Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
September 15, 2002 A.M.
Becoming A Living Sacrifice
Let me tell you a story of LOVE.... MERCY and GRACE. It is a real story. It happened in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
Ted Morris... An 18 year old teenager, was driving home from his part-time, after-school job. Another young man... 24 year old Tommy Pigage was also going home after spending the day in a bar... He was driving drunk.
He crossed the center line and hit Ted Morris's car head-on. Four hours later the only child of Frank and Elizabeth Morris lay dead in the hospital. Tommy Pigage was barely hurt. He was charged with murder. And even though he was drunk he pleaded not guilty.
- He never once said he was sorry.
- Throughout the trial he showed no remorse.
- In fact... There were times he made light of Ted, and laughed at his parents Frank & Elizabeth. Tommy Pigage was found guilty of 2nd degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison... Or he could speak to high school students against drunk driving for two years and spend his weekends in jail.
The amazing thing in this story is that Frank and Elizabeth asked permission for Tommy Pigage to be released to their custody on the weekends so that he would not have to spend them behind bars. Since then, Tommy's life has changed. Now he serves the God that Frank and Elizabeth Morris serve. He is a child of God. You see, Tommy was a recipient of Frank and Elizabeth's Love... Mercy... and Grace.
Did you know that WE TOO are a recipient of such Love... Mercy... and Grace?... God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son. You see, we are the Tommy Pigages of this world... We are the prodigal son. The Hebrews writer tells us that we are just as guilty of crucifying the Son of God as those present that day on Pentecost... We crucify the Son of God afresh again & again each time we sin.
This is the theme of the Book of Romans... We are all guilty... There is none righteous... No not one!! But the good news is found in Romans 5.8... God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners... Guilty... Aliens... Ungodly... Unlovable... Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.
Now church... In light of what God has done for us...
- What will be our response?
- What does God expect of us?
- How then shall we then live?
The answer is found in our text... Verse one... "Therefore... I urge you... I beseech you... In view of God's love... mercy... and grace... That you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice... Holy and pleasing to God... This is our service and worship to God."
In Second Corinthians 5.14... Paul says... "For Christ's love... Constrains us... Compels us... Prompts us... Motivates us."
Paul goes on to argue that... "Because He died for all, we should no longer live for ourselves... But for Him who died for us and is raised again."
God's love should compel us... Motivate us to become living sacrifices.
Living Sacrifices... As in opposition to the dead sacrifices of the Old Testament. The truth is... There was never a time when God was pleased with dead sacrifices... He has always desired LIVING SACRIFICES!!
The Hebrews writer tell us this... Listen... "Sacrifices and offerings... Burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire... Nor were you pleased with them... Although the law required them to be made."
You see... God wants us to offer ourselves as Living Sacrifices... Not dead ones. Well, how... how do we do that?...
FIRST... THERE MUST BE THE ACT OF CONVERSION.
There are some here this morning who have not taken this initial step... And you need to.
- Jesus in Matthew 18.3 says... "I tell you except you be converted.... You cannot enter the
Kingdom of heaven"... Except you be converted you cannot be a part of this new economy.
- Peter, in Acts 3.19, told his Jewish audience... Repent and be converted... (NIV says: Repent and be changed)... So that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Well... Just what is conversion?
In electronics... Most all circuits use what is called Direct Current. What comes from our wall plugs and from off the utility poles is Alternating Current. It must be changed... Converted so that it can be used. We call this device a rectifier. It takes something of one nature... And changes it into something of another nature.
This is the same in the Christian life. Before we can be useful in God's economy we must be Changed... Converted... Rectified. We must be made holy... Changed from our fleshly, worldly nature into the Spirit nature. Spiritually speaking, this change occurs in the act of New Testament Baptism.
- Romans 6 says that the old nature... (The body of sin)... Is crucified and buried in water baptism... And we raise with another nature to walk in a new life.
