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Romans 12: Acceptable to God

February 27, 2012 by memullin

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  Romans 12:1

Acceptable to God?  What does it mean to be acceptable to God?

The apostle Paul says “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.  Romans 14:17-18.

The “these things” appears to refer to verse 17, “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  When we serve Christ in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, this is acceptable to God.

What does righteousness require?  Those who are righteous are in right standing before God.  They meet or match God’s standard of holiness and right conduct.

One doesn’t have to be a Bible scholar to know that no one can meet God’s standard.  The Bible teaches that there is none righteous.  Romans 3:10.   According to God, “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.”  Isaiah 64:6

Therefore, since my own righteousness is insufficient, I must seek the righteousness of Christ.   When God looks at me, I want Him to see Christ’s righteousness, not my own.   How can this be accomplished?

Paul tells us in Romans:  For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  Romans 5:6-10.

So it is the blood . . . there is power in the blood . . . covered in the blood of the perfect sacrifice (Jesus), I can be seen by God as having the righteousness of Christ, the only one to ever meet God’s standard.

By grace I have been saved through faith, and that not of myself.  It is a gift of God, not of my works, lest I should try to take credit for the work Christ completed on the cross.

Hallelujah, What a Savior!

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, God, Romans | Tagged , , |

Romans 12: Holy?

February 21, 2012 by memullin

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  Romans 12:1

What does it mean for me to be holy?

According to the dictionary, holy  is defined as:  “of, relating to, or associated with God or a deity.”  It can also mean “sacred” or “endowed or invested with extreme purity or sublimity; 3. devout, godly, or virtuous]

Often when I have heard holiness taught on, it is explained as being “Set apart to God” or the idea of being “separate” from the world and/or the things of the world.

But isn’t it usually God who is described as holy?    The answer is that God is holy, but the Bible is clear that the believer, the child of God, is to be holy as well.
  • Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love   Ephesians 1:4
  • That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish  Ephesians 5:27
  • For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.  1 Thessalonians 4:7
  • But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:15-16
 The idea of holiness among the children of God is not limited to the New Testament.  The following are Old Testament references that teach this as well:
  • Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.  Leviticus 19:2
  • For I am the LORD your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.  Leviticus 11:44
 Holiness is necessary in order to please God, and for that reason we need to diligently seek it in our lives.  Hebrews 12:12.

Posted in Attributes, Bible, God, Holy, Romans | Tagged , , , |

Romans 12: How shall I present my body?

February 17, 2012 by memullin

Romans 12:1&2
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
 
How shall I present my body? . . .  As a living sacrifice
▸ Dead works are not sufficient
▸ Most sacrifices are dead before they are placed on the altar.  In this case, I must be alive, but my “self” or “self-focus” must be dead – totally yielded to Christ
▸ I must put myself on the altar knowing that I am submitting to the fire’s refinement.

If you can survive the imagery (burning flesh on the fire doesn’t really sound inviting), it begs the question, “how can I ever hope to present my body as a living sacrifice?”

The answer is found, in part, in 2 Corinthians 5:21.  “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  We are able to become righteous . . . an acceptable sacrifice by the shed blood of Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, slain once for all.

I find more insight in Galatians 2:20 which reminds me that “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  This sacrificial life will be by faith in the One who already proved his love, His sacrifice.

Finally, I am told in Colossians 2:6-7, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,  rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.  The key to my being a living sacrifice is to walk in Christ, in His Word.  To be rooted in and built up in the experiential knowledge of Christ.  Then shall I be able to live this sacrificial life.

Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ!

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, New Testament, Romans | Tagged , , , , |

Romans 12: Presenting your body

February 15, 2012 by memullin

Romans 12, verses 1 and 2 are familiar and yet shrouded, within my grasp but elusive.

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

OBSERVATIONS:

Present your bodies . . .

∙ This is a command, something I  “must do” rather than merely “should do”
∙ Something is required of me
∙ The implication of the command is that my body is under my control, subject to my will
∙ This involves the discipline of self-control, a fruit of the Spirit in my life (Galatians 2:22-23)

We are not in this alone.  In Ephesians 2:8-10, Paul assures us, “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.   The things God would like me to do are not without meaning or import . . . they are my purpose, my destiny . . . God’s best plan for me.

When I feel I cannot obey this command, Jesus is my example.  I am told by the writer of  Hebrews, to lay “aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and . . . run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

 

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, New Testament, Romans | Tagged , , |

Me, a priest?

January 12, 2012 by memullin

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.   1 Peter 2:9

high priest

Peter, for all his awkwardness during the earthly ministry of Jesus, definitely pulled things together when he wrote his epistles.  This verse in his first epistle is just marvelous.  The whole section in 1 Peter 2 is worth an in-depth study.  The mention of us (the church) being a priesthood is especially interesting given its very “Jewish”  flavor.

