May the Lord be pleased to bless
us together this morning as we meditate in his word. Let's turn
to Paul's epistle to the Romans, chapter 12, and we'll read verses
one and two. The epistle of Paul to the Romans,
chapter 12, and reading verses one and two. 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. The Apostle here, in writing
to the Romans, says, I beseech you, therefore. And he is, therefore,
referring to that which has gone before in this letter to the
Romans. And we should think and remember
that, of course, in the original there are no chapters. The whole
letter just flows through from beginning to end. And as we see
such a verse as this, we should not take it in isolation, but
we should recognize that it refers therefore to those things which
he has already addressed to the Roman Church. And of course he
has addressed them on very many issues, very important issues,
and it's because he's been able to do that He then comes and
says, I beseech you, therefore, because of all those things that
I have set before you, brethren, by the mercies of God, he then
says that she presents your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service. So it would be good
if we look at these words from that perspective. And as we think
of the wonderful words that The Spirit of God gives to us in
those earlier chapters in Paul's epistle to the Romans how much
instruction there is and how we should therefore be thankful
for the mercies of God which has granted to us such a wonderful
epistle. So many great foundation truths
there are in this epistle to the Romans. We need to often
read it. and ponder it. It speaks about
God's great love, his great mercy. It speaks about his electing
love. It speaks about his righteousness. It speaks about his goodness
and how all things work together for our good. And it speaks about
nothing being able to separate us from the love of God. Now as we ponder those things,
we won't go through them in detail this morning, but you can think
about them. the very many mercies which God
has given to us. And they are indeed the mercies
of God. We should appreciate them. Many
people still today do not have the Word of God, do not have
the Bible to read, do not have it in their own language. And
many people have never heard, still today, of the great truths
of the Gospel. So what a wonderful privilege
is ours. And as we are blessed with this
tremendous benefit, may we understand a little of why the Apostle comes
and speaks in these terms. He says, I beseech you. It means
that he really wants us to consider this position and this situation,
not to just read it casually and pass over it. You know, words
like this, verses like this, very often they are passed over
in a very shallow way, because it perhaps is not what we might
term naturally an interesting account, an interesting story. We may not think upon the greatness
and the breadth of such a statement as this. So he says here, I beseech
you brethren, he really wanted them to understand the position
by the mercies of God, that Because of that, because of the
wonderful favour, and how good it would be if we do think of
the wonderful favour which is ours, in the great depth and
detail that it is, that we present our bodies, a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. You might say, well, what is
the Apostle really saying here? Well, he's really saying that
we should give ourselves unto the things of God. Blessed with
so many wonderful revelations to realise that what God has
done and what he is doing and what he's gone to prepare for
his people and what will occur when the end of time comes Wonderful
blessings for the Church of God. Well, how often do we ponder
these mercies which are ours if we are amongst those who are
called by His amazing grace? Now then, he says, ye present
your bodies. Yes, our natural bodies. We are to be found, are we not,
here in this way, as the Apostle says, giving ourselves, giving
ourselves unto our God. Let's not forget, the Lord Jesus
Christ, he gave himself, didn't he? He gave himself for his people,
for his church. And he gave himself as that wonderful
sacrifice, that wonderful sacrifice for sin. What an amazing consideration
it is to think that Almighty God, none less, joined together
Father, Son and Holy Spirit in planning this great salvation
to be brought about through the Lord Jesus Christ, coming into
this sinful world and living that perfect life in this evil
world, suffering so greatly and giving his life as that perfect
sacrifice, that sin-atoning sacrifice for our sins. Well, the mercies
of God. Mankind could have been left
Mankind can be left to utterly perish in their sins. But God, in his sovereign will
and purpose, determined in eternity past to choose a people who should
in due time show forth his praise. And surely he is worthy of all
our praise, And so the Apostle says that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice. Well, to come and to rent to
our God that which is our due. You know, we should not think
of these things as difficult, we should not think of these
things as a chore, we should really think of these things
as a wonderful privilege and a wonderful pleasure, as we realise
what The Lord indeed in his great mercy has done for us. In the
116th psalm, the psalm which starts off very beautifully,
it starts off and says, I love the Lord. Why? Why did the psalmist love the
Lord? And why do you and I love the Lord? And I hope we do. The
reason given, because he has heard my voice. and my supplications,
because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I
call upon him as long as I live." He comes down to the end of,
or at least the middle of this psalm and he says, I will take
the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I
will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of his people. And what has he said before that?
