In this thought-provoking episode, we unravel the profound meaning behind Romans 12:1 and how it encapsulates the essence of Paul’s message to the Romans. The discussion delves into the liberating freedom from God’s wrath, sin, and the oppressive law, highlighting how the Gospel grants us a fresh identity in Christ Jesus. By examining chapters 5 to 8 of Romans, we uncover the mercies of God that renew our spirit, giving us courage to live an imperfect yet devoted life.
00:00:05 Understanding Romans 12:1 and the Mercies of God
SPEAKER 01 :
So we’re looking at this verse, Romans 12, verse 1, “…I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourself a living sacrifice.” This is a wonderful verse because it’s summarizing—that’s why Paul says, “…I beseech you therefore.” It’s summarizing everything he has said so far— I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. How does he come to that conclusion? Based on everything he has said so far. Remember Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8? Let me remind you of them. Romans chapter 5 talks about freedom from the judgment, the wrath of God. God loves us. God is love, God’s wrath is not hate, yet he many times has to exercise judgment and let the consequences of our sins fall upon us so that he can reach us. The truth is, though, that the book of Romans reveals, and the whole gospel reveals, that in chapter 5 of Romans, Jesus Christ took the judgment of God. Now, Jesus is one with God, and so God took his own judgment. He took it upon himself so that he does not have to condemn to death the world. That is why Paul appeals to us by God’s mercies. So we look at Romans 5 and we say we are freed from the wrath of God. And to be freed from God’s wrath, what’s the opposite, the other way of saying that? Remember that in Romans 1, wrath is handing people over to the powers of sin. The wrath of God is revealed in verse 18. And then how is it expressed? Verses 24, 26, and 28. Therefore, he gave them over. So what does it mean that Jesus took the wrath of God? That God took his own wrath. He gave himself over to judgment. He gave himself over to the powers of sin. And so, instead of our being handed over and lost in the wilderness, Jesus himself was handed over. But then chapter 6, not simply freedom from wrath, but also freedom from sin. Does that mean that we never sin? No, it doesn’t. It means freedom from the identity of sin. For Jesus died as a sinner. We are no longer charged with the judgment of sin or the identity of sin. We are, in fact, accounted in Christ’s innocence and beauty and goodness. So, you see, when Paul appeals to us by the mercies of God, he’s telling us, God is treating you as if you had never sinned. That’s his mercy to you. It gives you a new start, a new future, a new sense of identity, a new freedom, a new peace and happiness. And then chapter 7 is freedom from the law of God. Freedom from the law Paul speaks about in chapter 7. We have died to the law. We have been freed from the law. Not because the law is bad, but because the law is holy and righteous and good. And we are the very opposite. And so the law can do nothing but condemn us. And Jesus wants us to be freed, and the Father wants us to be freed from that condemnation because we can’t live with it. To wake up in the morning and feel endlessly judged and condemned, why, it would cripple us mentally and emotionally and spiritually, certainly. And so God sets us free from it. We died to the law. In what sense? Jesus took the judgment of the law upon the cross himself. He took it for us, so that we are now counted as righteous. So then, when Paul is talking about beseeching us by the mercies of God, he’s saying, think of how merciful God is to no longer condemn you, to no longer make you feel guilty every minute. You are now freed from that judgment. And then look at chapter 8, freedom from the power of death. Death isn’t simply what happens at the end of our lives. It’s a judgment. It’s a judgment upon our whole human nature, that this human nature of ours is so corrupt it cannot enter heaven. And so what God does is he takes that judgment of death upon himself and he dies for it and rises from the dead because there was no sin upon him that could keep him under the power of death. So you and I, by faith, live in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, so that everything that happens in this earth to us that seems so much like a mini-death here and there and everywhere, No longer is accounted as a death, for the fact is that all these things that take place have a reverse order to them, because Christ has reversed the order of death and brought resurrection to life. So we thank God through all the trials and tribulations and say, Father, this is not a death. It’s a life. Thank you, dear God. And then, of course, there’s the life, the resurrection life, when Jesus Christ comes and when we rise from the dead, no longer corrupted but incorruptible, no longer mortal but immortal. You see how that’s the mercy of God too? So that’s why Paul says, I beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of God. The mercies of God are so great. so incomprehensible that we live by them every day. Now look, you