Paul's Epistle to the Romans — page 43

In this doxology, we see that the apostle's heart is full of praise and admiration for God's great plan to save and bless both Jews and Gentiles. Seven great attributes of God are mentioned: the "riches", the "wisdom", the "knowledge", the "judgments", the "ways", the "mind [the mind]" and the "counsel" of God. All these things worked together to secure our blessing in a way that is beyond understanding.

Paul concludes by recognizing that every good and blessing has its source in God Himself; it is all "of Him". Everything He brought for man's blessing is "through Him" and, finally, will return "to Him" for His own glory. This shows that God is the Source of all good, the Agent of all good and the Object of all good. Everything was planned to bring "glory" to Him, and will bring glory to Him on the day of Christ's manifestation. Paul rightly concludes the doxology with a warm "Amen" ("So be it").

Three Great Doxologies of Paul

• Doxology for the wisdom of God (Rom. 11:33-36).

• Doxology for the love of God (Eph. 3:20-21).

• Doxology for the grace of God (1 Tim. 1:17)

DEVOTIONAL

Chapters 12-15 THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD DEMONSTRATED IN PRACTICAL LIFE Chapters 12-15

In chapters 3:21-8:39, we had the righteousness of God declared in the gospel, securing deliverance for the believer from the penalty of his sins, from the power of sin and, finally, from the presence of sin. Then, in chapters 9-11, we saw the righteousness of God unveiled in His dispensational ways. Now in chapters 12-16, we will learn that God wants His righteousness demonstrated practically in the lives of those whom He has saved. Thus, chapter 12 begins a new division in the epistle in which many practical exhortations are found based on the doctrine that was set forth in chapters 1-11. Of necessity, doctrine precedes practice in Christianity. The structure of the New Testament epistles reflects this. Through doctrine, we not only learn our position of favor before God, but also how we should order our lives correctly on earth in relation to the heavenly calling. J. N. Darby said that no Christian knows his own place before God without doctrine, and no Christian will walk correctly without it. Emphasizing the importance of doctrine, C. H. Brown said: "We must believe correctly before we can walk correctly."

Entering this devotional part of the epistle, we see that it is God's desire that the truth be demonstrated in practice in the Christian life. However, it is not His intention that believers be found living their Christian lives with a sense of obligation and legal obedience, but with hearts captivated by affection for Christ. Therefore, He fills our hearts with appreciation for what He has done to save us, and thus allows His rights in redemption to move us to a proper Christian life. Anticipating this kind of response in these chapters, Paul portrays the believer moving along completely different lines, with entirely new motives, from those that once controlled him in the days before his conversion.

DEVOTED SERVICE

TO GOD Chapter 12:1-8

In the first eight verses of chapter 12, Paul traces a moral order of the things that occur in the lives of those whose hearts have been touched by the compassions of God and the love of Christ. These things are like a chain, building from one link to the next – going from the believer's appreciation for the mercy and grace of God, to his consecration to the service of God.

APPRECIATION (chap. 11:33-36)

The doxology at the end of chapter 11 forms a natural transition (a bridge) to the practical exhortations of this chapter. As we have already observed, reflecting on all that has happened in the eleven preceding chapters will have a positive effect on the believer. It will produce a sincere appreciation for what God has done to save him and will be expressed in praise and thanksgiving. This is truly the source for all correct Christian behavior. Let us, then, take time to consider (and meditate on) what God has done through Christ for His own glory and for our blessing; this will make us grateful and dedicated Christians.

DEDICATION (chap. 12:1)

Supposing that the believer's heart is full of appreciation for what God has done, Paul immediately appeals by the rights of Christ in redemption. The "compassion of God" in reaching us and saving us at great cost to Himself not only requires thanksgiving, but also the surrender of our lives to the cause of Christ in this world. Paul, therefore, calls for the dedication of our lives as an appropriate response. He says: "I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing [acceptable – JND] to God". Note: he does not say, "I command you therefore, brothers..." because it is not legal obedience that God desires from the Christian. Our natural response should be: I must give something in recognition to Him. What can I do for Him? Or, as the psalmist said: "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" (Ps. 116:12).

The logic of the cross – what happened there – should lead the believer to an unconditional surrender of his life to Christ. That is dedication. To dedicate means "to give oneself up." (See Acts 15:26 – JND). In the Scriptures, it has the sense of dedicating something to God (Lev. 27:21, 28; 2 Sam. 8:11). "Present" is in the aorist tense in Greek, meaning that this should be a once-for-all thing in the believer's life. (If a person suffers a fall in his soul and departs from walking with the Lord, he will need to dedicate his life again, but that is not normal Christianity.) Our "bodies," which were formerly used as vehicles of our own wills, now, as a result of God's grace working in our hearts, should gladly be placed on God's altar as a sacrifice to be used in His service.

Dedication is closely linked to Lordship; the two things really go together. Recognizing the Lordship of Christ involves renouncing in His favor the command of our lives. Having Christ as Lord of our life goes beyond having Christ as our Savior. One thing is to know Him as our Savior who died for us, and another thing is to have Him as the Lord of our lives. Lordship has to do with the recognition of His authority in a practical way. It is recognizing that He is the only One who has the right to order our lives, because in redemption He claimed everything we are and everything we do (1 Cor. 6:20, 7:23). This "sacrifice" must be a voluntary choice of the believer whose heart has been touched by the love of Christ (2 Cor. 5:14-15). It is purely a personal matter; it is not a group exercise.

