Romans chapter 12. Thank you
Scott for the message this morning and Jaime and Eric for the music
and the scripture reading. Romans chapter 12. The Apostle Paul says in verse
1, 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. For I say through the grace given
unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according
as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as
we have many members in one body, and all members have not the
same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ. And everyone members one of another. I want you to see this morning
that the true doctrine of our God, taught by the Father in
the hearts of His people, produces children who are willing
and ready and rejoice to obey their Father. That's for sure. That's for certain. Now, we're
going to look at what it is to present our bodies a living sacrifice,
holy and acceptable unto God. This is our reasonable or our
spiritual service to serve God. Now everything Paul has said
up to this point, up to this 11th chapter, is the doctrine
of the true and living God. And everything he says through
the rest of this book is the doctrine of the true and living
God. It's all taught of God and it's got to be taught of God
in our hearts, every bit of this. But when we started out, every
child of God, that's who this is addressed to, brethren, and
every child of God starts out in this world cut off, divided,
and a divider. That's what we are in sin. Everything
we think about God, everything we did in religion or out of
religion, it didn't matter which was the case. In our natural
state we were dividers. Because we were separated from
God, we were cut off from God, and our whole service in this
life, our existence in this life consisted of being a divider.
Now, Paul dealt with that in the first three chapters of the
book. That's what he dealt with in the first three chapters of
Romans. Now how is it that God makes
his people one? How is it he takes us from being
divided and cut off and separate from God, dead in sins, rebellious
in sins, with a form of religion, or in our worldliness, not knowing
God, and bring us into unity and make us one and make us willing,
obedient children of God? How does he do that? Well, that's
what the book of Romans is about. That's what the whole Bible is
about. But the book of Romans is a wonderful book to look into
this. I'll give you just an overview, but in chapters 3 through 5,
after he dealt with what we are in ourselves, in chapters 3 through
5 he declared that justification, we had to be justified, we had
to be purged of our sin and made right in the sight of God. And
that justification is of God. It's through the faithfulness
of His Son. What His Son accomplished in
taking the sin of His people and burying the wrath of God
in their place and putting it away. It's through God's gift
of faith alone. He gives faith and we behold
the faithfulness of Christ and we receive Him through faith.
and it's to the praise of His glory alone. Then in chapter
6 through 8, He declared that our life, the way we come into
the experience of this grace, our regeneration and our conversion
and all the gifts of grace that He gives to us, it's of God,
it's through the Holy Spirit, He creates us anew in the inner
man and it's all to God, to the praise and honor of God. And
then He declared in chapters 8 through 11 in greater detail,
how that our salvation is all of God's sovereign grace. His
electing grace, He chooses whom He will, passes by whom He will. It's His predestinating grace. He predestinated His Son, His
children to the adoption, to be conformed to the image of
His Son. It's all His redeeming grace. It's His grace in providence
in working all things together. And the whole work of the triune
God that Paul has spoken about from the first opening of this
letter all the way up to this point is summed up in the verse
just before our text here this morning. Look there at Romans
11, 36. This is what distinguishes the salvation of the true and
living God from all false gods. This is our salvation. It's of
Him, it's through Him, and it's to Him. all things, to whom be
glory forever. Amen. Paul says, I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by these mercies, these very mercies right
here. that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. This almighty, thrice holy God,
this One who spoke heaven and earth into existence, this One
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, this One who
rebukes the winds and the waves and they obey His command, this
God, speaking Through the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul,
this God says, I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God. Not by the law of Moses, not
by the precepts of men, not by the commands of the church, by
the mercies of God. By the mercies of God. He doesn't... He doesn't... Threaten, drive,
or use any kind of legal fear because grace draws in everlasting
kindness. It's a difference. It's what
it is to be under grace and not under the law. It's what it is
to be taught of our Heavenly Father rather than under the
judgment of an offended God. It's what it is to be led of
the Spirit rather than being in bondage to the law of sin
and death. It's what it is to be spoken to like a son and a
daughter instead of like a slave. This is how God deals with His
children. This is how He speaks to His children. A religious
man, Paul said back in Romans 2, he said, do you that are trying
to make a distinction by some outward appearance of things
and trying to rule by fear and threatening of punishment, he
said, despisest thou the riches of his goodness and his forbearance
and his longsuffering? You're not preaching about this,
you're not declaring who God is? Or do you not know that it's
the very goodness of God that leads men to repent? which is
if you just despise him or you don't understand that this is
the God and the gospel that's going to lead men to repentance.
