The Results of Redemption

Q: What does Romans 12 teach about the results of redemption?

Romans 12 teaches that the results of redemption involve presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to God, reflecting a transformed life. In Romans 12, Paul urges believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is their reasonable service. This act of worship is rooted in the mercies of God and is reflective of the changes that take place in the life of a true believer. The radical transformation that comes from knowing Christ leads to a life that no longer conforms to worldly standards but seeks to embody the character and will of God. As believers, our actions and lifestyles become a reflection of God's grace at work in us, demonstrating the significant results of our redemption.

Q: How do we know that believers are called to a transformed life?

We know believers are called to a transformed life because scripture states that being in Christ makes us new creatures. The call to a transformed life is emphasized throughout the New Testament, particularly in 2 Corinthians 5:17, which asserts that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; old things have passed away, and all things have become new. This transformation requires a renewal of the mind, encouraging believers to abandon their former ways of thinking and behaving. As we grow in understanding God's grace and mercy, our desires and motivations change, leading us to seek a lifestyle that honors God and rejects sin. This process of transformation is confirmed by the work of the Holy Spirit within us, guiding us to live according to God's good, acceptable, and perfect will.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to present their bodies as a living sacrifice?

It's important for Christians to present their bodies as living sacrifices to actively demonstrate their love and commitment to God. Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is an essential aspect of Christian discipleship and worship. In Romans 12:1, Paul urges believers to offer their bodies to God as an act of worship that is both holy and pleasing. This act signifies a total commitment to God, acknowledging that our lives, thoughts, and actions are to be dedicated to honoring Him. When believers recognize that they are redeemed through Christ's sacrifice, they are motivated by gratitude to live in a way that reflects His love and grace. Moreover, this sacrificial life serves to inspire and challenge others within the faith community, encouraging them to embrace the life of grace and good works that adorns the gospel.

Q: What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of the mind?

Being transformed by the renewing of the mind means that a believer's thoughts and perspectives are aligned with God's truth. Transformation by the renewing of the mind, as stated in Romans 12:2, involves a fundamental change in how believers think and perceive the world around them. This renewal occurs through the work of the Holy Spirit and the application of God's Word. As Christians meditate on scripture and embrace the truths revealed in the Bible, their minds are reshaped to reflect God's will. This cognitive change leads to practical outcomes in daily life, wherein believers no longer conform to society's standards but instead live in a manner consistent with God's purpose. Ultimately, such transformation allows believers to discern what is good, acceptable, and perfect in God's eyes.

Q: How do believers express their faith through their actions?

Believers express their faith through actions that align with God’s character and commandments, reflecting His glory in their lives. The expression of faith through actions is deeply rooted in the understanding of redemption. Believers are called to live out their faith in practical ways, embodying the teachings of Jesus and reflecting His character in their daily lives. Romans 12:2 encourages believers to live transformed lives that reject worldly pressures and instead embrace godliness. This involves engaging in acts of service, pursuing righteousness, and cultivating a community marked by love and compassion. Each believer is gifted differently, with various callings that serve not only individual growth but also the edification of the church. Thus, through actionable faith, believers participate in God's work, contributing to His kingdom and glorifying Him.

