Nov. 19, 2017 Living Sacrifices by Pastor Josh Sheldon

to Romans chapter 12 Our text this morning will actually be the first verse of chapter 12 but I will read from the previous chapter from chapter 11 verse 33 down to verse 2 and Then with God's help we will speak about verse 1 from chapter 12

So Romans 11 beginning at 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 a gift to him that it might be repaid?

For from him and through him and to him are all things to him be glory forever Amen, 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? Well, we've been in this book of Romans for quite some time now and I think many of you have been waiting for this particular chapter

For this whole line of reasoning that we jump into now in chapter 12 You've been kind of waiting for it on pins and needles just dying to get past all the theology and Get to this

What do I do? We've heard 11 chapters of God's part what has

God done for sinners in Jesus Christ, what is this gospel and And now

Finally for all you type A's out here. What do you get to do? You've been waiting for it?

I'm pins and nill even needles You've been like children slogging through the spinach and the Brussels sprouts and eating every crumb of the food mom and dad says is good for you just so You can get to what you think is the ice cream

And for some of you has been like going to the movies Where you can't get to the feature presentation because they got that's endless trailers and all those

Advertisements for the popcorner to turn your cell phone off and you just can't let's get to the good stuff

Let's get to chapter 12. I want to be told what to do. So now beginning this day with God's help what to do and You get to hear what to do and it's actually a two -way street because now

I as your pastor and preacher get to tell you What to do So here we are 11 chapters of Doctrine and theology and at the end of chapter 11 that amen that I'm in that seems to break the

Book into these two sections and it certainly does But as we go on as we begin this chapter this what do

I do what is my part Don't think that the transition is that abrupt?

Because there's an amen there and Paul does signal he's finished that part. He's given you enough theology

You've got the doctrine down. He's explained the gospel to you You know what God has done by his grace because of his mercy in Jesus Christ But everything that follows is based upon what preceded the break is not that abrupt as Sometimes we think the theology of those first 11 chapters you see they have an intended target

Paul like any good theologian today, I would say he doesn't just tell you things for your intellectual betterment

He's not trying to just fill your head with facts and things to know about God The target that is intended is a transformation of our behavior

There's a so what to all this theology It's not just Philosophical type of exercise

There's something real that has happened in history. God has done something in Jesus Christ for sinners.

God willing for you giving you faith to believe this gospel and That being the case

You do need to understand what this gospel is. Therefore. We have 11 chapters of theology about this gospel and therefore there is a necessary a requisite a

Consequent response of the one so Receiving God's mercy by the atoning death of his son

Jesus Christ. There's something that we need to do in our response His theology has a target

Transformation behavior by the renewal of our minds whichever side of the cross we're on Looking forward to it or back upon it

Of course forward to it could only be the ancients before the cross before the first century

Looking back upon it as we must the cross of Jesus Christ Has got to be the focus

Even those who don't believe in Jesus Christ think of history in terms of BC and AD before before and after the cross

What Paul has given us here in these 11 chapters is an entire framework a lens through which

The Christian must view everything For some of us this is going to be new as I give you duties to perform ways to think that you must think things that inhere upon your responsibilities from this gospel and it's going to be new to you because you've been taught that all

I have to do is say I believe in Jesus and Isn't that enough? for others

This will be a reminder a Reminder that God has shown mercy to sinners and that demands something from us that puts a responsibility upon us the dedication

Of our entire self to God's service and for his glory

I want us to notice in the first few words of Romans 12 verse 1 notice the way

Paul broaches this whole subject he makes an appeal he makes an appeal and we notice that it's first of all that it's an appeal and I want us to look at who he appeals to and Then we need to look at the basis of this appeal

Because he's not just throwing out orders and commands. He's not just saying do better There's more behind it than that not just 11 chapters of theology.

Also the way he introduces this whole thing I see I think it's very important to us Some translations use instead of appeal beseech or exhort or urge

He doesn't use the command voice here that doesn't mean that what follows is optional

He seems to be certain that his words from the preceding chapters have fallen on receptive ears

You Think of the Galatians in there leaning back towards the works of the law as a way of salvation or sanctification

Or you think of the disorder and Corinth and think of the the the sterner rod that that brought from the

Apostles pen but here There's a certain trust that he has in these 11 chapters having

Had its work in the people's hearts It's this kind of confidence towards the end of the book that he shows in chapter 15 verse 4 where he says

I myself am Satisfied about you some translations say confident about you

My brothers that you are full of goodness filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another so he's using a language of appeal or exhortation or urging or beseeching it's really the language of diplomacy between friendly nations an

Appeal rather than a command a trust That the grace and mercy of God to sinners in his son

Jesus Is something that has infected your entire being he writes to brothers says

I appeal to you brothers As in chapter 15 verse 4 he calls them my brothers he speaks to all he doesn't just mean the men of the church

He's singing brothers and sisters the word there is generic in that sense. He's writing to brothers He's writing to family members at the end of Romans.

There's a list of some people in Rome who he knew personally But he wasn't personally known by very many of the people in the

Roman Church There's just a few of them in that whole congregation yet. He calls them brothers

He speaks to them as brothers and sisters and cousins and mothers and fathers the family of God those who like himself are under this

Umbrella of Christ's blood and his atoning death and the faith that God gave him to believe that brothers and sisters in the

Lord the church Those are the ones to whom he appeals He calls them brothers this family -like closeness a term of affection, and then there's a basis of his appeal if it's an appeal and not a

Hard command though not optional and what follows is no way optional to us as we will see

He makes this appeal. He has a basis for it and the basis is the mercies of God Mercy occupies a good portion of those three chapters that we just came through chapters 9 through 11

And I don't want to summarize them all for you, but I will recite some of those Main verses within that section so you remember them chapter 9 verses 15 to 16

For he that's God for he says to Moses I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom

I have compassion and Then Paul's comment to this verse 16 so then it depends not on human will or exertion

But on God who has mercy Verse 18 in that same chapter so then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever he wills

Verse 23 in chapter 9 he made known the riches of his glory for the vessels of mercy which he had prepared beforehand for glory chapter 11 verses 30 to 32

You now have received mercy because of their disobedience So they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive

Mercy for God has consigned all to disobedience That he may show mercy to all

Several Psalms repeat this truth over and over that his mercy endures forever

Mercy is the reason for your salvation Mercy is God's intervention and provision to man what he cannot do for himself mercy sees our pitiful state and our even worse fate to come and Intervenes and applies to us the benefits of Jesus Christ's atoning death on the cross mercy

Gives you faith to believe and all this implies something

The chapter is 1 through 11 and all that theology and what God has done in history in time and space in Jesus Christ All this mercy that God showers upon undeserving sinners

It's got to change the way we look at everything We like to say the gospel changes everything not some things not most things it has to change

Everything it changes the whole way we look at life Existence this world around us

We have a worldview Don't we? Everyone has a worldview everyone has

Some sort of filter some sort of sieve through which everything passes and comes out with an answer consistent

Hopefully consistent with that view now some people haven't thought it all through and so they can bounce around in their answers and not always line up exactly with all

The points of their worldview, but in general people have a way of seeing things That brings forth their responses in life

Whether it be in a casual conversation an argument the big decisions what college to go to Who to marry those sorts of things we have a worldview that brings forth the answer or at least makes us feel late

We had a basis for it If you're a Christian If you are one of these brothers or sisters mothers fathers cousins aunts uncles that Paul writes to I appeal to you then brothers family of God If you are amongst that that body

You have a worldview And it can't be the worldview you had before you met the

Lord Jesus Christ by faith in his cross We have a worldview that is premised upon what?

The gospel the gospel has to change everything it changes all we see it changes how we view

Everything that happened it has to brethren. It has to change everything all of life all of life

Thought word action everything needs to pass the filter of this one Paradigm now that's saying a lot.

That's sort of a mouthful. That's going to produce some desperation in some of us We think something like well.

I'm never gonna live up to that so why try I cannot have every thought every action every word

Everything I do is not going to be consistent with this gospel that Paul's explained for those 11 chapters

So why even try? You ever feel like that Well, I want to assure you is something the basis of this appeal

That Paul is making is going to flow all the way through halfway through chapter 15 is we're told what then shall we do?

