WWUTT 186 Who Has Known the Mind of the Lord?

Well, we've made it the end of 11 chapters of Romans, and then we enter into a new section here with Romans Chapter 12. But before we do that, let's look back over some of these mercies of God that have been shown to us when we understand the text.

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Now here's our host, Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Thank you, Becky. I had a wonderful, encouraging weekend. I hope that you did as well and enjoyed time with the body of Christ, worshiping together yesterday. We have finished up the first 11 chapters of Romans and are ready to jump into Romans Chapter 12.

The Transition from Romans 1–11 to Romans 12–16

As I said to my congregation before we jumped into Romans 12, we actually finished up Romans 12 yesterday. But before we got into this chapter, I said that you're going to feel like we changed books of the Bible.

There is so much difference between Romans 1 -11 and Romans 12 -16. Why is that? Because in the first 11 chapters, Paul is making a case for the doctrine of justification. I mean, there are a lot of different doctrines and theologies that come into that, but his basic main theme in those first 11 chapters is justification.

That's what it is that he is laying before the Roman Christians in the theology that he is unfolding. Then chapters 12 -16 are what that theology, what that reality of justification is supposed to look like in the life of a believer.

So I have been justified by faith in Christ Jesus, my Lord. So now what does that look like in my life? And so Paul explains that in the next six chapters, chapters 12 -16. So as we get into chapter 12, the feel of it is going to be a lot different.

But one of the things that we have to keep in mind is all of the theology that we've read prior to this. I had somebody message me, it was either last week or the week before, said that they were about to start a Bible study leading Romans.

They asked me, what are some tips that you could give me as to how I'm going to lead this study? One of the things that I said is you always have to keep in mind the application. No matter what you are talking about, where you are in Romans, you have to put application in there.

You can't wait until chapter 12 to get to the application. This is actually something that I learned more about as we continued in Romans. Maybe the application was easier in the first three chapters.

But once we hit chapters 4 -11, I consciously had to be thinking about every Sunday that I was preaching on Romans, how I was going to give application to my congregation. Because otherwise you're just studying doctrine, deep theology, and you can lose people.

You can't get mad at everybody else that you're preaching to for not being able to track with you. Because part of your job as a leader, as a teacher in a Bible study or a pastor in a church is to help people understand this.

And so the Roman Christians were hearing all of Romans read at once. They heard all of the doctrine in the first 11 chapters and then all of the application in the next six chapters. But when we're going piece by piece and verse by verse in a Bible study setting or in a church setting doing exposition, you don't always get to the application.

You don't add in chapters 12 -16. You're just stuck in the section that you are in. So you have to keep in mind application and giving that to your listeners and understanding how this is supposed to apply, how this is supposed to look and play out in the life of a believer.

We've done a little bit of that as we've gone and sometimes I'll tie it into a current event or something like that. And hopefully that will give you the application. But other times you're just talking doctrine and theology and sometimes the discussion just stays there.

That's okay sometimes too. But here we get to the application of those first 11 chapters here in Romans chapter 12. That's where we're going to start today. I'm just about caught up with where I am and delivering sermons.

But like I said, we just finished up Romans 12 yesterday. So we get into the start of this chapter here. We're going to do this a couple of different ways. I'm going to tie in what we're looking at at the start of chapter 12 with what we looked at at the end of chapter 11.

That's what we're going to do today. Then tomorrow I want you to have a writing utensil handy, either a highlighter or a pen because we're going to go back through the first 11 chapters of Romans and highlight some key points that tie into what we're reading here at the start of chapter 12.

Deal? You're tracking with me? All right, let's go. Let's start here. Romans chapter 12. We're just going to read the first two verses. That's as far as we're going to get today. I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Apply those verses to memory, memorize Romans 12, one and two.

We're probably going to be talking about those couple of verses, at least for most of this week, maybe get a little bit further, but that's definitely where we're going to be as far as today and tomorrow goes.

The Doxology at the End of Romans 11

Here's what I want to do today. Let's look at what we finished up last week in Romans chapter 11. Go back to verse 33, oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor or who has given him a gift that he might be repaid for from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever.

Amen. Now, look at Romans 12 verse one. I appeal to you therefore brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Now yes, there is a divide between Romans 11, 36 and Romans 12 verse one. I don't think it is an accident that those chapters are divided there, but there is also a context that needs to be kept in mind at the end of Romans chapter 11.

That doxology that we have there that goes from verses 33 through 36 is not just summarizing the theology that Paul was laying out there in Romans 11. It is also summarizing the theology that we were looking at in Romans 9, 10 and 11.

