Romans Part 6: RESPONSESample

Thank you, God! I am Yours.

Romans 12 is a turning point in Paul’s letter; he moves from a theological discussion to practical guidance on how we should live as Christians. Essentially, he’s answering the question: “What does the Christian life look like?”

He begins by appealing to the reader to present their bodies as a living sacrifice. But why? Romans 12:1 gives us the answer. We offer ourselves to God in view of His mercy toward us. It is a response to His great love that He has given to us. It’s not a top-down command. It’s an encouragement to consider the mercy and love of God. That’s why the word “therefore” is found in this passage – it’s causing us to think through everything that has been said in the first 11 chapters. Romans 12 is our response to what God has done.

Take a moment and think about the mercy of God. When we think about His mercy, we should think to ourselves, “God, you’ve saved me! You’ve forgiven me! You’ve given me a whole new life. I have the hope of eternal life. I have the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in my life.” Now – in view of all that God has done for us, we should want to present ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice.

The motivation for living the Christian life comes back to the mercy and love of God that has been given to you. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” Luke 7:47 says the one who has been forgiven much, loves much. Motivation for living the Christian life should never come from a place of guilt, saying to yourself, “I have to do this because I don’t want to feel bad.” That’s not it – rather it’s joy; it’s a new life; it’s love for God. Someone once said, “Motivation by guilt lasts as long as the guilt does, but motivation by love lasts as long as the life does.”

In various other religions, you serve the “god” in order to not have something bad happen to you – that’s not Christianity. Christianity is the opposite. God has done everything required to save us. The Christian life is a big thank you to God. I’m reminded of the words we sang in church recently: “Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord, to thee.” Join me today, in view of God’s mercy, to offer our lives to Him, allowing our worship to reflect our commitment to Him.

-Executive Pastor Jonathan Knapp