JOY "Living Sacrifices" February 15

Living Sacrifices

Romans 12:1-21

February 15, 2012

I          Conformity   Romans 12:1-2

II         Renewed Thinking         12: 3-8

III        Love in Action                12: 9-21 

I     Conformity    Romans 1:1-2

About 8 years ago, our niece Emily, got married. It was a beautiful, just- before Christmas, service, in a little church in Blowing Rock. The whole family was a part of the wedding-----I directed it, Mary Kathryn was a bridesmaid and sang, Lizzie was a junior bridesmaid and Griff played the violin. Emily even had my husband, Dale, reading the scripture. We are her godparents, as well, as aunt and uncle, so it was very fitting. The scripture, that Dale was to read was this passage, in Romans. Now, you have to understand 2 things about this story-----------1^st---it was a 6 o’clock wedding in December, in the mountains, with candlelight as the only illumination------------so it was dark inside and outside of the church and 2^nd---Dale is just about the most conservative person that you will ever meet and he takes his responsibilities very seriously and he is such a stickler for details, he very, very, rarely makes mistakes. 

Well, he stood up to read the scripture and very reverently, he started with Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God----for this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is----His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Then he sat down.  There was a problem though, and the congregation couldn’t help but laugh-----------The lack of lighting in the church, had caused Dale to misread, one tiny, little word, which changed the meaning of the whole passage. What he actually said was, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed, and instead of saying “renewing of your mind”, which is how the text reads---- what he actually said was, by the “removing” of your mind. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the ‘removing’ of your mind.”It was hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and all the more so, because it was Dale, who said it. We all got a good laugh, at his expense, and he was good natured about it.  Although, He refuses to believe that it really happened-----and if you were to ask him about it, he will deny, deny, deny. But everybody in that church, that night, knows that it did----- and it has turned out to be a great family story.

At the end of our lesson, last week, we read Paul’s wonderful words of praise, for God’s unsearchable wisdom and the wonders of a plan that only He could have devised! But, in his original manuscript, apparently, there was no break between chapters 11 and 12. He had continued right on with his thought, which was, and I’m paraphrasing, “therefore, because God is so amazingly rich in wisdom, glory, love and mercy, I urge you brothers to offer yourselves, as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your only logical, reasonable, act of worship.” 

To explain to his readers, how they should act and who they should be and what they should do, in light of who God is and what He’s done.

In the Greek, the way Paul phrased this first verse in 12, refers to an action that is done once and for all. It isn’t something that you do over and over again. You offer your life to Him once, as a living sacrifice, and then, you live the rest of your life, on that basis. It seems to me, that when we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, and we give Him our hearts; that’s the time that we should, consciously, give Him our bodies too. 

It amazes me, that God would even want our bodies. Our sinful nature, that doesn’t want to do, what God wants us to, lives there. Our bodies are the source, of our temptation to sin. They grow weak and wobbly with age, and our brains, lose their sharpness, long before we want them to. But God still wants us to offer them to Him, and when we do, they become pleasing and holy in His sight. 

Paul’s not saying that we have to get our lives cleaned up, or get our minds “removed”, like Dale’s inadvertent, choice of words, advocated. He‘s saying, that God wants us to come, just like we are, no matter what we’ve done or where we’ve been, or where we are right now, He will make us beautiful, in His sight, and will use us, as His hands and His feet, to love and encourage and serve, whomever He sends us to, wherever that is, and the whole time, He will be fitting us for heaven.

Paul goes on to say that once we’ve offered ourselves to God and He’s accepted them, then there are 2 things that we need to do, on an ongoing and continual basis----1.) Make sure, that we don’t conform ourselves to the pattern of the world, any more, and 2.) Make sure that we allow ourselves to be transformed, by the continual renewing of our minds, every single day. We’ve talked about sanctification before, and here it is again------choosing to turn our backs, on the standards that the world follows, and choosing to turn to, the Lord Jesus, so that we can think like He does, is how we’re being sanctified. 

The phrase “the pattern of this world” literally means------the blueprint, the purposes and the values, that lost, ungodly people use, as their game plan for living. We’re called to be different-----------we’re not supposed to live like the culture around us does. We’re supposed to live in that culture, with a Christian world-view, that is such a shining example, that people who don’t know Jesus, can’t help but want to. (on the way to school last week, my little 6 year old, goddaughter, Tegan, was praying for the kind of day, that she and her brother and sister would have at school---and she closed her prayer with, “please Lord, let us be your salt and pepper, with our friends.” Is that not precious?----but the thing is, even though, she misspoke, she was completely right------------her mama said, that she didn’t have the heart to correct her-----because sometimes we do have to add a little pepper, to our witness. Paul certainly did! )

Not conforming to the pattern of this world, means that we can’t let ourselves be caught up in, the spirit of this dying age, with its dead values, goals and philosophies. We have to guard against, letting ourselves be trapped and squeezed into, the world’s empty molds.

The spirit of the age, never changes, from generation to generation. And it’s still the same today. The basic pattern of this world, has always been to advance and gratify self. People, everywhere, and in all times, have always lived for themselves. They are ambitious; they want to exalt themselves, to accumulate wealth and power, and to make themselves the envy, of everyone around them. We’re all that way—if we weren’t tempered by the Holy Spirit, we would be just like everybody else in the world!

In Paul’s words, God is saying, “Don’t get caught up in the self-centered thinking, of the world around you. If you let it, the selfish spirit of this age, will drag you down and destroy your usefulness to me. If you wish to belong to me, and be used by me, then you have to sacrifice yourself. You must become conformed to my son, Jesus Christ-----you must not be conformed, to the self-gratifying ways, of this dying world.” 

The pressure to conform permeates our society. I hate it, when we let the world into the church, instead of taking the church to the world! Because, with church, sometimes, we find ourselves thinking and talking and living, according to the standards, that our society has set. Our dying cultures shouts at us, from every form of media that we have-----from TV to You-Tube, and everything in between. Even though, we have to pay a price for resisting, the pressure of conformity, we can, because we have the Holy Spirit, living inside of us, guiding us and giving us discernment and strength. He will transform us, by renewing our minds, which means, that He will change our thinking. He will give us, what the scriptures call, “the mind of Christ”. He will teach us to         learn to think and perceive and to act, like Jesus does, on a minute by minute, daily basis. Remember the catch phrase “what would Jesus do” from back in the 90s----it was everywhere, almost to the point, that we were oblivious to it. But, it’s exactly what Paul is talking about here----we need to get to the point, in our lives, that we don’t have to think “what would Jesus do” we just automatically do, what He would do, because our minds have been transformed, to think like His. 

We have to focus on what is really, truly, eternally, important------------not on the meaningless, temporary things, which are so prized by our world: like money, status, fame, power and pleasure and popularity. Having the mind of Christ, means, that we want to help advance God’s kingdom, more than we want to advance the kingdom of ourselves; and that we’re able to say “not my will Lord, but yours be done.” And this can happen, through fellowship with other Christ-minded believers; through reading and studying and memorizing scripture; through listening to God’s word being preached and explained; through singing songs and hymns of worship, and------ through stepping outside of our comfort zones, and going where the Lord calls us to, to be His hands and feet, in the middle of a sinful world.

We need to consciously ask ourselves, 3 questions, that maybe we’ve never asked ourselves before, or maybe, we have asked the questions, but we’ve strayed from our original answers:

1.) Have we offered our bodies as willing, living sacrifices to God, for Him to use the way He wants to?

2.) Are we willing to reject the brainwashing of the world, and to live as Christian, non-conformists?

3.) Are we willing to be transformed, by the daily, renewing of our minds, so that we can view the world, and live in it, with the mind of Christ.

II     Renewed Thinking     Romans 12:3-8

In order for us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we have to see ourselves, for who we are, in the Lord, and to see the church, in the way that God sees it.

A.)We have to, periodically, take stock, of where we are, in our relationship with the Lord. 

We have to consciously, remind ourselves, not to operate from the perspective, that everything is all about us---<which is a very narrow-minded, self-centered way, of observing the world.> Paul knew that we have a tendency to overrate ourselves or to listen and believe it, when other people overrate us, so he warned his readers “not to let ourselves think more highly of ourselves than we should.” 

We all recognize, arrogance and pride, when someone is bragging, but a lot of times, that bragging, is covering low-self esteem problems, so, we need to pay attention to that, in ourselves, and we need to be kind, when we recognize it in others. Another form of arrogance and bragging is a person, who is self-depreciating------someone, who is always self-consciously verbalizing, how they are nobodies. (Griff had a friend in middle school, whose mother was always lauding the accomplishments, of other little boys, while she was playing down the accomplishments, of her own son-----and most every time, her son would wind up being the one, who would come out on top. It used to drive me nuts. I wanted to say, “don’t do that, it makes you seem fake.”) The truth is, this kind of behavior, is actually, more arrogant than the behavior of the person, who is outright braggy------ because their expectation is, that we will correct them, and say “no, no, you’re wrong, you’re wonderful!” which really, just affirms, what they already think about themselves, they just don’t want anybody to think that they do.  

We also need to be careful that we don’t look at things, in a negative way all the time,  because being “oh woe is me”, can be just as self-centered as bragging can be.

One of the most common reasons that we overrate ourselves, is that we are creatures of emotion------we tend to be heavily influenced by our feelings. If we’re well-rested and the sun is shining, and we didn’t gain any weight overnight, and our hormones are in perfect balance, and our husbands kissed us good bye, and the kids, are all, where they’re supposed to be------then we will feel good about life and about ourselves. But if it’s really rainy outside, and we feel bloaty and headachy and our fingers are swollen, and the bills are passed due, and a friend is going to a lunch, that we didn’t get invited to---------then we may feel blue and sad and we can get down on ourselves. 

Feelings aren’t unimportant, but they are unreliable, they are mercurial---they can change on a dime. So, we need a more reliable guide, to evaluate ourselves by---- we need to see ourselves the way that God sees us. 

It is true that we are fallen creatures, with a sinful nature, that rears its ugly head all the time, and can’t be trusted, that makes us prone to wander away from the Lord, and prone to forget who we are in the Lord. But an even greater truth is, that the Holy Spirit is living inside of us and He has standard for us to measure up to, that is real and perfect and has never changed, since Jesus came, over 2000 years ago ,to show us the way, to walk by His standard. And according to the amount of faith that He has given us, we will have the power to walk the way He wants us to-------- and in the process, our minds will be renewed to be like His. Then, we’ll be able to stop evaluating ourselves, according to our subjective feelings, and we’ll evaluate ourselves, according the relationship, that we have with the Lord. It’s impossible for us to think more highly of ourselves than we should, when we measure ourselves by the Lord’s standard. Remembering who we are in Him, gives us confidence, courage and the ability to resist temptation and sin. And it’s a confidence, that isn’t conceited, because it isn’t focused on our ability to do even one thing! It’s focused on God’s!

B. We need to learn to view the Church the way that God does.

Paul says that, in Christ, we form one body. Not two, not hundreds, not thousands of bodies-------------just one! There is only one church, in the whole world. All genuine believers belong to it. It has nothing to do with nationality, with denomination, with being protestant or Catholic, with the kind of building we worship in, with the day of the week we worship on, with church tradition, or with church membership. If we are saved, then we belong to the church. And within that one body, we are members too each other. We belong to each other spiritually, in the same way that our arms and legs and heart and lungs, belong to each other, in our physical bodies. There is just one body, but it has many members and Jesus is its head.

And just like every part of the human body has a purpose and a function to perform, every member of the church body does too. Hands are for grasping and performing work. Feet are for standing and walking. Eyes are for seeing and Ears are for hearing and teeth are for chewing. A human body is not just a mannequin; it’s a complex organism, with many parts, and each of those parts, has a specific task to do. And, it’s the same way, with the church--------every individual person and every individual church body, has a specific task to perform and it is beautiful in its diversity, complexity and functionality. 

Christians don’t all come from the same economic class, race, generation or background. We don’t all have the same gifts, of the Holy Spirit. Every individual believer is as unique as a snowflake or a fingerprint------------no two are alike. Because of our uniqueness, we need to do what the Lord has called us to do, within the body of the whole church, by doing what He’s called us to do, within the body of our individual churches. If we don’t, our ministry will stop being effective and it may die.

(The ministry of the church is a ministry of people. When a church lives, it lives because the people within it are vital and active. When a church dies, it withers and just falls apart, not because the bricks and mortar and carpet and pew get old, and begin to crack and rip and crumble. A church withers and dies because the people wither and die spiritually. 

There is a true story told about a young minister in Oklahoma, who went to this little, long-standing church, in hopes of reviving its vitality. He gave it his best shot week after week, but it was to no avail. 

Finally he had one last idea, and it seemed to work. He announced in the local newspaper on a Saturday, that the church had died, and that on Sunday afternoon, there would be a funeral service in the church sanctuary and that everybody in town was invited. 

On that Sunday afternoon, for the first time, since he had come to the church, the place was packed. In fact, it was standing room only, with people on tiptoes, on the outside, looking in the windows.

