Did You Say Sacrifice?
Notes
Transcript
Did You Say Sacrifice?
Did You Say Sacrifice?
Sacrifice is a word that is pretty far from most of our minds. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had to sacrifice from time to time. Maybe especially in this time, where we have sacrificed a part of our beloved freedom, if we are responsible to others. To protect those around us we have sacrificed our vanity of individualism, our physical and emotional comfort, and our presence presence with other human beings, holding on to a hope and promise that we will not, forever, need to run like we are a school of fish escaping a shark at the sound of “Covid-19”.
A short Excursive on the SARS Covid-19’s Virus
A short Excursive on the SARS Covid-19’s Virus
And no, the novel Corona virus is not the “China Virus”. Never was and now never can be. That’s just racist and paranoid to say that. Science has found traces of Covid, not quite as infectious, in waste water in Spain and Italy collected long before the pandemic began.
Our present strain of virus were likely carried from China to many nations by people who were infected in their normal patterns of travel and had no idea they were carriers or would become so sick. Many of these may have been Chinese, many may have been just people who had traveled to or through China for business or vacation or on mission. Bobbi and I did that flying to and from Thailand just 9 months before the pandemic. We spent 3 hours one direction and 5 hours the other waiting in the Gwanzhou Airport in China. At the end of May, 2019, no one had heard of Covid, and industry was humming along. People in Bangkok were shoulder to shoulder and the roads were filled with cars that were fender to fender. Thailand, by the way, has stopped the spread of the virus in their borders, more than 2 months ago. Because everyone in Thailand did what they needed to do.
SO...
Do Everything that is In Your Power To Be Part of the Solution
Do Everything that is In Your Power To Be Part of the Solution
as individuals, rather than stubbornly continuing to be part of the problem. Remember: This is NOT a matter of MY RIGHTS, this IS a matter of MY RESPONSIBILITY OF LOVE to help protect others.
Pay Attention to risk factors and stay as healthy as you can. Self-isolate to avoid exposure. Wear appropriate face masks, and wear them properly, whenever you are out of the house to help protect others. Make sure you are keeping your distance with others. Six feet is TWO large steps! Put a yardstick on the ground and take one step that big, then another one. That’s how far you need to be when you are talking to people outside your family. When other people intrude into that space, back up! If people come to visit, stay outside if you can, or have the windows open and limit the time. That’s whey many of you have porches and patios, decks and backyards.
And wash your hands often, because that is more effective than hand sanitizer to remove or kill the virii. But do use hand sanitizer whenever it is offered when you are out. Stay safe and well!
Church Isn’t A Safe Place for Everyone
Church Isn’t A Safe Place for Everyone
The Japanese emphasize “The Three Cs”: Avoid Crowds; Avoid Closed-in spaces; Avoid Close contact. In the church building, you will have groups of people you don’t live with; you will be in a closed room for more than an hour, and you will be continually tempted to be close to one another. When we finally have a safe and effective vaccine that has been thoroughly tested and approved by the scientific community, and then when most of the population inoculated, sometime NEXT year, if we are fortunate, we can begin to move closer toward what was normal for us.
That is why we are still online, and will be careful when we regather, and we will still offer our worship services live online after we come together in the church building.
Back to Our Theme of Sacrifice
Back to Our Theme of Sacrifice
Because Covid-19 is not my focus today. Sacrifice is. Not the sacrifice we are forced into, as is the case in our present situation, with lost jobs and wages and lost health and fortunes and closed businesses and damaged lives or devastated families.
This sacrifice is not the sacrifice we enter into with our devoted and sometimes ritual observance of the tithe and our offerings in worship.
I’m talking about the sacrifice of our selves on the altar of God, not by the death of our bodies but by the death of spiritual rebellion and the guilt we have lived with for too long.
For most of us, spiritual rebellion isn’t something we even noticed. We just lived our lives and made our mistakes, our missteps and our messy transgressions. We sinned against the clear standards of morality, of civility, of politeness, of society and cultural morés, the 10 Commandments and the Laws of Love.
For some of us our guilt and shame were locked up in the evils that were done against us; as someone chose to pour out the poison of their sin upon us. We may have suffered that sin, as things that we could never think of doing ourselves were forced upon us or we were enticed into before we were mature or unafraid enough to actually agree to it. That’s called abuse against you, not your own sin, but it often leaves us with guilt and shame.
We Need to be Saved from Ourselves
We Need to be Saved from Ourselves
We felt the guilt of all those failures, our own or from those around us. It was weighing us down, even if we were successful in ignoring it for a while. Then we heard there was a solution to our guilt and shame.
Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ, the Son of God, and who paid the penalty for sin for the whole world by His death on the Cross. He is our solutions. Here it is, written for us in the Bible, the New Testament.
We were first amazed or astounded by that. Some of us felt too unworthy to believe in God’s love at first. But then we softened to the reality of a loving God who wants us to be with him forever, not wanting to lose any of us. So we confessed our sins against God and humanity, confessed our shame, and asked Jesus to forgive us by his atoning blood, and to heal us by his Holy Spirit within. And then we opened our eyes from that prayer to discover that life for us was different. Maybe just a little at first, but growing with every day; or maybe for us it was like a light that suddenly turned on and shone into the darkness of our souls and made everything new all of a sudden.
We find our salvation in Jesus “Not because of what we have done, but because of who Jesus is. Not because of who we are, but because of what Jesus did.” That is Grace that we have been singing about this morning.
After all his talk about his hopes for Israel, and even his offer of self-sacrifice in terms of his salvation, and his conclusion that God still has a plan for the salvation of the Jews, Paul in Romans 12 begins the second part of this letter.
I expect Paul and his scribe Tertius (Romans 16:22) took a break here. In fact, Romans 11:33-36 could easily have been the benediction to end this letter. He could have easily sent the first section to Rome and then sent what follows later.
Refreshed by rest, Paul resumed his dictation and Tertius once again got back to writing it all down. For the Holy Spirit of God again began to breath into Paul’s heart and mind these amazing words of devotion as he urges us to be all God has designed us to be as his children. He begins with . . .
An Appeal to Worship
An Appeal to Worship
1 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.
Oh, but there is that word Sacrifice. Right here at the beginning. Paul does not want to try to drag Christians kicking and screaming to an altar where their lives will be lost or their heart cut out. Too much work, for one thing, and totally ineffective to so quickly quench the Holy Spirit’s work and the investment of God’s saving grace.
Paul doesn’t stand at the altar and command Christians to come now to get the job done. He doesn’t stand at the back and point to the altar of sacrifice and say “You must.”
What Paul does is make an appeal to those who would read or hear this letter. He urges the believers (whom he here calls “brothers” because of Christ). He says, in effect, “Think about all the things that Jesus has done for you because of God’s mercy.
From the point of view of the guilty, there might be some chance of mercy or reduced sentence if they could only plead their case in the imagined grey areas of the law. But the One and Only Holy God gave laws on purpose, not to trip us up, but to train us in obedience. Following the law is the minimum requirement. There are no trophies for obedience, because that is just what is expected of us.
Since the precepts of God’s law must be met, sin must receive punishment, and the punishment is death. Purgatory is not mentioned in our canonical writings. The Jews knew of no “second chances” that would be based upon their behavior once they went to their graves.
The Gospel of Grace is the Mercy of God poured out on us because of love; but there was still the law to be satisfied. And then we discover that it is at the center of the Cross of Jesus Christ that God’s Justice and His Mercy meet. We are forgiven by the atoning blood-sacrifice of God’s own Son, Jesus. The Law is satisfied by the sacrifice that Love produces.
1 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.
Because of what God has done for you, try something radical: Give up all your rights. Give up all your selfishness. Give up all your sin and your rebellion. Give up yourself. And give it all to God. Jesus came that you might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10) so our sacrifice is not to quit breathing. Our sacrifice of all those things that are in the way of what God wants to do with us must happen so that we can start living in Christ.
