Alright, let's turn back to our
text tonight, Romans 12. The first 11 chapters of this
book of Romans, the Apostle Paul has been teaching the great and
glorious good news of justification by faith, redemption. by the
blood and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. He talks about
God's covenant mercies, His elective grace, His effectual redemption. And now in chapter 12, Paul turns to the results of
redemption. The results of redemption, the
life and walk of those who have been redeemed. Those who are
foreknown, chosen, predestinated to be conformed to the image
of God's Son, called by His Spirit, justified by His blood, kept
by His grace, glorified in Christ. Romans 12 tells us how they walk. How they walk their life of godliness
and grace in Christ. He says here in verse 1, Now
this is a good way to begin a message. Listen. I beseech you, therefore. Therefore, I beseech you. The
word beseech is I appeal to you. I appeal to you. Therefore, brethren,
I appeal to you by these mercies that I've been talking about.
The mercies of God. We didn't choose Him, He chose
us. We didn't love Him, He loved us. God committed His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
That's the mercies of God in Christ, the mercies of God. We
didn't seek Him, He sought us. And I beseech you, I appeal to
you, therefore, by these mercies, or because of these mercies,
in the light of these mercies. And I'll tell you, whatever believers
are called upon to do, Whatever believers are called upon to
say, or to give, or to be, is not in any way motivated by fear. We don't motivate God's people
that way. Not by threats. Not by threats. Not by the whip
of the law. Not by duties, rewards, exchanges. You do this, God,
and I'll do that. But this is the motivation, I
beseech you, I appeal to you by the mercies of God to you. Isn't that it? I appeal to you
brethren, what I'm going to talk about, what follows in this chapter,
what follows in these verses, is based
upon God's mercies to us. These mercies. Turn to Ephesians
4. Here's what he's talking about.
Here's the example. Ephesians chapter 4. He says
here in verse 32. Ephesians 4 verse 32. And be
ye kind. Be kind one to another. That's
what I'm telling you to do. That's what the believer will
do. Be kind. Tender hearted. Forgiving one
another. Even as God, for Christ's sake,
hath forgiven you. That's the motivation. I appeal
to you, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies
a living sacrifice. Your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable under God, which is your reasonable service. What's
he talking about there? I believe Paul's talking about
just exactly what you and I think he's talking about. Your bodies.
That's what he says. I beseech you, I appeal to you,
brethren, by the mercies of God to you, that you present your
bodies, your bodies, your human bodies and faculties, that you
present them to God, that you present them as a living sacrifice. The Old Testament priest brought
a sacrifice. He brought a dead sacrifice.
He brought a lamb that had been slain. Blood had been shed. He brought a sacrifice. Picturing
our Lord's death for our sins, His sacrifice for our transgression. But we don't bring that kind
of sacrifice. Our Lord has died, but we do
bring a sacrifice. Sacrifices of praise and prayer
and thanksgiving and ourselves unto Him. Not as a dead sacrifice,
as a living sacrifice. Living! Now here it is, listen. Let your tongues, that's your
body, let my tongue be employed in prayer, in praise, in thanksgiving,
in kind words to others. Let my tongue be seasoned with
grace. That's a part of my body. That's
my faculties. Bring my body to God as a living
sacrifice and let my tongue be employed in His praise and His
glory and exalting His name. Let my feet, these are my feet,
let my feet take me to the place of worship. Let my feet take
me to the assembly of the saints, for Satan not the assembling
of yourselves together as the manner of some is. Let my feet
take me to the door of God's house. I'd rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked. Let
my feet take me to the door of the needy, to the door of the
lonely, to the door of the sick, to relieve them and help them.
Let my feet take me to those places. Let my arms be used to
embrace the children, to show kindness and compassion and care
to the little ones. Let my arms be used to embrace
the weak, and the weary and the fallen and the old, and help
them along the way. To restore those who have fallen,
let my hands give gifts, support the gospel, write cards and letters
of comfort and encouragement, reach out in a multitude of ways
to serve others, For our Lord said to those standing on His
right hand, I was sick and you visited me.
I was in prison and you came to me. I was hungry and you fed
me. I was weary and you helped me.
