The Book of Romans The Story of God’s Explosive Grace Last week we provided an introduction - PowerPoint Presentation

The Book of Romans The Story of God’s Explosive Grace

Last week we provided an introduction to a study on Romans 12-16 which is the portion of Romans dedicated to practical Christian living…

Review… Romans 12.1 is the pivotal point of Romans

In one word… What connects the first half Romans 1-11 on God’s plan of salvation and the second half of Romans 12-16 on God’s plan for practical Christian living can be summarized in just one word

Salvation… Romans 1-11 Never ever had God’s mystery of how man would ever be cleansed, forgiven, and made righteous and be in right standing before the Lord Almighty be revealed as in this beautiful letter to the Romans. Who could have seen that Messiah – God, be clothed in a human body and willingly be sacrificed for the sins of the world?

Living the Christian life… Romans 12-16Out of God gracious gift of salvation comes His call to His children to enter a relationship of grace with the Father and to emulate the character of Christ in one’s daily life. This process is called sanctification. It is comprised of love of God, faith, obedience, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Father’s discipline .

Living the life, the Christian life of Romans 12-16

It is quite simple what God wants from you… 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God , to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice , acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12

Have you ever heard a message on Romans 12.1? As I have heard preachers and teachers on Romans 12.1, they tend to disconnect hundreds of Old Testament references of blood sacrifice and make “present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice” to stand somewhat on its own. Although they offer some wonderful aspects of what it means, I also believe that they miss some very valuable insights of the back story of sacrifices in the Old Testament, which if understood offers a much richer understanding of what God is asking of us.

To not understand the extreme centrality of animal sacrifice in Judaism would skew one’s understanding of Paul’s mandate to present your body a living and holy sacrifice.

Part 1 A brief history of sacrifices in the Old Testament

Note: Most modern Western people will find the whole idea of animal sacrifice distasteful. But it pales in comparison to how much God finds your sin distasteful. So as we go through this ancient ritual of shedding an animal’s blood as an offering to God, keep the following in mind: The stench of our own personal sin All of these sacrifices point to the Jesus, the Lamb of God’s sacrifice for our smelly sins. After Christ’s sacrifice, all animal sacrifices were to no longer needed or required by God.

1. The first sacrifice found in the Bible… 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Genesis 3

2. The second sacrifice in the Bible was Cain and Abel’s… 2 Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. 4 Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; 5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Genesis 4

Why is Cain’s sacrifice rejected? Although not explicitly stated in the passage, the Lord had in all likelihood instructed sacrifices to be blood sacrifices. Although not revealed at the time, the blood sacrifices were to be types of the coming Lamb of God’s blood sacrifice at Calvary. 11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement .’ Leviticus 17 22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness . Hebrews 9

3. Noah post-flood sacrifice 20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 The Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. Genesis 8

5 . Jesus’ sacrifice put an end to God ever wanting a blood sacrifice again

26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself . Hebrews 7

Part 2 Bad religionAnything sacred and holy Satan attempts to counterfeit

Sacrificing babies to a false god… 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel: ‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech , shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. Leviticus 20

A common thread throughout the Old Testament… The Old Testament affirms that external sacrifice without internal love, obedience, and goodness is repugnant to God

Samuel levels Saul… 22 Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold , to obey is better than sacrifice , And to heed than the fat of rams . 23 “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king .” I Samuel 15

The day the scribe got it right… 32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices .” Mark 12

Passage Trumps sacrifice Cease and desist I Samuel 15.22-23 Obedience Rebellion, insubordination Psalm 51.17 Broken spirit, broken and contrite heart Proverbs 21.3 Amos 5.22-24 Righteousness, justice Isaiah 1.16-17 Do good, seek justice, plead for widow Evil, ruthless Hosea 6.6 Loyalty, knowledge of God Micah 6.6-8 Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with your God Matthew 9.13, 12.17 Compassion Condemning the innocent

One could imagine… Imagine the Apostle Paul during a Q and A and being asked the following: “Paul , sacrifice was integral to our ancient worship, has anything replaced it if Jesus is the end of it ?”