That woman with that alabaster box of ointment, she sat there
and she cried behind the Lord, and she broke open that box,
and she poured it out on His feet, and she wiped His feet
with her tears, and wiped, dried them with the hair of her head,
put that box of ointment on there. And that Pharisee stood there
and said, if he knew what kind of woman this was, she's a sinner.
If he knew, he wouldn't have anything to do with her. And
the Lord said, let me give you a story. You listen to this story.
There was a man who owed his master a great sum. And there was another man who
owed that same master a little sum. And he said, the master,
because neither one of them could pay what they owed, the master
forgave them both. He said, now which one do you
think is going to rejoice and be the most thankful? The one
who owed the most or the one who owed the least? And the Pharisee
said, well, I suppose it'll be the one who owed the most. And
the Lord said, I came in here and you didn't give me anything.
You didn't provide anything for me. You cared nothing for me
whatsoever. And he said, you see this woman
right here? He says, her sins, which are many, are forgiven
her, for she loved much. Because to whom little is forgiven,
the same loveth little. She fell down at His feet because
she saw what a great, tremendous sinner she was and how great
His forgiveness is and His mercy is. That's what leads a sinner
to repentance and service and consecration to this all-good,
Almighty Father we serve. That's what the The writer said,
the psalmist said, what shall I render unto the Lord for all
His benefits toward me? What can I give Him for everything
He's done to me? He said, this I recall to my
mind, therefore I have hope. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we're not consumed because His compassions fail not. They're
new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. So
Paul says, if you've been forgiven much, By these mercies, if you
have been forgiven much, I beseech you therefore, brethren, present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service. Now verse 2 says, And be not
conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable
and perfect will of God. Now the manner in which you are
going to receive the doctrine, The manner in which you receive
everything that's been said that I scanned over with you in the
book of Romans. And you can go through and read
this. The manner in which you receive it is going to have everything to
do with the attitude and the spirit in which you serve. Everything. There's a way the
world serves. And there's a way God's people
serve. Now he says don't be conformed
to the world. Forget about drinking and harlotry
and all that kind of stuff just for a minute. Forget about that.
We're talking about staying with this content. We're talking about
presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable
unto God. Don't be conformed to the way
the world does that. If you've received the doctrine
of men, if you've been taught it of men, if you as a man have
discovered it and found it out and learned it rather than of
God through Christ, through the Holy Spirit, then your sacrifice
will be to you and to your glory rather than toward God and to
the praise of His glory. Now that's certain. You may make
a great sacrifice. Natural men can make a great
sacrifice. Natural men, this world does
more benevolent, good things all over this world as far as
the eye can see. It's full of great works. Natural
men can do that. But it'll be a sacrifice which
promotes you. It'll be a sacrifice that puffs
up you, and it'll be a sacrifice that promotes division. That'll
be what it promotes. You'll always be examining others. You'll always be taking note
of how little somebody else measures up. If it's of man, if you've
gotten this of man, that's what it's gonna be. That's what your
sacrifice is gonna result in. and your sacrifice is not going
to promote unity, what all of that's going to do is it's going
to promote individuality. Remember what I said the problem
was with us in the beginning? We were divided and cut off from
God, and we were dividers. That's what we are. That's what
the world... Be not conformed to the world.