- Peter in Acts two says, it is the point where we obtain the forgiveness of our sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Paul in Galatians 3 says it is the point where... We by faith, become children of God... We are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ... Have been clothed with Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 5.17 tells us... If anyone is in Christ, he is... (WHAT?)... A new creation, a new creature. Old things have passed away... Behold all things are made new.
- The Hebrews writer says... It is the time when we have our hearts sprinkled from a guilty conscience... Our conscience is made clean... And our bodies washed with pure water.
- Jesus called it the NEW BIRTH... Being born again of the water and of the Spirit.
So then... In the act of New Testament baptism we become...
- Converted...
- Changed...
- Rectified individuals.
We are made holy... Made into that which is useful to God.
Have you ever thought of this? That baptism is the ONLY command that we are not commanded to repeat over and over again.
*Faith we grow in continually.
*Repentance we practice regularly.
*Confession is something we do for the rest of our lives.
But Baptism is never repeated... WHY IS THAT??
- Because... It is the point at which we become a child of God.
- It is the point that we are clothed with Christ.
- It is the point at which we are forgiven and our conscience is made clean.
- It is the point where everything is made new.
- It is the point that we are born again...
We are only born once Physically... and once Spiritually... Right? That's the reason we are baptized ONLY ONCE... But we do everything else a multitudinous of times.
So... The first question we must ask ourselves this morning is have we been
- Converted...
- Changed...
- Rectified...
Into that which is useful in God's economy?... In His Kingdom?... The church?
Now... The next term we want to examine is found in our text... It is TRANSFORMED. Not only must we be converted... WE MUST BE TRANSFORMED.
While a converter changes the fundamental nature of the electrical current... From AC to DC... A transformer changes the power... The amplitude of the voltage. It enhances that nature that is already what it should be and makes it stronger. A transformer takes one voltage and makes it into just the right voltage needed to accomplish the task that the engineer has in mind.
The Greek word for transformed... Here in Romans 12... Is metamorphoo. What English word do you hear in this word?... Metamorphosis of course. You know what happens in metamorphosis? An ugly fuzzy caterpillar crawls into that chrysalis... And a beautiful butterfly comes out of that cocoon.
But note church... What came out is the same thing... It is the same creature that went in--but in a totally transformed state. It has been enhanced to do the task designed by the creator.
You see... Conversion is the process in which our nature is changed from...
- A lost nature...
- A flesh nature...
- A carnal nature...
- A worldly nature...
To a relationship with Christ.
But... Becoming a living sacrifice is simply enhancing what we already are. You see, at the moment of conversion...... At BAPTISM...
- We are now already Christians.
- We are already children of God.
- We have already been clothed with Christ.
- We have already been born again...
- We are already saved.
Then... By becoming a Living Sacrifice, we become what we already are. Does that sound confusing?... It shouldn't!
In 1958, I stood before some officers and enlisted men... I held up my right hand and took an oath of allegiance to the constitution of the United States. I promised to protect it from all its enemies both domestic and foreign. I promised to carry out the orders of the President and all those who would be lawfully appointed over me as commissioned and noncommissioned officers.
When I finished that statement I was fully a member of the United Stated Armed Forces. I was just as answerable to its Uniform Code Of Military Justice as I would ever be. But what I would proceed to do... Over the next 6 years... Was to learn to become what I already was... I was a U.S. soldier at that point...
* But they shipped me to Ft. Knox, Kentucky, for basic training. They were teaching me how to be the soldier that I already was.
* Then they sent me to Ft. Dix, New Jersey, to train me in communications... To become MORE of what I already was.
* I spent the next six years going to National Guard meetings once a week and to summer camp each July to enhance what I already was.
You see... When we were born, we were just as much a child of our parents as we would ever be. But, that birth was just the beginning of our becoming what WE already were.
