Living Like a Christian In Our Relationship with God- Part 2

When you hear the word commitment, what comes to your mind?

It may depend upon the situation.

Some of you athletes in here, we have athletes of various kinds in this room right now.

You might describe your commitment to your sport or your team by saying things like,

you've got to go to practice every day.

You've got to give 100% effort every time you step on the field.

You've got to stay positive.

And especially in today's sports world, you might say or should say, don't get into trouble off the field.

We've got a lot of married men in this room.

If I ask you to describe commitment, you might say something like,

I try to tell her and show her that I love her every day.

You might describe commitment in terms of,

I am committed to always being faithful in thought as well as action.

You might even say that your commitment involves,

I will only speak nice things about her parents.

Or you might even tell her that you like her casseroles.

Now strike that last one.

That's just going too far.

Let's just don't put that one in there.

Now as a Christian,

how would you describe what it means to be committed to God?

How would you describe, how would you summarize what it means for you to be committed to Jesus Christ

as the Savior and Lord of your life?

Well, I'm going to help you here.

I think one of the best descriptions of what it means to be committed to our Lord

is found in Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2.

Romans 12:1

I want to put it on the screen now, but I hope you'll open your Bibles to this

because we're going to be looking at both 1 and 2 today, really for the entire time.

We're going to look at only maybe a couple of other Scripture verses.

So turn in your Bible to Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2.

Romans 12:1

But here, look at it now on the screen.

One of the best explanations of what it means to be committed to God.

I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,

to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God,

which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,

what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We looked at these verses last week

as we started a new series of studies from Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

The goal is we're going to go through the book of Romans chapter 12 only now

Romans 12 · chapter mention

under the heading, Living Like a Christian.

Last week and today, we're talking about living like a Christian

in our relationship with God.

Next week, we're going to talk about living or thinking like a Christian

in our understanding of ourselves.

And then we'll move on throughout the rest of the chapter

and think about what it means to live like a Christian

as we relate to other people.

Now, in that message last week,

we began looking at what it means to live like a Christian

in relationship with God

and found that the first requirement

is to make a wholehearted commitment to God.

Not just a wholehearted commitment to doing good

or to going to church or doing something like that,

but the focus was commitment to God himself,

which includes commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ as well.

I want us to go back to these verses

and look more closely now

at how God wants us to live in a relationship with him

as his children.

Number one is a review from last week.

We start by making a wholehearted commitment to God.

If you are serious about wanting to live

like a Christian in this world,

I mean, if you're serious about who you are as a child of God

and you really want to live

and let everybody see,

I'm a true believer,

I'm a true follower of Jesus,

then you must, as it says there,

make a wholehearted commitment to God.

You'll never live that kind of life

without a total wholehearted commitment.

Look at verse one, the first phrase.

You can see what he's talking about.

He says,

I appeal to you therefore, brothers,

by the mercies of God.

The word therefore recalls

what he's been talking about up to this point.

He summarizes all that he's been talking about

as God's merciful actions toward us

in sending his son into this world

to die on a cross and pay the penalty for our sins,

something we did not deserve.

See, when God shows us mercy,

he's showing us, granting to us

that which we do not deserve.

And that is salvation, forgiveness of sin,

being made right with him through his son, Jesus.

Now, we also saw last week

that wholehearted commitment

requires a total life commitment.

Notice the next phrase.

Present your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God.

God calls us to give ourselves

completely and exclusively to him,

who we are.

I mean, our mouth, the way we speak,

our hands, what we do,

our feet, where we go.

You can't compartmentalize your Christian faith

if you're a Christian.

You can't be a Christian on Sunday

or around certain people

and then act a different way when you go to work,

the way you do your job,

or around your friends.

Real heartfelt commitment

is whole life commitment.

He tells us it is a holy sacrifice.

It means we're set apart.

We're consciously making this commitment,

setting ourselves apart.

And this kind of commitment

is acceptable or pleasing to God.