You know what the world is about. The world, in religion and out,
here's what the world's about. The world is about promoting
individuals, standouts, self-exalted people, self-greatness. That's what the world, that's
what everybody's striving for in the world. That's what the
world's about. That's what the world's religion's
about. Talks about peace, talks about unity. You know, the United
Nations talks about unity. They don't even sit next to one
another at the table. much less create unity. This is, I'm talking
about, this is different. The world's unity is promoting,
it's looking out for number one. And it's create individuals,
create islands. It's not creating unity. He says,
be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God. Now, this word transformed
by the renewing of your mind. He says, but be ye transformed,
not conformed to the world, but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind. There's a difference, there's
a transporting, there's a transforming rather than being conned into
forming into this world. Everybody get a tattoo, that'll
make you different. Get something pierced, that'll
make you stand out as different. And next thing you know you look
around, well that didn't make me different. I've been conned.
I look just like everybody else looks. And then something else
comes along. Do this. You'll be an individual.
You'll stand out and you do it. And next thing you know, everybody
else has done it. You've been conned again. You form right
into the mold. But this, he says, this mind
thing, this inner thing that begins in the heart, it has a
transforming effect. Takes you out of this world,
out of the con, out of all this, somewhere else. It does something
else. Colossians Paul said, put on
the new man which is renewed. It's been renewed by God. You
who are brethren, brothers and sisters in Christ have been renewed
by God. You put on the new man which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of God that created
him. After the image of God that created
that new man within you, that inner man, that new man. You
walk and talk and dwell and think with that new man. Don't think
in the old fleshly man. Now he says, set your affection
on things above, not on things of the earth, because you're
dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Now that's what
Paul is saying here. Meditate in this new spirit,
this new mind that you've been given. Be renewed in that renewing. walk in that renewing, meditate
on those things above, and as you meditate on those things
above, on the mercies of God, it has a transforming effect
on you. It does. This word here, it means
you're going to have communion with the Lord. You're going to
be transported out of these waves and these trials and these Things
that bogging you down to where you behold who God is. And you behold how sure your
salvation is. And you behold how truly you're
His and bought with a price and not your own. Protected. Complete. Accepted. And how He'll preserve
you and keep you. You're transported. And there's
your strength, your grace He gives you to walk in this world. But be not of this world. The
word here is the same word that's used when our Lord was in the
Mount of Transfiguration, and He was transfigured. Now, don't
get crazy on me here and think that that's going to happen to
you, but the point is this, what happened with our Lord, He had
such a fullness and a measure of this, that what happened with
our Lord was, The apostles saw him actually transfigured gloriously
to where he was communing, speaking with God and with the spirits
of just men made perfect. He was in the world, but it was
like he wasn't even in the world. That's sort of a picture of this,
of how this works. It's the transforming. It's a
renewing, a refreshing, a rejoicing so that you can commune with
the Lord in your heart and spirit and truth and in the heavenly
Jerusalem and be not confined to this bondage below. Now, the
songwriter put it this way, turn your eyes upon Jesus look full
in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely
dim in the light of His glory and grace." That's what we're
talking about. And He says, do this that you
may prove, discern, have some understanding of what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God. He had just said
there in the first verse, he says that when you present your
bodies, you want to present your bodies acceptable unto God, acceptably. You want to do it in the way
God's going to have you do it. And he says, now be renewed in
your mind, transformed in the renewing of your mind that you
may prove, that you may know and understand what it is, how
you come to God this way, what this sacrifice is. Now, this
is what I want you to see first. All that was introduction. Now
we're going to get to the first point. This is the first point.
This living sacrifice, this holy sacrifice, this acceptable sacrifice
is each individual brother and sister who have been born of
God, coming to God, wholly consecrated to God, in one, in Christ Jesus. And it's coming in Him together,
all of us right here, as one body, in one, as Christ Jesus. Now I want you to turn over to
John 17. I want you to see this. I read that scripture to you
over there in 1 Corinthians 12, in our opening passage this morning. Because as the body is one and
hath many members, and all the members of that one body being
many are one, so also is the body of Christ." We're one body
in Christ. And that, he concluded there,
and he said, you're the body of Christ and your members in
particular. Now, this holiness, Jonathan
Edwards, was speaking there. After 1 Corinthians 12, it moves
into 13, and he talks about having all these gifts and speaking
with the tongues of men. And he says, and if you don't
have charity, if you have all these things but don't have charity.
And then here in our text, he says, you present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy, holy. And Jonathan Edwards pointed
out, he said that holiness and that love, both of those are
inseparable. He says practically the same
thing. If you don't have this love and this holiness, and what
I'm submitting to you is that this holiness and this love is
oneness with Christ is what it is. It's oneness with Christ.
It's what separates God's true children from those that merely
have a form. It's oneness, it's being able
to commune with God in spirit and truth from the inside. All
right, let's see that in John 17. I've been running my mouth
instead of turning over there. Hold on one second. All right, John 17, look at verse
11. Now this is, it says here about
that you might know that good, acceptable, perfect will of God.
Now this is Christ and he's praying, Father, I will. This is the good,
perfect, acceptable will of God. This is what God is praying for
right here. God praying with God right here.
He says in verse 11, now I am no more in the world, but these
are in the world and I come to thee. Holy Father, Keep through
thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may
be one as we. Alright, look down at verse 17. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Look down
at verse 19. And for their sakes I sanctify
myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Look at verse 21. That they all may be one. As
thou, Father, art in me. What's this oneness? This is
it right here. As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us. Now that's oneness. That's unity
right there. That's oneness. That the world
may believe that thou hast sent me. Look at verse 22. And the
glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be
one. He's going to say it again. Even
as we are one. What do you mean? I in them,
and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one. And that the
world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as
thou hast loved me. Now go back to our text, Romans 12. Back
in our text in Romans 12. Let's see now, is this holy love,
this sacrifice, does it have to do with oneness in Christ?
Look at verse 1. I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, your personal,
individual bodies, everything about you completely, your bodies,
yes, and all of us together present our bodies, plural, A living
sacrifice. One living sacrifice. One united
sacrifice in Christ. Now drop down to verse 4. For
as we have many members in one body, and all members have not
the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ. Just one body in Christ. And
everyone members, and I love how he says this, not of one
another, everyone members one of another. That just means something
more to me. You are members one. You are
one member of another. I in them and thou in me that
they may be perfect in one. This is a living sacrifice. How
is it we are going to present this living sacrifice? How is
it that we are alive to present a living sacrifice to God that
God is going to receive? How is that possible? For in
that he died, he died unto sin once, and in that he liveth,
he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye, that's plural,
all of you who are brethren here. Likewise reckon ye yourselves
also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Because he offered himself a
living sacrifice. Let not sin therefore reign in
your mortal body, that you obey it in the lust thereof. Neither
yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin,
but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from
the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
unto God. Do that which is well-pleasing
in God's sight. For sin shall not have dominion
over you. You are not under the law, you
are under grace. I can't come to God and see so much sin in
my members. I can't do anything that's going to please Him. No,
you can't if you weren't coming in this one living sacrifice.
But because He's died and He's risen again and He ever lives
under God, He says, then reckon ye yourself to be just as alive
under God, just as accepted of God, just as able to come with
those feeble, sinful, wretched members that you have and yield
them unto God to do service unto God. Because sin won't have to
be in your nose. You're not going to be condemned.
You're not going to be turned away. You're not going to be
judged of the Father because it's all been put away. And now
you're under grace. Now you're under grace. Well,
he says it's a holy sacrifice. How am I going to offer a holy
sacrifice? Be looking back at Romans 11.
Romans 11. Holiness is a state of being.
