Respecting God

Romans 12:1-2
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. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

To anyone who has spent time in church, these are familiar words, are they not? Yes, many have memorized them. Yes, many have heard countless messages from them. Perhaps many of you have even taught from these verses.

I was meditating on these verses in preparation of an upcoming youth camp, the theme of which is “No Pride.” The youth staff is using Romans 12 to teach the issue of proper respect. Our outline is as follows:

• Respect for God (Romans 12:1-2)
• Respect for the Church [as a whole entity; the organization and organism] (Romans 12:3-8)
• Respect for the People of God [individually] (Romans 12:9-13)
• Respect for all People (Romans 12:14-17)
• Respect for our Enemies (Romans 12:18-21)

I have the privilege of starting the camp teaching off with “Respect for God” (Romans 12:1-2). The apostle Paul immediate urges his readers to consider all that God has done (His “mercies”) as the catalyst which is to motivate us to holy living. It got me thinking about all these “mercies.” What are they? Does Paul give us a clue?

As a matter of fact, Paul does clue us in on just what these mercies are. They are found in Romans 1-11. Please consider the vastness and greatness of the mercies of God and revealed in Romans 1-11. This is not an exhaustive list, but it does include the most impressive highlights:

-in Christ we are justified by faith (4:1f)
-in Christ we have peace with God (5:1f)
-in Christ we are made righteous (5:12f)
-in Christ we are dead to sin and raised to new life (6:1f)
-in Christ we are set free from sin and misery and are able to follow the Spirit (7:1f)
-in Christ there is no condemnation (8:1f)
-in Christ we are free not to walk after the flesh but after the Spirit (8:5f)
-in Christ we are daughters/sons and heirs of God (8:12f)
-in Christ we have a glorious future hope (8:18f)
-in Christ our prayers are heard (8:26f)
-in Christ God works everything for our ultimate good (8:28)
-in Christ we are elect (8:29)
-in Christ no charges are laid against us (8:33)
-in Christ we are conquerors (8:37)
-in Christ nothing can separate us from God's love (8:38f)
-in Christ we are grafted into the tree of Israel and are now part of the people of God (11:11f)

Impressive list, is it not? And just what are we called to in light of these “mercies”? We are called to “present [our] bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God…” One of the things that struck me here is that our presentation to God is not just a “spiritual” one. We are called to offer even our bodies, our physical beings. I think the John Stott said it well:

No worship is pleasing to God which is purely inward, abstract, and mystical; it must express itself in concrete acts of service performed by our bodies.

Paul made it plain (Romans 3) that our human depravity reveals itself in our bodies, in tongues which practice deceit, in feet which are swift to shed blood, in eyes which look away from God.

Conversely, Christian worship must show itself in the deeds of the body. We are to offer the parts of our bodies as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6), our feet walking in His paths, our lips speaking the truth and spreading the gospel, our hands lifting up those who have fallen.

If we are to rightly respect God, we must come to rightly appreciate what He has done for us in Christ (“mercies”), calling and enabling us to serve Him and serving Him as we serve people. For remember the words of Jesus Christ who said in Matthew 25:40;

The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

Whatever we do for the “least” of the brethren, we do as unto Jesus. These acts of doing involve physical acts of feeding the hungry, filling the thirsty, clothing the naked and visiting the imprisoned. To respect God is to be actively involved in the life of people in both spiritual matters (prayer, Bible Study, worship) as well as in the physical. This is why we are not to allow our bodies to engage in unprofitable, immoral activities (Romans 6). When we are consumed with the pursuit of satisifying our flesh, our spiritual lives will invariably fall short. We are to worship God then in both body and spirit. With the very actions of our lives as well as the things we meditate and contemplate.

In Philippians 4 we see the apostle Paul again set up this combination of worshiping God in both body and spirit.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Here then is the soul and spirit’s meditation. But note what follows in Philippians 4:9.

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

These are real, physical actions. What we have seen in Paul, we are to emulate and imitate. Let us so learn to glorify God in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20); with our very lives, the way we behave, the way we talk, the very things we do. May all these bring nothing but glory and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, showing our deep and loving respect to God.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed