1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,640 Now please open your Bibles at Romans chapter 12 and verse 1. 2 00:00:03,640 –> 00:00:10,180 Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, that’s our focus today, and just so you know where we 3 00:00:10,180 –> 00:00:12,100 are in the Bible. 4 00:00:12,100 –> 00:00:17,680 Romans chapter 1 to 11, that is Paul’s explanation of the Gospel. 5 00:00:17,680 –> 00:00:21,639 You want an explanation of the Gospel, these 11 chapters, you won’t do better than to study 6 00:00:21,639 –> 00:00:23,559 them. 7 00:00:23,639 –> 00:00:30,900 In Romans chapter 12 to 16 of Romans, Paul is setting out a response to the Gospel, and 8 00:00:30,900 –> 00:00:36,520 that response is as we’ve summarized it, to be sold out for Christ and for His kingdom. 9 00:00:36,520 –> 00:00:44,779 Our verse today, Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, really joins these two together. 10 00:00:45,500 –> 00:00:53,540 Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as 11 00:00:53,540 –> 00:00:59,799 living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. 12 00:00:59,799 –> 00:01:05,459 This is your spiritual act of worship. 13 00:01:05,459 –> 00:01:10,480 Now, when Paul says, therefore, in Romans chapter 12 and verse 1, the therefore 14 00:01:10,620 –> 00:01:14,980 obviously refers back to everything that he has said in chapters 1 through 11, which is 15 00:01:14,980 –> 00:01:17,419 his great setting out of the gospel. 16 00:01:17,419 –> 00:01:22,599 What I’m going to say now Paul is telling us is really the natural conclusion of everything 17 00:01:22,599 –> 00:01:26,639 that I’ve said before in chapters 1 through 11, which is the gospel. 18 00:01:26,639 –> 00:01:34,099 So, if we are to be more for the gospel, we need to know what the gospel is and we need 19 00:01:34,099 –> 00:01:37,379 to know how to respond to it. 20 00:01:37,620 –> 00:01:42,879 We need to know what God wants us to do with it, and really that is our focus this morning 21 00:01:42,879 –> 00:01:46,519 and of course over these coming weeks. 22 00:01:46,519 –> 00:01:49,180 Question number one, what is the gospel? 23 00:01:49,180 –> 00:01:51,959 Romans chapter 1 to 11 really sets that out. 24 00:01:51,959 –> 00:01:55,760 If you glance back, this is going to be the fastest ever tour of the first 11 chapters 25 00:01:55,760 –> 00:01:58,900 of Romans, I’ll tell you, it’ll breeze by in just a few moments. 26 00:01:58,900 –> 00:02:03,099 But if you start at Romans chapter 1 and verse 16, that’s really where Paul sets out what 27 00:02:03,099 –> 00:02:05,019 the whole Book of Romans is about. 28 00:02:05,019 –> 00:02:10,500 He says, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of 29 00:02:10,500 –> 00:02:11,619 everyone who believes. 30 00:02:11,619 –> 00:02:15,139 That’s what this letter is all about. 31 00:02:15,139 –> 00:02:19,279 And if you want a simple way to remember the gospel as it’s set out in Romans, it would 32 00:02:19,279 –> 00:02:23,399 be simply this, and sometimes it’s helpful to have a framework in your mind. 33 00:02:23,399 –> 00:02:26,699 Number one, God has a problem with you. 34 00:02:26,699 –> 00:02:29,699 Number two, God has an answer for you. 35 00:02:29,699 –> 00:02:33,759 Number three, God has a purpose through you. 36 00:02:33,759 –> 00:02:34,800 These three very simply. 37 00:02:34,800 –> 00:02:40,699 First, God has a problem with you, that’s really the argument of Romans 1 through to 38 00:02:40,699 –> 00:02:41,779 chapter 3. 39 00:02:41,779 –> 00:02:48,380 You’ll see the problem summarized in chapter one verse 18 where Paul says that the entire 40 00:02:48,380 –> 00:02:51,479 human race is infected by two things. 41 00:02:51,479 –> 00:02:56,720 The first is godlessness, which is either living without God or putting yourself or 42 00:02:56,720 –> 00:03:00,479 something or someone else in the place of God. 43 00:03:00,479 –> 00:03:02,139 The second is wickedness. 