How then shall we leave us live as Francis Schaeffer asked it? The basis of it is mercy appealing to brothers and sisters in the

Lord on the basis of God's mercy His mercy endures forever

What God has from his unchangeable nature showered upon his people because of his son

Jesus who died for them for us God willing for you is not going to suddenly change to malevolence as though he would say gotcha

That thought that word that action was not because of my mercies not because of my gospel

Didn't take into account my son Jesus, so now you're in deep deep trouble

Understand that God Whose mercy endures forever who is the same yesterday today and forever?

Doesn't suddenly change all that and become like a capricious God of the Greek fables

He's the true and living God. He is the same yesterday today forever his mercy endures forever

So with all that in mind That he's appealing not commanding though not optional

I have to keep saying that Appealing to brothers on the basis of God's mercy with all that in mind

We can look at the second half of that verse Present your bodies as a living sacrifice

Holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship Now this is actually what we call cultic language

And when I use that term don't think Cults in the negative way that we usually think of a negative way that we should think of them

Because by cultic we mean the process ordained by God in temple worship

Paul is transferring the old ways of the temple To the new people of God and so he's using very cultic very temple kind of language there

He says in 1st Corinthians 3 16 do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you

Little later in that same letter He says or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God?

You are not your own So he says present your bodies in its sense.

He's saying Present the temple of God to God who made that temple

Your body is by analogy the temple of God In those verses from 1st

Corinthians We as a body we as one body together this place this discreet church is the temple of the

Lord And in another sense each of you if you have Jesus Christ in the indwelling spirit you are

Individually a temple of the Lord so he says present your bodies

Present your bodies in Romans 12 1 Paul means that plus the the idea of the temple plus He means the whole of life being presented to God present sometimes translated as to offer

Now this word was used way back in chapter 6 in verse 13 about the use of our physical selves in life

Do you remember what he said? He said do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness

But present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments of righteousness

So in both places that what I just read and chapter 12 verse 1. There's no room for a physical spiritual dichotomy

It's all holistic. It's all wrapped together What God has done by his mercy in your spirit must be the basis for all of life

And this is your spiritual act of worship as you present your physical self your life your being to God If you think about it rationally

Anything less than that would be irrational Have you think if you need help thinking that that is the only right response to make then

I would suggest going back to chapter 1 of Romans and reading through to chapter 11 and study that again and again and again until This chapter 12 verse 1 is the only thing that could make sense we are living sacrifices if you have the

Lord Jesus Christ a living sacrifice and again It's temple language is cultic language the endless stream of animals in the

Old Testament temple Entered in as living things But of course they didn't leave that way

They were brought in and the worshiper placed his hands on the beast's head and Symbolically transferred the sins that he confessed from himself and to the lamb or the bull or whatever it was and then that lamb or bull

That creature that had the sins transferred from the worshiper to the animal the creature then died there are many parallels here as Paul uses this kind of cultic this temple language to get this point across to us.

It's so much like ourselves And we have died Romans 6 6 our old self was crucified and of course we know if you're crucified you're dead

Crucified with him with Christ in order that the body of sin might be put to death and just a couple verses later

He says if we have died with Christ. We also believe that we will also live with him

Well, there are many analogies of our life to this temple sacrificial system

But they're not endless analogies When we come to Christ we come as those who are dead in trespasses and sins and of course the animals came in they were living

And the animals left the temple in the smoke of the altars flames. They were dead We leave how we come in dead and we leave alive.

We leave truly alive in Christ We leave as living sacrifices There's more analogy here to this

Old Testament temple Anything Paul means it here when he he brings to mind the idea that Animals were entirely burnt on the offer on the altar.

It was all meant for God and You and I in much the same way as living sacrifices are all given over to God Consumed if you will by him and for him

And the parallels here actually do continue and This will help us as we go into the ethical demands that we have upon us as Christians as we go through these next chapters

Jesus's sacrifice was entirely for God All of it was for God's glory

He came to do the will of him who sent him as he says over and over again in John's gospel

So Jesus's sacrifice was entirely for God, but the benefit of it was what on behalf of others on behalf of sinners

As we'll see when we get to chapter 12 verse 3 and the rest of it. We present ourselves to God as Sacrifices totally given over to God.