You know, we talked about last week,

and for the benefit of those

who were not here last week,

sometimes when you think about

making a commitment,

or at least some people,

they don't like that word.

Because to them,

commitment means I've got to do something

I don't really want to do

to achieve the results

that I really want,

like maybe losing weight,

especially for health reasons.

Well, we're not talking about

a grit your teeth and bear it

kind of commitment here.

We're talking about a commitment

that is based on

having a real, loving relationship with God.

He has shown us His mercy.

We're talking about a commitment.

Because of that,

we just give Him our lives.

We don't hold anything back.

That kind of commitment

pleases God.

And so again,

the motivation for making

this kind of commitment,

this wholehearted commitment,

it's all positive.

Do it because of what God's done for you.

But do it,

or when you do it,

that will please God.

He will be pleased

with that kind of commitment in you.

One other thing is found in verse 1

about wholehearted commitment.

It makes sense.

It just makes sense.

Look at the last phrase,

which is your spiritual worship,

or some translations will say

it's your rational service.

Or some translations say

it's your reasonable service of worship.

It makes sense

to serve God this way.

It makes sense to worship God

as a way of life this way.

This last phrase drives home

the point of the entire verse.

Look at it.

Summarize it one more time.

In light of God's mercy,

in light of God's grace and love as well,

it is clearly reasonable and rational

for us to make a wholehearted,

total life commitment

to serve and worship

our Heavenly Father.

Now,

living like a Christian

in our relationship with God,

that's how it begins.

But if it's going to really grow

and mature and develop,

if it's going to make progress,

we've got certain things we've got to do.

Number two,

we make progress

by consistently choosing

to adopt the worldview of God

and reject all others.

That's what he's talking about

in verse 2,

especially the first part.

Look at it with me.

Paul is contrasting two ways to live.

Verse 2 says,

Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed

by the renewal of your mind.

Two ways

you can conform to the pattern of the world.

You can be like the world.

You can adopt the world's mindset,

philosophy,

values.

Or,

you can look to God

and cooperate with Him

as He transforms you,

as He renews your mind,

makes you different

from the way you think

all the way out

into the way that you live.

Paul is pointing out here

to make progress

in living like a Christian.

We've got two choices

to make every day.

We've got two things

we need to do.

One is negative.

Do not be conformed to the world.

But the other one is positive.

Be transformed

by the renewal of your mind.

Let's look now

at what each involves.

First,

the negative one.

We must make a consistent effort

to not allow the world

to shape us.

We must make a consistent effort

to not allow the world

to shape us.

He says it.

Do not be conformed

to this world.

Or,

probably the most well-known

paraphrase of this phrase

comes from the Phillips

translation of the New Testament.

It says,

Do not be conformed

to this world.

It says,

Don't let the world

squeeze you into its mold.

Don't let the world

squeeze you

into its mold.

Another way to say that.

Don't let the world

pressure you

into adopting

its worldview.

Everybody has a worldview.

It's the way

that you look at life.

Your worldview

is the lens

or the filter

through which you look at life.

I'm looking at life

right now

through these glasses

that make some of you

look clearer.

Could be good.

Could not be.

It certainly makes

what I'm trying to read

look clearer.

If you,

some of you,

when you walk out the door,

you're going to put on sunglasses.

That's going to,

it's got a certain tint to it.

That's going to affect

how you look at life

literally.

Our worldview

is the lens

or the filter

through which we

look at life.

It affects what we believe.

And what we believe

determines

how we live.

When Paul says

do not be conformed

to this world,

he's saying

don't look at life

from the perspective

of people

who don't care about God.

You know,

the word world

is used in different ways

in the New Testament.

The word world

sometimes talks about

this big old world

we live in.

The world revolves around

the sun.

Sometimes the scripture

uses the world

in a negative way.

He uses it in terms of

this age

as opposed

to the age to come.

Temporal things.

Just a temporary way

of looking at life

versus an eternal way

of looking at life.

But the world also,

here's what we need

to think about now.