Now back to Romans 12. I don't believe that anyone here this morning who has sat
under this ministry for any length of time, I don't believe that anyone is
unfamiliar with Paul's subject matter in the first eleven chapters
of Romans. When we preach a message such
as the one that I'm preaching this morning, sometimes we leave
ourselves open for criticism by men who feel like that we
haven't clearly preached the gospel. But I never stand here that I
don't preach the gospel. Because the gospel is Christ. And I preach Christ and Him crucified. And everything that we are and
everything that we have and everything we'll ever hope to be is by the
grace of God through Christ Jesus our Lord. I know that and you
know that. That's a settled issue. That's
not up for debate. And Paul sets forth clearly,
so clearly and plainly, redemption purposed by God, purchased by
Christ, and applied sovereignly by His invincible Spirit. Right? We have man's ruin set
forth in the first three chapters of the book of Romans. We have
God's covenant mercies, all those blessed mercies of David, the
sweet, sure mercies of David in Christ Jesus. And we have
the ultimate victory. Christ shall not fail. The purposes
of God will be accomplished. We have that ultimate victory
of God's grace in the calling out of his people, for whom he
did foreknow. He did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of His Son. And whom He predestinated to
be conformed to the image of His Son, He justified. And whom
He justified, He glorified. And whom He glorified, they'll
hear that gospel, won't they? And believe it. And what shall
we say to these things? We say, if God be for us, who
can be against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely
give us all things? Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth? Who
can separate me from the love of Christ, the love of God which
is in Christ? And then he closes this section,
the first eleven chapters, with this this song of praise found
in Romans 11, verse 33. He closes those 11 chapters with
this song of praise to our sovereign, unchangeable, infinite God. Listen to it. Romans 11, 33.
Oh, the depths. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. Unsearchable are his
judgments and his ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind
of the Lord? Who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him?
And it shall be recompensed unto him again. Who can drive a bargain
with God? For of him, through him, to him
are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. No doubt about
it, is there? Now, from Romans 12 through 16,
Romans chapter 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, the Apostle Paul turns
to the results of redemption. We have the cause of redemption,
the purpose of God. We have the basis of redemption,
the blood of Christ. We have the victory of redemption,
the Holy Spirit revealing Christ to the heart. Now we have the
results of redemption. In other words, the life of grace,
the life of godliness, the true believer, those whom he foreknew,
predestinated, justified, called, whom he will glorify, the life
and the walk and the conduct and the conversation and the
attitude of those people right here on this earth. That's what
Romans 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 deals with. Now before I get into Romans
12, let me establish four things. A true believer recognizes his
sins. He recognizes his weaknesses,
his infirmities, He recognizes them. He owns them. But he never
justifies them. Never, never, never. The believer,
the true believer condemns sin in himself more than he condemns
it in others. That's what Paul said back here
in Romans 7. You're familiar with that. He
said, now, verse 20 or verse 21, I find a law that when I
would do good, evil is present with me. I delight in the law
of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin, O wretched man that I am. The true believer
knows his weaknesses, he knows his infirmities, but he doesn't
justify them. He condemns them in himself more
quickly than in anyone else. He's harder on himself than he
is on others. because he knows himself. Is
that right? All right, secondly, a true believer,
a true, one of these people we've been talking about in the earlier
chapters, a true believer longs to be like Christ. He knows he's
going to be like Christ. He's going to be conformed to
the image of Christ. He's going to be made like the
Son of God, but he longs right now. to be like Christ. He longs to grow in the grace
and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. He longs to manifest
the fruit of God's Spirit daily right here on this earth in His
walk and in His talk. He longs to, like the Apostle
Paul, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him. Oh, that
I may know Him, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrected
life and be conformed to that life. That's what he's talking
about. I want to be conformed, to be like Jesus. All I ask is
to be like Him. Let Thy mercy and grace and love
and truth be manifested in my life. That's what the believer
wants. And then thirdly, the believer knows that God gets
glory in the forgiveness of his sins. He knows that. He knows that the brightest diamonds
and jewels are displayed on the blackest velvet. When you go
in a jewelry store and they're going to show you a diamond,
they don't just lay it down on the counter, not real ones. They take out a black velvet
cloth and spread it over the counter. And they'll lay that