To the shock of everybody there, there was a casket down front and it was covered in flowers. The pastor gave a eulogy and then he told the people to come and pay their respects, to the remains of the dearly beloved, who was being put to rest that day. The congregation could hardly wait, as they surged forward, to walk past the casket. As they filed by, one by one, and looked in----- they turned away sheepishly, feeling guilty, as they walked out the church door, because, inside the casket, the pastor, had placed a full-length mirror, and the burden of responsibility belonged to each one that saw their reflection.)

If a human body was one big eyeball or just a foot or a tongue, we would be gross. But many times, we try to build local churches or friendships or schools, that are determined to have just one kind of member in them. We seek uniformity, instead of diversity. God’s goal for the church is not uniformity; it is unity in our diversity. The only thing that should be the same about every person, and every individual church, is our love for the Lord and our love for each other. 

Paul points out that our function in the body, is determined by the gifts that we’ve been given. God has given gifts to the church, and no one has been left out. Every, single person, in the world, is physically born with a specific DNA, that is unique to them; there is no one else just like you or me. 

It’s the same way, when we’re reborn------the Holy Spirit gives us a new set of spiritual DNA that is not like anyone else’s. And the DNA determines the combination of gifts that each of us have. The Greek word that Paul uses for “gifts” is really the word for “graces”. Something graceful is a delight to watch in action, and that is very true of the gifts of the Spirit. A spiritual gift is an ability, which God gives us, because He wants us to function effectively and gracefully, in His body.

When we use our spiritual gifts, we experience a sense of fulfillment, because we’re functioning, as God intended for us to. If we fail to discover or to exercise our gifts, then we miss out on the excitement and satisfaction of accomplishing our purpose in this life. (A believer, who doesn’t use their spiritual gifts, is like my grandmother was, she would receive wonderful gifts, at Christmas-----she would unwrap them, and ooh and ah over them, and then, put them away in her cedar chest, saving them, till she needed them, she would say)-----and sadly, many of the gifts were never used before she passed away.

I always thought that was such a waste, but I didn’t grow up during the Depression and I’m sure that’s where her line of thinking came from----- But when we ignore the gifts, that the Spirit has given us, we are doing the same thing----------we are wasting something that is so precious and so priceless and so important to the joy of the giver-----it’s the same thing as wasting love. 

There are other places in the scripture where the Spirit’s gifts are mentioned----- there are as many as 19, listed, but I don’t think the list is exhaustive----there could be many more---the Spirit uses people in so many ways and in so many situations----we probably won’t know the full extent of them, until we get to heaven. But here, in this passage, Paul lists 7 of them.

1. Prophesying: Strictly speaking, prophets, before the Bible was complete, spoke when they were prompted by God and by the authority of God, and there words were to be heard, as if they were directly from God Himself. When the last word in the Bible was written and the last apostle died, there was no more need for prophets to be used in the same way----------but there are still people who have the gift of prophecy----------they have a supernatural ability, to proclaim the scripture, in penetrating and convincing ways. Prophecy comes from the word that means “to cause to shine”. A modern-day prophet has the Spirit-given ability, to make God’s word shine, so that everybody can understand it. But this gift is to be used according to the proportion of the prophet’s faith, so they need to stay within the limits of what they know. As they grow in their understanding of the scripture, so will their ability to make it shine, so that whoever is hearing them, will be able to apply it to their lives. Evangelists, preachers and writers, are good modern-day examples of who have this gift .
2. Serving: This is the gift of helping others. The word deacon, comes from the Greek form, of this word. Serving can take many forms, from serving as a deacon or usher to working in the nursery or on a committee. The gift of serving is the ability to help others with such a cheerful spirit, that both the servant and the served are blessed by it.
3. Teaching: Teachers have the ability to communicate, the truth of the word, with knowledge, ease and clarity. They can make the printed word come to life! They help others learn accurate facts, and discover principles, that they can apply to their own lives. The difference between prophesying and teaching, is that prophesying instructs the heart and moves the will, and teaching instructs the mind. If you have the gift of teaching, don’t wait for someone to ask you to teach. Find a place to use your God-given gift and put it to work!
4. Exhortation: This gift, most closely resembles, the work of the Holy Spirit. Exhorters have the ability to drive the truth home passionately; they can confront wrong constructively; they can turn scripture into an action plan, by using warnings, advice, or counsel;  they can unite believers effectively, behind a common project-------and they do it all with love and compassion and encouragement. 
5. Giving: All believers are instructed to be generous but these people, look for opportunities to give-----offering what they have, beyond what most people give. Sometimes, they’re wealthy, but more often, they are people of average means, who generously give their money, their time, their energy and their expertise. Gifted givers usually, don’t want bronze plaques or buildings named after them. There’s nothing wrong with having your name up, for the world to see, but supernatural givers don’t want all the attention---------they prefer anonymity. They see a need and then, they do everything they can to meet that need. They give without even thinking about being repaid. The more they give, the more God will give them, to distribute to others.
6. Leadership: The people who have this gift possess a supernatural ability to provide guidance and administration and mediation to the church. They conduct meetings in thoughtful, well-planned and orderly ways. They are visionaries and can see plans and projects completed, before they are even begun. And, they can get other people to follow them, into just about any venture. This is a gift that is much needed in the body of Christ.
7. Mercy: These people exercise an extraordinary ability to sense the need of those who are hurting------they seem to know just what to say and when to say it, and they also know when to be silent, and just listen or hold a hand, knowing, when just being present, is enough.

God has promised to transform us, by the renewal of our minds, and His Holy Spirit, will not fail in that mission. But we have a choice ------we can choose to remain stubbornly aloof and resist His work------or we can recognize, who we are in Him and how He views the church--------------and we can tune in to what He’s doing, and participate in His transforming process. And this choice begins, with how we decide to regard ourselves; the priority we give fellow believers; and how we use our spiritual gifts, to benefit, the whole body of Christ. 

III Love in Action    Romans 12:9-21

Paul tells in this passage, that there are 2 types of Christian love, that need to be manifested by believers, loving one another in the Body and loving a non-believing world, and he tells us how to exercise both types of love. Both expressions of love need to be genuine-----there is no room for hypocrisy, in the life of a believer. Pretending to love somebody, will eventually show its hand------this kind of love comes from the sin nature-------------it comes from the pretender, inside of us, who wants to have a good public image, but is neither real nor sincere.

Authentic love comes from the Holy Spirit. Paul said in Romans 5:5 “God has poured out His love into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” 

In this passage, Paul lists 6 ways, to authentically love each other in the church:

1. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good: This means that we should love the sinner and hate the sin. We are to reject the evil that people do, but we don’t reject the person, no matter what they’ve done. Every person has been created in God’s image, so we are to love them, because God loves them. This is not easy to do. People who do evil things are hard to love. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we will recognize that we all do evil and it’s only by God’s grace that any of us are saved. So because Jesus loved us enough to die for us and save us, then we need to love one another, for that same reason. Hypocritical love rejects people who don’t measure up to our standards. That’s one reason why people leave the church-----they hear us talk about peace and love and joy, but they don’t experience us living it out. When people sin, we’re quick to judge them, and not quick to forgive and restore them. When we do have to correct and restore a spiritual brother or sister, we need to do it gently and humbly, not like we’re morally superior, but with awareness that we have either been corrected or restored or that we may need to be in the future. 
2. Be devoted to one another, in brotherly love: We are spiritual brothers and sister. We have a deep relationship with each other because we are bonded together by the Lord Jesus. So we should be devoted to each other. Be should be concerned about the welfare, the joys, the sorrows and the needs of each other. When one of us hurts, we should be there to offer comfort. When there are troubles, we need to be there to meet each other’s needs.3.)
3. Honor one another above yourselves: We should let other people have the credit for things. If we have that kind of attitude, it won’t matter if anybody notices what we do, or if nobody bothers to thank us. As long as God’s will gets done and His word goes forth and His kingdom is advanced, that’s really all that matters. Our sin nature, demands attention and recognition, but a person who genuinely loves God and others, will do the good deeds that they do, for the Lord alone. 
4. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord: Real love stays optimistic and enthusiastic despite setbacks and obstacles. A believer who walks in the Spirit should always be rejoicing in the Lord. One thing that He says that he can’t abide is a lukewarm spirit. He wants Christians who are on fire-------so we should do all that is in our power, to maintain our spiritual fervor, as we continue to serve the Lord, our whole lives.
5. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer: The Christian hope is a confident expectation, of our future redemption, so being joyful in it, helps us to be patient in our afflictions and faithful in our prayers. And, if we are faithful in prayer, we will be patient in affliction.  
6. Share with God’s people who are in need: We should practice hospitality-----------we should see a need and meet it. Sometimes in this day of Social Security and Welfare, we forget that God has called the church to meet the needs of each other, first! It’s fine for the government to help, but it can’t show real compassion and caring----that’s what God put Christians on earth to do.

Then Paul goes on to list 6 ways to authentically love the non-believers that we come in contact with every day:

1. Speak well of your persecutors: Instead of complaining and whining and gossiping about the people who mistreat us, we need to find something, to speak well of them about, and pray, that God will do good in their lives. This is a difficult command for us. When somebody hurts us, the natural reaction is to hurt them back. But God calls us to a level of behavior that goes beyond a natural reaction. He calls us to a supernatural reaction. When somebody cuts us off in traffic; when the neighbor rattles the trashcans at midnight and wakes us up, when the store clerk is rude to us; when somebody hurts our feelings because they leave us or our child out of an event-----we need to consciously pray for them, instead of shaking our fists at them, and thinking or even saying, a few choice words.
2. Be sensitive to the emotional needs of others: Adjust yourself to the emotional needs of others. Rejoice when it’s time to rejoice and mourn when it’s time to mourn, with each other. It’s easier to comfort someone who is suffering, than it is to be genuinely happy for someone, who gets something that we would like to have. We need to behave our way into a feeling with other people, not feel our way into a behavior. We also need to remember not to be overly cheery, when someone is hurting, that seems like it would be a good thing, but it actually makes light of the other person’s feelings, and that isn’t loving them. 
3. Don’t show partiality or prejudice: Christian love, doesn’t treat anyone like they’re superior or inferior. This goes against human nature though; the natural human tendency, is to roll out the red carpet for people in high positions and to stick people who are in low positions, in a closet somewhere. But in God’s eyes, everybody is important! So that’s how we should treat them------------with respect and equality. We are no better than anybody else, and we need to remember that and show kindness to people, no matter what.   
4. Don’t be Sneaky or underhanded: If somebody does evil to us or someone we love, we should not plot some sneaky, crafty subtle way to get even. Instead, if somebody mistreats us, we are to find a way to do good to that person publically, for everyone to see.
5. Seek to live at peace with everyone, if it’s up to you: If you find yourself in conflict with somebody, make sure that everything you do, is focused on harmony and peacemaking. You can’t control another person’s behavior, but you can control yours, so make sure that everything you do, is loving and kind and righteous and Christ-like.
6. Do not try to get even with others: We are not in a moral position to judge other people. Only God, has the right, to judge a human heart. So we are not supposed to seek revenge. Paul gives two reasons why we should not avenge ourselves or someone we love----1.) “Leave room for God’s wrath” God is in control. He knows when we’ve been hurt or insulted and He will make sure that justice is done, in the end. And 2.) God is the only one who can seek vengeance, because He’s the only one who can dispense justice, in a way that is redemptive and loving. His goal is not to punish, it’s to bring about repentance and restoration. If we avenge ourselves, then we don’t give God a chance to work---and His way is infinitely better than our way. 

Paul says that the best thing we can do, is to feed our enemy, when he’s hungry and give him something to drink, when he’s thirsty. When we act kindly toward our enemies, we’re doing a good thing------- and Paul uses the analogy of heaping burning coals on the enemy’s head, to explain how. This is probably a reference to the method of lighting fires, in the days before matches. If the fire on your stove went out, and you wanted to light another one, you would take a fireproof, earthen jar, to your neighbor’s house; your neighbor would put coals in it, and then you would put a cloth pad, on top of your head, then steady the jar on top of the pad and take your coals home. Heaping burning coals on somebody’s head, became a metaphor, in the days of Solomon, (because Paul is quoting Proverbs 25:21-22), to describe a generous response to a neighbor in need. We are to respond generously to our enemies just like we would to our neighbors. 

As we examine our lives in light of what Romans 12 teaches us, there is the question that confronts us every single morning is who am I? The answer we give, should come from the scripture, and it will determine how we live out each day.

Pastor and author, Ray Stedman has given the best answer to this question, I’ve ever heard and it’s the answer that we, each one, should have imbedded in our hearts:

“I am a child of God. My body is a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him. So, I refuse to conform to the pattern of this world, and I choose to be transformed, by the renewing of my mind. I am equipped by the Holy Spirit; to do God’s will today. I am gifted with special abilities to serve God and others, and I will use those gifts seven days a week, wherever I am. I will love my brothers and sisters, in the church, the boy of Christ, because we belong to each other. And I will show genuine Christian love to the people outside the body of Christ, even to my enemies. That is why God has redeemed me and placed me in the body of Christ. That is who I am”

As we live each day as living sacrifices, serving God with our bodies, our transformed minds, our spiritual gifts and our Christ-like love, we will come to understand who we are, and why we’re here.