may say, I don’t have anything to present before God. You remember Paul says here, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. And you may look at your life and say, I have nothing to present to God. I’m not a worthy Christian. I don’t have any abilities to be a missionary or to speak for God. And my sins are still bothering me. What testimony do I have? Listen. It says, I beseech you therefore by the mercies of God that you present yourself, your body a living sacrifice, by his mercies. Now, if you want to get a proper idea of this, remember what the disciples asked Jesus. How many times, Lord, shall I forgive a man? Seven times in a day? And Jesus astonished them all by saying, I tell you not seven times, but seventy times seven. That’s 490 times in a day, forgiving someone. What does that mean? It means that forgiveness is endlessly being applied to all that we do in life. Because everything we do in life is tainted with imperfection, with sin. Even the best we do is as filthy rags. Isaiah says, all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. So even our best works are tainted with sin. And that’s why God applies mercy to us morning, noon, and night, 24-7. You and I are constantly under the forgiveness and mercy of God. Well, that gives you courage, doesn’t it? It gives you courage to believe that I can live my life courageously, even though it’s imperfect. Let me put that another way. Live your imperfect life courageously, because God works with sinners, and God witnesses to himself through sinners. when you consider the mercy of God, you do have something to say. You do have something to say when you present your bodies for service. And the thing you have to say is that God has been so kind and so loving to me. He has been so gracious to me when I did not deserve it. You and I are not testifying to our righteousness. Yes, we may talk about how God set us free from alcoholism or addictions of other kinds, but the truth is that we were set free because of God’s mercy. and therefore our testimony is to His mercy, not to our righteousness. That’s why everybody, no matter what sinner he is, has something to present before God, because God is appealing to us to present ourselves by His mercies. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice. You know, years ago, I would often think to myself, I’m a hypocrite. I still believe I’m a hypocrite. We’re all pretenders of some kind or another. Whoever presents the true self before the world, put it more accurately, whoever presents his or her true self to the world. It’s too embarrassing. We’re too imperfect. We have too many foibles and peculiarities, and to present those things to the world would be just crushing. So who are and what are we presenting to the world? We are presenting the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the atoning sacrifice of Christ, who has enabled you and me to live again. We got up, we dusted ourselves off as it were, we lifted our heads high again, we said, I know that in Christ I am redeemed and I am counted as righteous. We know we’re not righteous, it is Christ who is our righteousness, and that truth is an expression of God’s mercy. God, basically the Holy Spirit and the Son of God, the Trinity, they, as it were, sat together and talked about how shall mankind live when each person is born into corruption and death and sin. And the Trinity knew that we would be overwhelmed with something like that. And so God presented Christ for us and said, I will give, we will give to the world, to every human being, a new identity, not in themselves, but in Jesus Christ. And they can present Him to the world as their victory, their reconciliation to us, and their righteousness. And that is mercy. And that is what we present to the world. Thanks for listening, everyone. This is Colin Cook, and this is how it happens. And I am making special appeals for the next few days. The ministry is suffering from severe financial shortage. And this is a small ministry. The radio program, the cost of it, $850 to $900 a month, believe it or not, comes out of my social security. And that’s how I’ve been working, and by your donations, of course, regularly and for the last 27 years. If you would like to help, then, I need… Five people who would donate $50 a month for the next year. Would you do that? You can make your donation at faithquestradio.com. Press the donations button there. Or you can send your donation to Faith Quest P.O. Box 366 Littleton, Colorado 80160. So that’s five new partners of this ministry supporting it by $50 a month. for the next year. Would you be one of them? And if it’s 10 people, that’s all the better. Thank you so much. See you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
In this thought-provoking episode, we unravel the profound meaning behind Romans 12:1 and how it encapsulates the essence of Paul’s message to the Romans. The discussion delves into the liberating freedom from God’s wrath, sin, and the oppressive law, highlighting how the Gospel grants us a fresh identity in Christ Jesus. By examining chapters 5 to 8 of Romans, we uncover the mercies of God that renew our spirit, giving us courage to live an imperfect yet devoted life.