We are not made holy and acceptable by our own cleansing. We are made holy and acceptable IN CHRIST. It is Christ’s righteousness given to us (2 Cor 5:21) when we surrender to Grace that makes us a fit sacrifice.
Worship is Paul’s context for this appeal to our sacrifice of will to God’s will. We are poorly equipped for worship if our hearts are focused on “what’s in it for me.” If we want to live lives that are God-honoring, we need an encounter with the Son of God for salvation, and then an encounter with the unchanging God of Love as we surrender, or sacrifice ourselves to God in worship.
Paul urges us to sacrifice our human will, our penchant for sin, our leanings to selfishness, or bigotry, or injustice, or pride or immorality or vulgarity or whatever it is for us; for Paul it was “this body of death” as he called it in Romans 7:24 , on the altar or worship to God. He calls this sacrifice of our human sinfulness our “spiritual worship.” If it doesn’t happen in our spirits, it won’t happen in our minds, hearts, and bodies.
Now that your human self is given over to God’s hands, Paul gives us our next steps in...
An Appeal for Transformation
An Appeal for Transformation
2 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.
Now why would he say that for us TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO? Don’t be conformed to this world. Well, Paul has no idea what is is like in this modern world where we live. His world was simpler, wasn’t it? No refrigeration, no electricity, no cars or gas or phones or magazines or internet. So how can he tell us to back off from living in this world like all the other people do?
But here’s the thing. The more you read the Bible, the more you ask God to teach you through the Bible, the more you soak it in, well, then, the more you discover that humanity hasn’t changed a bit. All these things that we added to our lives because of industry about 250 years ago, and electricity in the last 125 years then so much more in just the last 70 years or so, when electronic devices began to show up even in homes, and less than 40 years ago even in our pockets, well, all that hasn’t changed our human hearts at all.
We are still anxious to fit in, anxious to avoid arguments about our faith, and ready to do what it takes to walk and talk and look like all the people around us. Then we read this in the Bible. “Do not be conformed to this world” is a command, not an option to choose from. Pay attention to how well your life follows God and how well it follows culture.
Culture is not all bad. That’s just a simple word to use to define our food, clothes, language, economic status, our celebrations and our life events. We all live in a cultural setting. The real question is this: Whose are you? Can people tell you are a Christian before you say a word? Is every time you open your mouth an opportunity to bless or berate others?
Most Christians are happy to keep living their lives without making any waves. Just take that free salvation that Christ offers, at great cost to himself, and keep on living like it didn’t change a thing.
I want you to see something an important in the wording of verse 2. It uses the adverb “be” twice in one sentence. It makes an action verb into a “passive voice” verb. Do not “be conformed”; instead “be transformed”.
That means that the subject of the sentence becomes the object of the verb. OK, this isn’t a grammar lesson, it’s a Bible lesson. and I want you to see that end result of what a verb in the passive voice is less about what I have done than it is about what has happened in or to me.
Culture is constantly acting on us, so all we have to do is live to be shaped, or conformed, to our world. We fit into our culture without even trying. That’s a reality of living.
So what’s the answer if we want to live God’s way? Sacrifice your soul to the one only one who can change you, who can transform you by the renewing of your mind. We say “yes” to God’s will, so we can “be transformed” by him. We don’t stop living in our world, we just start seeing things God’s way.
God transforms us so we “may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” in his purposes for our lives. Don’t try to change someone else to follow God’s will. You can’t do it. And don’t even try to change yourself so you can follow God’s will. The only thing that works is to sacrifice ourselves to God so he can transform us into His child who can figure out the good, the acceptable, and the perfect designs of His will for us in this world. We don’t leave culture, we just live under a different master who wants the best for us.
So know whose you are so you can know how to live for him. But now we need a check-up, so Paul makes...
An Appeal Self-Assessment
An Appeal Self-Assessment
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Paul is hitting us hard with a soft glove. “By the grace given me” he says. Not me, but God, in other words, says “Don’t live like a self-important jerk who is better than everyone else.”
