In View Of God’s Mercy (by Pastor Bob Stiles)
Romans 12:1
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.”
The apostle Paul begins Romans 12 with “THEREFORE…in view of God’s mercy…” What’s he referring to? In order to fully understand this, it is helpful to know that Paul has spent the first eleven chapters of Romans explaining how God has rescued us from the guilt, penalty and power of sin. He’s told us that it is only through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that we can be forgiven. And he’s told us that we don’t deserve God’s love, but that in spite of us, He has been incredibly merciful. We live “in view of God’s mercy.” All of our faith and all of our lives are transformed by this. God has loved us and shown His mercy by giving Jesus to die on the cross in our place. God’s mercy is seen! The cross still stands before us! Our songs, our prayers, our communion, our preaching, our giving, all our worship to Him reflects upon the mercy of God seen in Jesus Christ, the Son. After what He has done for me… what He is still doing for me… what else can I do but give my life to Him! Because of His mercy, my whole life is now worship to Him.
Worship is always in response to God. God always takes the first step. He took the first step in creating us and He takes the first step in saving us through His Son. Our worship, then, is a response to the mercy God has shown us. You see, God saved us “FROM” something – from slavery to sin, from the consequences of our disobedience, from judgment and ultimately from hell – but He also saved us “TO” something. And that something is worship. He saved us to worship Him.
What is worship? The answer is both simple yet incredibly complex. It’s everything! Is music worship? Yes. Is taking part in a church service worship? Yes. Is getting up and having breakfast and going to work everyday worship. Yes, or at least it should be! In response to God’s mercy, we are to offer ourselves, our bodies as living sacrifices – this is our spiritual act of worship. When you make a sacrifice, you give something up. That’s the very nature of a sacrifice. It’s a serious, costly gift. Paul deliberately uses language in Romans 12 that will remind us of the gift of God. The Father offered the body of Jesus as our sacrifice, and in view of that, we too are to offer our bodies. We give ourselves up, we surrender ourselves utterly and completely and say to God “I’m going to give the control of my life and the purpose of my life back to it’s rightful owner – to You.” That’s what Jesus means when He says that unless we “take up our cross and follow Him, we cannot be His disciples.” Unless we give ourselves totally, we’re not truly people of God.
To be a “living sacrifice” means living a life that is fully consecrated—fully separated to God for His pleasure and purpose. It means living a life that is totally given over to God—offered up to Him in surrender and obedience to His will and His way. God is calling for lives that will be lived as a daily expression of worship to Him. This means a life that will worship Him in all of our actions, our attitudes, our motives, our words, our thoughts—everything! Today, respond to the mercy that God has shown you by living a lifestyle of worship to Him!
Mercy Suggestion: Write a note of appreciation and encouragement to your mailman. Consider putting a coupon for a free meal with the note and let him/her know that God loves them!