gold or silver ring and diamond on that black cloth and my heart
glistens and they'll have these lights everywhere that just shine
down on that thing and it'll put your eyes out. And I know
and you know that God gets glory in the forgiveness and the salvation
of a wretch like me. Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me. The more rich I am, the more
amazing that grace. I know that. God saves sinners. Our Lord said, I didn't come
to call the righteous, I came to call sinners to repentance. I know that. But that believer,
while he knows, while he knows that God gets great glory in
the salvation of great sinners, and God gets great glory in the
forgiveness of the most wretched. You take what our Lord was here
on the earth. He didn't go to the temple and find his people.
He went to the tombs. He went to the dives of sin. That's where he found them. They
were wretched sinners. They knew they were sinners.
But the believer knows that, yet he never says, let's do evil
that good may come. Oh, no, no, no, no. That's what
Paul deals with over here in Romans 3. Did you ever see that
before? Somebody brought that up. Somebody
brought up that objection. In Romans 3, verse 7, somebody
said, Well, if the truth of God, Romans 3, 7, hath more abounded
through my life under his glory, Why am I, why yet am I also judged
as a sinner? And not rather as we slanderously,
we be slanderously reported if some affirm that we say, let's
do evil that good may come. Their damnation is just. Any
man who justifies his sin based on the free grace of God, let
him be damned falsely. And then fourthly, we know this,
that where sin did abound, Grace did much more of that. Where
sin did abound, where sin did overflow, old Augustus Toplady,
who wrote Rock of Ages, sat down one time and began to figure
out how many times a man was sinned in a lifetime. Did you
ever read that article where he tried to figure out how many
sins he'd committed in his lifetime? And he came up with 5,622,000,000. That's a lot of sin. And that
would be underestimating it. But Paul said where sin abounded,
where sin overflowed, grace did much more overflow. Right? But that believer never says,
turn to Romans 6 and listen to what somebody said over here.
He doesn't say this, Romans 6 verse 1 and 2. Romans 6, verse 1 and 2, well
what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? If the fountain of cleansing
is flowing so rich and full and wide and deep, let's give it
something to wash away. No, no. God forbid, verse 2, God forbid,
how shall they that are dead to sin live any longer therein? God does not save any man and
leave him like he is. No, sir. He doesn't save any
man and leave him like he is. Never does. Paul said, if any
man be in Christ, he's a new creature. He's a new creature. Turn with me to Ephesians 4.
This is what we're talking about. We're talking about this morning
the new man, the new creation. the new creation. Listen to this,
Ephesians 4 verse 21. If so be that you've heard him,
and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus Christ,
that you put off, put off concerning the former conversation, the
old man, the former behavior, the former attitude and spirit,
which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed
in the spirit of your mind. And that you put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore, putting away lying,
speak every man truth with his neighbor. Remember one of another.
Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down on your
wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole,
steal no more. But rather let him labor, working
with his hands a thing which is good, that he may have to
give to those that need. Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good, to the use
of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Grieve
not the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of
redemption. And let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor
and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, grudges,
hatred. And be ye kind, be ye kind one
to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God For Christ's
sake, I have forgiven you. Now that's what we're talking
about here in Romans 12. So let's look at it, verse 1.
Verse 1, Romans 12. And Paul said, I beseech you,
I appeal to you, I urge you, therefore. Therefore, therefore,
what? Barnard said one time, if you see a therefore, find
out what it's there for. I beseech you, therefore, because
of the mercies of God. See that? I beseech you, therefore,
brethren, by these mercies of God. It's God who chose you.
It's God who called you. It's God who redeemed you. It's
God who paid your debt. It's God who gave you Christ.
I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that you present your
body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service. Whatever we're called upon to
be, whatever we're called upon to do, whatever we're called
upon to give is never for reward. It's never as a bargain with
God. I hear these preachers on television
talking about what God will do if you do certain things. God
never, nowhere in this world, Are we taught to be anything
or do anything or give anything as a bargain to get something
from God? And Paul doesn't motivate us
here with fear either. If you don't do this, God will
do that. But rather he bases it on this foundation. I beseech
you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to you. That's
what it's based on. by the mercies of God. We are
motivated by the mercies of God to us. We are to love as he loved
us. We are to forgive as he forgave
us. Isn't that what he said? We are
to be merciful as we have received mercy. We are to give as God
has given to us. And if we don't learn that, there's
no use going any further. That's what the whole thing's
based on. I beseech you, brethren, what I'm talking, what I'm going
to talk about us being and doing and giving is based wholly and
solely on this motivation, the mercies of God. Let me show you
that in 2 Corinthians 5. Whole Romans 12 there, and turn
to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 14. This is Paul talking. And
he says here in verse 14 of 2 Corinthians 5, listen, for the love of Christ
constraineth us. The love of Christ motivates
me. The love of Christ restrains me. The love of Christ is my
motivation, because we thus judge, if one died for all, then we're
all dead. And that he died for all, that
they should live. That they which live should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them
and rose again. So that's the foundation. I beseech
you, I urge you, I appeal to you, therefore brethren, by the
mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. Now this is not a dead sacrifice
on an altar. We get a picture here of the
priest coming to the altar and he has selected a lamb and slain
that lamb and brought that lamb on the altar. That's a dead sacrifice. That's a blood sacrifice. But
here we're talking about a living sacrifice. Present our bodies
to the Lord as a living sacrifice. What are bodies? Well, listen
to me. Let my tongue be employed in
the praise of God. Let my tongue be employed in
the praise of God. Somebody says, well, I can't
sing, I can't preach, I can't teach, I can't talk. I don't
believe there's any one of us here that cannot in some measure,
in some way, let our tongues be employed in the praise of
God. Giving thanks. Let my tongue be employed in
speaking good. Not only to others, but of others. Let my tongue be employed in
thanksgiving. Let me refrain from murmuring
and complaining and finding fault with Almighty God's good providence.
Let my tongue, that's my body. In fact, James said it's the
part of the body that's smallest, but can cause the greatest havoc. He said it's like a rudder on
a ship, it's a little member, but it can turn that thing any
way it wants to. Let my tongue, and then let my
feet, let my feet take me to the house of God to worship.
Let my feet take me to other lands to preach the gospel. Let
my feet take me to the door of the needy to minister to them. Let my feet take me in paths
of righteousness and godliness and truth. They let my arms,
this is what it is, bring your bodies, present your bodies,
a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, holy and acceptable only in Christ,
I know that, but in Christ they are holy and acceptable. I hear
people say, well, we don't have any good deeds. Let me tell you
something. In ourselves dwelleth no good
thing, in this flesh dwelleth no good thing, but I'm telling
you, The blood of Christ and the sacrifice of Christ and the
intercession of Christ makes holy before God not only you,
but what you do, and what you do in His name. And those works
are accepted in the name of and for the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and they're good works. That's right. We're His workmanship
created unto what? Good works. which God hath ordained
that we should walk in them. Let my arms and my hands reach
out, reach out to lift the fallen, reach out to embrace the weary,
reach out to encourage the lonely, reach out to feed the hungry,
reach out to make somebody's way a little more pleasant. Present
my body. Not, I walk down an aisle and
make a decision for Jesus, and that's it. I go to a Bible class
and learn some theology. That's it. I get an office in a church and
that's it. No sir, I'm talking about day
by day, hour by hour, representing my body as a living sacrifice
to God. A living sacrifice. Whole and
acceptable unto God. And watch this. Paul says in
verse 1, is that not our reasonable service? It's His, isn't it? We're not our own. We're bought
with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your
body, which is His. That's right. It belongs to Him.
That's my reasonable search. And watch verse 2 now. And don't
be conformed to this world. I want you to really listen right
here. Now, be transformed. Don't be conformed to this world. Be transformed. by the renewing
of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable,
and perfect will of God. Now stay with me, listen carefully.
There are two words here that open this whole second verse.
The word conformed and the word transformed. And until you understand
what those two words mean, you can't understand what this verse
is saying. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed. by the renewing of your mind.
The mind, the soul, the real you, the thoughts, the principles. Now the word conformed here means
this. It means patterned after. Patterned after. Conformed is
patterned after. Or it means fashioned like unto. And what he's saying here, don't
be like the world. Don't be patterned after the
world. Don't try to live according to
what this world does and says. I don't have to dress in a manner
acceptable to the world. Did you ever go in a store and
you start to buy something and the clerk say that's not what
they are wearing? That's the one I want. I don't want to be
like they. That's right. Don't be conformed
to this world. Don't let the world dictate how you live and
where you live and where you go and with whom you go. Don't
give in to that peer pressure. That's what they call it, the
kids in it, peer pressure. That causes a lot of this drugging
and drinking among children and young people, peer pressure,
the world, trying to be conformed, trying to be liked, trying to
pattern after, Listen to their kind of music. You don't have to listen to their
kind of music. If you've got a regenerated mind and heart,
that stuff doesn't appeal to you. Well, don't do it because
everybody else is doing it. You don't have to keep up with
them. That's what he's saying here. Be not conformed to this
damned world. That's what he's saying. Don't
be conformed to the paganism and the heathenism and the corruption
and the wretchedness of this. Don't dress like them and act
gaudy like them and live like them and listen to their music.
Don't do it. You know what it's saying? There are a lot of people who
profess to know Christ, except for the fact that they come to
church on Sunday, you'd never know that they knew Christ. That's
exactly right, you'd never know it. Because when they appear,
they listen to the same kind of music, they watch the same
kind of movies, they're in the same kind of rut, they dress
like them, they have their jewelry like them, they look just like
somebody that just came out of one of those places. They take
their vacations in Las Vegas, why in the world would you want
to go over there? Don't be conformed to this world.
Don't be conformed to this world. We're not of this world. They're
not of this world. Christ said they're not of this
world, as I'm not of this world. I'm not of this world. I don't
like this world. Do you? I don't like the way
they act or talk or dress or live. Don't be conformed. I'm
telling you, don't be conformed to this world. You present your
body a living sacrifice to Christ. Now, what's this next word? Be
ye transformed, changed by the renewing. That's the renewing
of the Holy Ghost, the washing of regeneration, the changing
of your ideas. You don't have to bow and scrape
to them. God's your Father. He'll meet
your need. That man you work for is not
your God. God's your God. That's exactly it. God's your
God. He's your Father. You don't have to be like them,
you don't have to cater to them. Be transformed. What's this transform? I tell you what, it has to do,
and you look it up in your Greek concordance, it has to do with
metamorphosis. That's what it has to do with.
It's a word, right after you look it up in your Greek lexicon
and that's what it means. What is that? What's metamorphosis?
It's a change in character. It's a change in appearance.
It's a change in condition. And I'll illustrate, you boys
and girls listen. Here's a caterpillar, an old
caterpillar, old hairy caterpillar, wormy caterpillar, and he's crawling
along on his fourteen legs or more, I don't know, I never counted
them, I never turned them over and counted them, but there he
goes with all those legs covered with hair. It eats green things. It's slimy. It has no interest
in flowers. Caterpillars don't even look
up at flowers. It always keeps its nose down,
you know, eating the junk. It can't fly. An old caterpillar
can't fly. That sounds like us, for the
Lord's sake, doesn't it? But when winter comes, when winter
draws near, that caterpillar, that worm, weaves a coffin around
itself, beginning at the tail. at the rear. And that caterpillar
starts weaving that coffin and it just keeps on weaving it and
coming up and finally it's closed over his nose. And he's in a
coffin, waterproof, sunproof, unsinkable. And he's that way
all winter. And then springtime comes. And
a ragged hole appears in the end. The ragged hole appears. And soon there emerges, not that
old caterpillar with its fourteen legs and yellow and green hair,
many feet, but a beautiful butterfly. Isn't that right? Comes right
out of that coffin as a beautiful butterfly with colors and wings
that fly. and wings that make it soar above
the junk, and a tongue that loves to go around and take the nectar
out of every beautiful God-made flower. That's transformed. That's metamorphosis. And that's
what this word means, rata. I beseech you, brethren, by the
mercies of God. I'm not offering you a reward
for what you do. I'm not telling you God will
send you to hell if you don't. That's your business. But I'm
telling you, if God, if you've tasted that the Lord is gracious,
if you know anything about His mercy, His grace in Christ Jesus,
if it's ever dawned on you what God's done for you and what His
object and purpose is for you and what He's going to make of
you, if it ever becomes a reality, And you'll present your body
to Him. That's your reasonable service. And you won't be, you
won't want to be conformed to this world. You won't want to
be identified with this world. You won't want to be. You want
your mind and your thoughts. Well, what will they think? You
don't even think like that anymore. Your mind is renewed. It's new. It's got new ideas and new principles
and new direction and new interests. And your mind is renewed that
you may prove, prove, Experience what is the good and acceptable
and perfect will of God. You can say, some of you can
say, I know, I've been there. I've talked to some of your students
before the Lord met you and they said, he ain't the same guy. That's right, isn't he? He's
not the same guy. That's true of a lot of you. He's not the
same guy. He's different. He's different. All right, verse