I was lonely and you encouraged me. And all these things. They
said, Lord, when did we ever see you in prison? When did we
ever see you hungry? When did we ever see you naked
and clothed? When did we ever do those things
for you? He said, in as much. As you've done it, to the least
of these, my brethren, you did it to me." That's right. That's what he's
talking about. I appeal to you by the mercies
of God to you, God who came to you. who loved you when you were
unlovely, who sought you when you didn't seek Him, who showed
mercy to you when you showed no mercy, who forgave when you
were unforgiving, who loved when you were unlovely. He came to
you and me. Now you, by the mercies of God,
you be merciful as you have received mercy. And he says, isn't that your
reasonable service? Isn't that your reasonable, sir?
Isn't that reasonable? Isn't that what we ought to do? We're not laying a burden on
anyone. We're just saying these are the things we ought to do.
We ought to do. And verse 2, he said, and be
not conformed to this world. Be not conformed. What's that
word conformed mean? I'll tell you what it means.
It means letting the world tell you what to think. Letting this world tell you what
to think. Letting this world tell you with
whom you are to associate. Letting this world tell you what
you are to wear, how you are to dress. That's not what they're wearing.
When I go in to buy something and somebody tells me that's
not what they're wearing, that's what I'm going to buy. If they're
not wearing it, I'm going to wear it. They're not going to
tell me what to wear. The world is not going to dictate
to God's people what they're to wear, what they're to eat,
how they're to fix their hair. What jewelry they are to wear
and where they are to wear it is not going to dictate to this
world. Be not conformed to this world. Don't you let the world
tell you where to live and how to live, what music to listen
to. You listen to certain music and
say, there is something wrong, you are not cool. I don't want
to be cool if it is compromising the grace of God. Don't be conformed
to this world. Don't be conformed to this world. But what? But be ye transformed. Now, you write a word in the
margin of your Bible, the word is changed. When God saves a man, He doesn't
just change his doctrine. When God saves a woman, He does
not just change that person's doctrine. He changes everything
about them. When God saves them, He changes
them. He changes them. Be you changed. Changed. He changes the mind. He changes the heart. The believer
thinks differently. He thinks differently. He is
different. He is not like the world. You see, the world seeks
the praise of men. The believer seeks the praise
of God. And the good report of his brethren. No, we don't seek to please men. But we do seek to please believers. And not offend them. Their consciences. Somebody says, let conscience
be your guide. The Scripture says that too. Not your conscience. The other man's. Isn't that right?
Not thine own, but another. If it offends my brother, leave
it off. The worldly man thinks mostly
of himself. The believer thinks about the
well-being of his brethren. The worldly person cares for
the body primarily. The believer cares for his soul.
The worldly person looks upon what is seen. The believer looks
upon what's not seen. And he's not motivated by what's
seen. The worldly person cares what
the world thinks. The believer cares what the Lord
teaches. Not a matter what the world thinks. Not a matter. So don't be conformed
to this world. Don't let the world, the wicked
world that hates Christ and hates the gospel, and hate God Almighty
tell you where to live and how to live and what music to listen
to and how to dress and where to go and who to associate with, be you changed. Be you changed. Changed where? In your mind.
That's where the change takes place. That's where it takes
place. And if it doesn't take place
there, forget it. Forget it. Look at Titus chapter
3. And I know this when I observe
people who hold to the doctrine, but their deeds do not back up
to the doctrine to which they hold. I know what's happened.
They've had a change of doctrine, but not a change of mind. He says in Titus chapter 3, verse
5, Titus 3, it's not by works of
righteousness which we've done, but according to His mercy, He
saved us. How? By the washing of regeneration
and the what? Renewing of the Holy Ghost. New man, new heart. New man, new heart. Be not conformed
to this world. Don't let it dictate to you.
You should be changed. Changed. changed by the renewing,
the regenerating of your mind, changing of your mind, that you
may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will,
not of the will of God. The will, not the will of men,
the will of God. Not what they think, what He
thinks. Not what they subscribe or prescribe, but what He prescribes.
There's a tree, I'm not sure, if I say it's an oak tree, which
I think it is. Somebody will say, what an oak
tree? But it's some kind of tree, I know, that does not drop its
leaves in the fall. Most of them do. But this tree
doesn't. But the dead leaves hang on. They hang on until spring. And they're pushed off by the
new leaves. That's right. It pushed off.