And it's been summarizing the doctrines that we've been reading from Romans one through Romans 11. So there are a few different contexts to consider there. But ultimately we have these doctrines, this theology of justification that Paul is laying out and he wraps it up with this beautiful doxology.

Now last week when we read it on Thursday, we applied the doxology as it pertained to the conclusion of the thoughts that were being presented in Romans 11. But today we're looking at it as a conclusion of the doctrines that have been laid out in those first full 11 chapters.

So you're thinking about coming to an understanding of being justified in Christ. Our salvation is by grace through faith. We are justified by nothing that we have done, but because of the work that Christ has done.

And Paul has said in chapters 9, 10 and 11 that it doesn't have anything to do with you and your work. It is God who has mercy. It is God who has willed who will be the objects of his mercy. And it is God who has willed who will be the objects of his wrath.

Yet the calling is still upon us to preach the gospel of Christ to the nations. For how are they able to believe unless they have heard? And then in chapter 11, there is a remnant that has been preserved, a remnant of Israel that is receiving these doctrines of grace.

They have received grace and salvation and justification through Jesus Christ. And this beautiful picture of the cultivated olive tree in Romans 11 and how both Jews and Gentiles have been grafted in the root being Christ.

And again, reminded that it is not by any work that we have done. Do not become proud, but fear, Paul says in Romans 11, 20, again being reminded that it is not our work, but God's work. And so with these things in mind, oh, the depth and the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways.

Who could have predicted that God would have done things like this? Who could have seen a plan of salvation that is as incredible and as deep and as searched over and pined over and sought out as we have given attention to these things for 2000 years of church history?

That is how deep that these riches of God are, that the church has been searching them for 2000 years and we still have not come to the end of them. They are continuing to confound us and awe us all at once.

Oh, the riches of his wisdom and his knowledge, how unsearchable his judgments, how inscrutable his ways for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor, who can tell God what he can or cannot do or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid.

And as I, as I mentioned on Thursday, if it, if our salvation was based on our works, then God would owe us our salvation, but he doesn't owe us anything. Who has given anything to him that, that we have to be repaid for it.

God doesn't owe us anything. And yet by his grace and love and mercy, he has shown us the gift of his son, Jesus Christ, and salvation that comes from him for from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever.

Amen. Wrapping up this understanding of justification through Jesus Christ, our Lord by grace through faith that Paul is presented in 11 chapters of Romans. That is the doxology that concludes that presentation of theology.

Living Sacrifice and Renewed Mind in Light of God's Mercies

So now in chapter 12, I appeal to you, therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, what mercies, all of the mercies that we've read about in these deep doctrines and this deep theology by these mercies, I appeal to you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

We'll talk about that more later on in the week, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. And again, by the mercies of God, in light of these mercies, do not be conformed to this world because again, we've been justified by Christ.

We've been delivered from this world into his eternal kingdom. So do not be conformed to this world. Folks, do not have your mind conformed to the world. Don't even be thinking the things of this world, the craziness that is going on in our culture right now.

Don't even agree with it. Whether or not your actions show that you follow the pattern of this world in your mind, don't even agree with the thinking of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

When we talk about the will of God, we talk first and foremost about the revealed will of God in his word. And we have seen his will revealed in the 11 chapters of Romans that we have studied so far. These are the mercies of God that have been laid out before us by his apostle.

Praise be to God for his glorious grace. Here's what I want to do tomorrow. So let's find a way to summarize the mercies that we've been talking about over the last, you know, months that we've been looking at.

How long have we been at this? Did I start this since Christmas? So has it been like almost six months now that we on this program, we have been studying through Romans. I can't remember when I started, but I guess it was, it was January.

So everything that we've looked at over the last six months, five months, let's go back through and highlight to summarize what these mercies of God are. So we are going to highlight key points in these 11 chapters of Romans, and that's what we're going to do tomorrow.

So have a writing utensil, something that you can underline with something, maybe you can write in your margins with or a highlighter if you choose to use a highlighter. And that's where we're going to be headed with our study tomorrow.

Our great God, what wonderful riches you have shown us through Jesus Christ, our Lord, unfathomable. I mean, are our voices even worthy of lifting the praise that we are lifting to you now because of what has been given to us in Christ Jesus.

And yet you have said in your word that you will receive that offering, that we lift up this praise to you if it is done from a heart that has been changed in Christ. And so Lord receive our praise and may it be pleasing to your ears.

Help us to understand what it means to present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship. And as we continue to meditate on this today, and we'll meditate on it again tomorrow, continue to illuminate to us your great mercies through Jesus Christ.

In his name we pray, amen.

You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. We hope you are a part of a church family committed to gospel teaching, and we thank you for including us in your Bible learning.

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