That's the point Paul's making here in that Mimicking Jesus giving himself over totally to God But then we'll see we then give ourselves in our efforts on behalf of others

Jesus's sacrifice was all for God, but he said in Mark's gospel the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve

So what God what Jesus did for God is Then given as a benefit to us salvation

And as we give ourselves over to God we benefit each others We'll see as we work through the rest of chapter 12 in the coming weeks we present

Living sacrifices to the Almighty And then we go to work on behalf of others just as Jesus did

Which is you and me and the person behind you and next to you In front of you in the pews brothers and sisters in the

Lord And that's the kind of dedication Paul speaking of here that is holy and acceptable to God Again in terms of the temple is how

Paul's writing Back then after the animal died for the discreet sin that was then Confessed the smoke from the altar was a pleasing aroma to God and here.

It's the same idea Paul's not speaking in platitudes. These are not little aphorisms or pithy little truths to encourage us on the way

When we present our whole self to God as an entirely devoted and living sacrifice

We're entering to a life that in God's eyes is what Paul just said holy

Was holy mean it means set aside. It means sanctified to God's use. It means morally correct and different It's for God's use acceptable to God What does it mean to be acceptable to God?

It's back to Ephesians 1 4 God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him

Now if you think about a little bit that Ephesians 1 4 that's speaking of what is speaking of God's eternal decree before the foundation of the world and we do no damage to that text when we say in eternity past In eternity past God chose the individual who would be in Christ Who would benefit from his atoning death on the cross?

And the purpose of that that we should be holy and blameless before him in love That's God's eternal decree

Romans 12 1 and all the way through chapter 15 about halfway through that chapter is how it's effected

The great what then do we do? The psalmist mused what shall

I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me the gospel answers back Yourself Give yourself to the

Lord daily and constantly your life is hid in Christ whether we live or die We are the

Lord's do all things heartily as unto the Lord whether you eat or drink or live or die do all to the glory of God And then the last part of chapter 12 verse 1 of Romans We have another reason for this if the mercies of God isn't enough to prick our ears

He adds this is your spiritual worship Now spiritual comes from the word in Greek logic us

I'm not gonna go into a long lesson here But it's logic us where you get what we'd expect you get the word logic

Some translations give a more literal reading or rendering. So it's your reasonable or your rational service

The idea is this if you think carefully on what God has done for you in Christ the subject of those first 11 chapters

And if by repentance for your sins and faith in Christ, you believe that all this applies to you

Thinking rationally about all this will lead you to just one conclusion That offering yourself to God as a living sacrifice the dedication of all you are all you shall ever be is the only rational

Intelligent well -thought thing well -thought thing to do. So I have a lot of sympathy for translating

The word is reasonable So it lets me tell you as your preacher as your pastor something like this think it through God is right

Use your mind work it out and you'll come to the same conclusion because it's right.

It's correct. It's rational but that said

Our ESV's use of the word spiritual for that word logic us Has a lot to be said for it

The whole verse as I've been telling you harkens back to temple worship recast now in gospel terms and in gospel terms is distinctly a spiritual life that we live

We walk by faith not by sight Now this word is used only here and again in first Peter 2 2 where he writes like newborn infants long for the pure Spiritual milk that's our word that by it.

You may grow up to salvation Now Paul seems to have picked up his word and probably

Peter 2 from the Greek philosophers of the day It has the idea of something that's carefully thought through The two ideas reasonable and spiritual they come together like this spiritual worship by way of total dedication

Dedication to God is thoughtful service If you're thoughtful about the content of chapters 1 through 11

Then you will in a spiritual sense give yourself over completely to God You see you're not out of your mind if you believe in Jesus You didn't check your brain with its

God -given rational abilities at the door when you came in here Festus was wrong in Acts chapter 26 and verse 24.

