God and the Church

Good morning, everyone. My name is James. It's nice to be with you this morning. Let me pray for us.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word to us. Thank you for that part of Romans 12, which Flora has just read.

Be with us this morning as we look at your word for us today. Amen.

There is a man here whose insecurity causes him to question his place before God.

And so he acts to please people and to please God.

There's a sister here who questions her value and feels the need to talk herself up in front of other people and before God.

There's a mom here who sees her sin and thinks that she is the very worst mom.

And she's constantly comparing herself to others.

And there's a brother here who feels that God is so awesome and is so good that God is demanding more and more of him.

And he feels like he should be doing more as a Christian, but ends up feeling guilty.

We have a distorted view of God.

And it distorts our view of ourselves and our relationship with other people.

One of my temptations, one of the things that I do personally is that it can lead me to, my view of myself can lead me to question my value.

It can lead me to think, does God really want me?

Do people actually want to hang out with me?

Do my friends really want to hang out to me?

Or am I just a burden on them?

We are in the book of Romans.

We're in a series called Made New and we're up to chapter 12.

We've seen over the last number of weeks how good God has been.

That God shows his goodness and his love and mercy to a people who are undeserving.

And now we see at the start of chapter 12, the first word that Flora read for us before was therefore.

Therefore, what is the impact of all that God has done through us in Jesus?

How does it change our lives?

Paul is going to start with our relationships with God.

And then our view of ourselves and then others.

Because we have a distorted view of our God.

And it impacts all of our relationships.

And the challenge will be today to see how when we have a clear view of our relationship with God,

it helps us to see ourselves right.

And it shapes every relationship we have.

There are three points this morning that you'll be able to find in the St. Paul's app.

And if you don't have that app, you can scan the QR code in front of you.

The three points, new life, a new view of ourselves and new service.

But I'm going to spend the majority of our time together on that first point.

Those first two verses, I was tempted to just preach on just those two verses.

Because I think it has so much there for us.

I'm going to spend the majority of our time in those first two verses

before I quickly move through the second and third point.

So have Romans 12 open with you this morning on a phone or in your Bible.

Be taking notes.

That is good for us.

This passage starts with that word that I mentioned, therefore.

And you always need to question what the therefore is.

Therefore.

Paul has told us about the good news which comes to a people who don't deserve it.

How we can totally trust in God, the one who makes salvation possible.

And now he says, therefore.

Because of God's great love for you, therefore.

Because of salvation by faith, therefore.

Because of justification by grace alone, therefore.

Live differently.

The next two verses, verse 1 and 2, are a summary of the entire Christian life

following all that God has done in these last 11 chapters.

So, verse 1.

Therefore, I urge you, 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.

Therefore, because of all that Paul has said about what God has done,

live a radical life as a Christian.

And the motivation is God's mercy.

It's the only sufficient motivation for a life of gratitude.

Back in Romans 8, Paul argued that a Christian cannot lose their salvation.

And so mercy and grace is our only motivation to have a radically different life.

If a Christian could lose their salvation,

then our motivation would be fear or guilt.

I'm not living right.

I'm not living as God wants me to.

I need to work harder so I can make sure I'm saved.

And then, how does that work out in other relationships?

I feel guilty before God that I'm not working hard enough.

And then I see the people around me.

Well, they're still sinning.

You know, I need to tell my kids.

I need to tell people around you, you need to be doing better.

You need to be reading your Bible more.

Aren't you worried about this sin that you're still holding on to?

This is where religious guilt comes in.

This inner view that I'm not accepted and loved by God

and I always need to do more and more.

It leads to anxiety.

It leads to fear.

And the person who relates to God out of fear

believes that they will get what they deserve in a season.

Have you ever had that thought, you know, that kind of calmer thought?

Ah, do you know what?

I haven't really gone to church recently.

And, you know, I've gotten sick.

I've gotten COVID.

Maybe this is God punishing me because I haven't been obeying Him.

Fear leads us to think that we get what we deserve in a season.

It leads to anxiety before God and other people.

But this is not the gospel.

God has already given us mercy.

He already chooses to love us.

And so Paul encourages us that we are motivated by mercy,

not by fear, not by guilt, not by needing to do anything.

That's been the point of the last 11 chapters.

We're motivated not by that.

We're motivated by God's mercy.

Live differently.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters,

in view of God's mercy,

in view of God's wonderful mercy,

offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and pleasing to God.

This is your true and proper worship.

Offer your body as a living sacrifice.

The first call for us in view of God's mercy is to live as a living sacrifice.

Paul is using Old Testament language here of sacrifice.

It's the image of a worshiper coming in and bringing an offering.

It's not an offering that would deal with sin.

We already have that.

That's Jesus.

But this offering was a burnt offering.

This was the best a person had.

They would bring their very best animal,

the one without blemish,

the one without defect.

It was the most expensive and best they had.

It was not their leftovers.

And this offering was always completely burnt.

And it represented a complete devotion to God.

And so what Paul is saying for our lives is

that we ought to be offering everything.

We ought to be offering every aspect of our lives.

We ought to be offering everything.

We ought to be offering everything.

We ought to be offering everything.

We ought to be offering everything.

We ought to be offering everything.

We ought to be offering everything.

And he specifically mentions bodies.

Now for us that might seem fairly normal,

but this is into a Greco-Roman context.

And they believed that what happened in the body

did not actually matter.

The religious and philosophical Romans and Greeks,

what they pursued was purity of the mind.

And so they thought that,

you know what,

what happens with the body doesn't matter.

If I choose to pursue anything I like with my body,

sexual depravity,

it doesn't matter as long as I'm pursuing purity of the mind.

But Paul is being inclusive of everything.

We are to offer everything to God as living sacrifices.

We don't just divide parts of our lives out.

We're not to think like the ancient Romans and Greeks

and separate what happens.

I'll offer some of my life,

my money,

my Sunday mornings to God,

but I'm going to pursue the job that I want.

I'm going to pursue the sexual experiences that I want.

I'll parent as I fit.

Paul calls us,

in view of God's mercies,

to offer our bodies,

our minds,

our thoughts,

our hopes,

and our dreams to God.

God wants everything.

Now it sounds a bit greedy for God to want everything.

But when we remember how deep God's mercies are for us,

that his mercy in Jesus,

we only have anything because of God's mercy to us.

And so the most obvious response to God's mercy

is to offer everything as a living sacrifice.

And it's living.

It's not just a once-off,

I have done that.

It is a living thing.

We continue to offer it.

It's a daily giving.

As we continue to read God's word,

we are reminded of his mercy.

And we continue to bring our whole lives before him.

On Wednesday afternoon this week,

of the week just past,

I had to take my youngest to soccer.

I know,

and it's this 45-minute thing

that happens on a Wednesday afternoon.

And Wednesdays,

as we all know,

is the worst day of the week.

It's hump day.

And I feel tired by five o'clock on a Wednesday.

And I had to take him.

And I have this 45-minute window

where I thought,

do you know what?

Do you know what would be really good to do right now?

It would be really good to just drop Micah

and then go and sit in the car and have a nap.

That would be so delightful.

Or maybe even read a book

or just do anything I like.

That would be really good.

And do you know what?

If I chose to do that,

if I needed to rest,

that would be a good thing as well.

Rest is a good thing that God gives us.

But on Wednesday morning,

I'd also been reading my Bible

and I'd been praying for a dad from soccer.

I've had a couple of little conversations with him

about religion.

And I'd be praying that I'd have an opportunity

to talk to him on Wednesday afternoon about Jesus.

And there's this really dangerous thing

that happens when you pray.

God answers our prayers.

So sometimes it's just easier.

Maybe I shouldn't pray that

because God might actually put that situation before me.

So Wednesday afternoon,

I'm thinking,

it would really be good

to do whatever I like right now,

to have that little piece of rest.

But I made the decision,

actually, do you know what?

I should go.

I should see if I can stand there

and encourage my son while he plays soccer

and maybe even see if I can have

a little conversation with this other dad.

And I ended up having a 45-minute conversation

about life, religion, Jesus,

his religion, his background, his thoughts,

and we're catching up this Wednesday for lunch.

Now, you might expect me to do that

as the missions pastor.

I really didn't want to do that.

And it was also a very easy and simple thing.

Now, this is just a very small example

of what it means to be a living sacrifice.

There is the living sacrifice

of offering our lives

and choosing to put our pride

and our lust

and our greed away

and offering ourselves to God.

But there is also

those small things.

Because we can make our lives

look pretty Christian,

but also continue to be self-centered.

Will I sacrifice my hopes

and my dreams

and my rest

and that little 45 minutes I had?

There is that inner battle.

Because rest in that moment

would have been good,

but God actually said

there is something better here.

Here, Paul says,

this living sacrifice,

this life that we have,

we can live it

and it's pleasing to God.

Pleasing to God.

I think this is amazing.

God is already pleased with us.