44 00:03:02,139 –> 00:03:08,779 Chapter 1 in verse 18 that is turning away from the life that God has called you to live. 45 00:03:08,779 –> 00:03:12,899 Now these things might not seem like a problem to you but Paul is telling us in Romans that 46 00:03:12,899 –> 00:03:14,000 they are a problem to God. 47 00:03:14,000 –> 00:03:18,279 It is for this reason that the wrath of God is revealed, he says, and if God has a problem 48 00:03:18,279 –> 00:03:24,779 with you then you have a problem, whether you’ve realized it at this point or not. 49 00:03:24,779 –> 00:03:30,899 That problem is summarized in Chapter 3 in verse 9 where he says, There is no one righteous, 50 00:03:30,899 –> 00:03:32,020 not even one. 51 00:03:32,020 –> 00:03:33,720 That’s the problem. 52 00:03:33,720 –> 00:03:39,059 That is no one righteous, not even one. 53 00:03:39,059 –> 00:03:46,800 Now some of us find it pretty easy to grasp that we are not among the righteous, others 54 00:03:46,800 –> 00:03:51,300 of us find it more difficult to get hold of. 55 00:03:51,300 –> 00:03:56,619 We can imagine that God would have a problem with child abusers and terrorists, but after 56 00:03:56,619 –> 00:04:04,059 all we’re hard working, warm hearted, generous, family oriented Mid-Westerners, like the religious 57 00:04:04,059 –> 00:04:10,199 Jews of Paul’s day, we find it hard to imagine that God would have a problem with us. 58 00:04:10,199 –> 00:04:18,140 But Paul says he does, he does. 59 00:04:18,140 –> 00:04:23,540 My friend and preaching partner in Hong Kong for these last days Rayaglia told a wonderful 60 00:04:23,540 –> 00:04:30,480 story about someone who had challenged him on his teaching on this subject. 61 00:04:30,480 –> 00:04:33,980 The man came up to him after the service and said, Look, isn’t what you’re presenting a 62 00:04:33,980 –> 00:04:38,480 rather negative, pessimistic view of human nature. 63 00:04:38,480 –> 00:04:42,220 I mean, I listened to what you’re saying, I can’t really identify with it. 64 00:04:42,220 –> 00:04:44,640 You’re saying that sin is in our nature. 65 00:04:44,880 –> 00:04:49,079 I mean, this just seems too pessimistic. 66 00:04:49,079 –> 00:04:53,019 So Ray said to the man, Look, go and read through the ten commandments and then try 67 00:04:53,019 –> 00:04:56,299 and be really good for one week. 68 00:04:56,299 –> 00:05:01,660 And a week later, the man was back in church and Ray said to him, Well, how did you do? 69 00:05:01,660 –> 00:05:03,260 And the man said, All right now, it’s too hard. 70 00:05:03,260 –> 00:05:08,160 Nobody could be expected to keep all ten, or the ten commandments all of the time. 71 00:05:08,160 –> 00:05:11,779 So Ray said to him, Well, why don’t you try just one of them next week? 72 00:05:12,600 –> 00:05:15,160 Take the ninth commandment, telling the truth all the time. 73 00:05:15,160 –> 00:05:17,940 You know, you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 74 00:05:17,940 –> 00:05:23,079 Just shoot for that one for one week, see how you get on with that. 75 00:05:23,079 –> 00:05:24,559 Next week, the man came back to church. 76 00:05:24,559 –> 00:05:26,880 How did you get on? 77 00:05:26,880 –> 00:05:28,899 That’s impossible, he said. 78 00:05:28,899 –> 00:05:29,959 Well, why? 79 00:05:29,959 –> 00:05:34,380 Ray asked the man, You know, it’s just one commandment. 80 00:05:34,380 –> 00:05:35,519 It’s just one week. 81 00:05:35,519 –> 00:05:37,100 Oh, he said, You don’t understand. 82 00:05:37,100 –> 00:05:40,019 He said, I sell real estate. 83 00:05:40,880 –> 00:05:47,600 My apologies to all Christian real estate traders who of course do tell the truth. 84 00:05:47,600 –> 00:05:52,660 But you see, when you start looking at it honestly, you realize that our problem is 85 00:05:52,660 –> 00:05:56,540 not just that we’ve happened to miss one or two commandments now and again. 86 00:05:56,540 –> 00:06:01,420 You look at the commandments carefully, you actually measure yourself against them seriously, 87 00:06:01,420 –> 00:06:07,619 and then you begin to wonder if there are any of them that you’ve actually kept at all. 88 00:06:08,320 –> 00:06:12,839 We are sinners by nature and practice, and that is why God has a problem with us. 89 00:06:12,839 –> 00:06:16,459 And the question is whether we’ve realized it and come to terms with that reality or 90 00:06:16,459 –> 00:06:17,540 not. 91 00:06:17,540 –> 00:06:21,619 Second, God has an answer for you. 92 00:06:21,619 –> 00:06:23,799 God has a problem with you, God has an answer for you. 93 00:06:23,799 –> 00:06:27,660 Romans 3 verse 21 through to the end of chapter 8. 94 00:06:27,660 –> 00:06:31,720 Now, God’s answer for you and for me comes in three wonderful parts. 95 00:06:31,720 –> 00:06:33,940 You can’t ever separate them. 96 00:06:33,940 –> 00:06:35,100 They belong together. 97 00:06:35,100 –> 00:06:37,220 Like the Trinity. 98 00:06:37,220 –> 00:06:40,459 Number one, the sacrificial death of Jesus. 99 00:06:40,459 –> 00:06:43,299 That’s the first part of God’s answer to you. 100 00:06:43,299 –> 00:06:45,700 That is Romans chapter 3 in verse 5. 101 00:06:45,700 –> 00:06:52,100 If you just turn to that as we’re following God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement 102 00:06:52,100 –> 00:06:54,220 through faith in His blood. 103 00:06:54,220 –> 00:06:57,040 Here’s what God has done about our problem. 104 00:06:57,040 –> 00:06:59,359 This is the gospel. 105 00:06:59,359 –> 00:07:03,079 God became man in the person of Jesus. 106 00:07:03,160 –> 00:07:09,559 He embraced our humanity and he offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins. 107 00:07:09,559 –> 00:07:12,880 That’s Romans chapter 3 in verse 25. 108 00:07:12,880 –> 00:07:17,799 The cross demonstrated the love and the justice of God. 109 00:07:17,799 –> 00:07:21,859 Chapter 3 in verse 25 says it demonstrated His Justice. 110 00:07:21,859 –> 00:07:25,839 Chapter 5 in verse 8 that was read earlier says it demonstrates His love. 111 00:07:25,839 –> 00:07:28,160 God’s love and His justice meet at the cross. 112 00:07:28,160 –> 00:07:31,380 If you want to know the extent of God’s justice, look at the cross. 113 00:07:31,380 –> 00:07:36,820 If you want to know the extent of God’s love look at the cross where Jesus became 114 00:07:36,820 –> 00:07:44,140 a sacrifice for your sins because this is God’s answer to your problem. 115 00:07:44,140 –> 00:07:49,220 Second part of the answer, forgiveness and reconciliation with God. 116 00:07:49,220 –> 00:07:51,899 That’s Romans chapter 5 and verse 1. 117 00:07:51,899 –> 00:07:57,799 Therefore since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord 118 00:07:57,799 –> 00:07:59,459 Jesus Christ. 119 00:07:59,859 –> 00:08:05,920 Now the question here you see is how does what Jesus accomplished on the cross in his 120 00:08:05,920 –> 00:08:11,140 sacrificial death actually become effective for you? 121 00:08:11,140 –> 00:08:17,559 How does it touch and change your life now and touch and change your eternity forever? 122 00:08:17,559 –> 00:08:21,600 How are you to move from the position of knowing that God has a problem with you to being a 123 00:08:21,600 –> 00:08:25,480 beneficiary of God’s answer that’s provided for you in Jesus Christ? 124 00:08:25,739 –> 00:08:32,140 And the answer as to how that great transformation takes place can only be in one of two ways. 125 00:08:32,140 –> 00:08:40,840 Either you earn it or you receive it as a gift. 126 00:08:40,840 –> 00:08:42,659 And that’s what Romans chapter four is all about. 127 00:08:42,659 –> 00:08:48,760 How does this blessing of God that is in and through Jesus Christ become mine? 128 00:08:48,760 –> 00:08:53,119 Do I have to earn it by what I offer to God or do I receive it? 129 00:08:53,119 –> 00:08:54,719 Paul goes back to Abraham. 130 00:08:54,719 –> 00:08:58,640 And you can read right through this in Romans chapter four, and he makes the point that 131 00:08:58,640 –> 00:09:02,380 Abraham didn’t earn his relationship with God. 132 00:09:02,380 –> 00:09:07,000 It was a gift that he received as he believed God’s promise. 133 00:09:07,000 –> 00:09:12,200 Now Paul says, and this is the argument of Romans, it’s the same with us, chapter five 134 00:09:12,200 –> 00:09:13,200 verse one. 135 00:09:13,200 –> 00:09:15,580 We are justified, how? 136 00:09:15,580 –> 00:09:18,080 By faith. 