Sacrificial Living

Would God’s people kindly take
your Bibles and turn to Romans, Paul’s epistle to the Romans,
and specifically back to chapter one, where we’ll at least begin
this morning. And if you heard gasps, or even
groans just now, those were probably coming from those who have been
with us for many years, all the way back to 2010, when we began
a very lengthy, I think, five-year study of this epistle. So, no,
we are not starting the Book of Romans all over again, but
I do want to take a few weeks to consider one particular chapter. As you know, we’re praying about
where I should go next. And I saw this on again, off
again, in the pulpit, out of the pulpit thing as being somewhat
problematic to starting a new book, whether it’s Colossians
or Galatians or Matthew or any of the rest. And so I want to
take a few weeks and just review some material that we’ve considered
before. Please allow me to begin this
morning a brief overview of this, and I mean brief, brief overview
of this grand epistle. Years ago, when I first began
an extensive study of this letter, I was somewhat alarmed to read
the following characterization of Romans. The author said, the
book of Romans has been called the greatest doctrinal treatise
in the New Testament. And at first, that sounded really
grand. But then I began to recoil from that,
and here’s why. If the New Testament is the final
revelation in God’s plan of redemption, and it is, then Romans is the
greatest doctrinal treatise in the entire Bible. But if the
Bible is God’s word, and it is, then Romans is the greatest doctrinal
treatise, period. But if this doctrinal treatise
presents the greatest message, the gospel, and it does, then
Romans is the greatest document ever written. I’m gonna really shorten the
introductory comments on this letter. Suffice it to say, Paul
wrote this letter. And it’s a great deal of data
suggests that he wrote it when he was in or around Corinth.
We just wrapped up our study of 1 Corinthians where Paul was
planning a visit. This is that visit when he landed
there and overwintered there near Corinth because he had never
visited the Roman Empire capital. And so this correspondence to
them was of the highest importance. history doesn’t tell us how the
Church of Rome even came into existence. The first we even
learn of a church in Rome is this epistle. There is no biblical
claim or account that this church was due to any apostolic work. In fact, if another apostle planted
this church, it would not be like Paul to come bullying his
way into this work by sending an uninvited treatise. Paul will
go on to tell the Romans, Romans chapter 15, that this would be
a basic violation of a basic principle of apostolic ministry. He says it this way in 1520. And I thus aspired to preach
the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I
would not build on another man’s foundation. The church in Rome
was not an apostolic work. The church, as far as we know,
just was planted probably by other believers that were present
on that fantastic scene recorded in Acts chapter two. where people
from all over the world were there present when the gospel
went forth and the Spirit was given. We also know that it was
almost certainly not due to Paul’s missionary work. This church
was already in existence when Paul wrote to them. Now, most
students of the Word are aware that The Book of Romans can be
cleanly divided into two major sections, doctrinal and practical. Chapters 1 through 11, doctrinal. Chapters 12 through 16, more
practical matters. But we can add a little helpful
detail to that this morning. Most of you know that I repented
of my fixation on alliteration years ago. Alliteration is that
practice of having your outline or your notes all begin with
the same letter of the alphabet. And that practice, at least for
me, had become more of a distraction than any kind of a help. But
in Romans, an alliterated outline falls out very naturally. Sin,
salvation, sanctification, sovereignty, and service. If you’re in chapter
1, I’m not going to call attention necessarily to any particular
verse, but if you want to just glide along with me as we go,
chapters one through three present the section that I would identify
as sin. The opening section is a lengthy
discussion lasting nearly three chapters from 1-8 all the way
to 3-20. And I would, as I said, label
this section Sin and the Judgment of God. Sin must be judged, and
both are there. Paul wraps up this discussion
in 320, establishing with absolute clarity the utter sinfulness
of all humanity, both Gentile and Jew. It’s devastating news. But Paul doesn’t leave us there,
and he quickly transitions to the great news of the gospel,
salvation by God, and we see that in 321, if you’re coursing
along. There’s a clear transition here