Don’t think you are “all that” or God’s gift to the world. That was only Jesus. God didn’t offer his salvation and transforming power to you because you are better than anyone else. He offered that so you could become what He wants you to be.
“Think with sober judgement” of yourself. Whose are you? What does that mean for how you live? What do others see in you? Do others know you are a member of God’s family, a person saved by grace to do God’s will?
Or are you above all that? Our value is based in God, and God gives each of us a measure of faith so we can see the same possibilities that God sees for us. And remember who is saying this: Paul, who is responsible for more than a third of what we have in the New testament, who was a leader among the Jews before his encounter with Jesus, who did more for the spread of the Gospel over the centuries than almost anyone else.
Sober judgement, according to what God has given you. Who you are is based on whose you are. You life needs to be valuable to you because you are valuable to God; but your value to the world is how well you live as God’s ambassador. Jesus saved you because your are precious to to God. And God has a mission for you. But you aren’t above others, no matter what position you hold.
So Paul makes...
An Appeal for Connection
An Appeal for Connection
4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
If we won’t live as part of the Body of Christ, then we haven’t understood God’s word about who we are. “As one body” we discover that every one of us is subject to everyone else in the body. My heart won’t stay strong if I ignore my stomach. My brain won’t be clear if I ignore my needs to rest and refresh. My walking is just as dependent on my toe as it is on the big muscle in my thigh. And on and on it goes. Even the “most honorable parts” are subject to the “unpresentable parts”, and, as Paul says in
22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
and
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Not everyone has the same assignment, but everyone is important to the body of Christ. Everyone is valuable. Everyone has a contribution. Everyone is just as worthy as everyone else. So keep your connections strong. Do what it takes to heal any division or separation. Live as the body of Christ.
4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
So Paul now makes...
An Appeal to Put Grace to Work
An Appeal to Put Grace to Work
6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;
So, we all have different assignments. Based on the gifts of Grace. Spiritual gifts, we call them, but all are designed for practical use. A false modesty that ignores the gifts God has given us because we don’t want to step on someone else’s toes will mean that the special person God has made your to be withheld from the purpose God had designed you to fill. Put God’s Grace to Work!
The gift of prophecy is surely based on a faith-connection with God. What we say in the name of God must come from God.
The gift of service is more clear. Just do it. Whatever it is that God has given you to do that serves his church, his people, and his purpose.
The gift of teaching also needs a faith-connection with God so we get it right; but teaching is not just in the church. It is in the home, in the school, on the job, as we walk and talk. If that’s your gift, keep it active.
And Paul continues, saying...
8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
To exhort is to go past teaching to lovingly correct and encourage. Correction is a very needed activity in our world. Don’t be high and mighty about it, and don’t talk to others about what needs to be corrected in someone else. Talk to the one who needs correction.
Encouragement is also very important, for so many are discouraged right now. If that is your gift, put yourself to work to honor God and help others see what God sees in them. Some have lost their jobs and don’t know what’s next. Some are low on resources. Some need to move. Some are worn out by this isolation the pandemic has forced upon us. So encourage, as God has enabled you.
And for those with the means to give more than others might, let that flow out with true generosity, for that is a gift of God to you so that you can be a gift of God for others.
Some are designed to be leaders, some are called to be leaders, and some are leaders..and some are not. But if your call and purpose is to lead, then do it “with zeal”, knowing whose you are and who you are and what God wants to do in you.
And finally this gift of mercy. Spreading grace to those who truly need it. Doing some of the difficult or disgusting things because it is good for others. So Paul says do it cheerfully.
1 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.
Did you say sacrifice? Yes, Paul said to present yourself to God as a living sacrifice, an act of worship, which God will use to transform you, to use you, and to make you useful to others.
Whose are you? Can you trust God enough to give him all the keys to your heart? Who are you? Do a checkup on yourself. Then, will you trust God enough to do what he has designed you to do?