THINKING SOBERLY
#033 (use with #784) THINKING SOBERLY
Scripture Romans 12:1-10, 21 NIV Orig. 9-20-64 (11-75)
Rewr. 9-28-90
Passage: Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Purpose: On the last Sunday of the church year, to remind my people of our need to give freely of ourselves for the glory of God in the new year.
Keywords: Commitment Offering Sacrifice Suffering
Timeline/Series: New Year
Introduction
It was Victor Hugo, I believe, who once described heaven as a place “where all the parents are young, and all the children are small.” I think I can understand the point that he was making.
The ones who are least likely to grasp this are young parents themselves. For others of us, however, it is quite impossible to look with anything other than nostalgia upon those days when our own children were small. What a treasure trove of delights those days now bring to mind. Oh, yes, there were days made weary by the wants and waywardness of those little ones. And, yes, the nights were sometimes made long with wakefulness. There are even some who have had to look death in its ugly face.
But surely, there are none of us so insensitive, that this lovable bundle of frail humanity was not a constant source of surprise and joy. The truly loving parent, however, would be the last to deny to this child the right and privilege of growing to personal fulfillment in adulthood.
If, as the Bible suggests, we get our start in the kingdom as “babes” (I Peter 2:2), as spiritual infants, then, the object of our being is to mature. The “Will of God” for His every child is for this one who was a baby to grow to become what they are capable of becoming.
While it may be nostalgic to smile with the concept of “child-like faith,” it is realistic to see grown-up people dealing with grown-up problems, from a Christian perspective. That’s what “thinking soberly” is all about.
I. We Begin with an Appeal to Sensitivity. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.” The appeal takes note that individual freedom is not denied. You see, our response to God does not come mechanically. It is not automatically in-bred. We don’t get it from our genes. At her school in New Orleans, Ann was teaching about basic genetics. She had Terry and Jerry, identical twins, in her class. She said, “Terry and Jerry are twins because their genes match.” An eager student helpfully said, “And their shirts!”
We do, however, learn a great deal, positive and negative, from moms and dads.
Paul does not here assume that they are doing all they can. He affirms from personal experience. He remembers out of his pilgrimage. “Beseech” is the verb form (paraclesis) of parakletos (John 14:26), or “Comforter.” In Luke 2:25 Simeon is “waiting for the Consolation.”
It is a call for willful response based on one’s redeemed heart’s longing. It is such response that purges the heart of unworthy thought and motive. Remember that Paul went “into Arabia” (Galatians 1:6) after his conversion. The question with which we must deal is of the desire of our hearts to sustain our professions as Christians.
We remember great Cowboy teams of the 1970’s. Coach Landry had two superstars sitting on the bench, Bob Hayes and Craig Morton. A reporter asked “Why?” Landry gave three reasons: “They do not stay current on plays. They are not consistent when they perform. They are not committed to winning.”
You see, the nature of the appeal assumes that an experience with Christ has occurred.
The first perspective of living the Christian life is our perspective of Christ. Tell me what you think of Christ, I will know what kind of life you live. Jesus defines hypocrisy (Matthew 23), saying that the one not at peace with God is like a whitewashed sepulcher, a death vessel. Without the converting experience, the appeal would have been to dead men.
We are free: But Christ holds the key TO PEACE WITH GOD.
We are free: But Christ holds the key to growth as Christians.
It is the desire of God’s heart.
II. We Must Next Describe the Affirmation of Sacrifice. “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice.” Admittedly, this is in the context of a message to an entire church. It will not be resolved by a committee. A highfalutin Board of Deacons will not authorize it. The staff will not scrutinize programs and work toward this one. It is a decision to be made by individual believers.
The language used here is that of animal sacrifice. I remind you that the Old Testament practice was based on offering a life to God, not a dead carcass. That’s why the emphasis is on the blood. Of the many vulgarities of Satanism, it majors on death, not life.
The mind of God is ours to know in relation to sacrifice. Isaiah 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?” Hosea 6:6 “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” Amos 5:21f “I hate, I despise your feast days. . . . Let judgment run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The death of Christ becomes a case in point. God was willing to surrender His own son’s life for a greater good. So, begin to listen with your heart as with your ears. John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” I Corinthians 5:7 “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” I Peter 1:19 “With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without a blemish, spotless.”
The death of Jesus begins to have meaning only as we give of ourselves in response. The measure of our sacrifice is the MEASURE of our faith.
Paul suggests four ways to assess our own lives: How we live—as long as life remains; Sacrifice—my life for another’s; Holiness—duty to God, others, and self; Acceptability—judged by the JUDGE.
Recall the example of Lot. With Abraham, decisions were made for him. On his own, however, he faced the hard choice of dying with his hands full of emptiness, or living in response to God.
This will be a good place to say a word about the election. The demand of the bramble of this world is always to “put [our] trust in” shadows.
III. Thinking Soberly, then, Brings Us to the Attainment of Service. “Present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Notice it says nothing about extraordinary commitment here. It addresses reflecting faith in the way we live. It speaks of the satisfaction of a morally upright life: Psalm 69:6 “Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.” Not only church staff members: deacons, teachers, others, as well.
It is a lifestyle that is unattainable without being into the word. That is the litmus test. Philippians 2:13 “It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Psalm 62:11 “The Lord gave the word.”
Conclusion
We are all familiar with the children’s story of the little Dutch boy who plugged the hole in the dike with his finger and thus spared his homeland. There was epic drama behind that story, however, for there were times when Dutchmen hurled their own bodies into the gaps of the weakening dikes, averting real-life disasters.
Spiritual dikes are being threatened today as never before. Some of the storms are alien, from far, distant places. Others are brought upon us by our own kind through apathy and indolence on our part.