When Paul uses the world

like he's using it here,

he's describing

a way of looking at life

that leaves God out.

He's talking about

a way of life

that either hates God

or doesn't care about God.

And both come out

to the same thing.

They're ignoring God.

They're leaving Him out.

They're leaving His ways,

His will,

His truth

out of their thinking

and as a result

out of their living.

Paul tells us

to not be conformed.

Don't let the world

teach you

to look at life this way.

Let me give you an example.

Go home

and turn on the TV today.

Go home

and turn on the TV

to any of your favorite shows,

any of my favorite shows.

And nine times out of ten,

God will never be mentioned.

No individual,

no family,

no group

will ever mention

mention God

in any kind of real,

personal,

believing kind of way.

See, that's what the world

has done.

Some of the good shows,

your favorite shows,

nothing immoral,

no trashy language.

It's just all about life

as we see it

and feel it

and taste it.

And it's as if

God does not exist

in that world

of your show.

And that's the way

many people live life today.

It's as if

there was no God.

A lot of people

live today

as practical atheists.

Now,

this world mindset,

this world view

that leaves God out

says that we can choose

what we want to believe

and how we want to live

just like you can choose

the food

that you want

as you go through

the cafeteria line.

This world says

you pick and choose

because there's no real

ultimate value.

There's no absolute truth.

The world tells us today

there's no such thing

as something being

always right

or always wrong.

It's all relative.

The world gives you

the freedom.

This world view,

this mindset

that we're talking about

says you have the freedom

to decide

what you want to believe

about God,

about Jesus,

about heaven and hell,

about ethical issues

like abortion,

homosexuality,

about marriage,

about parenting.

See,

the world's mindset,

this world system,

this way of looking at life

says that you

are to be the final judge

for what you believe

and how you live.

It's up to you

because God is not,

He's either not in the picture

at all according

to the way they think

or God's got it all wrong.

We've got to be hostile.

We've got to reject

the teachings of His Word.

Now this world view

that I'm talking about

is how most people

in our country today think.

And unfortunately,

that means there's a lot

of church members

think that same way.

World Magazine

pointed this out

with a quote

that they said

was typical

of how most people

think today

just in general

in our country.

Look at the quote.

Sometimes my personal beliefs

contradict those

taught by the church.

I make my decisions

based on what I feel

is right.

A lot of people

in this world today,

in this country today,

my personal beliefs

contradict those

taught by the church

and hopefully

those taught by the church

are found in Scripture.

We're going to hope

that's what it is.

But I make my decisions

based on what I feel

is right.

What about you?

Could that be something

you think

never would say

but as you actually

live your life

in your home

with your family members

as you carry out

the role

that you have

as a husband

or wife

or child

or parent

when it comes

to making hard

decisions

in relationships

with people

when it comes

to making hard choices?

What prevails?

What you've been taught

as being the actual

Word of God

because it's clear

black and white

or what you prefer?

Your personal opinion?

You know,

what this guy says,

that's an example

of someone

who has adopted

the worldview

of the world.

That's an example

of someone

who's become

a friend

of the world

and the book

of James

in the New Testament.

It warns us

that's a scary,

dangerous place to be.

I want you to look

at what it says.

James is writing

to church members.

James is writing

to professing Christians.

And evidently

he has heard

that some of them

are living more like

people of the world,

people who don't know God,

than they are people

who are followers

of Jesus.

And here's what

he says to them.

You adulterous people.

He considers

their being unfaithful

to God

as spiritual adultery.

You adulterous people.

Do you not know

that friendship

with the world

is enmity?

It's hostility

with God.

Therefore,

whoever wishes

to be a friend

of the world

makes himself

an enemy of God.

It can't be any clearer

than that,

can it?

We cannot,

you cannot be

a friend of the world,

a man of the world,

a woman of the world,

and be a friend

or woman

or man of God.

They are polar opposites.

You may want to be both,

but you can't be both.

James says,

Jesus talked about

the same thing.

We can only be

a friend of God

if we reject

the influence

of the world

that opposes God.