He said with a loud voice Paul. You're out of your mind Your great learning is driving you out of your mind

What did Paul answer? Paul said I am NOT out of my mind most excellent

Festus, but I'm speaking true and rational words There's a philosopher back in Paul's day

Epictetus and he's often quoted here and Again, this one word this logic cost this words only used twice in our

Bibles and very little outside of the Bibles But he's often quoted and he said this if indeed

I were a nightingale I Should be singing as a nightingale if a swan as a swan, but as it is

I am a logical There's a word excuse me. I'm a rational being therefore

I must be singing hymns of praise to God and I exhort you to join me in the same song as a rational thinking being

The only thing to do is to worship God and Paul picks up on this word and he applies it to the gospel and says therefore your bodies as a living sacrifice all your self

All of who and what we are Constantly Consistently given over to God You see spiritual worship is

Thoughtful worship it flows smoothly from a rational assessment of God and his mercy to sinners in the gospel of his son a

Famous commentator named Cranfield. He put it this way Intelligent understanding worship that is worship that is consonant or consistent with the truth of the gospel

Indeed nothing less than the offering of one's whole self in the course of one's concrete living in ones ones inward thoughts

Feelings and aspirations, but also in one's words and deeds

It's everything now as we go on through the rest of this book of Romans with God's help as We work through chapter 12 when we get the therefores you need to do this and therefore behave this way and think this way

And how do we act towards each other and the weaker and the younger the weaker and the stronger brothers?

Governing authorities all these things Here's the starting point

We're chapter 1 verses 16 and 17 for I'm not ashamed of the gospel is the theme of the entire book.

I Would suggest to us that chapter 12 verses 1 & 2 is the theme of all the practicalities that follow

What does it mean to give ourselves over? We'll find out point by point with God's help as we go through it

I want to consider for a moment what the Prophet Malachi Told Judah and this comes to bear upon what we're talking about here

Malachi ministered to those who returned from the Babylonian exile and they returned to rebuild the temple and What he what the

Prophet found was a people so concerned with their daily lives that they had removed God as their first concern

Here was a people returned up the exile the temple was restored after its destruction the priests had returned to their work and They could look at the temple it was there on the on the mount they could see where it stood and They could look at it and see

God's help to them in having put the temple back together But over here

The economy is in tatters over there. We have enemies all around. There's drought. There's famine.

There's hardship. There's trouble everywhere And what did the people do The first thing they did the first thing to go was the quality of their offerings their sacrifices that they brought to that temple the animals we spoke of earlier

As you read the book of Malachi you find that it became sort of a rote duty a mechanical thing

They were doing they gave the animal, but they didn't confess as their hand went to the creatures head They just sort of did it they ignored the lame legs or the mangy coat

They said sort of well this one produces no milk I'll give it to the Lord and that one over there is about to die perhaps

God can make use of it and Malachi 1 8 screams out and says when you offer blind animals and sacrifice is that not evil and When you offer those that are lame or sick is that not evil present those to your governor

Will he accept you or show you favor says the Lord of hosts? And we can look at this and say well, what about us today?

What about what Malachi saw and Malachi 1 8 says in relation to what Paul is telling us in the gospel therefore

Brothers present yourselves your bodies as living sacrifices. What about us? Well today

I chose to be blind about what I let my sight take in Yesterday, I only limped away.

I didn't run, but I limped away from temptation Tomorrow perhaps I shall indulge that which scripture says will be no good for my soul and might even make me sick and certainly would

Be displeasing to God who gave his son for me Paul writes of living sacrifices

That are holy and acceptable to God He has in mind a rational people who've considered the gospel soberly and rationally and biblically

There's no part of us that could be hid from this the demand is all -inclusive. It's all invasive

It demands our unrestricted unreserved unrestrained dedication of all that is me

To him and I would suggest that anything less makes no sense

If you know Jesus Christ By faith in him and repentance towards God the

Holy Spirit residing within you as Christ promised. He would Anything else is irrational

Inconsistent sort of insane The 19th century

Frenchman Godet he pointed out that the Israelite sacrificial system could be boiled down into two basic types first there were sacrifices offered in order to obtain reconciliation with God and then came the sacrifices that celebrated that reconciliation and He says that the book of Romans can sort of be divided by the same contrast where chapters 1 through 11 extol the reconciliation we have with God by faith in his son

And verses 1 16 and 17 the theme

I alluded it to a moment ago For I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes

To the Jew first and also to the Greek for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is

Written the righteous shall live by faith That's how the book opens chapter 3 verses 25 26

Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith

This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins

It was to show his righteousness at the present time So that he might be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Chapter 6 verse 23 for the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God's eternal life in Christ Jesus our

Lord Chapter 8 ended with this blessed assurance know in all these things We are more than conquerors through him who loved us for I'm sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things

Present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation

We'll be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord can we not hear those verses and Celebrate and just revel in the reconciliation that we have with God and then chapter 12 through 1513

Explained to us how it is. We celebrate this beginning with this all -encompassing

Need for spiritual worship of total dedication and consecration of ourself to God It's a paradigm shift of the first half

In a worldview that informs and changes everything The first half of this book has to give us a different outlook on everything

So everything is informed by this one truth the sum of all those chapters all that theology all that doctrine you see dear ones the gospel changes everything

It changes our entire outlook so every decision every word every thought every action

Works through this one filter the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ you know, it's like a bride who's wooed by into marriage by the man of her dreams and Suddenly when she has that ring on her finger everything seems better The Sun shines today exactly as had yesterday

But to her it's warmer and brighter and friendlier and a scientist might come along and say But I've measured the temperature and the brightness

There's no difference and the star -struck victim says no get away from me with your ridiculous instruments

My Savior has found me. He's given me his life. He's given his life for me He bore my sins in his body on the tree and now my body bearing life because of his death

Lives and has given over to his service. No, I don't care that yesterday. It was eighty four point zero degrees

And today you can prove it's eighty three point four seven three two six degrees. It is warmer

It is brighter. It is clearer the gospel changes everything my whole life

I Know my Savior lives and I see everything with new eyes and I want them to show me his ways more and more

Anyone who has no faith in Jesus Christ you here today who? Think you're hearing the ravings of a fool who hasn't thought things through very well

I need to tell you that with Jesus as your sacrifice Without faith in him repentance towards God.

You're neither holy or acceptable to him. I Shudder a bit to continue preaching this to you who truly do not know

Jesus Because I fear as I go through this list of dues and you who've been with me a long time

No, I don't turn it into just a list of do But it could come off that way as Paul starts say therefore.

Here's what I want you to do Here's what I want you to act. These are the kind of words. I want you to say And if you don't know

Jesus Christ But you've been coming here and listening and you continue to come and I pray you will

But I Tremble that you may come away thinking, okay Finally got to chapter 12 finally got something

I can grab on to and if I just do these things, I'll be okay Holy acceptably God holy acceptable to God.

The answer is no Chapters 1 through 11 if they tell you anything

Faith in Christ and repentance toward God and the dread price he paid for your sins

Faith That's holy acceptable to God Then let's behave properly

Secure your place with Jesus Christ first repent of your sins flee to his cross ask

God for forgiveness and Trust that when Christ on the cross said it is finished.

It was all finished and all your sins have been forgiven because they were Placed upon him and he

Christ Jesus paid your price trust that with your eternal soul and then

Listen to the do's and the don'ts Well your status before God to be holy and acceptable before him

That was earned for us by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died on the cross when he removed from us the blight of sin

And we can't try to gain what Jesus only could do Come to Christ for forgiveness of your sins believe this gospel be cleansed and by God's grace be a living sacrifice in a testament to his mercies and To the rest as we proceed

Know that you are holy and acceptable to God Not by the quality or the consistency or the level of effort in your doings your place with God was won by Christ Jesus and that will never change and As we get into the doing of it

Let us do it because we are living sacrifices to God and this is the only rational This is the only logical thing to do to spiritually give ourselves over in our bodies to God in all that we do

Remembering that it's all holy and acceptable and pleasing to God because of his son and Knowing that we strive all the more to be more holy and acceptable and pleasing to God Amen Heavenly Father we give you thanks for this day.

We thank you father for your word We thank you Lord for this letter to the Romans written so many thousand years ago

And now to us that tells us of your wonderful mercies and what you have done for us in the Lord Jesus Christ And father may we be that people

That gives ourselves over to you completely in a way that makes you more and more Pleased that brings more and more honor and glory to your name for we