The new leaves come along and push them up. And the old leaves
drop when the new leaves push them up. And so I'm saying this, that a man and a woman or young
person who has a new heart and a new nature that's in union
with Christ by faith, in whom the Lord dwells, not just His
doctrine but Himself, That renewing of the mind, that
renewing of the mind pushes out the pride, and the envy, and
the malice, and the self-centeredness, and the covetousness, and the,
my way, my rights, what I think, pushes it out, and it's replaced
by the grace of God. But only the grace of God and
the Spirit of God can renew. He said, don't be conformed to
this world. That's an impossibility for a
worldly man. He is of the world. Impossible. But don't be conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed. Translated from darkness to light. From death to life. How? By the renewing of your mind.
Got a new mind. New heart. New desires, new family,
new way, new master. I like to go to a restaurant,
when you read on the door, under new management. Things are going
to be straightened up for a while anyway. Under new management. And that's what a fellow is who's
been saved. He's under new management. And only the Holy Ghost can renew,
regenerate, and change a man's mind. And when He does, the change
is evident. The change is evident. No, you
can't see the doctrine of Christ, but you can see the results of
it. No, you can't see the wind. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and you hear the sound thereof. You can't tell whence it cometh,
but you can see where it's been. Isn't that right? So is the Spirit
of God. You can't see Him, but you can
see where He's been. You can see the results. Verse
3. In this verse, The apostle talks
about the crowning grace, the crowning grace, humility. Before God and men, I say unto
you, by the mercies of God, through the grace given to me, and Paul
speaks from experience, that he was a proud, arrogant, haughty,
Pharisee at one time, and God slew him. He said, I can tell
you about this now. I say unto you through the grace
given to me. He said, God, kill me. I was
blameless before the law, and the law came, and I died. I died. God, kill me. God, strip me. God, broke me. God, humble me. I died. I was once somebody, and now I'm
not worthy to be an apostle. I was worthy to be a Pharisee,
but not an apostle. He said, I'm less than the least
of all the saints. He said, Christ died for sinners
of whom I'm chief. Yeah, he said, I know what I'm
talking about here. I say through the grace given
to me to every man among you, woman and man, don't think of
yourself more highly than you ought to. Don't think of yourselves above
others. Do not have an exaggerated opinion
of your importance. Use sober judgment, but to think
soberly. What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? That's sober thinking. A man
can receive nothing except it be given him from above. Let
not the wise man glory in his wisdom, the rich man in his riches.
The strong man in his strength, God can make that strong man
a 95 pound dying creature in two days
or two weeks. God can make that rich man poverty
stricken with a snap of his fingers. And that wise man, an idiot. But don't think of yourself
more highly than you ought to think. Don't exaggerate your
importance. Don't do that. You know, God
hates pride. One of the men read in the prayer
meeting tonight from Proverbs 16. Listen to this. I don't remember
reading the Scripture before. I know I have, but I didn't see
it until tonight. Proverbs 16, verse 5. Proverbs 16 verse 5, everyone,
everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to God. Isn't
that something? Everyone that's proud, proud
of whatever you're proud of. Proud of your face, proud of
your race, proud of your place, proud of your grace, proud of
whatever it is. God hates pride. He said six
things God hates. I've read this. Seven are abomination
to Him. Number one, a proud look. God hates it. And pride and grace do not go
together. They're incompatible. They cannot
live in the same heart. I beg your pardon. It is an impossibility. A proud man is a lost man. A
proud woman is a lost person. Everybody God saves, He slays. Everybody God saves, He strips.
Everybody God saves, He humbles them. God giveth grace to the
humble and resisteth the proud. It's incompatible. So I beseech
you, brethren, I say to you through the grace given to me, to every
man that's among you, don't think of yourself more highly than
you ought to think. I ought you to think. Our righteousness
is a filthy rag. That's how we ought to think.
Who am I, David said, what is my house that you should show
such mercy to me? Anything this side of hell is
mercy to me. That's right. Mercy, the mercy
of God in Christ. As God soberly, think soberly,
verse 3, as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith,
God has dealt to us our gifts, His gifts to us, We have a little
knowledge, we don't have all knowledge, we know in part. We
have a little faith, we don't have all faith, only a little. We have a little understanding,
not much. We have some talent, not a whole
lot. None of us have all anything,
only a measure. Only a measure. Why would I be
proud of a portion? He's got everything. Just a portion. That's what I
have. And before I read these verses now, I want to read another
Scripture. In verse 4 and 5, I'm going to
save you for a moment. Turn to 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 6. This was a blessing
to me. 1 Corinthians 6. Turn over here a minute. Verse
19 and 20. Know ye not your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of
God? You're not your own. You are not your own. That's
the words I want us to be, for you and I to see. You are not
your own. You're bought with a price. Therefore
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. And here's the second thing.