So this is the first choice

that we're called

to make every day

if we're serious

about living

the Christian life.

Now I'm talking to you,

if you're serious

about living

the Christian life,

if you're in elementary school,

middle school,

high school,

college,

if you're a young adult,

middle adult,

or an old adult

like Grace out there,

you've got to make

this choice

every day.

I am not,

with the help

that God gives me,

I am not

going to allow

the world

to squeeze me

into its mold.

But there's another choice.

Equally,

we've got to choose

every day,

and that is

we must make

a consistent effort

to allow God

to shape us.

Look at the phrase.

Next phrase,

be transformed

by the renewal

of your mind.

Transform means

to be changed

into another form.

How many people

in here

have played

with transformers

at some point

in your life?

Lots of people.

You know what it's like

to be transformed

from maybe a car

to an action figure.

You know what it's like.

You've studied

about how a caterpillar

turns into a butterfly.

Transformation.

Notice that it says

be transformed.

That means

that this transformation

is something

that's got to be done

to us.

What it's doing

is referring

to the way

God works

in the life

of every person

who is His child.

God works

through His Spirit

to change us

gradually

throughout our life

here on earth

once we become

a Christian.

I mean,

God puts His Spirit

in us.

He works

to shape

and mold

our character

to be that

like Jesus's.

What we've got

to do

to be transformed

like this,

we've got to learn

to be sensitive

to the Holy Spirit's

presence.

He lives within us.

The Spirit of Christ,

the Spirit of God.

We need to be sensitive

to His presence

and we need to learn

to be

obedient

to His leadership.

For an example,

you're a Christian.

You're serious

about living

the Christian life.

The Spirit of God

prompts you

to say

an encouraging

word

to somebody

that you're in class

with

or that you work

with.

You don't know

what's going on

in their life,

but you know

God is prompting

you to do that.

Well,

to be obedient

to Him,

you need to do that.

You need to offer

that word

of encouragement.

You need to be seen

as that encouraging

Christian who's there

to make a difference,

a positive difference

in someone's life

like that.

The Holy Spirit

will convict us

along the same line

of talking.

Haven't you

as a Christian

felt you wanted

to say something

negative about somebody?

You just wanted

to blast them.

You just wanted

to make fun of them.

Not to their face.

You just wanted

to talk about them

at home

or to your friend.

But before you

got it out of your mouth,

the Holy Spirit

convicted you

and sort of like

saying,

don't say it.

Don't let it come out.

And you've got

to make a choice.

Are you going

to be obedient

to His leadership?

Because gossip

and slander,

that's contrary

to God's word,

isn't it?

We've got to be

sensitive to His presence

and obedient

to His leadership,

submissive to His power.

We're dependent

upon Him.

We can't do this

on our own.

We can't change ourselves.

He can change us.

But we've got to

cooperate with Him

and it'll be

a lifelong process.

The next phrase

in verse 2

tells us how

this transformation

takes place.

By the renewal

of your mind.

The primary battleground

in what all

we're talking about.

The primary battleground

in spiritual warfare,

we'll call it,

is in our minds.

We need to be careful

of what we allow

to enter into our minds.

Now,

what we're talking about here

is what we dwell on.

We're supposed

to live in the world.

We're supposed to,

as Christians,

be in this world,

this world system

that leaves God out,

that hates God.

We're supposed

to be out here

not allowing the world

to influence us.

We're supposed

to be influencers,

influencing the world,

influencing people.

Jesus said we're

to be salt and light.

And as we're out

in the world,

as we interact

with people,

as we do a lot

of different things,

all kinds of thoughts

come into our mind.

As we read,

as we observe,

as we study,

as we do what all,

all kinds of thoughts

come into our mind

and you can't help that.

If in the course

of doing what you need

to do to live your life

as a faithful Christian,

things come into your mind,

don't worry about that.

We're talking about

what you dwell on,

what you sort of

mull over in your mind,

what you think about.

Because what we think

is what determines

what we do.