3, watch this now. And I say through the grace of
God given to me, and everything's by grace. We're not, he said
I'm not saying because I'm an example. I'm not saying because
I've arrived. He said I can't not myself to
have apprehended. I'm not perfect. But I tell you
what I'm doing, I'm pressing toward the mark of the prize
of the high calling of Christ my Lord. And what I say, I say
by the grace of God given to me. You understand that? What
I say, I say by the grace of God given to me to every man
among you. And lady, don't think of yourself
more highly than you ought to think. Don't think of yourself. Paul
exhorts us to that crowning grace of humility. How many times God
says, I hate a proud look. I tell you, this pride of race, There's pride of face, there's
pride of place. That about sums it up, doesn't
it? Pride of race, pride of face, or build, or strength, or height, and pride of place. But the worst
pride of all is the pride of grace. Don't think of yourself more
highly than you ought to think. He said, let not the rich man
glory in his riches. God made him rich. Let not the
wise man glory in his wisdom. You got more education than somebody
else. If it weren't for the grace of
God, you'd be a moron. You got a little more strength
than somebody else. If there's one thing that's happy
and wonderful to me, it's a big, gentle giant. and not an overbearing
giant. What a blessing it is. Somebody
who has an education that can talk like a common man. Somebody
who has a little money that can give God the glory for it and
share it. I'll tell you, that's such a
blessing. Such a blessing. Don't think of yourself. What
do you have you didn't receive? What do you know God didn't teach
you? And I'll tell you this, listen to me. He'd take it away just quickly
as he gave it. My brother was the brains in
our family. He never had any interest in
spiritual matters. God never gave him an interest.
But when he went away to the Navy, he went away to the Naval
Academy. He didn't go to the rusty old ships. He went to the
Academy. And he became an officer. And then he kept climbing. He
transferred to the Army, and he kept climbing, kept climbing.
And he got to be a captain, and then he got to be a major, and
then he got to be a lieutenant colonel, and then he got to be
a colonel. And then he was on the list for brigadier general.
Forty-eight years old, had the world by the tail on a downhill
pole. Somebody, when they landed in
the airplane, he got off first. When he walked by, everybody
saluted. But he dropped dead at 48 years
of age with a heart attack without a moment's warning. And everything
he had strived for and worked for and labored for was gone. And the place I love knows it
no more. I'll tell you, my friends, anything that is a contradiction
is a proud Christian. Anything that's a contradiction
is a man who claims to know God, who thinks himself to be something.
That's the most awful contradiction you'll ever run into. The man with the most blessings
ought to be the most humble. He certainly ought to be. He's
got more to be thankful for. Think soberly. Think soberly.
Think seriously. Now what's this? According as
God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. And that's,
you know, I hear people talk about faith. Faith is dealt,
even faith is dealt in measure by the grace of God. What faith
I have, He gave me. Verse 4 says we're many members. We're one body, we're many members,
and all members have not the same office. All don't have the
same calling, the same place. Verse 6 says that that having
then gifts differing according to the grace that's given to
us, whether prophecy, let's preach, or ministry, let's wait on our
ministry. I want to give you something
I gave my Sunday school class this morning. We were studying
this same thing. The body of Christ. Here's a
body standing up here before you. It's not one member. The
body's not all eye or all ear or all hand or all feet. The
body's many members, unseen members and seen members. Some parts of the body to us
may seem more important than other parts of the body, but
that's the way the body of Christ is. It has many members. And
every member has a ministry. Every member has a function,
a performance, something God has given that member to do.
And somebody may say, What do I have to do in the body of Christ?
Well, let me give you a few. Of course, there's preaching
and there's teaching. But do you know prayer is a ministry?
Somebody asked Spurgeon one time, what's the success of your ministry? He said, my people pray for me.
And while we're in Mexico the next two weeks, Pray for us. Pray for the meetings. Pray for
the ministry. Pray for the Word. Somebody pray. Somebody pray.
That's a ministry prayer. Another ministry is visiting,
caring for one another. I got a call from a man yesterday
who's been sick in a hospital operation. Also his wife has
had a heart attack. He was telling me how much he
appreciated the members of this congregation who made calls and
visits and who wrote letters and inquired, he said, that's
the sweetest bunch of folks. That's a ministry. Entertaining
people in your home, that's a ministry. Opening your home to God's people.
Be hospitable. Entertain strangers. Many have
entertained angels unaware. Let your house be his house.
Open it to the people of God. That's a ministry. Letter writing
is a ministry. I hear people say, I can't write
a letter. Sure you can. Sit down and write to people.
Let them know you're thinking about them. Cards on special