We're not our own. We belong to Him. And I remind
all of us of this, we're not our own, we belong to a body.
Christ is the head and the church is the body. We belong to a body. We're not our own, we're part
of a body. This arm belongs to this body. It's a part of this
body. This ear is a part of this body.
It's not its own. It's not the eye. It's not the
hand, it's not the foot. It has its own duties, responsibilities,
and assignments, but it is part of a body. It's not its own.
And you and I are not our own. We belong to Him who bought us,
and we're members one of another. Now watch it. Listen to me. Read
verse 4 and 5 now in our text. Romans 12, verse 4 and 5. For
as we have many members in our bodies, And all members have
not the same office, that's what I said. They don't have all the
same assignments and duties. So we being many are one body
in Christ and everyone members one of another. Oh, members one of another, yes. Believers are to think this way.
And until we can think this way, we have no understanding of what
this means. I'm part of a body. So when I
consider some major decision, and I consider some major act,
I must consider this body of which I'm a part, this family
of which I'm a part. It's not what's best for me,
it's what's best for the body. I hope my ear doesn't start thinking
what's best for it. Or my eye, you know, would look,
wondering off this way, you know, wait a minute, I'm driving a
car down the road. The eye says, I don't want to watch the road.
I want to do what I want to do. That'd be bad business, wouldn't
it? This body has got to think as
a body. That's what I'm saying. We're
members one of another. And when I'm thinking about my
plans and my ways and my thoughts and my decisions and my attitude,
how am I affecting this body? Come to church all bent out of
shape and on the outs with somebody, and I'm hurting the body. I'm
hurting the body. I'm hurting the worship. I'm
causing part of the body to grieve. It's not my will, it's the will
of God for the body. I'm just a part of it. What I do, what I say, how I
act, somebody says it's nobody's business. It is if you're part
of a body, isn't it? If you're part of a body. And if gangrene sets in, cut
it off so the body can have some relief from the pain. It's part
of the body. If it's a healthy part of the
body, Somebody says, I don't intend to sacrifice my rights
and my individuality and my peculiarities to suit everybody else. You will
if you're part of a body. Isn't that right? And what people are doing, there's
no rebel parts in Christ's body. I'm telling you. I'm getting
stronger on this as I get older. There's no rebel parts in God's
body. It's a peaceful body. And a happy
body. And a spiritual body. And a body
that belongs to Him. I'm not my own. I'm His. I'm His. And it does matter,
doesn't it? How I act and my attitude and
spirit. It matters if I'm part of a body.
And you underscore this right here, we don't get any further.
In verse 5, every one of members one of another. Think about it, I've heard just
this week of another couple getting a divorce in another church.
Well, they say it's their business. No, it's not either. They're
part of a body. They're hurting a body. They're
hurting a family. They're hurting the testimony
of God. They're hurting the witness of the gospel. They're hurting
the body. And they're selfish. Selfish. That's right. And they're
not thinking like a member of the body. They're thinking like
a rebel. Thinking like a rebel. That's not right either. Members
one of another. And when we're members one of
another, we consider any major decision, any act, any deed,
any attitude, any spirit, how it's going to affect that body. And I tell you, we ought to be
willing to lay down our lives for this body, this body of believers. I beseech you, appeal to you,
brethren, by the mercies of God. Asking too much of a fellow whom
God took out of the dunghill? Took out of the dunghill, took
out of the grave by His grace and washed him and made him a
son of the King. Gave him a crown and a glorious
hope for eternity and blessed him with all spiritual blessings
in Christ. Is it asking too much for him
to consider the body? I don't think so. So that's why
I appeal to you, by the mercies of God, that you present your
bodies, and this body, as a living sacrifice. I'll have to sacrifice my way,
my pride, my time, my money, I'll have to sacrifice, but that's
a living sacrifice. Christ gave His life. That's
the sacrifice. None of us have ever suffered
under blood. A living sacrifice. Whole and
acceptable to God. And how can God accept anything
that's not all of me? How can He? How can God be God
and take what's left? How can God be God and put up
with rebels? He won't, and He doesn't. If
any man would be my disciple, let him take up his cross and
follow me. That's what Scripture says. Read the rest of that chapter,
and maybe we'll continue it in another message, but it's a blessing
to us. Number 328. Let's sing 328. Close to thee.