That's why we've got

to guard against

what comes to our minds.

we've got to learn

to think like a Christian.

We've got to learn

to think

like God wants us

to think

as revealed

in His Word.

How discerning

are you about what

you are allowing

to enter your mind

that you dwell on,

that you think about,

that really is having

an effect on

what you think

and how you live?

How discerning are you

if you have children

at home?

How discerning are you

of what you allow

your children

to be exposed to?

TV, movies,

internet,

music,

whatever.

What are you doing

to try to filter out

as best you can

the garbage from this world

from your mind

and from the minds

of your children?

This is part of

our commitment to God.

Don't be conformed

to the world.

This is one way.

Be transformed

by the renewing

of our mind.

If we're going

to be able to resist

the pressure

to conform,

if we're going

to resist

the influences

of this world,

we've got to go

on the offensive.

We've got to

fill our minds

with the kinds

of things

the Holy Spirit

can use

to renew us,

to transform

our thinking.

And the place

begins with

the truth

of God's Word.

You know that.

We cannot,

no matter what

passage of Scripture

you come to,

when it comes

to application,

the final word is

if we're serious

about living

the Christian life

in this world,

we have got to be

people who know

the Word of God.

We've got to know

how God thinks,

how God feels,

how God has acted

and promises to act.

We've got to know

how we can live

our lives

in a way

that pleases Him

and the way

that will serve

His purpose

for why we are

here in this world.

We need to learn

to read the Bible

just so we understand

God's mind,

God's heart,

God's ways

so that that can

become our mind

and our heart

and our ways.

And then as we

come to know

God's Word,

we need to filter

everything that comes

into our minds

with that truth.

Everything that comes

into our minds,

is, you know,

how should I go

about being

a committed

husband,

a committed wife?

What does the

Scripture say?

Well, it has

very specific things

in Ephesians 5

and Colossians 3,

1 Peter 3.

There's a lot of

just general

characteristics

of what it means

to be a Christian

and live and interact

with people

in the right kind of way.

Look just for an example,

verse 9,

and we're here

in Romans chapter 12,

Romans 12 · chapter mention

let love be genuine.

Our love for people

needs to be genuine.

We don't need to be

phony and fake,

put up fronts.

We need to learn

to filter everything

that comes into our mind

with the truth

of God's Word,

every temptation,

every idle thought.

That's how we develop

a Christian worldview.

Now,

let's look at

one more thing,

the benefits

of living

like a committed

Christian

in our relationship

with God.

That's the last part

of verse 2.

We are rewarded

with a positive experience

and desirable benefits

of doing God's will.

If we are faithful

to the Lord,

committed to Him

like we've been

talking about,

we're going to be rewarded

with positive experiences

and desirable benefits

of doing God's will.

Look at verse 2,

the last part.

That by testing,

you may discern

what is the will of God,

what is good

and acceptable

and perfect.

As we obey God's call

to be totally committed,

as we cooperate

with the Spirit of God

who works in us,

we're going to find

that we get a lot of joy

and pleasure

from doing God's will.

It's going to mean

something to us.

We're going to find

satisfaction in living

God's way

as God's people

if we do the kind

of things Paul

is talking about here,

cooperating with the Holy Spirit

who lives within us.

Paul is talking about,

not talking about

finding God's will

about such things as,

such things as,

who should I marry?

Where should I work?

That's not what he's

talking about.

He's talking about

God's desired will

which He reveals to us

in His Word.

The Bible reveals

God's will

in a general way

in terms of

what we should believe

and how we should live.

We test God's will.

That's what it says there

in the latter part

of verse 2.

That by testing,

you may discern

what is the will of God.

We test God's will

by doing it.

If you bought a car,

new or used,

what did you do?

Did you do a test drive

to see if it was

what you thought

it was going to be?

Going to prove

this is really

what I want to have,

to drive?

That's how we discover

a lot of things.

Some of you are

into one sport

in particular

where you probably

tested various sports

before you decided

that's the one

that I'm going

to really focus on.