It's not in degrees. You either are holy or you're
not holy. Now the reason I said don't be
conformed to this world, that's what Paul's talking about here
now. Make sure when you offer this sacrifice you don't do it
how this world does it. Because the way this world does
it is they promote division by it. So that when one appears
to do a little bit better and somebody else doesn't measure
up, the only place in Scripture that the word holy is used in
a relative sense is how the world uses it. Stand over there, I'm
holier than you are. I'm holier than you are. The
only place it's used in that sense in the Scriptures. in a
relative sense, as if you're getting more and more and more
holy. How am I then going to be holy in this state of being
holy so that God receives me? Romans 11, 16. If the first fruit
be holy, do you know who the first fruit is? It's Christ. Christ is the first fruit. If the grain is holy from which
the whole lump of bread is made, you know what the whole lump
of bread is going to be? Holy. If the first fruit be holy, the
lumps also holy. If the root be holy, you know
who the root is? It's Christ. He's the root out
of a dry ground. He's the root of Jesse. He's
the tender plant that grew up. If the root's holy, He's divine.
If the root's holy, guess what? So are the branches. And so He
says to us in Hebrews, He says, draw near in the full assurance
of faith. What's faith believe? What's
this full assurance of faith? That my body's been washed with
pure water and my conscience has been purged with the blood
of Christ and I have access to God. I come to Him now because
of this. I'm one. I'm as one with God
as He is with His Son. Because I'm in Him and He's in
me and I've been made perfect in one. And I come now. Well,
he says it better be an acceptable sacrifice. That's what he's teaching
us here. That's what we've been looking
at through all this. Peter said it this way. Ye as
lively stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. That's the only ones who could
make an offering. And under the law was a priest.
You're a holy priesthood, brethren, brothers and sisters, to offer
up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. That's what I'm getting at here.
This first and foremost, this sacrifice, if it's going to be
acceptable, it's coming to God in Christ Jesus. Each of us individually
come that one way and each of us together, brethren, in this
place, we come in one as one body, the body of Christ. That's
the only way. you can come to Him. Now this
word back in our text there, this word that's spoken of here
that says, which is your reasonable service, it means spiritual service,
the same words used one other time in 1 Peter 2.2, and it's
when he says, if you've been tasted at the Lord as gracious,
desire the sincere milk of the word, of the word. That prepositional
phrase, of the word, It's the same word from which this is
translated reasonable. It's a spiritual sacrifice. It's
a, just like the word, it's a spiritual matter. This is a spiritual service.
It's reasonable, there's no doubt about that, considering the mercies
of our God and what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. But it's
a being transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is a spiritual
sacrifice. It's coming by faith in Christ
Jesus, in Christ Jesus alone. Now that's got to be set forth
from the beginning brethren because if we don't we're going to offer
this sacrifice being conformed to the world rather than being
transformed by the renewing of our minds and understand how
it is we come God's going to receive these feeble bodies.
These instruments can be yielded to him and he'll receive them.
That's how. In Christ, based solely on God's
mercy and the sacrifice of his darling son. That's how. I'm gonna be cutting it close,
but I'm gonna do look to you now on the second part. This
will go a little faster the attitude and Offering there's the second
thing. So the first thing is this sacrifice is coming in Christ
alone All together as one body in Christ alone now keep that
in mind that we're one body Many members in one body because it's
very important in everything that's being taught here I said
to you that our sin, our corruption, it's self-serving. And it was
dividing, it was divisive. Now everything the Lord does,
doesn't make individuals. It doesn't make people be individualistic. It makes us be totally one and
absolutely dependent upon one another and upon our Lord. It
works the opposite of the way the world works. Alright? Verse
3. He says, for I say, through the grace given unto me, to every
man that's among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think. Now, if you start thinking the
way the world does in this sacrifice, you're going to think more highly
of yourself than you ought to think. You've got to come with
nothing but Christ. Yield to God in Christ if you're
going to be accepted of God. but to think soberly, according
as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Drop down
to verse 6. What's he mean by this? What
he's dealt to us, this measure of faith. He calls it, in Ephesians
4, he calls it a measure of grace. Here he says, having then gifts. It's gifts of faith, is what
he's talking about here. Having then gifts of faith, differing
according to the grace that is given to us. Now mark this word
gift. Mark the word gift. We're about
to see some particular, some specific gifts of faith which
God measures out to the members of His body. He gives to different
members in the body. But we have nothing to be proud
of in this day. Because everything here is a
gift. Everything that's been given
is a gift. Paul starts out here. He says, it's of God, it's through
God, it's to God, it's to His glory. And he starts out here
and he says, I say, through the grace given unto me. He says,
the only way I'm able to tell you this and instruct you in
this is because God gave some apostles. There's this gift. Paul says, and by that grace
given unto me, whereby he's been gifted to be the apostle to them.