137 00:09:18,239 –> 00:09:23,080 That’s how the atonement that Jesus made, the sacrifice of Jesus is applied to me, not 138 00:09:23,080 –> 00:09:28,520 by me earning it but by me receiving it as a gift, and the way in which I receive that 139 00:09:28,520 –> 00:09:30,640 gift is through faith. 140 00:09:30,640 –> 00:09:34,260 Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 141 00:09:34,260 –> 00:09:37,780 So, God has a problem with you, God has an answer for you. 142 00:09:37,780 –> 00:09:42,859 That answer involves, first, the sacrificial death of Jesus which becomes effective for 143 00:09:42,859 –> 00:09:45,619 us as we receive this as a gift through faith. 144 00:09:45,619 –> 00:09:47,200 That’s what Paul means when he says we’re justified. 145 00:09:47,700 –> 00:09:52,599 And here’s the third part of the answer the, power of the Holy Spirit. 146 00:09:52,599 –> 00:09:57,200 See, the gospel is more than forgiveness. 147 00:09:57,200 –> 00:10:00,539 I would make it a one-off event, wouldn’t it? 148 00:10:00,539 –> 00:10:05,619 The gospel is the power to live a new life. 149 00:10:05,619 –> 00:10:10,640 And those who receive the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf and the justification 150 00:10:10,640 –> 00:10:16,219 of those from it by faith also at the same time receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. 151 00:10:16,340 –> 00:10:18,440 That’s Romans 8, that’s Romans 8 verse 9. 152 00:10:19,619 –> 00:10:23,940 If anyone doesn’t have the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 153 00:10:23,940 –> 00:10:26,599 You have the spirit if the Spirit of God lives within you. 154 00:10:26,599 –> 00:10:29,200 You come to Christ, you receive the Spirit. 155 00:10:30,979 –> 00:10:36,479 Now, this is wonderful, and Paul really lays out the implications for us in Romans 8. 156 00:10:37,820 –> 00:10:43,219 Because the Holy Spirit of God lives within you, you as a Christian are able to put up 157 00:10:43,219 –> 00:10:44,760 a fight against sin. 158 00:10:44,960 –> 00:10:46,219 That’s Romans 8, 13. 159 00:10:47,760 –> 00:10:52,039 Because the Holy Spirit of God lives within you, you have the security of knowing that 160 00:10:52,039 –> 00:10:53,760 you belong to God’s family. 161 00:10:54,659 –> 00:10:55,840 That’s Romans 8, 14. 162 00:10:57,119 –> 00:11:00,640 Because the spirit of God already lives within you, God is with you. 163 00:11:00,640 –> 00:11:04,780 You may be certain that you will be with Him, and you have a glorious future that is already 164 00:11:04,780 –> 00:11:05,780 guaranteed. 165 00:11:05,780 –> 00:11:07,919 That’s Romans chapter 8 and verse 23. 166 00:11:09,539 –> 00:11:12,440 So, if God has a problem with you, God has an answer for you. 167 00:11:12,979 –> 00:11:16,320 Third, dimension of the gospel. 168 00:11:17,159 –> 00:11:19,099 God has a purpose through you. 169 00:11:20,219 –> 00:11:23,179 And that really is the theme of Romans chapter 9, to 11. 170 00:11:23,619 –> 00:11:29,419 The question really, there is, how will the world discover the answer? 171 00:11:29,780 –> 00:11:31,400 God’s answer to the human problem. 172 00:11:31,400 –> 00:11:33,039 How will the world know about this? 173 00:11:34,080 –> 00:11:36,979 And that is the subject of Romans chapter 9 to 11. 174 00:11:36,979 –> 00:11:40,880 And Paul’s argument there in summary, very briefly, is that God started with one man 175 00:11:40,880 –> 00:11:41,880 Abraham. 176 00:11:42,640 –> 00:11:46,260 God said to Abraham through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed. 177 00:11:46,859 –> 00:11:48,320 Abraham here’s your purpose. 178 00:11:48,320 –> 00:11:53,200 Your life purpose is to bring the blessing of the gospel to the nations of the world. 179 00:11:53,200 –> 00:11:59,239 And what was given as a life purpose to Abraham of course belongs to his descendants also. 180 00:11:59,239 –> 00:12:04,299 It was given to the people of Israel in the Old Testament to be a light to the gentiles 181 00:12:04,299 –> 00:12:06,700 and that is still God’s calling to them. 182 00:12:07,539 –> 00:12:12,679 But now Paul explains in Romans 11 God has grafted 183 00:12:12,679 –> 00:12:18,960 gentiles into this tree that has its root in Abraham. 