Of course, there is nothing new under the sun and Peter lifted this imagery, probably very intentionally, from Exodus  19:5-6 where Moses is given this to tell the children of Israel by God:

 ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

A couple of quick observations:

  • Priests in the Old Testament had privileges that no other member of the society Israel, namely they were the only ones with access to God and the only ones allowed to make sacrifices to God
  • The limited access to God of the Old Testament was represented by the separations in the Tabernacle (Gate, Court, Holy Place, Most Holy Place) and later the temple.  The veil represented the separation between God and man.  Only the High Priest could go past the veil into the Most Holy Place and then only once a year to make atonement for the people
  • When Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn and the separation between God and man was removed
  • We have access to God by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross
Peter reminds us from whence we have come:  who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.  1 Peter 2:10  It is good news!

As a final thought, let us consider our purpose as this “chosen generation,”  “this royal priesthood,” and “this holy nation.”  For Peter does tell us the why:  “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  1 Peter 2:9

Posted in Bible, Bible Study, Church, New Testament, Old Testament | Tagged , , , , , |

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2011 by memullin

Posted in Christmas |

So what is Christmas?

December 24, 2011 by memullin

Christmas is the celebration that always looks both to the past and to the future at God’s promises.

The Holy Father, recognizing the total inability of sinful man to be in relationship with a  Holy God, sent His only Son (Jesus – the God-man) to provide the perfect (complete) sacrifice, once and for all, to satisfy the righteousness requirements of a Holy God.

The Son came and showed us the character of the Father and how to obey God by the power of the Holy Spirit. He lived the perfect life having no sin.   When the time for the sacrifice came, the Son showed us how to obey the Father unto death.

Having left the earth to return to the right hand of the Father, the Son left us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter, teacher, and the guarantee of our inheritance.  The Holy Spirit is given to those who belong to the Son – for whom the Son shed His sacrificial blood.

May your Christmas be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  May you know the goodness of the Lord in all things especially in your personal relationship with Him, as you walk and abide with Him.  Be encouraged, He is coming back soon for His church.  May you be found ready, with plenty of oil in your lamp.

Posted in Bible, Christmas, God, Jesus | Tagged , , , , |

Still shopping?

December 23, 2011 by memullin

Posted in Christmas, Jesus |

Why a Savior?

December 22, 2011 by memullin

The celebration of Christmas includes the understanding that the baby Jesus came to save, but that imbedded idea can be lost in the festivities.   Understanding why humanity needs a Savior can help us to keep our focus throughout the year on the Christmas message.

Why a Savior?

  • Because God is righteous and holy, and there are none who can meet His standard.  All men have turned their backs on God.  Romans 3:10-18.
  • Because all of humanity has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23.
  • Because we are slaves to sin without Christ.  (Romans 6:6)
  • Because we lack the righteousness required to be in the presence of God, to dwell with Him for eternity.  2 Corinthians 5:21.

May you see clearly the darkness of your own soul and your total and utter helplessness to save your self, and therefore, your unquestionable need for a Savior – Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Christmas, Jesus, New Testament, Roman's Road, salvation | Tagged , , , , |

Christmas is only the beginning

December 20, 2011 by memullin

Christmas celebrates the day on which the prophecies of old, prophecies which promised that a Savior of God’s people would come, were finally fulfilled.   The fact that His birth, His life and His death are well documented in secular history is not a great surprise.   What is remarkable is that Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, resurrection and second coming were foretold many hundreds of years before His birth.  Fulfillment of these prophecies gives witness to His identity as the Messiah, the Promised One.

Christmas is the first part of  the story which will include both death and resurrection.  It is one of the most encouraging pictures of God’s faithfulness to His people, who were totally faithless and without hope.

But Christmas is also an indictment because He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.  He was light that came into the world, but men loved darkness more than light, so they rejected the light for it revealed the nature of their evil deeds and dark motives.

Even today, Jesus is a light to those who are searching for God, for relationship with God, but those who seek to do evil, those who seek after self-satisfaction and self-gain, they mock and reject the light, seeking instead to live in the darkness.  They are futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts are darkened.

As you celebrate this Christmas, consider the “rest of the story” . . .

This baby Jesus will grow up and make His way to Calvary.  He will bring you to Easter Sunday.  Make sure you don’t leave Him at the manger, but follow Him to the cross . . . then to the tomb . . . and to the sky . . .  for this Jesus will ascend to the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end!

Posted in Bible, Christmas | Tagged , |

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