Part 2 Exposition of Romans 12.1a

It is quite simple what God wants from you, He wants all of you… 1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God , to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice , acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12

1. Therefore Therefore = In summation of everything that Paul had taught in Romans 1-11

2. Urge you brethren The Greek word urge is parakaléō ( παρακαλέω ) meaning to come to the side of, to call. It is also translated in Romans 12.1 as: I call upon you (YLT) So here is what I want you to do (Message) I plead with you (NLT) I beseech you (NKJ) I appeal to you (RSV)

3. By the mercies of God In Romans 9-11, the sovereignty section of Romans, for the first time in Romans Paul uses the word mercy no less than twelve times when discussing God’s role in bringing salvation to His children. This emphasizes our helplessness and that we owe our salvation to God and not to our own effort. We stand at the cross naked and in need of grace, forgiveness, and mercy and that is exactly what the Father offers us.

So what is this compelling request? To present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice

So what does this mean? And what are you being asked to lay on the altar?

In simple terms… In the Old Testament believers sacrificed animals on the altar, but that is all gone. So what today does God want you to sacrifice? Everything! The Lord is asking us for everything while holding back nothing. He wants all of us.

Jesus’ sacrifice for you was in His death Your sacrifice to Him is in your living

Jesus gets it all because He gave it all… What gift or offering is appropriate for all that God has given us: life, His love, food, clothing, a home, family, to begin with. But then there is Jesus God’s Son who gave it all to you. Is their anything greater that God could have given you? No! So what is the proper response to God’s gracious gift that cost Him everything. There’s only one response, it is giving God everything also, your everything, you whole life . There is nothing that we are to hold back. God gets it all.

What is being sacrificed and offered up on the altar? Our submission, praise, gratitude, and love for our wonderful FatherOur bodies and its pleasures when outside God’s boundaries Our time, talents, and treasures Our extreme selfishness Our control of our lives Our insistence on knowing why God is doing what He is doing in our lives

What is a sacrifice? It is an offering or gift to God. In ancient times, when you approached a superior such as a king you would not come empty handed, you would offer a gift. There is no one higher than God so the best gift is in order. The word sacrifice has two aspects: The sacrificer is one giving up something of worth or value to offer as a gift. The sacrifice is that which is offered. In the case of a blood offering, the animal’s life is the sacrifice.

Something is different for the first time… In Romans 12.1 the sacrificer and the sacrificee are one and the same – you !

In life’s trials and major difficulties, the presenting of oneself as a living and holy sacrifice is often tested at its deepest level. As one searches the Scriptures, one event stands out in my mind, more than all the others. It is when Abraham is asked by God to do what seemed unaskable, sacrifice his son Isaac.

Part 3 Two Bible characters who exemplify the meaning of presenting yourselves a living sacrifice – one negatively, the other spot on

The rich – young – ruler who couldn’t give it all… 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property . Matthew 9

What is it that our culture prizes? Wealth Youth Power

Abraham who did give it all… The story of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac is the greatest example in the Bible of what it means to present oneself a living and holy sacrifice

Abraham and Isaac 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me. ” Genesis 22

The Bible Series Abraham Sacrifices Isaac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5yH2guBfkM

There are two mega twists in the story… Twist 1God would never ask or make a father sacrifice his son, no way would that ever happen. No, He left that only for Himself to offer His precious Son at Calvary for the sins of the world. Twist 2 Abraham never realized it at the time, but the intended sacrifice was never Isaac nor the ram caught in the thicket. Abraham himself had always been the real intended sacrifice.

4. Acceptable to God Remember this from Genesis 4, “ And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering ; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard .” Not everything man offers God is accepted. But the highest, most best, pleasing offering to God that will always be accepted by Him is when you present your all as a living and holy sacrifice.