Christian Living
Romans 12: 1-3
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We are saved in order to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Meaning, that we must strive towards His likeness and live the life that he lived while here on earth, holy and blameless. We are to manifest the character of God in our lives. How?
Let Jesus be Lord over you life. (v. 1)
The Scripture says that we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices before God. Gone are the days when God wants the blood of bulls and rams and lambs as His sacrifices for the atonement of sins-Jesus has accomplished that already-what He wants now are living victims. Persons who will obey His bidding without much ado, persons who are fully surrendered to his will, persons who have no will or plans of their own, persons who have no agendas of their own. When you present your body as a living sacrifice to God it means that you are willing that God will dispose of you as He pleases. It means that you are willing to spend and be spent for the cause of Jesus.
For this is the example that our Lord gave us, Jesus obeyed God to death, even the death on the cross. The most unglamorous and humiliating way to die was to die on the cross. It was a penalty fit for the criminals and for a time Jesus, when He was hanging on the cross, was to God the rapist, the murderer, the prostitute, the drug addict who killed his own mother, the gambler who would sell the last of his properties, the glutton and the lazy. For a time He was you and me. For a time he became sin for us. For a time God, the Holy God, cannot look at Him for He was so marred by sin. So Jesus cried, "my God my God why hast thou forsaken me". Was it the physical suffering that he cannot sustain? Was is the shame that His emotions cannot take? I believe not. But it was the separation from His Father that He cannot take. To be separated from His God is an experience so alien to Jesus because He was with God before there was time. He had enjoyed God's presence before the foundation of the world. He enjoyed God's presence when He was doing His ministry. And all of a sudden Calvary came to cut off that joyous fellowship. Sin, our sin separated Jesus from God. What it is suppose to do to us, it did to Christ for He is the complete atonement for our sins. That is the extent of His obedience.
So those who are saved are also called towards that same obedience. Yes discipleship is costly and that is why or Lord himself told us to count the cost. But if Jesus is Lord of your life you will not mind the cost at all.
We are to live holy and separate lives. (v. 1)
The only sacrifice acceptable before God are those that are holy. In the Old Testament times, the sacrificial lamb has to be without blemish. And so it follows that those who are to serve God as living sacrifices must live holy and separate lives. Separation involves two things. First, is to be separate from the world and the lust thereof. It means that whatever we desire before our conversion which are all contrary to the will of God must be confessed and done away with. Whatever sinful act must be repented of. But this will leave us with a problem. Doing away with our worldly desires create a void in us. We will feel empty in doing so. Why? because the world is everything to the worldly man. Sin is his only source of happiness. The worldly man is chasing after every opportunity to sin.
This is where the second principle of separation comes in. After being separated from world we must do a 180 degrees turn towards God. You see, the void that was created after being separated from the world must be filled, and the only Person that can do that is God. The converted person must experience the joy that only God can provide. To do that, one must start to do the things that will glorify God in his life. Start praying, read the Bible and know the will of God. And as one starts to assimilate the things of God in his life, he will just realize the joy that only God can provide. As the Westminsters divine put it, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever".
By being transformed by the renewing of our minds.
Part of becoming Christ-like also involves the transformation by the renewing of our minds. We have to think new thoughts. For what sayeth the Scriptures? Philippians 4:8 (King James version)says "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."
We notice that we are commanded to think. We cannot just wait until our minds are filled with the things of God, we must consciously think about them. Like a goat that is constantly chewing the cud, we must masticate on Biblical truths. And as the goat is nourished so our souls are also nourished by the Word of God. This involves reading, reflecting, and memorizing verses of Scriptures. The Bible itself testifies that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.
The goal of every Christian is to be more like Jesus. To grow into His likeness is allow Him to be Lord over our lives. Let Him have His way instead of ours. And as Jesus lived a holy and separate life so we also must, by not being conformed to the ways of this world and by transforming our minds by thinking of the things of God. All these requires the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot, on our own, accomplish any of these. It is my prayer that God the Holy Spirit will strengthen us and manifest the life of Jesus in our lives. Soli Deo Gloria!!
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