If we'll seek to know

and do God's will

from experience,

we'll find

that's the best way

to live.

Our experience

will say,

will prove

to ourselves

that God's will

is good,

it says.

God's will

is just good.

It's the right thing

and it leads

to good in our lives.

God's will

is acceptable

or some translations

will say pleasing.

Think about it.

Knowing that you're

pleasing God,

isn't that one

of the greatest feelings

that you can possibly

have?

Knowing that I'm

not just right with God,

I'm pleasing to him.

I'm bringing a smile

to his face

by the way

that I am living.

Honoring him,

loving him,

serving him.

And then God's will

is perfect.

You can't improve on it.

We'll find

from experience

by living it

that it's the best life

we can possibly live.

Now one way to know

if you totally,

if you,

we,

if we're totally

committed to God

this morning,

I want you to ask

yourself,

do I desire

to know

and do

the will of God

as revealed

in Scripture

in the details

of my life?

I mean,

just as you do

what you do

Monday through Saturday,

are you conscious of,

do you pray about,

do you seek

to know

and do God's will

because you want

to please him,

you want to live life

the way that he

designed?

Or are you more

concerned about

just doing what

you want to do,

the way you want

to do it?

Or are you really

and truly just,

you don't care.

You're just sort of

out there,

just doing what

comes naturally

with not much

thought about

who gets pleased.

A missionary

by the name

of Jim Elliott

was killed

by the very

Indian tribe

in South America.

he was trying

to build

a relationship

with

and be able

to share

the gospel with.

But he made

a memorable statement

about Christian

commitment

that you've probably

seen

that is so powerful.

He says,

he is no fool

who gives up

that which

he cannot

keep

to gain

that which

he cannot

lose.

He is no fool

who gives up

that which

he cannot

keep

to gain

that which

he cannot

lose.

You are

no fool

by turning

your back

on this world

and the things

that this world

offers

in place

of God

and his will

and his ways.

You are wise

to commit

yourself

wholeheartedly

to living

like a child

of God

who loves

you,

who is your

heavenly father,

who enjoys

the pleasure

of having

a close

relationship

with you.

That's wisdom.

But the choice

is yours.

The choice

is yours.

You can

conform

to this world

or you can

be transformed

by the renewing

of your mind.

But understand,

the choices

that we make

every day

result in

consequences

that we have

to live

with

and one

day

die

with.

Are you

prepared

to continue

living

and then

die

with the choices

you've made

up to this

point?

If you're

not,

if God's

spoken to you

this morning,

convicted you

that you are

separated from

him because

you're more

of a person

of the world,

you're more

concerned about

your way

than his way,

if God's

convicted you

this morning

of your sin

and it's

humbled you,

it's broken

you,

it bothers

you,

you're willing

to turn

from that,

to let God

change you,

I want to

encourage you

to do that

and put your

trust in Jesus

Christ,

that when he

died on the

cross,

he actually

died for

you to take

your punishment

for your

sins.

He arose

from the grave

because God

accepted his

sacrifice.

Well,

the last thing

Jesus said was,

it is finished.

He paid the

penalty for our

sins.

He arose

victoriously

proving he

has conquered

sin and death

and defeated

the devil.

And the

scripture,

the good news,

the gospel is,

whoever will

call upon the

name of the

Lord will be

saved.

That means

you.

Listen to

the Lord.

Respond to

him as he

speaks right

now.

Would you

pray with me?

Dear God,

help us to

see right now

how we should

respond to

you, to

what you've

been saying

to us about

commitment.

Committing our

lives to

Christ as

Lord and

Savior.

Or committing

ourselves and

you in

afresh to

really and

truly living

like your

people, like

your child in

every realm of

life.

Show us how we

should respond.

Help us to do

it now,

obediently.

And then in

an attitude of

prayer, let's just

listen to the

Lord and respond to

him.

I'd be happy to

pray with you here

at the front if

you want to step

out during this

time.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.