He said, by that grace given to me, this is what I'm teaching
you. He says, even as I'm about to
teach you the substance of it, I'm telling you, this is how
I got it to teach it to you, was from him. It was all given.
He says, Not to think more highly of yourself. There's only one
who possessed a full measure of these gifts of faith, and
that's Christ. And as Ephesians 4 says, He gives, we receive
out of His abundance. He gives the measure of grace.
Now he doesn't give all the same gifts of faith. Look at verse
6. Having then gifts differing according
to the grace that's given us. These gifts of faith are different.
But they're one Lord, they're of one Lord, they're of one Spirit,
and they're for one and the same purpose. One and the same purpose. To be helpers of one another's
joy, to promote unity in the body, that there be no schisms
in the body. Ephesians 4, 12 through 16. I
won't read it to you now, but you go. Until all the saints
be brought in to the measure of the fullness of the stature
of Christ, for the edification of the body, so that we're no
more tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, by the cunning
and slight of men whereby they lay in wait to deceive. But minister
by every part which Christ gives. We minister to one another. We have to We have to be able
to, well, let's move on. There are many more gifts of
faith, but right here, Paul's gonna list several. But I want
you to get the point here. Here's the point he's making
in verse six and seven and eight. Whatever gift of faith has been
measured to you, use it, serve with it, edify one another with
it. That's the point, verse 6. Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to
us, where the prophecy, it's another word for preaching, then
preach, use it. He says, let us prophesy according
to the proportion of faith, according to the measure of this grace
that's been given. or ministry, ministering to everyday necessities. I can't make, I can't make those
crumpets like Kathy makes, but she can make them. And when I
eat them, they minister to me and they rejoice my heart. I
don't know if I can, I can't, you know, I may not be able to
do this or that or whatever. When Sister Sharon was in Saro
here recently, Saro and her family, you made some food and took to
it. This is ministering. It's simple
things. It's simple things. He's given
us gifts to be able to do. Then serve in this business of
ministering diligently. He said if you've been given
that gift, let us wait on our ministering. Or he that teacheth,
wait on your teaching. Do it. Oh, he that exhorteth.
Exhort, teach, explain, exhort. There was an old man down in
the church in Arkansas when I was growing up that this man spoke
the gospel. I'm just talking about all the
time. If he opened his mouth, it was something good to hear.
We'd be out digging a water line for the church building, and
I remember that day out there with him, and I'm using a pick,
and it's hot, and that ground was hard, and we're digging in
there. And the whole time we were there, this man was just
explaining the scriptures to me. And I would say, well, what
about this scripture? Well, this man, man, he just
opened it up to me. He had a gift for that, and he
used it. I've talked to men that worked
with him. Do you know Brother McGugan? Oh yeah, we know him.
He just talked, he just, just his conversation was to explain
in the scriptures to folks. Well, he says do that. He that giveth, let him do it
with simplicity, liberal, and liberality, in abundance. That
the point here is on how you do it, the attitude of it. He
that ruleth with diligence, Give yourself to it. He that showeth
mercy with cheerfulness. Now the attitude and the motives
of utmost importance here. This is of utmost importance.
That's why we're renewed in the spirit of our mind. Look at Romans
12 verse 9. Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil and
cleave to that which is good. Let it be without hypocrisy.