In Christianity, baptism serves as a point of enlistment.. It is the new birth. What Paul is commanding of us in Romans 12.1... Is for us to become what we already are... Living Sacrifices... Instruments of Righteousness.
So--The remainder of the lesson is HOW?
How do we become what we already are... Living sacrifices?
FIRST... BY NOT CONFORMING TO THIS WORLD.
J. B. Phillips in his translation says... Do not allow the world force, squeeze you, into its mold. Old allegiances have passed away... Behold... Now we have a new allegiance. We are no longer to allow this world to lead us. Our allegiance is to God through His word. We are NOW to be a Spirit-led people and person.
SECONDLY... WE MUST PRACTICE MIND CONTROL.
Church... We must know this morning that there is no genuine conversion... No real transformation takes place... Until it takes place up here in our mind. God does not call us to religious ritual... He calls us to a change of heart... To a changed way of thinking. Our relationship with God is not JUST based upon how many services we attend... How many good works we do... But what is going on in our mind... In our heart. Jesus said... Out of the heart comes the issues of life.
Listen closely... We will never become genuine living sacrifices until we come to a new way of looking at things... A new way of looking at...
- Our spouse...
- Our children...
- Our neighbor...
- Our school companions...
- Our teachers and our boss...
- Our enemies...
- Our job...
- Our money...
- Our entertainment choices...
- The way we dress...
- The way we care for our bodies...
- The church... And a thousand other things.
Paul gives us our goal in this area when he said... Let the mind... Let the heart... Let the attitude... Let the disposition be in you... Which was in Christ Jesus.
THIRDLY... WE MUST SEE OURSELVES AS WE REALLY ARE.
Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think, but think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Solomon gives us the seven sins that make up God's list of most hated. Do you know what sin topped that list?... Selfish pride!! Many of us in the church are not becoming living sacrifices because we see ourselves as being too good for some task in the Kingdom. Jesus was pretty plain on this matter when He said... The greatest in the Kingdom must become... (WHAT?)... The servant of all. Becoming a living sacrifice demands HUMILITY... Are we willing?... Or do we think ourselves too good to teach the nursery class...Sweep the floor...Work at the fair...etc.?
This bring our next point...
WE MUST USE OUR GOD GIVEN TALENTS & GIFTS.
Listen as I read, beginning with verse six... Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Becoming living sacrifices is much more than warming a pew in the church. It is finding our place in ministry and going to work. Jesus pictured the Kingdom of heaven...
* As a vineyard,
* As a field,
* As a place of work.
We need to understand that the church is more than a place of worship. It is a place of labor.
Number five... WE MUST LEARN HOW TO LOVE OTHERS.
Listen to these admonitions from verses 9-21 of our text.
- Love must be sincere.
- Be devoted to one another.
- Honor one another.
- Share with God's people.
- Practice hospitality.
- Bless those that persecute you.
- Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn.
- Associate with people of low position.
- Never repay evil for evil.
- Be careful to do what is right in the sight of everybody.
Well... The chapter ends... But the thought doesn't... The chapter ends... But the context doesn't... Chapter 13, 14 and 15 give us more... We'll note two.
TO BECOME A LIVING SACRIFICE... WE MUST SUBMIT TO AUTHORITY.
Listen... As I read verses 1, 2 and 6 of chapter 13... "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves... For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing." Church... Paul is saying that... Those unwilling to submit to authority are not Living Sacrifices.
THEN FINALLY... WE MUST BE MINDFUL OF OTHERS IN THE FAITH.
- Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
- Let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
- The strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please themselves.
- Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
- Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Question!!
What do we need to do today to respond to God's Love... Mercy... and Grace? Do we need to be converted?... By Faith... Repentance... Confession... and New Testament baptism? Do we need to be transformed? Do we need to acknowledge some sin in our lives, asking God to forgive us?
Respond appropriately to God's: LOVE... HIS MERCY.... AND GRACE... As we stand and sing this invitation song... Will you come?