in 321, a transition from his discussion of sin to the subject
of salvation. That discussion about the salvation
of God carries all the way down through chapter 5 verse 21. And
I would call this section, as I said, the salvation of God. Then in 6 through 8, chapters
6 through 8, there’s another strong transition in chapter
6 verse 1, a transition to the subject of sanctification. sin, salvation, sanctification,
and this discussion carries all the way to the end of chapter
eight. And then he opens up into a section that I would identify
as sovereignty. Paul returns to the subject of
Israel’s sin and their standing before God, which he establishes
in the early chapters of the epistle. The problem is that
while salvation is provided by justification through faith,
and that salvation is secure, Israel largely rejected their
Messiah and his salvation. And so Paul’s focus here in chapter
9 through 11 is God’s sovereignty. And so I call this section the
sovereignty of God. And then finally, in chapter
12, we open up into a section. If there’s any one of these titles
where there’s a bit of a stretch, I would admit that it’s this
one, service. It’s an S, and it fits. And then,
so here in chapter 12, verse 1, we have arguably the clearest
break in all of the book of Romans. Paul’s great doctrinal discussion
has drawn to a close at the end of chapter 11, and he abruptly
transitions to the practical application of those spiritual
truths here in 12. And so we could label this section
service to God. Sin, salvation, sanctification,
sovereignty, and service. And I know that’s a little simplistic,
but it’s good enough for our purposes this morning, because
I want to take you right into chapter 12. That’s where we’ll
be for the next several weeks, to that section that we call
service, and as is our habit on our new chapter, if you would
let me read it in its entirety. I urge you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service
of worship. And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to
me, I say to every man among you not to think more highly
of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound
judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For
just as we have many members in one body, and all the members
do not have the same function, so we who are many are one body
in Christ, and individually members of one another. And since we
have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let
each exercise them accordingly. If prophecy according to the
proportion of his faith, if service in his serving, or he who teaches
in his teaching, or he who exhorts in his exhortation, he who gives
with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows
mercy with cheerfulness, Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to
what is good, Be devoted to one another in brotherly love, give
preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in
diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in
hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing
to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and curse not. Rejoice
with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the
same mind toward one another. Do not be haughty in mind, but
associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil
to anyone. Respect what is right in the
sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends
on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge,
beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written,
vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy
is hungry, feed him. And if he is thirsty, give him
a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals upon
his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good. I want you to go back, if you would,
to verse one, where we’ll begin this morning, in a section that
I would call sacrificial living. And that encompasses not just
verse one, it really is a characterization of the entire chapter. Paul will
talk about sacrificial living initially, but then he’ll flesh
that out in the entire rest of this chapter. And what we have
this morning in this little section is lessons learned upon the altar,
the altar of sacrifice. Here in verse one, as you might
expect, the first thing to which I would call our attention is
the simple verse of this sentence, the simple sentence, rather,
of this verse. And we should always do this
first. We want to identify what Paul is saying at the core of
this statement. And there is much in this sentence
that just needs to be gently set aside for a moment. It’s
not unimportant. The simple sentence is this.
Just glance down there if you would. I urge you to present
your bodies a sacrifice. That’s it. I urge you to present
your bodies a sacrifice. That is the simple sentence.