Paul said abstain in another place, he said abstain not just
from evil, he said abstain from the appearance of evil. Even
the appearance of evil. So this love, this service, if
my motive is to exalt myself, if it's to exalt my way, if it's
to exalt my agenda, I'm trying to make a point to you about
something and I'm going to use these things to try to get
my way, make my point. That's not love. That's not from
a pure motive. That's not because you love the
person doing it for them. That's just trying to make a
point. That's not love. I'm not serving
anybody but my own lusts if I do that. He says it's evil. Abhor
that which is evil, cleave to that which was good. Now here's
the spirit and attitude of true service. Verse 10. be kindly
affectioned one to another with brotherly love in honor preferring
one another." He began by saying, brethren, now listen, brethren,
our omniscient, omnipotent, all-knowing, ever-present God is our Father. He's our Father. He knows the
heart. He's our Father. And His Son,
the Father, the Son, His Son is a Son over His own house,
whose house we are if we hold fast to Him. And you and I are
brothers and sisters in the household of God. Now, He says, love with
family love, brotherly love. The church is a family. It's
a family. If you've been in an abusive
family, it's hard to know what it's like to be in a loving family.
It's hard to understand it. A loving family. Not preferring
my honor, not to prove my point, to exalt myself, to make others
speak highly of me, that's thinking more highly of myself than I
ought to think. That's being conformed to this world. That's
offering this sacrifice like the world does it. But preferring
the welfare and honor of my brethren. That's pure. It's doing it for
them. First, for the honor of my elder
brother, Christ the Lord. And secondly, for the honor of
my fellow brethren. Somebody said, in making our
brethren rejoice, believers find our happiness. In giving, we receive. In promoting
another's welfare and honor, Christ is honored and we're honored.
Make it a point, make it a point to not ever say a critical word
to another brother or even your spouse about another brother
or sister. If we really spoke of one another
the way we want others to speak about us, we would be always
speaking to honor them in some way. Saying something, no matter
how run amok it looks or how somebody might be thinking about
the other one, say something that honors that person. Why? Well, if Christ died for them,
And He's robed them in His righteousness. And they are complete in Christ.
And they are absolutely holy and accepted of God. That's how
they are. That's exactly how they are. We can talk about that honor.
We can talk about that honor. And I guarantee if we talk about
that honor about each other when somebody wants to be critical
of one another, When we hear about that honor,
if I'm trying to be critical of one of you, that's going to
make, may want to swallow my tongue. Why did I even say that? I'm
talking about my Lord. That's how one you are with him. All right. He says in verse 11,
not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the
Lord." We had changed the subject. We're still talking about this
business, this spiritual business, spiritual service is what we're
talking about here. We're still dealing with it.
Be not slothful, but fervent in spirit. God wrote zeal is
good zeal. It's good to be zealous in a
good thing. This is something to be zealous in. serving the
Lord. This is service to the Lord.
We present ourselves a living sacrifice to the Lord as we serve
the Lord's sheep, as we serve our brethren. And then he says
in verse 12, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing
instant in prayer. Now, can you think of anything
we've seen recently that includes those three things? The whole epistle of James. This
is, we serve the Lord and we look to the Lord as we engage
in this service. The whole thing. Rejoicing in
hope. What's that mean? No matter what,
rejoice in this hope God has promised. He's going to bless
the gifts He's given as you disperse them, as you give them, as you
use them. He's going to bless them to edify,
to strengthen, and to build up, and to increase. He's going to
do that. He's promised to do that. All He said to you to do
is sow the seed. He said to you, use the gift
He's given you. No more. That's all. But you
do it rejoicing with this good hope. He's faithful, that promise.
He's going to do what He said. And he says, and be patient in
tribulation. It doesn't always result in smooth
times. It doesn't always mean, it all
sounds good here. You know, when I tell you about
how well behaved my children are and how I have my family
in order. And we know that for the most
part, I can say that's so. But as sure as I tell you about
it, we'll get in the car and we'll get a block down the road
and something will happen. And next thing you know, you'd
think it was, There wasn't even a father in the car. Well, it'll
be like that sometimes. But, he says, because you have
this good hope, be patient and wait. Isn't that what James said?