184 00:12:20,479 –> 00:12:23,039 Here’s what God has done is the argument of Romans 11. 185 00:12:23,039 –> 00:12:27,619 He has brought believers from all the nations of the world into this great promise that 186 00:12:27,619 –> 00:12:29,119 started with Abraham. 187 00:12:29,119 –> 00:12:32,020 You are included in it also. 188 00:12:32,020 –> 00:12:36,559 And that is why Paul is writing to these European Christians in Rome you see. 189 00:12:36,619 –> 00:12:39,159 Here in Rome. 190 00:12:39,159 –> 00:12:48,239 And he writes to these Europeans and he says to them, Abraham’s mission is your mission. 191 00:12:48,239 –> 00:12:54,179 What God called him to do and in the Old Testament the nation of Israel to do now belongs to 192 00:12:54,179 –> 00:12:57,099 all the people of God from every nationality. 193 00:12:57,099 –> 00:13:03,500 They belong to him and they are children of Abraham by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 194 00:13:04,299 –> 00:13:10,460 But it is through you that all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because it is 195 00:13:10,460 –> 00:13:14,539 through you that the gospel will come to the world. 196 00:13:14,539 –> 00:13:20,260 And so Paul argues, how shall they hear unless this gospel is preached. 197 00:13:20,260 –> 00:13:24,500 Now there’s the gospel, Romans 1 to 11. 198 00:13:24,500 –> 00:13:29,159 God has a problem with you, you’re a sinner by nature and by practice. 199 00:13:29,239 –> 00:13:36,799 God has an answer for you, it is in Christ and it is in the power of the Holy Spirit. 200 00:13:36,799 –> 00:13:41,460 God has a purpose through you, it is the fulfillment of the purpose and promise first given to 201 00:13:41,460 –> 00:13:46,440 Abraham, that great commission to bring the gospel to the world. 202 00:13:46,440 –> 00:13:53,799 That’s Romans 1 to 11 in 10 minutes, okay. 203 00:13:53,799 –> 00:14:01,320 How then should we respond to the gospel, that’s the question. 204 00:14:01,320 –> 00:14:08,840 And we thank God for it, our lives and our eternity has been changed by it. 205 00:14:08,840 –> 00:14:14,359 It’s the greatest privilege of our lives that folks like us should be swept up in the 206 00:14:14,359 –> 00:14:20,320 purpose that God gave to Abraham. 207 00:14:21,140 –> 00:14:29,900 What should be our response to the gospel, that’s the question? 208 00:14:29,900 –> 00:14:35,000 Accept it – that sounds a little passive to me, doesn’t it, to you? 209 00:14:35,000 –> 00:14:37,020 Accept it? 210 00:14:37,020 –> 00:14:38,020 Believe it? 211 00:14:38,020 –> 00:14:39,020 Yes? 212 00:14:39,020 –> 00:14:41,280 Is that all? 213 00:14:41,280 –> 00:14:45,799 See, notice how we are to respond to the gospel. 214 00:14:46,640 –> 00:14:48,080 Look at our verse, Romans 12. 215 00:14:48,080 –> 00:14:57,280 One, You see, you’re saying in the light of all this, the gospel, I urge you brothers 216 00:14:57,280 –> 00:15:04,280 in view of God’s mercy – that’s the gospel in a nutshell – here’s what you’re to do. 217 00:15:04,280 –> 00:15:10,419 Present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your 218 00:15:10,419 –> 00:15:14,559 spiritual act of worship. 219 00:15:15,400 –> 00:15:20,159 Four things, simply and briefly. 220 00:15:20,159 –> 00:15:26,479 Number one, it’s your body, not your heart. 221 00:15:26,479 –> 00:15:29,000 Notice that there. 222 00:15:29,000 –> 00:15:34,500 Present your bodies as living sacrifices. 223 00:15:34,500 –> 00:15:42,500 Now, it’s become popular for some reason in evangelical circles to talk about giving your 224 00:15:42,539 –> 00:15:44,119 heart to Jesus. 225 00:15:44,119 –> 00:15:46,679 And we use this phrase very often, don’t we? 226 00:15:46,679 –> 00:15:49,559 There’s nothing wrong with that. 227 00:15:49,559 –> 00:15:55,520 But it is worth noting that this is not the language of the Bible, and usually when we 228 00:15:55,520 –> 00:15:59,359 get away from the language of the Bible, we usually end up missing part of the message 229 00:15:59,359 –> 00:16:02,460 of the Bible. 