Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program. I'm glad
you could join us. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles today with the message, I'll be preaching from
Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. Romans 12, 1 and 2. And the title of the message
is Motivated by Mercy. Motivated by Mercy. And this
is where the Apostle Paul shifts from the doctrinal part of his
letter to the Roman church to the issues of obedience, the
obedience of a believer. Some people say, well, there's
the doctrinal and then there's the practical. And I think what
they mean by that is that this is where Paul says, now let's
put in practice what we've learned and what God's revealed to us
and what we believe. And that's okay, but to me, the
whole book of Romans is practical, very practical and doctrinal.
We'll see doctrine in the last chapters, as you will, in the
first. But there is a shift here of thought from the basic teachings,
the doctrines of the scripture, the gospel doctrines of salvation
by the grace of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, to believers
conducting ourselves in this world. And he says in verse one
of Romans chapter 12, he says, I beseech you, that's saying
I beg you. This is an earnest plea that
the apostle uses. I beseech you therefore, and
I'll talk about that therefore in a minute, find out what it's
there for. It's a big therefore. Brethren, and that's the key
now. He's talking to brethren. This is to believers. And he
says, by the mercies of God, that's where I got the title
from, motivated by mercy, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice. Your physical body,
but that also includes the heart, the mind, the affections, and
the will. You present your bodies a living sacrifice. Now the sacrifice
here, is in the same vein of following Christ. Christ said, if any man come
after me and then sacrifice yourself, deny yourself. And so it's a
situation of living for the glory of God in Christ. And he says,
holy and acceptable unto God. Now I want to make a point here.
because it's important if we are going to understand this
issue of the motives of mercy, motivated by mercy. When he says,
present your bodies a living sacrifice, he's talking about
obedience to Christ, obedience to the word of God. In other
words, believers who are saved by grace and not by their works
still are to work as they are motivated, not by a legal fear
of punishment, or mercenary promises of reward, earned reward, but
by the mercies of God. And he says, present your bodies
a living sacrifice. Now look here, it's not in order
to be holy and acceptable unto God. Do you understand what I'm
saying? Not, he says, you obey not in order to be holy and not
in order to be acceptable to God. but you obey because you
already are holy. Now, the word holy means to be
separated. Most people, when they think
of the word holy or holiness, which in the New Testament is
sometimes translated as sanctification, sanctified. If you're holy, you're
sanctified. Most people think of that in
the terms of moral purity. But that's not really the essence
of it in the life of a Christian. Now, don't misunderstand me. Believers are to strive for moral
purity. We should strive for that. That's
part of the warfare of the flesh and the spirit, sinful human
nature, and the spirit of God at odds with each other. But
to be separated means that you're saved by grace, separated out
by God. Not because you're somebody.
and not because you're better than all other people, or not
because you've done such and such, and not done this and that. Separated by the sovereign grace
of God, who has mercy upon whom he will have mercy, that's back
in Romans nine, and who will be gracious to whom he will be
gracious. It's a sovereign choice of God.
It's not your choice. Now you do, if God saves you,
you will choose Christ. You'll choose the Lord. But that's
not a product of your own innate goodness or your own free will.
That's the product of the sovereign power and grace of God who makes
his people willing in the day of his power. But he says, now
obey, present your bodies, your whole body, your legs, your hands,
your eyes, your brain, all of it, Your mind a living sacrifice
one who has already been made alive In other words, you're
not you you're to do this not in order to attain or maintain
life But you're to do this because you already are made alive in
Christ based upon his blood to put away my sins and and His
righteousness to justify me, which demands that I have spiritual
life, that I be born again by the Spirit, born from above,
be given spiritual eyes to see and spiritual ears, and I've
been separated out. That's what God does for His
people. That separation is first described in terms of eternity. saying that God, before the foundation
of the world, chose a people to save by His grace. He separated
them. And that's divine electing grace. That's what the Bible teaches.
and then they're separated out because he has justified us based
upon the righteousness of Christ imputed, and that's what that
therefore refers to, the grace of God. Salvation is not by my
obedience. It's not by any sinner's obedience. Obedience to God is the fruit
of salvation, not the cause of salvation. And so God has justified
His people. That means He's forgiven their
sins. He will not charge them with their sins. Their sins are
not imputed to them, accounted to them, reckoned to them. They've
been imputed to Christ. And He imputed Christ's righteousness
to them. And that's part of that separation.
You see, I'm righteous not by my works, but I'm righteous by
the work of Christ. And my works, now listen to me,
my works of obedience, my attempts to obey God, are in no way a
part of the righteousness by which God justifies me. That's
all Christ. Hebrews 10, 14 says, for by one
offering, He, Christ, hath perfected forever them that are sanctified,
them that are made holy, them that are separated. And so we're
justified. God cannot charge His people
with sin. Romans 8, 33. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. God's
elect cannot be condemned. They're separated. Who can condemn
us? It's Christ that died. Christ
who is risen again, seated at the right hand of the Father,
making intercession for His people. And so that's what that holy
means. This is what a believer already is. Not by his obedience,
not by his works, but by the obedience unto death of the Lord
Jesus Christ as my surety, my substitute, and as my redeemer. And so that's another way I'm
made holy. I was bought and paid for by Christ in his blood on
the cross. That's redemption. So we're made
holy by the blood of Christ. And then the Holy Spirit comes
in time because of what Christ did on the cross for his people. The Holy Spirit comes in time
and brings all whom Christ redeemed under the preaching of the gospel.
That's a separation. They come out of the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of light, separated from darkness. And they come under the true
gospel wherein the righteousness of God is revealed, the glorious
person, the finished work of Christ, the sovereign grace of
God, the sovereign mercy of God. And you see, that establishes
the motives for obedience. And He separates them out by
giving them spiritual life. They are born again. They're
spiritually raised from the dead. And they're given knowledge that
they didn't have before. A knowledge, just not mental
ascent, but a knowledge that they cannot deny. A knowledge
that they believe because He gives them faith in Christ. He brings them to repentance
of dead works. And He causes them to persevere
in the faith. And that's the separation. So
go back to Romans 12, 1. He says, I beseech you, therefore,
because of what God has done for you, through Christ, not because you
earned it, not because you deserved it, not based on your works,
not even based upon your faith, because faith is that part of
what God gives you. For by grace are you saved through
faith, that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. You see, I don't have all these
things because I believe, I am brought to faith, the gift of
God, to faith in Christ because of all these things already given
to me by virtue of the merits of Christ. Now, a lot of so-called
Christian people have that upside down. They have the cart before
the horse. And that's deadly. That's a false
gospel. But you see, we've been separated
out. So present yourselves a living
sacrifice, sacrificing yourself for the cause and the glory of
Christ, praising Him, worshiping Him, because you're holy. You've been separated. And because
you're acceptable unto God. Now how is a sinner made acceptable
unto God? By the blood of Jesus Christ.
Not by his works. It's not my works or my obedience
that makes me acceptable unto God. Ephesians 1 says we're accepted
in the beloved. 1 Peter 2 speaks of the sacrifices
of praise and obedience and worship being acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ. And so he says, acceptable unto
God and based upon the righteousness of Christ. And he says, which
is your reasonable service. It's only reasonable, it's only
right. Now, he says, you know, a lot
of people bring a charge, an accusation against the preaching
of God's grace, which states that all of salvation is conditioned
on Christ and His work on behalf of His people, as I say, as their
surety, their substitute, their redeemer, and totally not based
upon or conditioned on our works. Because of that, they'll bring
the charge and they'll say, well then, what is there to motivate
me to behave, to be good, to try to be good? Where's the motivation? And let me interpret that for
you. A person who thinks that way is not a believer because
they don't see the motive of mercy. Motivated by mercy. What is mercy? Well, mercy is
God not giving me what I deserve, what I've earned. And what do
I deserve and what have I earned? My friend, I deserve and have
earned nothing but eternal damnation. That's because I'm a sinner.