Give the word. Whatever gifts he's given you
to do, use that and wait on him. Although the trial may be great,
wait on him. And do it continuing instant
in prayer. Praying in prayer. in-wrought
prayer, asking God to bless as He's promised He will, to give
the increase. Verse 13, he says, "...distributing
to the necessity of saints, giving to hospitality." These things
just all seem like one thing to me. It's like they're all
just different, coming at the same thing from little different
angles. distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality. Using these gifts he's given,
they're for the needs of saints. They're for the needs of saints.
Do we know anything about need? We live in a fat country. We're
starting to learn a little something about need. We get through this
healthcare bill, we're gonna learn something about need. Something
about need. given to hospitality, given to
it, generous, welcoming, helping, refreshing spirit, ready to provide
for one another. Freely you've received, freely
give. That's what we're talking about
here. Now, one last thing. Bless them which persecute you.
Bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice
and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one to another. Now he's moving here into Some
things about how we deal with folks outside the world, but
we're still dealing within the body right now. Now this, one
another, brethren aren't gonna persecute one another like the
world persecutes one another, but we say things we don't, we
wish we wouldn't have said, and we injure one another with things
we do, with things we say. But if a brother says something
injurious, it's like a withered hand. If I, okay, I use my ears. problems right now with my ears
and these hearing aids and all. But you know what I'm doing with
my ears? I'm pampering them. They're messed up and there's
a problem with that membrane. I'm pampering that membrane.
So if somebody has said something injurious to you, that it's hurt
your feelings, it's offended you or whatever, bless them and
curse not. Don't be just like you would
that withered hand. Now, if my hand, you know, Teaching
Will to play ball. When he throws the ball, this
rider, he hits the ball, you know, with his bat and does such
a good job or whatever. His whole body rejoices because
of what is, he was able to keep his eye on the ball because his
hand, eye coordination worked. His whole body rejoices. And
then if, if there's some part of your body that's hurt, your
whole body hurts. That's what he's saying. Bless
them which persecute you. Pamper them. Pamper them. And
don't be angry and try to avenge yourself. Rejoice with them that
do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind,
one toward another. Now this is holiness. This is
love. This is living consecration of
God, one in one. One in one, of the same mind.
One in one. He says this, and as you do this,
be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And now he comes
back here to this mind again, this thinking on things, things
that is the inner desire, and this is the last, last as far
as we'll get. Mind not high things, but condescend
to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceit. Carnal men love the finest and
the wisest that this world has to offer. And they despise what
they esteem to be low and base. They don't like it. I'll give
you an example. If you ask me something that
I really enjoy, if it's a hot summer day, and I'm hungry, and
I've been working hard, and it's something I really enjoy, give
me some white, cheap Wonder Bread, and put a big ol' slatherin'
of mayonnaise on it, and mustard on it, and a big ol' slice of
tomato and onion and bologna. I like that. I like it. Now you might be sittin' there
goin', I don't like that. That sounds mighty base to me.
Well, in these things, these spiritual matters, don't be that
way about being in these spiritual matters. That's carnal. That's carnal. Seest thou a man
wise in his own conceit, there's more hope of a fool than of him,
Solomon said. Let no man deceive himself. If
any man among you seemeth wise in this world, let him become
a fool that he may be wise. God's children are men of low
estate. They're men of low estate. They're
base things. They're things this world despises.
If I take God's word at it, that's what they are. That's what they
are. But when you descend from the
high and from the lofty and you're content with the Lord's simple
ones, you know what you'll find out every time? To deal simply
and to be content with the Lord's simple ones. You know what you'll
find? You'll find you're among the finest and the wisest. That's what you'll find. Alright, I hope that's a blessing
to you.