Paul and the Practice of Christianity

1. Paul and the Practice of Christianity Looking at Romans 12 Letter to the Romans

2. Introduction: 12:1,2 • Consecration & Transformation • “Therefore” (gar) having completed the doctrinal section and defended the righteousness of God, Paul seeks to explain the life of faith. • Paul appeals (as in Eph 4:1; 1 Cor 4:16) for “transformity” rather than conformity in the language of Jewish sacrificial worship. Letter to the Romans

3. Time to dig in just a bit… • There are at LEAST 5 full lessons we could do on Romans 12. It is a powerful chapter! Today we are going to cover all of Romans 12, and keep moving, but verses 1 and 2 really deserve just a bit of time for further examination… so lets do it Letter to the Romans

4. Romans 12:1,2 Consecration & Transformation

5. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

6. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • consecration as worship • defining text on Christian worship • God’s mercies is the Christian message • urgent business

7. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • consecration as worship • “declaring worth” through consecration • Old Testament sacrifices • Jesus introduces a new worship • An hour is coming when neither in this place nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father…An hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth… • John 4:21,23

8. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • consecration as worship • worship means “declaring worth” • Old Testament sacrifices • Jesus introduces a new worship • An hour is coming when neither in this place nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father…An hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth… • John 4:21,23 • a radically different picture of worship!

9. One of the most puzzling features of Paul’s understanding of ekklesia for his contemporaries, whether Jews or Gentiles, must have been his failure to say that a person went to church primarily to ‘worship’. Not once in all his writings does he suggest this is the case. Indeed it could not be, for he held a view of ‘worship’ that prevented him from doing so…[W]orship involves the whole of one’s life, every word and action, and knows no special place or time… Since all places and times have now become the venue for worship, Paul cannot speak of Christians assembling in church distinctively for this purpose. They are already worshipping God, acceptably or unacceptably, in whatever they are doing. Robert Banks, Paul’s Idea of Community

10. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • consecration as worship • a living sacrifice: a life of consecration • not a service you attend • a decision to “present” yourself to God • authentic believer vs. disciple • going half way is unsatisfying • power struggle • vague feeling of guilt • unfulfilling sense of “going along”

11. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • consecration as worship • a living sacrifice: a life of consecration • not a service you attend • a decision to “present” yourself to God • authentic believer vs. disciple • going half way is unsatisfying • going half way is unappealing

12. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • consecration as worship • Which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” • Luke 14:28—30

13. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • consecration as worship • logikos: reasonable • not a vow or New Years resolution • conscious, informed verdict • Jesus said, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:67,68

14. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • implications of true worship

15. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • world is about shaping you into its mold • kosmos is a spiritual and value system • what is “normal”? • what is “success”? • who am I? • why do I matter? • what will make me happy?

16. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • world is about shaping you into its mold • kosmos is a spiritual and value system • kosmos is not neutral • All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father. The world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does God’s will abides forever. 1 John 2:15

17. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • world is about shaping you into its mold • kosmos is a spiritual and value system • kosmos is not neutral • redefines real needs • appeals to & energizes the sinful nature of self rule, life by my terms • enslaves by offering allusive and unreal expectations for life

18. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • world is about shaping you into its mold • kosmos is a spiritual and value system • kosmos is not neutral • redefines real needs • appeals to & energizes the sinful nature of self rule, life by my terms • enslaves by offering allusive and unreal expectations for life

19. Used in one way, the press, the radio and the cinema are indispensable to the survival of democracy. Used in another way, they are among the most powerful weapons in the dictator's armory.....In regard to propaganda the early advocates of universal literacy and a free press envisaged only two possibilities: the propaganda might be true, or it might be false. They did not foresee what in fact has happened, above all in our Western capitalist democracies--the development of a vast mass communications industry, concerned in the main neither with the true nor the false, but with the unreal, the more or less totally irrelevant. In a word, they failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions..... Only the vigilant can maintain their liberties, and only those who are constantly and intelligently on the spot can hope to govern themselves effectively by democratic procedures." Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited pp. 35,36

20. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • resistance alone is futile • retreat is not an option • I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one… As You have sent me into the world, so I send them into the world. • John 17:15,18

21. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • resistance alone is futile • retreat is not an option • revolution through personal transformation

22. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • metamorphoo • consecration of the mind brings change • You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind • Matthew 22:37 • “disciple” means student • expertise is a value statement

23. 12:2 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. • conformed or transformed? • able to perceive God’s will • knowing what a person thinks over time produces an understanding of how they think • wisdom • discernment • prophetic insight

24. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. • you can’t command somebody to worship • you are God’s child regardless • you will find hidden pockets of resistance within • God brings new opportunities to present yourself to Him

25. Back to the main road Having taken a long scenic way through verses 1 and 2, lets get back to the main road… Letter to the Romans

26. 12:3-21 Personal ethics (1) • (1) 3-8 The exercise of gifts “by the grace given me” towards mutual interdependence. • Prophecy • Service • Teaching Letter to the Romans

27. Exhortation • Giving (in finance) • Giving (in help) • Acts of mercy Letter to the Romans

28. 12:3-21 Personal ethics (2) • (2) 9-13 The Law of Love expressed in various activities • Love (agape) includes the sense of volition and intellect • It inspires mutual affection (v10) • It “stays on high alert” (v11), never losing its buzz. • It stays hopeful, endures suffering, perseveres in prayer, shares the needs of the family Letter to the Romans

29. 12:3-21 Personal ethics (3) • (3) 14-21 looks beyond the Christian family • Reminiscent of Matt 5:44 • Sharing joy and sorrow • Living in harmony: “Aspire not to lofty tasks but follow the stream of lowly duties” (David Smith). • Peace (18) as much as possible! Letter to the Romans

30. 12:19-21: A word on Vengeance • “Leave it to the wrath of God”; this suggests • (1) that we leave the exercise of judgement to God as in Deut 32:35, or • (2) that we should let the principle of retribution inherent in the moral universe pursue its course (cf 1:18) Letter to the Romans

31. Vv20-21 suggest the first. Mercy is the opposite of retaliation, giving a “burning sense of shame”. Paul quotes Prv 25:21 but omits the last bit “and the Lord shall reward you”. Paul develops the meaning: “the best way to get rid of an enemy is to turn him into a friend”. Letter to the Romans