Presenting ourselves, as I’ll explain in a moment, as a sacrifice. And that, to us, doesn’t have
the same shocking sense that it would to those to whom Paul
was writing in first century. Most of us have never witnessed
an animal sacrifice, but that religious practice was prevalent
in Paul’s day. And so this idea would have been
alarming to first century Christians, present myself As a sacrifice,
surely Paul cannot mean that we are literally to place ourselves
upon an altar as some kind of an atoning victim. And indeed,
Paul does not mean that. We will come back around to exactly
what Paul does mean momentarily. And part of the help available
to us in beginning to understand the context of this passage is
one little word. And for that, glance back at
the passage again at a word that we’ve temporarily set aside. It’s that word therefore. I urge
you therefore to present your bodies. This is not an unimportant
word, especially here in this sentence, because by this one
word, Paul links this section in 12 and following to all that he has already said. Remember, he’s applying, he’s
making practical the doctrinal truths that he’s already expounded
upon. I exhort you, therefore, This
is an observable pattern in Paul’s writings. He uses this same transition
in Ephesians 4, verse 1, 1 Timothy 2, verse 1, 1 Corinthians 4,
verse 6, and more. But Romans 12.1 mirrors one book
specifically, Ephesians 4, for another dramatic reason. In both
Ephesians and Romans, this transition immediately follows upon a substantial
doctrinal portion. Ephesians chapters one through
three, one of the heaviest doctrinal sections in all of the New Testament. And then in 4.1, Paul opens up
into practical matters in that latter half of the book. Ephesians
4.1 says this, “…therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord,
implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which
you have been called.” And likewise here in Romans. Romans, 11 chapters
of solid doctrine opening up in chapter 12 through 16 to a
more practical approach to those things. In short, this is the
significance, as Paul has so wonderfully described in the
previous chapters. Because of all that God has done,
the Christian ought to respond with an undying commitment to
the Lord. And the reason for this is fairly
obvious. Doctrine is not just for knowing. We say that all the time. Head
knowledge. Doctrine lays the groundwork
for doing. As one pastor put it, character
is determined by creed. What he means by that is what
we believe will affect how we live. And so, chapter 12 opens
into an application of the magnificent truths that are already articulated
in chapters 1 through 11. So this word, therefore, that
we find here in 12.1 points us back not just to the verses immediately
preceding, but to everything, all of the profound, amazing
truths that Paul has already spoken of so far in this letter. Sin, salvation, sanctification,
sovereignty, from 1.1 all the way down through 11.36. Paul’s referring back to all
of these great doctrinal truths, because they reveal God’s plan
of redemption, the sinfulness of humanity, her need of a savior,
Christ’s atonement for sin, justification by faith, the call to growth
in Christ’s likeness, sanctification. Just for a moment, consider,
even as I read them, and even meditate on some of these deep
truths from Paul’s sentences. Romans 1.16, the gospel is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans
3.21, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has now
been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 3.24,
we are justified as a gift of His grace through the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus. Romans 5.1, having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5.8, God demonstrates
His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Romans 5.18, through one act
of righteousness that resulted in justification of life to all. Romans 5.20 and 21, where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more. So grace would reign
through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Romans 6.4. As Christ was raised
from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might
walk in newness of life. And then arguably the greatest
verse in all of Scripture, Romans 8.1, there is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And so it’s
in this context that Paul then injects here in 12.1, therefore, Based on everything that God
has done for his children, what should our response be? How should
we live in light of these amazing realities? What Paul looks to
as he begins to speak of the believer’s response is all that
God has accomplished for us by his son, Jesus Christ. We’re
called here to respond. and to respond with a grateful
heart to God’s work of redemption in us. We don’t just want to
be good, do good because of some self-nobility, or somehow to
try to pay God back, or even worse, to vainly try to earn
His favor. That’s not what this is about.
We respond out of gratitude to God’s accomplishments in and
through Jesus Christ as touching our own lives. We’re called to
respond, but response is only possible because of God’s work
of salvation in us. So now let’s look at this dramatic
exhortation that Paul gives in this verse, the simple sentence. I urge you, therefore, to present
your bodies a sacrifice. Paul says, I urge you. And that
word that Paul uses here, urge, is actually a rich, beautiful
word. It’s the word parakaleo. To call
to one side is essentially a real wooden translation of it. And
you have no doubt heard the noun form of this verb before, parakletos
is the helper. Literally, the called alongside
one, the Holy Spirit. It’s used this way to speak of
the helper in John 14 6. I will ask the Father and he
will send you another helper, a called alongside one. So there
is a delicateness to this verb. And the verb has a number of
different senses in the New Testament. On some occasions, it means to
entreat, to plead, on others, to exhort, on still others, to
comfort, to come alongside for the purpose of comforting. Here,
it’s that second sense that’s most appropriate, to exhort.
And so it does have authority behind it, even if the verb isn’t
in the imperative form. It’s not a command. This doesn’t come off as a harsh
and heavy order, but rather as Paul calls them brethren, it
comes off as a parental directive, loving and endearing. I urge you, brethren. And Paul’s
specific exhortation here is that we present our bodies as
a sacrifice. The word here, to present, means
to place or to present something in a prominent position. And
in this word, we can picture, can’t we, the Old Testament saints
in the act of bringing and presenting an offering, one’s sacrifice,
perhaps a little lamb to the altar. Back in chapter 6 of this
epistle, Paul uses this same word five times in rapid succession. I’m not going to have you turn
there. Just listen. Do not go on presenting the members of
your body to sin, but present yourselves to God as those alive
from the dead. Verse 16 of chapter six, you
present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience. Verse
19, twice more, you presented formerly your members as slaves
to impurity, now present your members as slaves to righteousness. It has this idea of bringing
it forth in the palms of your hand. There. It is as if the individual comes
bearing his life in his hands, for good or for ill. Likewise
here, present your bodies, Paul says, place yourselves before
God as a sacrifice. And when Paul says here that
we are to present our bodies for a sacrifice, he isn’t just
speaking of our physical bodies. He has in mind here more than
just the flesh and blood tents in which our soul currently resides. It is our whole selves that Paul
has in view here. When Paul exhorted the Corinthians,
glorify God in your body, he didn’t say that they could think
whatever they wanted or watch whatever they wanted. And the
same here, Paul is referring to the totality of our being,
the totality of our human frame, our eyes, our mind, our hands,
our feet, our heart, our soul, everything. We could just as well understand
Paul here saying, present yourselves, our entire personhood, as a sacrificial
offering. And Paul’s thought is complete
here by that word sacrifice. Present your bodies a sacrifice. And without doubt, Paul here
is certainly drawing upon the Old Testament sacrificial images. But he isn’t calling believers
to literally offer up their lives for death for some kind of atoning
purpose. This isn’t the only occasion
that the New Testament writers import this idea of the language
of sacrifice. Just listen. Paul himself uses
sacrificial imagery in Philippians 2.17 when he alludes to himself
being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service
of your faith. Beautiful image. Later in that
same letter, he speaks of the Philippians monetary gift as
a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. The writer of Hebrews uses this
illustration to refer to the believers’ worship. Hebrews 13,
15, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. Peter uses this metaphor to speak,
as Paul does here, of the fruit of our entire lives. It’s a sacrifice
to God. Peter says it this way, that
we are a holy priesthood offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ. How many of us woke up this morning
with that mentality? So, while the initial thought
might have been shocking to grasp this idea of the sacrifice of
our bodies, that alarm quickly gives way to understanding. We know what Paul’s doing here.
Jesus Christ’s one atoning sacrifice ended any and all additional
sacrifice in the regard of atonement, we have been bought and paid
for by the blood of our Savior Christ. But we are also called
to consecrate ourselves to him daily. And this thought is very
much an echo of what Paul said back in chapter six of Romans,
that we are dead and buried with Christ and raised to walk in
newness of life. The sacrifice that Paul is speaking
of here speaks of a wholehearted devotion to the Lord in everything
that we do. In our gratitude to God for redeeming
us, saving us, we sacrifice our bodies by means of our devotion
to his service. The sacrifice of our bodies in
this regard is not done in order to gain favor, but purely out
of grateful devotion for favor that we already enjoy. We serve
Christ and His church in gratitude for His work of grace in us. Now with that as a foundation,
I want to look at a few lessons that we learn from this sacrificial
living, this presenting ourselves as a sacrifice. And the first thing that Paul
does is explain the reason that he uses this metaphor of sacrifice. He gives the reason for this
sacrifice there in that little prepositional phrase, by the
mercies of God. Remember a moment ago when we
spoke about that word, therefore, how it pointed us back to all
that Paul had declared in this epistle? 11 chapters of great
doctrine, all extolling the marvelous outworking of God’s plan of redemption,
sin, salvation, sanctification, sovereignty. Well, this little
phrase is a summary of all of that. I didn’t plan it this way, but
mercy was our theme in singing. He’s pointing back to the mercy
of God. This little phrase, as I said,
is a summary of all of chapters 1 through 11. What prompts us
or what should prompt us to offer our whole selves as a sacrifice
to God? God’s mercy. The fact that we
are benefactors of the mercies of God should move us. As God
first proclaimed to Moses, Exodus 34, of himself, the Lord, the
Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in
abundance, abounding in loving kindness and truth. That’s what
should move us to serve. Not that we gain some kind of
recognition. Not that we serve for some kind
of remuneration. This is our God-ordained motive
for serving Him. It’s God’s practical compassion
for sinners, ultimately addressed by sending His Son to accomplish
our salvation. There should be no greater motive.
There can be no greater motive. Note that Paul refers to this
as mercies, plural. because God’s mercies toward
us are innumerable. When you begin to think of our
nature and the sheer volume of our sin, this most practical
tenderness, what I would call an exhibited pity, encompasses
God’s undeserved mercy toward us in sending a Savior who died
in our place. in rescuing us from sin and from
ourselves, in calling us to a right and to a restored relationship
with himself, in forgiving us and saving us, in beginning the
process of changing us, all of it is an outworking of his mercy
upon us. One Puritan said it so clearly,
listen, men will never worship God with a sincere heart. or
be roused to fear and obey Him with sufficient zeal until they
properly can understand how much they are indebted to His mercy.
Did you hear that? Men will never worship God with
a sincere heart or be roused to fear and obey Him until they
properly understand how much they are indebted to His mercy.
That says it all, doesn’t it? If we have a proper view of the
wretchedness of our condition in sin, we will begin to have
an equally proper appreciation of God’s mercy. And to put the
two thoughts together, because of God’s practical mercy toward
us, we are moved, prompted, motivated to sacrifice ourselves to Him
by way of service. There’s another lesson to be
learned here at the altar of sacrifice, not only the reason
for this sacrifice, but the nature of this sacrifice. Would you
glance down at verse one again, and this is a little disjointed
in some translations. I urge you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice acceptable to God. Paul moves here to explain to
his readers the nature of this sacrifice of our bodies. What
is it like? And he uses these three descriptive terms to do
this. The sacrifice of which Paul speaks
is living, holy, and acceptable. And the New American Standard
here obscures the order just a bit because it intersperses
the word sacrifice between the word holy and acceptable. In
the original, that is in the Greek, they run one after the
other in consecutive order. Living, holy, acceptable. These
three words or phrases describe the sacrifice that we believers
are to render to God. The first term that Paul uses,
let’s look at that briefly, living. This is to be a living sacrifice. And this one term immediately
sets this sacrifice apart from the Old Testament sacrifices.
It’s absolutely the case that the animal had to be brought
alive. You didn’t bring, no one would
dare bring a dead barnyard animal to be sacrificed by the priest.
And according to the practice laid out in God’s law, the animal
was to be killed prior to being laid on the altar. It was brought
alive, it was killed there by the priest, and then it was placed
on the altar. Only once the offering was slain
was it sacrificed. And then once the fire was stoked
beneath such an offering, It would have been entirely consumed
within minutes. Such sacrifices are no longer
needed, right? Because God sent his son, the
Lamb of God, to pay once and for all for the sin of the world. So that the sacrifice Paul mentions
here is of an entirely different kind than the sacrifice we are
to bring. When a Christian makes a sacrifice
of their body, it’s not a one-time, soon-to-be-consumed, disintegrated
offering. And this drives home the point
that this sacrifice here is metaphorical, not literal. And as a living sacrifice, it’s
perpetual, isn’t it? It’s an ongoing sacrifice. It’s
a day-to-day living sacrifice. The Christian sacrifice is as
one who is alive from the dead. Theirs is new life in Christ.
Their walk is in newness of life, as Paul says in Romans 6. Not
a dead, once and done sacrifice, as the law demanded. But look
at this. The sacrifice to which Paul calls
is also a holy sacrifice. In its most basic sense, holiness
refers to being consecrated, that is, set apart for a special
purpose. The Christian has been consecrated
by God by means of reconciliation to himself through Christ. And he or she is set apart for
a holy use in the service to Christ in his church. But the
word holy also has an ethical significance to it. As the Lord
has declared his child to be righteous, justification by faith,
the Holy Spirit also begins a work of sanctification in which the
believer is more and more conformed to the image of Christ by way
of sanctification. Practical holiness. And so holiness
here, pardon me, holiness here can be taken both ways at the
same time. Set apart, consecrated, yes,
absolutely. But also in the process of a
purified life. As an offering, according to
the Old Testament law, the sacrificial lamb was to be spotless, unblemished,
and whole, not lame, Those defects would render it
utterly unfit for an offering to God. And likewise, a believer
is to be in active pursuit of holiness in life and character
and thoughts and deeds. He or she is to be an appropriate
sacrifice. As the apostle Peter cited Leviticus
11, you shall be holy for I am holy. And thirdly, not only a
living sacrifice and a holy sacrifice, but a sacrifice that is acceptable
to God. And it is here acceptable by
the highest of all judges. It’s acceptable to God. This
is also a feature directly derived from Old Testament sacrifices.