The Bible teaches we were ruined by the fallen Adam. We were all
brought into a state of sin and death. We're born spiritually
dead in sins. We have no knowledge and no desire
for the things that glorify God in Christ. We're in unbelief. We're rebels. Now that doesn't
mean that we're all immoral in the way that men and women today
look at immorality, but it means that we have no thoughts or value
for the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And so we fall
short. That's why we quote Romans 3.23
all the time. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. Well, what does that mean? First
of all, what is the glory of God? Well, it's Christ. The Bible
tells us that the glory of God is revealed in Christ. He's the
Shekinah glory, the fullness of God's glory, the fullness
of the Godhead. If you want to glorify God, you must come to
and through Christ. who is God in human flesh without
sin. God manifest in the flesh. He
is the one who is the eternal word, who was made flesh and
dwelt, and that word in John 1 14 is tabernacled among us. And that tabernacle was the place
where God showed forth His glory, remember, into Israel under the
Old Covenant. Well, that tabernacle's no more.
Now it's all Christ. And that's what that tabernacle
typified and prophesied of. The glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And so, by nature, the natural
man, by as we are naturally born, spiritually dead, we won't receive
the things of the Spirit of God. Neither can we know them. They're
spiritually discerned, spiritually judged. And we always judge them
to be not valuable. And we judge more like cane of
old. Our works are valuable. Our efforts
are valuable. Our sincerity is valuable. And
what I'm telling you is that in all of those areas, we all
fall short. The Bible says in Romans 3.10,
there's none righteous, no not one. When the Bible says that
we've all sinned, which literally means we've missed the mark.
And what is the mark? The glory of God in Christ. None
of us come up to snuff, in other words. We cannot attain the goal
of the perfection of righteousness that can only be found in Christ.
I quote all the time Acts 17 31 where Paul on Mars Hill told
him that God has commanded all men everywhere to repent because
he has appointed a day in the which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained and that
he hath given assurance unto all men and that he hath raised
him from the dead. Now that's Christ and the righteousness
there is the perfect obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You see, it took the work of Christ, the God-man,
in His obedience unto death on the cross, to attain the righteousness
that God requires to glorify Him. Now you and I, as good as
we try to be, and we should try to be the best we can be, but
as good as you and I can try to be, we cannot attain that
perfection of righteousness. You say, well, it's unfair for
God or unjust of God to require such a high standard. No, it's
not, and I'll tell you why. Because God has provided the
perfection of that standard in one person based upon one act,
the person and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you believe
in him. With the heart, man believeth
unto righteousness. How do we do that? We believe
in Christ. We rest in him. So back here
in the book of Romans, that's what he's talking about. That's
the mercies of God. God has not, I deserve death
and hell. God's not gonna give that to
me because Christ went under that wrath of God for me. My
sins were imputed to him and he drank damnation dry on my
behalf. And if he died for me, now listen
to me now, if he died for me, I cannot be condemned. These
people who go around saying, well, he died for everybody on
condition that they believe, that is not biblical. And I'm
not, I don't wanna offend you, but if this does offend you,
then so be it. The death of Christ is the assurance
and security of the salvation of all for whom he died, and
he redeemed them. Somebody says, well, you don't
have to receive it. You don't have to believe it.
God has provided for that for His people. He prophesied in
the Old Testament. He said, I'll put a new heart
within them. I'll put a new spirit within
them. He said, I'll cause them to walk in my statutes. That's
the power of God. So you understand this now. When
people hear these truths, that our works are totally excluded
from the ground of attaining or maintaining salvation, and
that's what Paul concluded back, for example, in Romans 5.21.