230 00:16:02,460 –> 00:16:10,039 After all, why should it only be your heart, giving your heart to Jesus. 231 00:16:10,200 –> 00:16:19,080 God wants more than your heart, not enough to say, hey His heart was in the right place, 232 00:16:19,080 –> 00:16:25,059 which is usually an explanation as to why He didn’t actually get anything done, right? 233 00:16:25,059 –> 00:16:31,280 Actually it’s interesting that on this subject the Bible does not speak about us giving our 234 00:16:31,280 –> 00:16:32,419 heart to God. 235 00:16:32,419 –> 00:16:38,719 What it does do is it speaks about God giving a new heart to us, right? 236 00:16:38,719 –> 00:16:44,200 And the new heart that He gives to you becomes the source of a new life that you offer to 237 00:16:44,200 –> 00:16:46,820 Him. 238 00:16:46,820 –> 00:16:54,359 Present your bodies, because you see, the body is the capacity to act. 239 00:16:54,359 –> 00:16:57,140 All your actions are through your body. 240 00:16:57,140 –> 00:17:00,479 The body is about the capacity to act. 241 00:17:00,479 –> 00:17:04,400 Not just to think, not just to feel, not just to desire, but to act. 242 00:17:04,800 –> 00:17:08,719 That’s what the body’s about. 243 00:17:08,719 –> 00:17:15,760 And the appropriate response to the Gospel is not just that you believe it, but that 244 00:17:15,760 –> 00:17:19,439 we act on it. 245 00:17:19,439 –> 00:17:23,839 John Stocke puts it this way, a proper response to the Gospel cannot remain an inward matter 246 00:17:23,839 –> 00:17:24,900 of the heart. 247 00:17:24,900 –> 00:17:31,719 It must be expressed in concrete actions, ministry, service that advances God’s purpose 248 00:17:31,719 –> 00:17:33,180 in the world. 249 00:17:33,199 –> 00:17:36,400 It makes sense, doesn’t it? 250 00:17:36,400 –> 00:17:40,339 You see the challenge for the church is not just what do we believe about the Gospel? 251 00:17:40,339 –> 00:17:43,599 Hey, we’re, you know, we’re on the side of the angels there. 252 00:17:43,599 –> 00:17:44,599 We’ve got it right. 253 00:17:44,599 –> 00:17:45,599 We believe the Gospel. 254 00:17:45,599 –> 00:17:48,859 The question of the challenge for us is what will we do with the Gospel? 255 00:17:48,859 –> 00:17:54,859 It’s a challenge. 256 00:17:54,859 –> 00:17:58,300 Second, it’s a living sacrifice not a dead one. 257 00:17:58,300 –> 00:18:01,979 Do you see that in this one very simple verse? 258 00:18:01,979 –> 00:18:03,520 It’s your body not your heart. 259 00:18:03,520 –> 00:18:05,859 It’s a living sacrifice not a dead one. 260 00:18:05,859 –> 00:18:09,900 Now that’s significant because dead sacrifices are easy, right? 261 00:18:09,900 –> 00:18:12,540 I mean, at least they were in the Old Testament. 262 00:18:12,540 –> 00:18:16,540 All you had to do to bring a dead sacrifice was find a sheep and even then some folks 263 00:18:16,540 –> 00:18:20,459 went for one that was not the very best and got into trouble for it. 264 00:18:20,459 –> 00:18:24,660 You know, it would cost you something to bring from your flock but not too much and once 265 00:18:24,660 –> 00:18:28,780 it was done it was done until the next time. 266 00:18:28,780 –> 00:18:33,060 Dead sacrifices are easy. 267 00:18:33,060 –> 00:18:35,479 Living sacrifices are hard. 268 00:18:35,479 –> 00:18:40,599 The living sacrifice means that you offer everything that you are, everything that you 269 00:18:40,599 –> 00:18:44,859 have, into the hands of Jesus Christ every day of your life. 270 00:18:44,859 –> 00:18:49,239 No term limits, no degrees. 271 00:18:49,239 –> 00:18:55,020 And an appropriate response to the gospel is that I offer myself to Christ fully for 272 00:18:55,040 –> 00:18:58,380 as long as I have life and breath. 273 00:18:58,380 –> 00:19:03,140 A living sacrifice. 274 00:19:03,140 –> 00:19:08,420 Third, it’s together not alone. 275 00:19:08,420 –> 00:19:12,219 It’s your body not your heart, it’s a living sacrifice, not a dead one. 276 00:19:12,219 –> 00:19:14,060 It’s together not alone. 