He said to Jesus at his baptism,

this is my son

in whom I am well pleased.

And God

makes us his children

and he is pleased with us.

It's a delight

to be pleased with my kids

and to enjoy them

and see that

they are enjoying me

being pleased with them.

But can you imagine

that we can actually

enjoy this

with the God of the universe?

The God of the universe

is actually already

pleased with us.

Not because of us,

but because of him.

Speaking of soccer,

as I go to soccer

on a Saturday morning,

there are some parents

who look pleased

with their kids.

And there are some parents

who are only pleased

with their kids

when they're scoring goals,

when they're, you know,

kicking the ball

in the right direction

and not going

in the wrong direction.

You know, this is under sixes,

so any small win is a win.

I work hard

to be the parent

shouting encouragement.

There are some parents

who are shouting

abusive encouragement

on the sidelines.

God is the parent

who is pleased

with their children

whether they are

scoring a goal

or whether they are

chasing butterflies

in the wrong direction.

God is already

pleased with us

and he invites us

to be in a relationship

with him

where we continue

to follow him,

where we offer

our entire lives

as a living sacrifice

because it is pleasing

to him.

What a wonderful delight

that is.

The second aspect

of this radical

Christian life

is that

as we go through

life as a living sacrifice,

it is to be transformed

but not conformed.

Verse 2.

Do not conform

to the pattern

of this world

but be transformed

by the renewing

of your mind.

Then you will be able

to test and approve

what God's will is,

his good,

pleasing

and perfect will.

Paul holds up

two ways to live,

two patterns of life,

the pattern

of the world

and the pattern

of God's will

and they are always

set against each other.

Living a pleasing,

sacrificial life

to God

means to see

the patterns

of thinking

of the world

and not conform

to them

but to see

the patterns

and thinking

of God

and be transformed

to live in that way.

The world

says to us,

you deserve this,

treat yourself.

The world

says you are

the most important.

Everyone else

is wrong.

Don't listen

to them.

The world

says you can

be whatever

you want

and you can

do whatever

you want.

The world

says that

we should

celebrate this

and if you

don't,

well we will

reject you.

You should

chase the dream,

put yourself

first and be

the best version

of whoever

you want to be.

That is the

pattern of the

world that we

live in at the

moment.

But the gospel

tells us

that we

don't deserve

anything good

but God

gives us

mercy and

grace.

We don't

deserve anything

good but we

are loved

and valued.

We can do

whatever we

want because

we are

forgiven

but we can

choose to

love and

obey Jesus

out of love

and thanks to

God in his

mercy.

being the

best version

of me is

not actually

whatever is

in me,

it is Jesus.

That is the

best version

of me so

that is the

version I

pursue.

That is an

identity that

will stand the

test of time

that will not

be shaken by

the changing

shifting pattern

of the world

around me.

When our

identity is

first found

and defined

by God,

it helps us

to see everything

else clearly.

We can see

the patterns

of the world

and we can

test them.

Is it actually

going to help

me to conform

to this pattern

of the world

or am I

going to be

transformed

to live and

follow God's

good and

perfect will?

And so,

we see God's

mercy to us.

We dwell on

God's mercy.

It helps us

understand how

good he is to

us, how he

is pleased

with us in

Jesus, how

we choose to

live for him.

And then it

helps us to

see ourselves

for who we

truly are.

It's our

second point

today.

If I can get

the buttons

to work,

Wendy, I

might get you

to push the

button.

Thank you,

sister.

Now we can

have a new

view of

ourself.

Our primary

relationship is

with God.

That is the

most important

one with us.

When we have

that primary

relationship,

we can

understand who

we are.

And so,

verse 3,

by the grace

given me,

I say to

every one of

you, do not

think of

yourselves more

highly than

you ought,

but rather

think of

yourself with

sober judgment

in accordance

with the

faith God

has distributed

to each of

you.

Do not

think of

your health

more highly

than you

ought, but

think of

yourself with

sober judgment.

Paul has

shown us

that we

are to

live in

light of

God's

mercies.

That's how

we live in

right relationship

with him.

You only need

to be reading

the Old

Testament to

see how

constantly the

people would

remember,

this is what

God has done

for us.

This is the

God who has

saved us from

Egypt, living

in light of

God's mercies,

living sacrificially,

transformed by

his mercy.

And now he

shows us how

we are to

relate to

ourselves.

And he

uses the

language of

sober judgment.

Think of

a person

who is

not sober,

who is

under the

influence of

alcohol or

drugs,

someone who

is not

thinking

clearly.

