out hating Jesus and killing the church ends up born again and now in partnership (fellowship) with Christ building His church. 

God's purposes in creation

  • It is of utmost importance that we understand God’s purposes in creating mankind…
    • Paul spells it out in his doxology. Rom 11:33-36
      • God’s wisdom, knowledge, judgements and thinking are infinitely greater than the collective knowledge of all men…vs 33-34
        • Beyond tracing out…vs 33
      • God is not indebted to mankind for anything… vs 35
        • Your good works do not place an obligation on God… 
        • He owes us nothing… 
          • Salvation is a gift not a reward… 
      • For from Him and thru Him and TO Him are all things…
        • God's purposes in creation are clearly revealed here… vs 36
        • All things… created thru Him and for Him… Colossians 1:16
        • Speaking about Jesus… For whom are all things and by whom are all things… Hebrews 2:10
      • We are created… BY Him and FOR Him.
    • Can we recognise that the entire purpose of our lives is from, to and for God alone… 
      • Without God we are purposeless blobs of meat… Dawkins
      • We live and die and pass on our genes to the next generation. 
    • Scripture says… Created by Him, in His image, to be holy and blameless. 
      • To fellowship with Him, to be united to Him, to be in partnership with Him. 
  • And that is what Romans 12-16 are all about…
    • Ch. 1-11 deal with returning to fellowship with Him… A brother in Christ
    • Ch. 12-16 Living out our salvation (Brotherhood) as we work in partnership with God to achieve His purposes… 
    • And while all this is going on we wait patiently for our home call. 
  • This is a meaningful, purpose driven life, which is a gift from God.  
    • My life's purpose is not to accumulate wealth, it is not to ensure my children are educated in the wisdom of this world or become massive overachievers…accumulating wealth and fame…
    • The number one priority is to fellowship with God…
      • And ensure that my children have a solid foundation of Biblical truth that will enable them to fellowship with God.
        • Of course education is important…
          • But education in the things of this world can not be compared to a knowledge of God’s word.
  • Consequently Paul starts chapter 12 by saying…
    • Therefore, by the mercies of God… NKJ
      • Therefore I urge you brother in view of God’s mercies… NIV
      • I appeal to you in view of all the mercies of God… Amplified 
  • Now here  comes the challenge…
    • Are you living according to the purpose for which you were created. 
      • Is your fellowship a priority or a side show. 

Therefore… What is it there for… 

  • We have said it before and say it again…
    • Our salvation in Christ is much greater than a free pass into heaven…
    • Paul has spent 11 chapters telling us about our salvation and all the mercies God is giving to us…
  • Unfortunately the freepass is all that most Christians ever see…
    • But here Paul speaks of the great responsibility we have because of the great mercies God has bestowed on us. 
  • Here are 22 mercies in Romans that God bestows on all believers…
    • Daily experiences…
      • Divine love, grace freely given, we experience the in dwelling Spirit of God, peace with and of God, faith to believe, comfort in times of need, power to overcome challenges, hope for the future, kindness of God… X9
    • Spiritual benefits…
      • Share in His Glory, His honor, righteousness of God, forgiveness of all sin, reconciliation with God, justification, eternal security, eternal life, freedom in Christ, resurrection, sonship and inheritance, intercession… X13
    • That is the salvation we can enjoy… Small wonder Paul says…
      • To Him be glory forever… Amen???
  • Therefore… in view of God's mercies… 
    • Question… How do we respond…
    • Whenever I receive a gift that I value I respond in gratitude…
      • It is one of the basic behaviours we drum into our children… 
    • Jesus questioned the one leper  who showed gratitude for the gift of healing …saying where are the others… Luke 17:11-19 
      • Our gratitude will always reveal our sense of appreciation for what is given…
        • And If we add to the mercies the cost to the Lord Jesus and the Father it only declares even louder the responsibility to respond with gratitude …
        • But my responses to these mercies fall far short of the sum total of the mercies… it’s a daily struggle…
    • So we are challenged about our response… 
      • Therefore… says Paul… show gratitude…
        • Because it is a reasonable response… vs 1 NKJ
  • Question… How often when asked to do something in the church or for God’s people do you say… Sorry, I’m too busy.
  • The therefore is there to convey a sense of responsibility.

Therefore… I urge you to present your bodies…

  • So the next question is… How do we show gratitude…
    • Paul's call is an urgent call that requires an urgent response…
  • Urge …Parakaleo…
    • Sometimes used in a military sense…
      • It is not a command but a call to come alongside and join in the battle…
        • And in the military we are called to lay down your life.
      • Paul urges, pleads, begs, beseeches, makes request. 
        • He looks to our free will for response…
      • He wants us to respond out of a heart of understanding, gratitude and love…
      • Obeying a command is an obligation…
        • But a free will response comes out of gratitude.
      • This is an urgent call because becoming a believer calls us to  change our entire way of life and our priorities…
        • It should impact my marriage, my relationship with my family, friends, my work, my involvement in the church.
          • My value system and priorities, my reaction to certain incidences in my life etc.
      • We are now representatives of God's grace, mercy, righteousness to an unbelieving world…
        • Peter calls us a nation of priests… who are revealing a holy God to the world around us…
          • That is the responsibility we carry… a major priority… our purpose…
        • Israel was a nation of priests… and the majority failed. 
        • Surely we, with hearts full of gratitude, will respond to the call with urgency…
          • Scripture says… The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few… Mathew 9:37

Present your bodies

  • Meaning… Set beside at someone's disposal… To convey to another as a possession… to give ourselves to God. 
  • All to Jesus I surrender all to Jesus freely give… Judson van de Venter… 
    • That is what is being called for here…
  • Judson set at Jesus disposal everything he had…
    • His musical and teaching abilities, his preaching 
    • He gave up his career so that he could work in partnership with Christ… It took 5 years to get to that point. 
  • But Serving Christ became his priority…
    • And a man his life impacted was Billy Graham
  •  That is what Paul did… Under house arrest.
    • For me to live is Christ… Philipians 1:21
      • In prison because of Christ… but that's OK.
  • Clearly Paul is urging us to respond in gratitude to God’s mercies by making Him the number one priority in our lives…
    • Placing our lives at Christ's disposal so that He can use them for His purposes ….
      • Offer the parts of your body to Him (God) as instruments of righteousness… Romans 6:13
  • And that does not happen overnight… It's never easy. 
    • It is an act of true faith…
    • Because we do not know the consequences…

A living sacrifice

  • A good way of viewing this statement is through the eyes of Isaac… Hebrews 11:17-19
    • When Abraham was called by God to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, Isaac was an adult or close to being an adult. 
      • In other words Abraham was at that stage about 120 years old 
      • And therefore Isaac must have been a willing (Living) sacrifice. 
        • And he allowed his father to put him on the altar. 
      • The scripture says…
        • Figuratively speaking he did receive Isaac  back from the dead… Hebrews 11:19
  • Paul's teaching to the Roman church is that in Christ we die to sin and self in order to live and serve Christ… Romans 6:10-11
    • Even as Christ presented himself, willingly, to die, and be raised to new life
    • So we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God for His purposes. 
      • We die to self in order to live for Him…
  • Even in the Mosaic law the animal that was brought had to be the best and alive. 
    • And was then put to death on the altar…
    • But like Christ we are resurrected to live for Him… Romans 6:8
  • This then is the call upon our lives as believers, brothers, a people belonging to Christ Jesus our Saviour. 
    • We are to be living sacrifices… 
      • That can partnership with Him in accomplishing His purposes…
        • Giving the best of us now… Urge,… Not just he left overs of old age. 

Challenge

  • Maybe you are sitting there thinking…
    • Ho hum,,, here is dear old Lawrence getting on his doctrinal high horse again…
    • He is old and totally out of touch with the realities of this day and age…
      • He doesn't understand…
    • When it comes to phones and podcasts and streaming and all that goes with technology I confess I am really dof…
      • But at the same time I have been around a long time and I have witnessed how a decline in true doctrine has resulted in a corresponding decline in the moral standing of Christians. 
  • The truth is doctrine is critical …
    • Because our doctrine will always drive our actions…
    • Mac Arthur … Duty flows from doctrine
    • Wuest … Doctrine must always precede exhortation…
    • Creed comes before conduct 
    • The truth is the level of importance you place on a matter will dictate the amount of time you create or find for it.
      • The truth is I always make time for that which is a priority to me…
      • When I say I do not have time it is because I have allocated it to something more important in my thinking. 
  • What is more important than fulfilling the purposes God created you for.