He says this, what should I render unto the Lord for all his benefits
toward me? Well, Paul says, by the mercies
of God. Surely it comes into the same
position, does it not? When we read all the benefits
of God towards me. It's good, isn't it, to just
think for a moment. Well, more than a moment, for
perhaps many moments, to think of God's benefits toward us,
his mercies toward us, his benefits. The benefit for all of us here
in being privileged today, being able to come and hear the Word
of God read and the Word of God preached, It is a great and wonderful
benefit. Perhaps we look back in our lives,
perhaps we're still there where we don't appreciate it, we didn't
appreciate it. We didn't think it was a benefit
and we didn't really want to be found worshipping God. But
what a mercy if we're able now to look back and recognise today
the great benefit which has been ours. and to come in the words
of the psalmist and say, what shall I render unto the Lord
for all his benefits toward me? Well, the psalmist knew what
he desired to do. He desired to take the cup of
salvation and call upon the name of the Lord and to pay his vows
unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. And what would
that do? that we bring honour and glory to Almighty God. That ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. We are not called upon to give
our life as such, to die as a sacrifice, but we are called upon to give
our life as a living sacrifice. That means that we should present
ourselves to God desiring that he will do with us as it seems
good in his sight. That we will be willing to do
that which the Lord ordains for us and to indeed seek that we
might be amongst those who do come and commit our way unto
the Lord, praying that he will guide and direct us. Very often,
when we come in that way, it's because we have our own plans
and we want God to perform this and that in our lives. It's not
really, is it, submitting ourselves unto our God. It's not really
presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice. No, because we have
our own views and our own desires and our own plans and we seek
God will bless us in that way. Well I believe if the Lord God
really works in our heart we would desire the Lord will take
our lives and indeed let it be consecrated unto thee. That is the work of the Spirit. We have no desire naturally to
come in that way. But it's a blessing if the Holy
Spirit has come to us so that we are able to recognise the
great truth in these words and the importance of them and be
made willing. We could say, in the day of God's
power, and by that I mean when the Lord's Spirit comes into
our hearts, and shows us something of what we are, and something
of what He is, as our great and glorious Saviour, the God of
mercy, the God of favour, to come and say, yes, what a blessing
to be given the right spirit, to present our bodies, a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. something which is acceptable
to God. Many things are acceptable to
man, many things are acceptable in our own eyes to please ourselves. But what a mercy if the Spirit
of God moves us to consider his great mercies toward us and to
therefore come in similar words that we might be able to come
and make our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God. Now, it won't be acceptable to
God, will it, if we come in a wrong way, with a wrong attitude, if
we come in a way really resenting to do such a thing. But I believe
it will be right, as we view what God has done for us, his
Wonderful favour toward us to realise, well, what is there? There's a great debt that we
owe. The Lord took the debt that we
owed. Remember, the wages of sin is
death. That's a payment for sin, death. The Lord Jesus Christ died on
our behalf. If we are among his people, and
that's why we read those glorious words about the gift of God.
Yes, the gift of God is the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord. What a gift that is. What a blessing
it is. And so here we have this statement,
that the Apostle desires that we, as he did, didn't he, in
his life, you know, he presented himself, didn't he? He lived
his life in accordance with God's will and purpose for him. We
can read about it throughout the letters that he writes to
the various churches. We see the example he gives.
How he was never weary was he in well-doing. He always desired
to do the will of God. He always desired to do that
which would bring honour and glory to Almighty God. And therefore
he is qualified by the Spirit of God to write such a statement
as this. that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice, holy, etc., unto God, which is your reasonable
service. And of course, what is it that
actually brings us to this wonderful condition? Well, it's none less,
of course, than the love of God, the love of Christ, the love
of the Holy Spirit toward us. In the second epistle to the
Corinthians, the apostle writes this way, he says, for whether
we be beside ourselves, it is to God, whether we be sober,
it is for your cause, for, this is the great, wonderful favour,
for the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that
if one died for all, then we're all dead. He died for all that
they which should live, which live should not henceforth live
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose
again. So the wonderful truth here is
the love of Christ constrains us. It's not done them with any
rebellion, any hardship, but it's because of Christ's love. That love that brought the Saviour
to this world. The love that enabled him to
give his life, to die upon that cross, in order to redeem our
souls. Your bodies, my body and yours,
a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, And the Apostle then
tells us, do you think this is unreasonable?
