I am currently teaching through the book of Romans and one of the things that has struck me in going through the first eleven chapters is how little we are asked to do. Apart from one brief exhortation in Romans 6 which tells us to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, there’s actually no positive command given to us. That is quite shocking! Every man made religion tells us to DO something to achieve spiritual awareness or to climb the mountain and meet “God” at the top. Yet Christianity is not the message of mankind climbing his way to some spiritual summit. The exact opposite is true – we cannot climb our way to God. All of us have sinned and fall short of God’s standard – every single one of us. Yet the good news is that God has not left us in this desperate plight but has actually climbed down the mountain to find us in the valley. That’s the message of the Incarnation – the second Person of the Godhead left His eternal throne in the heavens and became one of us; He lived a sinless life and died an atoning death for sinners and rose again from the dead.
Obviously we are called to believe what we read in the first eleven chapters of the book, and that means understanding the depravity of the human race, our deep and desperate need for a Savior and to place our trust in Him. Yet, I think it is very informative to read the Epistle through and realise that in this most comprehensive declaration of the Gospel anywhere in Scripture (which is what the book of Romans is), God is wanting us to know so many things before we ever start actually doing anything.
No one starts a conversation by using the word “therefore.” Something goes before it. There’s an old saying, “when you see a “therefore” find out what it is there for.” The word “therefore” is a linking word that stands between something preceding it and the logical consequences or ramifications that follow. That’s what we have in Romans 12. God is saying (through His apostle); in light of all that has been said, the logical response should be the following things.
It is only as we grasp the Gospel, understanding the nature of sin and the Divine remedy found in the Gospel; learning too that God is absolutely Sovereign in the matter of grace, and yet this does not eleviate our responsibility in any way at all or of our need to preach the Gospel, and that “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36) – only then are we told in Romans 12: 1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
As Justin Taylor once remarked, “So because of the great doctrines of creation, righteousness, depravity, faith, propitiation, justification, union with Christ, sanctification, glorification, election, divine freedom, therefore, by God’s mercy and grace we can receive and respond to the following imperatives:
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God
Do not be conformed to this world, but
be transformed by the renewal of your mind
he [ought] not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but
think with sober judgment,
let us use our gifts that differ according to the grace given to us
Let love be genuine.
Abhor what is evil;
hold fast to what is good.
Love one another with brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showing honor.
Do not be slothful in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
be patient in tribulation,
be constant in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the saints and
seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you;
do not curse those who persecute you.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be haughty, but
associate with the lowly.
Never be wise in your own sight.
Repay no one evil for evil, but
give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
live peaceably with all (if possible, so far as it depends on you)
Never avenge yourselves, but
leave it to the wrath of God. . .
if your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink
Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good.”
Until we KNOW what God has done for us in Christ, God wants us to do nothing whatsoever. Works (the things we do) play no part in our justification before God (Romans 4:4, 5; Eph 2:8-9). Holiness is a fruit not a root of our salvation, and this is clearly seen in the big picture of how the Gospel is presented to us in the book of Romans.
Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
“Most Americans believe that their major problem is something that has happened to them, and that their solution is to be found within. In other words, they believe that they have an alien problem that is to be resolved with an inner solution. What they gospel says, however, is that we have an inner problem that demands an alien solution – a righteousness that is not our own.” – Al Mohler, ‘Preaching with the Culture in View,’ in Preaching the Cross (Crossway 2007), p. 81
Four quotes from Martin Luther: