Today is the beginning of the end….of our study in Romans. In case you are new to New Hope, back in August of last year, we started a series through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We’ve been away from our study this spring as we focused on some other things, now we are back and we won’t stop until we finish this study at the end of July.
Let me review, in case your memory is like mine and some of the details of our past study are a little fuzy or, like I said, in case you are new to New Hope.
The Book of Romans is a letter from the Apostle Paul to the church in Rome. Our study is titled The Gospel Unveiled because that is exactly what Paul is doing in this letter: He unveils the beauty of the Gospel message and then discusses how that beautiful message impacts and changes our lives.
He’s writing the letter because there is a division in the Roman church between Jewish Christians and non-Jewish Christians. Prior to the writing of this letter, the Roman Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. Some Jews were stirring up trouble in Rome, so he kicked them out. This included the Jews who had converted to Christianity and were a part of the church in Rome.
When these Jewish Christians left Rome, the church had a very Jewish feel. They practiced circumcision and followed the old Law. After five years, those Jews returned to Rome from exile and found a church that was no longer very Jewish. They were no longer practicing circumcision and weren’t holding to all the finer points of the old law. This created a division between those Jewish Christians and the non-Jewish Christians.
In his letter, Paul tries to repair the schism by pointing out the one thing that these two groups of Christians should focus on: the message of the Gospel.
Because of the importance of the unity of the Body of Christ, the Church, Paul reminds them that all of these peripheral issues matter very little compared to the importance of:
- The truth about who Jesus is.
- What he has done for us.
- How that changes us.
- The hope of eternal life that it brings.
I love the book of Romans. The message of this letter from Paul has never been more important. There is such a deep divide within the church today, and we need to understand what Paul is saying to us, the church. We need to come together to be as effective as we can in sharing the gospel. We need to understand the gospel’s message, what it means to turn our backs on sin, and follow him wholeheartedly.
In the first several chapters of Romans, Paul shows us our need for the Gospel and then paints a beautiful picture of the Gospel and how it is the answer to the problem that sin creates in our lives. Because of sin, we are separated from God and destined to spend eternity without Him in Hell. But because of God’s great love for us, He made a way for us to be forgiven once and for all time, for all of our sins.
Rom 5:6-10 (CSB)—For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
This is Paul, unveiling The Beauty of the Gospel message. Now, as we close in on the last several chapters of Paul’s letter, he begins to unveil The Power of the Gospel message and how, once we are reconciled to God, He begins to change us and transform us.
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Today, we are in Romans 12. The title of my sermon is Conformed or Transformed?
Rom 12:1 (CSB)—Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
Paul begins chapter 12 with “Therefore.” If you have been in church for much time at all, you may have heard someone say, “Whenever you see a therefore, you should ask, What’s it there for?”
What is Paul referring to when He says, “Therefore?”
Paul says, in light of the beauty of the Gospel, when we consider all that God has done for us, when we consider God’s expression of love towards us by what He has done in sending His only Son for us…in light of that (therefore): Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?
It simply means to give yourself to Him completely because of what He did for you. Truly, it’s reasonable to say to the Lord, “I’m laying my life down for You, Lord, because You gave Yourself for me. Because you gave me your life, I give you mine.
Paul says a similar thing in 1 Corinthians 9.
1 Cor 9:24-27 (CSB)—Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
When Paul talks about being “disqualified”, he’s not talking about losing his salvation or, in the end, not being forgiven for his sin. He’s talking about losing his credibility when preaching and sharing the gospel.
He says, “I want to train so that my life reflects what I believe. I want my preaching to carry the weight of a life that has been disciplined to the point that people not only hear my words, but see, in my life, evidence that what I am saying is the truth.”
This kind of life is the prize Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 9. This kind of life is our true worship, He says in Rom 12:1. Living this kind of life is an expression of gratitude and love toward the God who has adopted us as His sons and daughters.
True worship has less to do with offering sacrifices than with being a sacrifice ourselves.
—Mike Mason
How much of our bodies ought we to sacrifice? How much is enough? Is 10% enough? That’s what He asks us to give as a tithe, 10% of our income. If I go to church on Sunday, is that enough? How about if I go to church on Sunday, and read my Bible four times a week? Is that enough? How about if I go to church on Sunday, read my Bible four times a week and join a small group? How about that? Surely that’s enough! Or how about if I volunteer in the nursery? That has to be enough!
How much sacrifice is enough for God to be pleased?
That is not how God measures faithfulness. If that is the question you’re asking, you’re asking the wrong question. That is not the point when Paul talks about sacrifice and true worship.
In John 4, John talks about this encounter that Jesus has with a Samaritan woman. You may know the story. We don’t have time for the details of the story, but here is the part I want you to see. As Jesus is talking with this woman, she raises an issue that I believe reveals her desire to worship God. She makes this statement about the difference between the places where the Samaritans and the Jews worship. I believe her statement reveals her desire to know where and how worship happens, and what it means to really worship.
Here it is from Jn 4:
Jn 4:21-24 (NLT)—Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
What is true worship? It’s not where I attend church, how often I attend church, how much I tithe, or how many hours I volunteer. True worship is a life controlled by the Holy Spirit and fully submitted to the truth of God’s Word. This is the kind of worshipper that God is looking for. This is the worship that is holy and pleasing to God.
True worship, worship that is pleasing to God, radiates throughout a person’s entire life.
—A.W. Tozer
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How do we develop that kind of life? Paul tells us in Romans 12:2.
Rom 12:2 (CSB)—Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
How do we develop that kind of life? By not looking to our culture to form our lives, but instead, by allowing God to transform our lives. Instead of being consumed by or concerned with things that our culture says are important, gauging what is important by what God says has value.
When we consume ourselves with the things that God says are important, something begins to happen. We begin to transform, and our minds are renewed so that we begin to see things the way God sees things. This is the renewing of our minds.
When Paul talks about being transformed, the word he uses is the Greek word
μεταμορφόω (metamorphoō), be changed; be transformed. It’s where we get our word metamorphosis.
The process of change that happens when a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly.
Interestingly, it is used two other times in the New Testament—one to describe what happened to Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration when He began to shine (Matthew 17:2); and once to describe what happens to us when we see the Lord and understand the gospel message (2 Corinthians 3:18).
I want to change my circumstances. God wants to change me.
—Rick Warren
We get very focused on the external, which is what the world says is important. But God wants to change our hearts.
This is why one of our four values here at New Hope is Formation. Formation is learning to live out what is already true about us. Formation is learning to step into the Identity that God has already given us. You are a new creation if you have given your life to Christ. You are a son or daughter of God. You are a part of the Body of Christ. All of these things are true about you the moment you believed the message of the Gospel and submitted your life to Jesus.
Now, we are learning to become what is already true about us, to take hold of these things. We want to be formed or, more specifically, transformed by the Holy Spirit’s work in us. How does that happen?
That is where the things that I talked about earlier come into play.
Going to church on Sunday can be transformational when we hear good teaching from God’s Word and allow it to shape our thoughts and actions. Going to church on Sunday or attending something like a Men’s Breakfast or joining a Small Group can also be transformational when we build connections and relationships with other people who are leading us toward Jesus and encouraging us in our relationship with Him.
Reading God’s Word on your own can be transformational when you allow what you read to convict you and begin to see the areas of change that may need to come to your life. Maybe it’s a change of behavior or how you view things and mindsets, or a change that needs to happen in a relationship. But unless we ingest God’s truth into our lives, the Bible is just words on a page. But because it is the truth of God, it has the power, it has the ability to transform us. Unless it transforms us, knowledge of God’s Word is pointless.
The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.
—Dwight L. Moody
Tithing can be formational when it teaches us that God supplies what we need and that everything we have is because of Him.
Volunteering can be powerfully transformational on many levels. It teaches us to rely on God for the skills we need to serve, to love people the way that Jesus loves people, and to put the needs of others above our own. When we do the things that God has gifted us to do, we can help transform someone else’s life.
These acts can be transformational and are tools God can use to form us.
Where we get into trouble is when we begin to see those things in and of themselves as our worship. This is how the Jews wandered so far from God’s intention when it came to the law. This is why Jesus called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs and hypocrites.
Even though they did some of the right things, their hearts were far from God. They had exchanged knowing about God and strict adherence to a list of dos and don’ts for knowing God and understanding His heart for them and the people around them. They had mistaken the physical act of worship for true worship.
Many churches fall into this trap of legalism because they confuse true worship with the tools that help renew our minds and are useful for forming our hearts.
Rom 12:1-2 (CSB)—Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
True worship, Paul says in the second part of verse 2, leads us to understand God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. It leads us to understand what is most important to Him. It leads us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
The transformed mind begins to see life and the world around us, how God sees our life and the world around us.
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When you evaluate your life, do you see a life that is more conformed to the image of this world or a life that is being transformed to reflect Jesus? I’m not asking if you have arrived at perfection yet. I’ve followed Jesus for about 45 years and I know I haven’t arrived yet! But when I look back at where I was 45 years ago, or 25 years ago, or 5 years ago, and I see how God has been transforming me and changing me.
We are all hypocrites in transition. I am not who I want to be, but I am on the journey there, and thankfully, I am not who I used to be.
—Erwin McManus
I’m not who I used to be because of the power of the gospel. How about you? How have you seen the Holy Spirit changing you? As you look back do you see how God is transformng you?
When praying for transformation:
- God, help me to conform to the world less. Will You transform me more?
- God, show me with some tools that will help me along the way.
- God, show me mindsets or habits that need transformation and change those things.
Chris Hankel 
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