277 00:19:14,060 –> 00:19:20,680 Notice what he says, present your bodies, plural. 278 00:19:20,800 –> 00:19:25,660 Now, speaking to any individual, you only have one body. 279 00:19:25,660 –> 00:19:32,839 I only have one body, and if Paul was talking about an individual response made in the privacy 280 00:19:32,839 –> 00:19:38,920 and quietness of your own heart, he would have said each one of you should present this 281 00:19:38,920 –> 00:19:44,839 or her own body as a living sacrifice to God, but that’s not what he says. 282 00:19:45,839 –> 00:19:55,239 What he does say is present your bodies, plural, so he is obviously talking to the believers 283 00:19:55,239 –> 00:19:58,959 at Rome as a group. 284 00:19:58,959 –> 00:20:05,540 In other words, he’s talking about the Church, which tells us that responding to the Gospel 285 00:20:05,540 –> 00:20:09,040 is not just an individual thing, it’s a Church thing. 286 00:20:09,760 –> 00:20:15,599 Paul is calling the congregation at Rome, very simply, to be sold out for Jesus Christ 287 00:20:15,599 –> 00:20:18,459 and for his kingdom, in the light of the Gospel. 288 00:20:18,459 –> 00:20:20,540 He’s calling them to be more for the Gospel. 289 00:20:20,540 –> 00:20:26,000 He’s challenging this congregation to ask the question, what can we do for the Gospel? 290 00:20:27,380 –> 00:20:31,959 How can we offer more effectively everything that God has placed into this body? 291 00:20:31,979 –> 00:20:34,959 And all that we share together, for Christ and for his kingdom. 292 00:20:34,959 –> 00:20:37,020 What more can we do? 293 00:20:39,880 –> 00:20:45,000 And over these next few weeks, we are being asked to consider and to commit to a broader 294 00:20:45,000 –> 00:20:51,599 vision for the advance of the Gospel through the life of this church. 295 00:20:51,599 –> 00:20:54,280 It’s Romans 12-1. 296 00:20:57,540 –> 00:21:01,839 See, I look at the gifts and the talents that God has given and gathered together here. 297 00:21:02,780 –> 00:21:12,959 Boy, think about the capacity of this body to act. 298 00:21:12,959 –> 00:21:24,760 Imagine the capacity of this body to act when fully energized by the power of the Holy Spirit. 299 00:21:24,800 –> 00:21:31,880 Think about that capacity for the cause of the gospel being directed outwards, in this 300 00:21:31,880 –> 00:21:37,239 community, in this great city. 301 00:21:37,239 –> 00:21:39,920 And throughout the world as we’ve been reminded today. 302 00:21:39,920 –> 00:21:44,760 It’s your body, not your heart. 303 00:21:44,760 –> 00:21:48,359 It’s a living sacrifice, not a dead one. 304 00:21:48,359 –> 00:21:53,239 It’s together, not alone. 305 00:21:53,239 –> 00:21:54,780 Here’s the last thing. 306 00:21:54,780 –> 00:22:00,979 It is reasonable, not extreme. 307 00:22:00,979 –> 00:22:05,680 Present your bodies as living sacrifices, Paul says, holy and pleasing to God which 308 00:22:05,680 –> 00:22:07,439 is. 309 00:22:07,439 –> 00:22:11,060 Now the NIV says your spiritual worship. 310 00:22:11,060 –> 00:22:18,119 Though it also if you look there has a small footnote which references a translation followed 311 00:22:18,520 –> 00:22:24,579 other versions which say your reasonable service. 312 00:22:24,579 –> 00:22:28,099 Now both translations are legitimate. 313 00:22:28,099 –> 00:22:30,800 Reasonable service to me seems more accurate. 314 00:22:30,800 –> 00:22:37,300 The Greek word used here is logikon. 315 00:22:37,300 –> 00:22:45,300 From which, of course, we get our word logical or logical, hence reasonable. 316 00:22:45,300 –> 00:22:55,000 Now present your bodies as a living sacrifice because this is your reasonable, logical service. 317 00:22:55,000 –> 00:23:01,819 That’s what he’s saying. 318 00:23:01,819 –> 00:23:07,020 It’s reasonable, not extreme. 319 00:23:07,020 –> 00:23:14,319 Now remember that a person who does not understand the gospel will always think that a sold-out 320 00:23:14,380 –> 00:23:19,839 response is extreme. 