occasions. Visiting other churches. That's
a ministry. You can visit, within two hours,
three or four Sovereign Grace churches. Walk in and sit down
and encourage the pastor. Some of these churches just have
a few people. And how what a blessing it'd be for you to come and show
your support and your interest. Bible conferences. The building
and grounds here, that's a ministry. Giving's a ministry. We'll receive
an offering in a few moments. We have missionaries who depend
on us. A television program, a tape
ministry, a book ministry, all kind of things that depend on
our giving's a ministry. That's what he says here, down
here in verse 8. He that exhorteth on exhortation,
he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity. God prospers
you that you might help others. That's right. I read that a while
ago in a verse over here where He prospers us that we may help
others. That's a ministry. Greeting people,
talking to people, encouraging them, that's a ministry. Listening is a ministry. Preparing
food for others and taking it to the house, that's a ministry.
Helping one another with projects, that's a ministry. You know children
are a ministry. That's a ministry. encouraging
them, showing them a little kindness. I was out in Texas in a meeting
one time, several years ago, and a young man walked up to
me. And he said, I was at your church years ago.
He said, how's Bill Borders? I said, how in the world did
you know Bill Borders? I hadn't seen you in 20 years, a long
time. You haven't been in our church in 20 years. He said,
when I was a boy, 11 or 12 years old, I visited your church. And
Bill Borders was nice to me. He showed attention to me when
I was just a kid. Nobody pays attention to kids,
but he did. And he said, I never forgot him.
That's a ministry. Children are a ministry. Reading
the Word to people is a ministry. Missionary families. How long
has it been since you sat down and wrote to Mary Weimer? There
she is over there in Africa. Boy, I tell you, I love to go
to the mailbox and pull out a letter, don't you? I love to get mail. Think how it would be if you
hadn't been to the States in six months to go and pull out
a letter, and there it is. And you can do that in 30 minutes.
It won't cost you but a dollar to send her a letter. The other
missionaries, wives and families, those children too. Missionaries,
families, that's a ministry. I can go on and on, on and on.
But every person has a ministry. Every one of us can do something
for others. And that's what he's talking
about here. Verse 6 says, having gifts, differing according to
the grace that's given to us. Whether it's preaching, let's
preach. Whether it's ministry, let's wait on our ministry. Let's
do what God called us to do. Teaching, let's teach. Exhorted,
that's on exhortation. He that giveth, let him do it
with liberality. He that ruleth, he's the overseer,
let him do it with diligence. He that showeth mercy, do it
with cheerfulness. And let your love be sincere.
Abhor that which is evil. Cleave to that which is good.
I've got to quit. Let me just read some of the
rest of it. Be kindly affection. Is that a ministry? Oh, it is
perfect. You know, that's a ministry.
One to another with brotherly love, in honor of preferring
one another. Don't be lazy in business. Be
fervent in spirit. In this way, serving the Lord.
I can serve the Lord? What can I do for God? What does
God need that I have? If He were hungry, He wouldn't
ask me, wait a minute now. Our Lord said, I was sick and
you visited me. I was hungry and you fed me.
I was naked and you clothed me. And they said, when did we see
you like that? He said, when you did it to the
least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. That's serving
the Lord. Rejoicing in hope, patient in
tribulation, continuing instant in prayer, distributing to the
necessity of the saints, given to hospitality. I beseech you,
brethren, by the mercies of God. that you present your body, a
living sacrifice to God, a daily sacrifice, whole and acceptable
unto God. That's your reasonable service.
And don't be conformed to this world. Be transformed, changed
by the renewing of your mind. I've got a different attitude
about this thing. I've got a different attitude.
Christ is not a crutch. Christ is not a fire escape.
Christ is not an insurance policy that I got tucked away in the
cabinet until I need Him. Christ is my life, day by day. And in closing, here's a hymn
out of one of the old hymn books. So let my lips and my life express
that gospel of grace that I profess, and let my works and conduct
shine to prove thy doctrine all divine.

The Results of Redemption

What does Romans 12 teach about the results of redemption?

How do we know that believers are called to a transformed life?

Why is it important for Christians to present their bodies as a living sacrifice?

What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of the mind?

How do believers express their faith through their actions?

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The Results of Redemption

What does Romans 12 teach about the results of redemption?

How do we know that believers are called to a transformed life?

Why is it important for Christians to present their bodies as a living sacrifice?

What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of the mind?

How do believers express their faith through their actions?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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