Do you think such a statement is unreasonable? The Apostle
says, which is your reasonable service. It's not an unreasonable
thing, is it? As we weigh up the position,
as we think of what the Saviour's done, to redeem our souls. What a cost. What a debt we owe,
don't we? What a debt we owe. A debt that
you and I will never be able to repay. But think of the truth
we have here, that we present our bodies, a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God. Now, of course, we will never
be holy in our old nature. Our new nature is, but our old
nature is not. But there should be that desire, indeed, to be
found like this. We should desire to be found
living nearer to our God, with a more holy life, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service. We often forget, don't
we, simple words like this. It's not unreasonable, as we
consider the cost of our salvation. It's not unreasonable, is it?
It's totally reasonable, which is your reasonable service. And if that is so, then the apostle
gives us some gracious instruction. And he tells us, and be not conforms
to this world. How easy it is to be conformed
to this world. That's why the word of God has
a word like that, to instruct us today, that we are not to
be conforms to this world. No, we are to live in the world,
but we are not to be of it. And we are to live in this world
as a light, a shining light, which reflects the great and
glorious work of the Saviour. And we are to be salt in this
world. We are to be that which brings
savour to the things of God. We are not to be found just carrying
on aimlessly. day by day, and following the
crowd, being taken in by peer pressure, and following those
worldly examples, and unwilling to stand and be separate from
such a sinful world, acknowledging that this is not our home We
have no abiding city here, but we have an inheritance to look
forward to, which is incorruptible and undefiled. That should be
our testimony. That should be the light which
should shine through our life, so that we are not conformed
to this world. Now, it's not easy. It never
has been. It never will be. There's always
opposition. There's always the devil at your
elbow, trying to encourage you, encourage us to be conformed
to this world. And of course, his usual strategy
is to say, well there's not much harm in doing this. Well, there
may not be if you take the first step. But you see the first step
leads to other steps. And before we know where we are,
we find ourselves immersed in things which Do not profit. Again, we really come down, don't
we, to that very wonderful test that you and I can make with
regards to whether it's conforming to the world or not, as to whether
we can ask God's blessing on it. It's a really good test,
isn't it? In our lives, if we have something
before us and we wonder whether we should indulge in it, whether
we should follow that pattern, whether we should be involved
in it, to pray to God that his blessing might be upon it. Well,
you see, that will test it, won't it? Whether we can pray for those
things. and be not conformed to this
world. No, we are therefore to rejoice
in what Christ has done. You know when we think when he's
called us and he's chosen us and he's made us spiritually
alive and we think of the words of the Apostle when he wrote
to the Ephesians when he tells us that it was by grace we're
saved again we don't have anything to boast of ourselves And we
can't boast in our works. We won't boast in our works,
because as the Apostle tells us in the second of Ephesians,
for we are his workmanship. It's his work which is evidenced
in our life. That's what it should be, not
our work, so that we gain acclamation from other people. But what do
they observe? They observe our life, which sets forth the great
and blessed example of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, for we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. We should therefore walk in those
things which are good, and not in those things which are conformed
to this world, which we know, don't we, are not good. The things
of this world, the entertainments of this world, are not good,
are they? And you may say, well, why are
they not good? They're not good because of this reason. They
don't draw us to Christ. What do they do? They draw us
away from Christ. It's quite obvious, isn't it?
But we sometimes need very simple lessons, simple words to direct
us into the great truths of these things. And we should be concerned,
surely, that Christ should be magnified in our lives, not conformed
to this world. How easy it is, isn't it, to
become conformed to this world. You know the Apostle Paul, when
he wrote to the Philippians, a wonderful little letter, and
he tells us, he says, For I know that this shall turn to my salvation
through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus
Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that
in nothing I shall be ashamed. But with all boldness, as always,
so now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether
it be by life or by death." That was a good desire, wasn't it? It's a good prayer, isn't it? What a mercy for us today, if
the Holy Spirit directs us, if we read a word like this, and
be not conformed to this world and the opposite the Apostle
sets before us here. And he tells us it was his earnest
expectation and hope. It wasn't just a little theory
in his mind, was it? No, he desired that Christ might
be exalted and therefore he says it was his earnest expectation
and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed." Well, how many things
perhaps you and I are ashamed of, aren't we, in our life? And
here the Apostle desires that he might not be ashamed. Good
for us today, if you and I are not ashamed. And then he also
tells us with all boldness, but often we're timid, aren't we?