This shows that when the heart is taken up with admiration and affection for Christ, there will be an entirely new motive in the believer that will alter the course of his whole life. The personal objectives, goals and ambitions he once had will be sacrificed and gladly exchanged for the pursuit of what belongs to the glory of God in Christ. It is a noble sacrifice that will be richly rewarded, both now and in a day to come. We will not regret having given our lives to Him! There has never been found a single believer who gave his life to Christ and regretted having done so! This is truly the path to a happy and fruitful Christian life.

There are really three sacrifices in Christianity:

• OFFERING PRAISE – "Therefore let us offer always through Him to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His"

"name" (Heb. 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:5).

• OFFERING MATERIALLY – "And do not forget the beneficence and communication" [of your resources – JND], "for with such sacrifices God is well pleased" (Heb. 13:16; Phil. 4:18).

• OFFERING OUR LIVES (time and energy) – "Present your bodies a living, holy and pleasing sacrifice" [acceptable – JND] "to God" (Rom. 12:1).

Sometimes dedication is confused with consecration, but there is a difference. Dedication has to do with our placing something in God's hand – our lives (v. 1), whereas in consecration God places something in our hands – He fills our hands with a work to be done in His name (vs. 6-8). Note also: Romans 12:1 says that this sacrifice must be "holy." God will accept and use our lives when we give them to Him, but they must be holy. If we are not living a holy life, it cannot be accepted and used in His service.

Paul adds that it is our "reasonable service." Reasonable should be translated as "intelligent." This means that our sacrifice to God is something that can be reasoned out intelligently and logically. What Paul is saying here is that, in view of what Christ has done for us, the only right and logical thing to do is to respond by giving our lives to Him. There is also the thought here that Christian service is something we understand as to what we do and why we do it. This is in contrast to God's service in the Old Testament. When the Levites in that system carried out their service by offering sacrifices, there was much they did not understand. For example, they did not know why they should cut the sacrifices into various parts, etc. But in Christianity, we have an "intelligent service" [intelligent service – JND]. When the Lord calls us to His service – to which every Christian is called – we can carry it out intelligently. We know why we preach the gospel; we know why we baptize those who believe, etc.

SEPARATION (chap. 12:2a)

Paul then touches on something that clearly stands in the way of the surrender of our lives to the cause of Christ – the world. He therefore exhorts: "And do not be conformed to this world." The reason we need to be separated from the world is because the world and its principles are entirely opposed to a person who does the will of God. The world encourages us to put ourselves and our interests first. The fundamental principle on which the world moves is to do what we want to do. We are told to live for ourselves – for what pleases us. We are encouraged to become happy in the pursuit of whatever earthly object we choose. If we have any dream of doing something in this world or of being someone in this world, the world encourages us to pursue it. But all these pursuits only conform us to its ways, and they will not make us truly happy, nor will they make us fit for the Lord's service. The right-minded Christian, therefore, should see the world system (the society of unbelievers) as an enemy, and separate himself from it.

The world tells us to put THE I at the center of all our actions. God, however, wants us to put CHRIST at the center of all our actions. When we do this and seek to do things that will make the Lord happy, a strange and inexplicable thing happens – we discover what true happiness really is! In fact, the more we try to make Him happy, the happier we become! This is a phenomenon that cannot be explained. It is the secret of true happiness, about which the men of the world know nothing. It is sad to say that many Christians do not know it either, and that is why we see so many Christians pursuing worldly pleasures in search of satisfaction and happiness.

TRANSFORMATION (v. 2b)

God wants to use every Christian in this world to promote the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, He cannot use us (to any appreciable degree) in the initial state in which He saves us. There is simply too much ego and worldly and carnal principles at work in our hearts. Therefore, there is a need for transformation.

Paul says: “but be transformed by the renewing of your understanding” [your mind – ARA]”. God has an individualized plan for each of us, with a view to glorifying His Son. To this end, He wants us first to discern and then to do His will in the service of the Lord. But since the ways and principles of the world so easily influence our thinking and prevent us from discerning His will, we need repeatedly to renew our mind by redirecting it to Christ and to what is related to His interests and glory. C. H. Brown said we should do this 50 times a day! As a result, we are transformed into vessels that can be used for the glory of the Lord. Thus, transformation is accomplished by renewed thinking.

It is interesting to note that in the Greek text there are two different roots used for “form” in the words “conformed” and “transformed”. In conformed [suschḗmatizṓ] it refers to a superficial change, but in transformed [metamorphoṓ], it is a deep internal change. Therefore, the transformation that God accomplishes in us is a complete and lasting renewal of our beings. Simply put: as to our character and ways, we are being conformed or we are being transformed. We are moving in the direction of the world or away from it. We can be sure that if worldly ambitions take up residence in our thinking, the process of transformation will be greatly hindered.

When it comes to the service of God, we should not focus on what we can bring to Him with regard to our abilities. Nor should we be discouraged by our inabilities. It is our availability that God desires. If we make ourselves available to Him, giving Him our lives, He will transform us into something useful in His service. Thus, Paul touched on three things that are necessary to discern the will of God for our lives:

• A body presented (v. 1).

• A life separated (v. 2a).

• A mind renewed that is committed to doing the will of God (v. 2b).

REALIZATION (v. 2c)