Building a Strong Church Together

Building a Strong Church Together: Romans 12:1-8

 

 Introduction

 When we think of spirituality we think of such things as reading the Bible, meditation, attendance at a service, fasting, prayer or some other form of religious practice. The Apostle Paul however radically challenges our ideas about what is a spiritual act of worship. God's definition of spiritual worship is self sacrifice lived out in our daily interactions with others in both little and big ways. In fact if you were to read Isaiah chapter one you would see that God hates religious practices that are not part of a daily life lived in service to other. As Paul indicates in verses two and following to live this way requires living against the current. Self sacrifice is never our default setting. Self is our default setting. Our minds have been conformed to the pattern of the world which is self first. What is required is a transformation of our minds so that we will have the mind of Christ. Jesus sacrificed himself so that others could be forgiven. Jesus is the example.To live this way is truly counter cultural. Yet to live this way is to actually find ourselves and to step into the life for which God created us (Matthew 16:25).

Some Background Information

There are three parts to these verses. The first (verses 1-2) deal with the issue of finding your life by losing your life in service of Jesus. The second deals with the issue boasting and how we see ourselves (verses 3-5). The third part deals with being a part of Jesus body with others working together cooperatively and with all our different gifts making one powerful team (verses 6-8). While each part could be a separate topic it is important to see how each topic builds on the other. For example without an attitude of self sacrifice working together is not possible. The key I believe is to know yourself and to know the part God wants you to play. The images Paul uses are clear. First he uses the image of a sacrifice. The Jews at that time were familiar with animal sacrifices which were placed on the altar and burned up as a total offering to God. The image is of us placing ourselves on the altar and sacrificing ourselves for God's purposes. The second image is easier for us to understand. It is the image of a body with many parts. Each part has a role to play. As the parts work in harmony together the body can do amazing things together. We all have had the experience of suffering because one part of the body no longer is doing its job (broken leg etc). It is this image of a body that Paul uses to describe a church both here and also in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Paul lists some gifts in these verses in Romans as examples. There are other gifts listed in other places in the Bible.

Devotional Ideas

1. Pray over veres one and two and ask God to show you ways you are conformed to the world in your attitude.
2. This week seek to serve people around you.
3. If you do not know your spiritual gifts take the step to learn them. You can leave a message on this blog and I will direct you how to do that.

Final Thought

Find your place in God's Kingdom and lets get to work together. When all is said and done that is what really matters.