We're weak, we're feeble. So many things, so many excuses. We can often make the whole to
be found praying like this and observing these gracious words
and be not conformed to this world but with all boldness as
always. So now also Christ shall be magnified
in my body whether it be by life or by death. He goes on just
for a moment. For to me to live is Christ and
to die is gain. For me to live is Christ, because
he was taken up with the things of God. Christ was indeed precious
to him. The love of Christ it was that
constrained the Apostle to do those things which were very
hard. We've been going through the
Acts, haven't we, and our prayer meeting addresses, and we've
seen there how the Apostle, at every opportunity, proclaimed
the truth of God. And on so many occasions he was
taken captive, and yet in those places of captivity he was able
to declare the whole counsel of God. Oh my friends, what a
day we live in. But I hope that you and I might
be blessed with this real concern, that we might desire not to be
found conforming to this world. Peter and his epistle also instructs
us in the things which are good and the right way and he tells
us in his first epistle and he says, dearly beloved, I beseech
you, similar word isn't it, the same word, I beseech you, as
strangers and pilgrims, well, does that describe our life?
strangers and pilgrims. Abstain from fleshly lusts which
war against the soul." Just like this, isn't it? Be not conformed
to this world. Abstain from fleshly lusts which
war against the soul. He doesn't say, well now, that's
it. He then says, having your conversation
honest, among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you
as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they shall behold,
glorify God in the day of visitation." Glorify God. My friends, that
should be our concern, shouldn't it? Again, coming back to think
of what Christ has done for us, our desire surely would be to
glorify his great name for his great salvation and the cost
of that salvation in giving his life as that perfect sacrifice
for our sin. Be not conformed then to this
world. Now, we may have been, we perhaps
are today conforming to the world. God knows and we know. But he says, if we are, but be
ye transformed. That means to be changed, doesn't
it? Changed from being men-pleasers
to God-pleasers. Transformed by the renewing of
your mind. That means giving us a different
perspective, different desires, holy desires, God-honouring desires. willing to come and to give ourselves
as a living sacrifice in order that we might serve the Lord
by the renewing of your mind, that which God has done. He's
given us a new heart. He's given us a new heart, my
friends. He's given us a new mind. Our mind's been renewed. renewed to see things so differently
from what we did before, instead of living for the things of this
world. The renewing of our mind directs
us to live for the things of eternity, to have a right priority
in our lives. And so, he says, be transformed
by the renewing of your mind. What a blessing if we have the
evidence that God has renewed our minds. He's brought us out of darkness
into his marvellous light. It is a marvellous light. And
it's a wonderful evidence of the life of God in our souls
when we see things with spiritual eyes as that marvellous light,
the great plan of salvation, and to realise the Lord has prepared
a place of glory for His saints, that ye may prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God. There are so many
words in God's words to encourage us to walk in accordance with
His word. We know, as Paul tells us, In
this same epistle, we know that all things work together for
good to those that love God and to those who are called according
to his purpose. Paul knew it. He had many hardships,
many difficulties, many beatings, many imprisonments, and yet he's
able to make such a wonderful declaration. We know that all
things work together for good. And in this path, what do we
do? We prove the truth of those words. We prove what is that
good and acceptable and perfect will of God. God has a perfect
will for his people, a perfect will, a righteous will, a will
that it brings honor and glory to his great and holy name and
is for our eternal good. And we not therefore recognize
the truth of those words. In an earlier chapter, in the
sixth chapter of this same epistle, the Apostle speaks of uniting
ourselves unto our God. And he says, let not sin therefore
reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey in the lusts thereof. By nature, we're all lustful
people. and we're all tempted to obey the lusts, but he says
here, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey in the lusts thereof, neither yield your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves
unto God. Now of course we know that naturally
we can't do that, but let us pray to God that we might be
given that strength to come and be like this, to yield ourselves
unto God. As those that are alive from
the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness
unto God, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are
not under the law, but under grace. Oh, the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for our
sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be
rich. Oh, what grace, my friends, the
Lord gives. And what a blessing it is if
we're able to view, therefore, his grace, his love, his mercy
toward us, in all that he's done to such unworthy sinners. And here we hear these gracious
words of exhortation, as the Apostle directs us to think upon
all those things which he's recorded previously, and then to be directed
in this way, and also to be truly sincere, sincere in our actions,
sincere in our desires, Not just following our own hard hearts. I beseech you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living
sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. Yes, there will be a cost. Was there not a cost to the Saviour?
My friends, a cost He was willing to pay. He paid it with his life. There's a small cost for you
and me today to put on as it were the whole armour of God
and to follow him and be not conformed to this world but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Amen.