The Old Testament sacrifices were, when offered correctly, and from a right attitude, were
said to be a sweet aroma to the Lord. When somebody brought the
right kind of sacrifice with a right heart attitude, that
was a sweet savor to God. In other words, they were pleasing.
The sacrifice was acceptable to the Lord. And this tells us
that God is not always pleased just because someone presents
an offering. You don’t just show up You don’t
just bring anything. Psalm 51, 16 said that you do
not delight in a sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. You are not
pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Oh God, you will not despise. So if you show up with a sacrifice
and your heart is wretched, God is not pleased in that sacrifice.
Sacrifices in and of themselves are not necessarily pleasing
to God. Only those that are offered rightly,
a perfect sacrifice, properly offered with a right heart. One
of the sadder features of Israel’s history is that their sacrifices
were at times even offensive to God because they were offered
up inappropriately. Either the wrong offering or
the wrong heart, Isaiah 1. What are your multiplied sacrifices
to me? Says the Lord. I’ve had enough
of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of cattle. I take no
pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats. When you come
to appear before me, who requires this of you, the trampling of
my courts? Bring in your worthless offerings
no longer. Incense is an abomination to
me, new moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies. I cannot
endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. What an indictment. And so the
nature of the sacrifice that we bring of our bodies, our whole
selves, is to be living and holy and acceptable to God. There’s
a final element to consider about this sacrifice, its significance. What is it all about? Why this
sacrifice? The third lesson that we learn
upon the altar of sacrifice is the reason, not just the reason
and the nature of this sacrifice, but thirdly, the significance
of such sacrifice. Glance at the verse again, I
urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service of worship. That’s the significance. Here is Paul’s third feature
of Christian sacrifice, it’s worship. That’s right, worship. This sacrifice,
living, holy, acceptable sacrifice, is an act of worship. Paul says
it like this, present your bodies a sacrifice which is your spiritual
service of worship. Worship is whatever a believer
naturally begins to do at the moment of salvation, isn’t it?
You rejoice, you’re thankful, you praise him. And it’s the
same activity in which he or she will be engaged throughout
eternity, worshiping Christ. The Westminster Catechism has
it like this, man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him
forever, right? A Christian’s sacrifice is an
act of worship, just like the rest of his life. Look, if you
would, at how Paul says it. He calls this our spiritual service
of worship. This word spiritual is the Greek
word logikos, and you probably already heard it. It’s the word
from which we get our word, logical. But genuine worship is not just
an inward mental exercise. It involves that, but it’s not
just that. It has to have an outward expression,
We don’t just think about worshiping God and then claim to have worshiped. It refers to one’s ability to
reason and could justly be translated here as rational or reasonable. The old J.B. Phillips translation
just has it as intelligent worship. Isn’t that great? Intelligent
worship. But as the Christian is also
indwelled by the Spirit of God, this rational nature can well
be considered as his spiritual element of life. The word has
reference to the rational portion of man’s nature, the innate connection
that one has with God. It is his ability to reason and
to exercise control over the desires of his life. This is
that quality that sets mankind over and above that of the animal
world, a rational capability. And what is more reasonable? What is more rational? What is
more spiritual in light of God’s mercy than to serve Him? But look further, in closing,
Paul says that it is a spiritual service. For the word service
here, Paul uses a very fascinating word. It’s the word Latria. And this one word is translated
here in our passage with three English words, the service of
worship. And that’s because this particular
word for service here in this passage is the word for the priest
in his official capacity, performing acts of worship, especially in
the course of sacrifice. It’s always used in the context
of religious ritual. The worship of Israel was a service
in a sense, but it was not the spiritual service of worship.
That is made possible only in Christ. And it consists, again,
in the day-to-day offering up of oneself in the service to
Christ and His body. And this service of worship is
most reasonable, given the magnificent mercy that we have received.
Would you just humble yourself before Him this morning?