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Re: Bulletin Board [message #9489 is a reply to message #9473]

Sat, 27 April 2013 15:13

james
Messages: 2137
Registered: April 2008
Location: Birmingham, AL

Senior Member

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

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

I would like to share some of what The Lord has been showing me from Romans concerning salvation, grace, mercy, renewing of my mind,taking up my cross daily, and being a living sacrifice unto God. For several months I've been going over and over several books of the NT that really deal with these subjects, and The Lord has been deepening my understanding and opening my eyes more and more to the wonderful truth of His great Love for man.

In chapters 9-11 Paul reveals the plan of redemption for the Jews and Gentiles. God's sovereign Mercy and Grace and plan of salvation are shown and plainly explained. Mercy is mentioned 10 times(by my count) in chapters 9-11 and Paul explains how we are "vessels of mercy" on whom God chose to bestow the grace and favor of salvation. We deserved judgment because of our sins, Yet GOD, chose to have mercy and saved us by giving Jesus Christ to pay the penalty of death we deserved. Bringing us to chapter 12 of Romans.

First I want to give some word definitions from 'Vines Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words'...

Therefore: Therefore is "there for" the purpose of connecting what immediately preceedes it with what follows.

Sacrifice: The act offering, or "that which is offered".

Conform: "to fashion or shape one thing like another." "to give the same figure or appearance as..."

Transform: "to change into another form". "The obligation being to undergo a complete change which, under the power of God, will find expression in character and conduct...inward change."

So after reading (hearing) and understanding(believing & receiving) the awesome news[Gospel] of the Mercy and Grace given (not earned) us, we come to chapter 12.

"Therefore"...Because of what He has done, not in order to obtain our salvation by works we perform, we should present our bodies (whole selves) a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God...which IS our reasonable service. Let's examine the word "reasonable", it implies rational, logical; makes perfect sense. So in knowing what God's mercy has done for us, it only stand to reason for us to live our lives wholly holy for Him who has bestowed upon us this wonderful mercy and grace.

How do we do that? By not being conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds by the working of The Holy Spirit as His Word changes how we think, act, and live our daily lives. We establish in our hearts, by His grace, His Word as the Standard by which we measure everything. Not contemporary, humanistic reasoning; not by the way the post-modern society we live in defines righteousness and morality. Not drawn in (conformed) to that which appeases the flesh and "feels good", but as living sacrifices...offering up unto God daily, our complete will to know and do His...which is to love and obey Him...

“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,”

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