They will

often, in

my limited

experience,

act in one

of two

ways.

They will

either become

very boastful,

they will

think that they

can do

anything, I

can jump

over that

wall, I

can fight

that crocodile,

I can drive

a car, I

can do

anything.

None of

these are

good decisions,

but also

impacted by

alcohol or

drugs, the

opposite can

happen.

Alcohol is a

depressant, and

so people can be

depressed, unwilling

to do anything,

or thinking

lowly of

themselves.

And so Paul

is saying,

don't react in

either of those

ways, think

clearly of

yourself.

Think of

yourself with

sober judgment,

in accordance

with the

faith given

you by

God.

We only

need to go

back to

Romans 3,

which has a

wonderful contrast

that demonstrates

this.

We have

all sinned and

fallen short of

God's glory.

Think of

yourselves as

incredibly low.

We all

deserve his

punishment.

It would be

right to think

of ourselves as

the lowest of

the lows.

And yet the

very next

verse, we

are all

justified

freely by

his grace

through the

redemption that

came in

Christ Jesus.

How can we

think lowly of

ourselves when

God has said

that his son

has died for

us and that

he values us

so highly?

It is this

wonderful

contradiction of

holding these

two together.

We have

sinned and

fallen far

short of the

glory of

God, and

yet in

Jesus he

redeems us

and values

us.

And so we

need to hold

these two

together because

Paul has

warned us

of the

danger of

conforming

ourselves to

the pattern

of the

world.

Our culture

gives warnings

to low

self-esteem.

But really

the biggest

issue of

the world

is egocentrism

and self-centeredness.

Having an

inflated ego,

thinking too

highly of

ourselves.

But we are

called to have

sober judgment,

to think

clearly about

who we

are, in

accordance with

the faith

given us.

Now, when I

first read this,

I thought, in

accordance with

the faith, it

seems like it's

about the amount

of faith that

God has given

to me.

And so if God

has given me

much faith, I

can think highly

of myself.

I'm so

faithful, I'm

really great

because of how

much faith God

has given me.

But if you've

been with us over

the last three

weeks, Paul has

been talking

about the

Christians and

the Jews and

the Gentiles and

how salvation

works for these

groups coming

in.

And so it's

not about how

much faith I

have.

Paul is calling

on the Jews not

to think too

highly of

themselves.

They have come

from a long

lineage of people

following God.

Don't think that

you're better because

you have this.

And Gentiles, just

because you've been

Christian for about

half an hour,

don't think of

yourselves too

lowly, God

has given the

same faith to

each of you.

God is the one

who gives faith,

regardless of

background, regardless

of abilities and

giftings.

God loves us

equally in Jesus.

And so the

gospel prevents us

from thinking more

lowly of ourselves

and more highly

of ourselves.

It's a call to

remember who we

are in the gospel,

valued and loved

by God.

And so when we

are sitting in

God's mercy,

understanding of

who we are,

undeserved and

yet valued and

loved, we

understand how we

relate to other

people.

Because we are

not saved to be

an island.

Christians have

an interdependent

relationship with

others.

We have a new

service.

Verse 4 and 5.

For just as

each of us has

one body with

many members,

and these

members do not

all have the

same function,

so in Christ

we though many

form one body

and each member

belongs to all

the others.

We have

different gifts,

different

personalities,

different histories

and abilities

that equip us

to serve each

other differently.

God has

deliberately

created his

church to be

a beautiful

tapestry of

uniqueness and

difference.

A place where

that difference

is needed and

celebrated and

not just ironed

out so everybody

would look like

me because that

would be a

terrible thing.

And then verse

6.

We have

different gifts

according to the

grace God gives

us.

God is the one

who makes us

righteous by his

grace and he

gives us gifts

by that same

grace.

But these

aren't for our

benefit, these

are to be given

to others.

They are for

others.

We all have a

role to play in

the church.

We need others

and others

need us.

When we see

ourselves with

sober judgment,

when we see

ourselves rightly,

we see that we

are not to be on

our own.

We belong to God

as his children,

but we also

belong to the

church.

And Paul goes

on to list a

number of gifts.

It's similar to

the list in 1

Corinthians 12 and

Ephesians 4.

I'm not going to

extensively look at

this list today,

but you can see

that as we go

through this,

these are gifts

for others.

These are other

person-centered.

And so if your

gift is prophesying,

then prophesy in

accordance with

your faith.

If it's serving,

then serve.

If it's teaching,

then teach.

If it's to

encourage,

then give

encouragement.

If it's giving,

then give generously.

If it's to lead,

do it diligently.

If it's to show

mercy, do it

cheerfully.

I recently did a

gifts assessment.

It's one of the

things that we are

working on as a

church.

I have done these

gifts assessment in

the past.

If you don't know

of them, what you

do is you go

through a bunch of

questions just to

see and help you

identify how God

has gifted you

because he has

gifted us all very

differently.

And two of the

main gifts that

stuck out to me

this time as I

did it was hosting

and evangelism.

And I think that's,

it was really

helpful for me to

do that because it's

reminded me of one

of my great loves,

being part of the

church, having people

at my house and

eating food together.

I'm not sure if

you've done that

with me.

I'm not going to

ask for a show of

hands.

If you haven't been

to my house and

eaten food, I'd love

you to come to my

house and eat food.

Hosting is one of

my favorite things.

I saw these two

gifts, hosting and

evangelism, and I

thought, yes, this

is something I love

to do.

And I saw this as

also a wonderful

combination in a way

that I haven't really

done it, done it in

an evangelistic way.

And so as I

mentioned, I'm having

lunch with this guy

on Wednesday, I

really want to have

him and his family

over and eat food

with them and share

not just bread, but

also the good news

of Jesus.

And so that's one

thing that's

encouraging me, this

other person

centeredness of these

gifts.

Do you know what

your gifts are?

Do you know how

God has uniquely

created you as part

of the church to

love and serve other

people?

Now, I know

because I've done

these in the past.

I know how God

has gifted me and

it's led me into

pastoral ministry.

But I still needed

that reminder to

encourage me to lean

into that, to be

doing that more.

Come and talk with me

after church.

I've got a test that

I can get you to do

if you would like to

do that.

That would be

wonderful and helpful

to be thinking

about this.

A reordered view

of God, a reordered

view of ourselves,

helps us to have a

healthy Christian life

to serve others as

part of the church.

It presents a

wonderful picture of

the church's family,

where we know our

place, we know our

roles, and know the

one who is directing

things.

And the key to all of

it is our relationship

with the head, with

God, the one who is

directing all things.

Because when we don't

have that relationship

first, it all falls

apart.

I did a funeral last

week.

I haven't done funerals

for a while, but I was

involved in a funeral,

and it reminded me of the

impact that happens on a

family when a patriarch or

a matriarch dies.

I'm not sure if you've

seen this before, but

there's often in families

one key person that's

holding things together.

You know, you think

about Christmas time,

all of the different

families get together

because they have to

spend time with that

one key person.

It's the grandmother

who's making sure that

everybody brings the

food and everybody

gathers.

But what can happen is

that when that person

passes, there can be

bickering and infighting.

People don't know how

to relate to each other

anymore because there

is that one person

holding everything

together.

And slowly the families

pull apart.

What used to hold them

together now has gone

and so they're just

divided.

I wonder if we can view

Christianity as just

people who are similar

and so we just spend

time together, but other

than a Sunday, you

know, we're not really

in each other's lives

and that's not

important.

We can try and hold

our Christianity

together without God

at the centre.

It's going to be useless

to try and do that as a

Christian community

without God at the

centre.

He is the key.

He is the one who

defines our relationships.

And thankfully, he'll

never pass away because

he's eternal.

But he is the one who

is over all our

relationships.

He is the one who

gives shape to who we

are and who we are as a

church.

Knowing how good he has

been through much sin

and much rebellion

shapes us and calls us

to forgive one another.

Knowing his undeserved

loves give shape to our

identity.

mercy.

And so, brothers and

sisters, tonight,

tomorrow, sometime this

week, let me call you to

do what Paul did in verse

one, to meditate on God's

mercies.

When we meditate on God's

mercies, it gives shape to

our relationship with him.

It gives shape to who we

are as his people and how we

serve everyone else.

And so this week, sit in

his mercies.

Read a psalm.

Go through the last 11

chapters of Romans.

Just flick through them.

Find a heading.

Read a part.

And just remind yourself of

how good God has been to

you.

Even remember your story.

Sit in your story as a

Christian and meditate on

his mercies and love to

you.

Let me pray for us.

Heavenly Father, we thank

you for your love and your

mercy in Jesus.

That while we were still

far off, you sent Jesus to

die, to come to life, to

give us life in you.

Father, help us never be far

from you.

Help us to draw close to you

by remembering your mercy so

that it would shape our

relationship with you.

Shape who we are as your

people and us as your

church.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.