He says, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life." Now how? By your
efforts to obey? By your faith? No. By Jesus Christ
our Lord. Now faith is required, but God
is the one who provides what he requires. And so somebody
comes along in Romans 6.1, they say, well, what shall we say
then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Somebody
says, well, what is there to motivate me to obey God? I beseech
you, verse one of chapter 12, I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God. Now, mercy is related to grace. And what is grace? Well, grace
is God giving to me blessings that I don't deserve and have
not earned. And the Bible says in Ephesians
1.3, that we worship God, blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's
all the blessings of salvation. That includes spiritual life.
That includes faith. That includes repentance and
perseverance. And that's how God, through the
Holy Spirit in the preaching of the gospel, sheds abroad in
the hearts of his people the love of God. God loved me unconditionally,
but there were conditions on his love, but those conditions
are fulfilled by Jesus Christ in my stead. And that's what
this reasonable service is about. Look back at verse one. He says,
this is your reasonable service. In other words, if God has blessed
me in such a way, then how can I respond except by presenting
my whole self a living sacrifice. And there's the motives, the
motivated by mercy. What are the motives for obedience
for a believer? It's the motive of mercy. God's been merciful to me. It's
the motive of grace. God has given me an inheritance
incorruptible through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's love. Love to God. He loved me. His
love for me is a motive. That's what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians
5.14 when he said, the love of Christ constraineth me. It's
the love of Christ for me. His unconditional love that constrains
me, motivates me, drives me, and then gratitude. Thank you,
Lord. Gratitude is more than just bowing
your head and saying grace. Gratitude is more than just looking
up in the sky and saying thank you, Lord. Gratitude is set forth
in action as we seek to honor God not only with our lips, but
with our whole selves, from the heart. And verse two, and I'll
go into this more next time, he 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 I'll major a little bit more
on that verse next time in the second message on motivated by
mercies. But here's the issue. You know,
I stress on this program quite a bit because I realize that
most everybody that I preach to, even those who don't come
to our assembly, our church here at Eager Avenue Grace Church,
that most people claim to be Christian. And I'm afraid that
there's so many who really don't even know what a Christian is.
And so I try to bring you messages that will help you and help me
to examine ourselves according to the Word of God, to know whether
or not we're truly believers according to God's Word. Not
just what somebody tells me, not what the preacher tells me,
not what I tell you, but what God says. Examine yourself whether
you be in the faith. What is the faith? It's the gospel.
It's the therefore here in Romans 12, because of what God has taught
us and revealed to us concerning salvation by His grace through
the blood, the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Am
I truly looking to Christ? Am I truly a sinner saved by
grace? And there's people who they don't
really know what the doctrine is. In fact, there are churches
who claim to be Christian. They'll tell you they don't even
major on doctrine. Well, that's a lie. And that's false. That's false doctrine. That's
a false church. You need to be taught the doctrines
of grace, the doctrine of grace, the teachings of Christ from
the Bible. And that's what I preach from.
So one big part of this self-examination is determining our motives. Why? I can say I want to be like Christ. I want to obey God. I want to
honor God in my life. I don't want to claim to be His
child by my words and deny Him by my living, my life, my conduct,
my conversation. I want to honor Him. What motivates
me to do that? Is it legalism? Fear of punishment? Loss of reward? Is it a mercenary? Is that what motivates me? I'm
doing it so I can have a bigger reward than you in heaven? You
know, this idea of rewards in heaven, earned rewards based
upon your works, it's not biblical. It's legalism. You're a mercenary. When God saves His people, He
makes them willing, loving, bond-servants of Christ. Their debt to law
and justice has been paid by the death of Christ. They're
not trying to earn their way into God's favor, earn their
way into heaven. If we're saved, we're equally
saved by the grace of God based on the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ freely imputed to us and received by God-given
faith. And that establishes the motives
of mercy, motivated by mercy, the sure mercies of David, that
mercy that God shows through Christ in His death on the cross
to save me from my sins. I hope you'll join us next week
for another message from God's Word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1102 Eager Drive. Albany, Georgia, 31707. Contact
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at www.TheLetterRofGrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.