321 00:23:19,839 –> 00:23:30,619 To give more than 10% of your money, that would sound extreme if you don’t get the gospel. 322 00:23:30,619 –> 00:23:39,140 To pour yourself into new enterprises and to pursue new frontiers would sound extreme 323 00:23:39,140 –> 00:23:45,020 if you don’t get the gospel. 324 00:23:45,020 –> 00:23:52,979 But to those who have grasped the gospel and been grasped by the gospel, a sold out response 325 00:23:52,979 –> 00:24:04,199 is entirely reasonable, I mean how could it be anything less? 326 00:24:04,199 –> 00:24:10,199 One of the wonderful experiences—sometimes they’re just little cameos—but I know the 327 00:24:10,199 –> 00:24:13,859 conversations last week out in Hong Kong. 328 00:24:13,859 –> 00:24:22,739 Chuck Crabtree, in his 70s, interim pastor at a church in Discovery Bay on one of the 329 00:24:22,739 –> 00:24:27,359 islands of Hong Kong. 330 00:24:27,359 –> 00:24:31,920 Come out of retirement for the fifth time in order to serve this church and transition 331 00:24:31,920 –> 00:24:33,359 them into a new ministry. 332 00:24:33,359 –> 00:24:39,760 Sat with Karen and then with his wife, chatted at length about the way in which God is blessing 333 00:24:39,760 –> 00:24:41,920 the ministry. 334 00:24:41,920 –> 00:24:46,119 His wife was strangely silent throughout the entire conversation and then Chuck, towards 335 00:24:46,119 –> 00:24:53,760 the end, said, putting his arm round her shoulder, this lady and I have been married for 53 years 336 00:24:53,760 –> 00:24:59,920 and we’re getting along just fine. 337 00:24:59,920 –> 00:25:06,560 But she struggles with a form of Alzheimers, so I’ve had to learn some new things like 338 00:25:06,560 –> 00:25:09,719 cooking and cleaning and a whole bunch of other things that I never thought I’d be quite 339 00:25:09,719 –> 00:25:14,680 doing like this, but we’re getting along just fine. 340 00:25:14,680 –> 00:25:23,859 Mid-70s, coming out of retirement in California for the fifth time, the other side of the 341 00:25:23,859 –> 00:25:31,500 world to transition a church into a new ministry. 342 00:25:31,500 –> 00:25:35,439 If you don’t get the Gospel, that’s extreme. 343 00:25:35,439 –> 00:25:42,780 If your life’s being gripped by the Gospel, it is entirely reasonable. 344 00:25:42,780 –> 00:25:48,780 And some of us, the sense of vision that’s been shared before us might sound extreme. 345 00:25:48,780 –> 00:25:52,900 I want to suggest to you and ask you to consider this, that in the light of the Gospel it is 346 00:25:52,900 –> 00:25:55,619 entirely reasonable. 347 00:25:55,619 –> 00:26:02,219 Christ poured out His life as a sacrifice to death on the cross for us. 348 00:26:02,219 –> 00:26:08,099 What is a reasonable response except that we should pour out our God-given life back 349 00:26:08,099 –> 00:26:12,239 as a living sacrifice into His hands. 350 00:26:12,239 –> 00:26:17,640 When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain 351 00:26:17,819 –> 00:26:24,880 I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride, because were the whole realm of 352 00:26:25,719 –> 00:26:29,680 nature mine that were an offering far too small. 353 00:26:29,680 –> 00:26:40,739 Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all. 354 00:26:40,739 –> 00:26:44,380 Here’s the challenge, Romans 12.1. 355 00:26:44,380 –> 00:26:51,239 That we should offer to God the full capacity of this body to act in the power of the Holy 356 00:26:51,479 –> 00:27:01,140 Spirit for the advance of the gospel and in the light of the gospel, I would suggest that 357 00:27:01,140 –> 00:27:06,959 that is the only reasonable thing to do. 358 00:27:07,000 –> 00:27:11,300 Let us pray that we’d be ready to do it, shall we bow in God’s presence. 359 00:27:12,140 –> 00:27:20,560 Father, these are days where you are calling us together to be all that you are asking 360 00:27:20,560 –> 00:27:24,699 us to be in the light of the gospel. 361 00:27:25,699 –> 00:27:37,459 Move by your spirit and make us ready for this hour individually and together 362 00:27:37,459 –> 00:27:42,699 for these things we ask in Jesus name.