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We
know that God gives us grace and that Jesus died for our sins, we accept Him as
our Lord but now that we have put on that newness of life we have to behave
like a Christian.
How do you know how to behave as a Christian?
Let’s look
In His Word 9-28-2026
And
so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God
because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the
kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t
copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new
person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will
for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Because
of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you
this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your
evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a
special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are
many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
In
his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So
if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as
God has given you. Romans 12:1-6
Paul
clearly instructs us in how to live by his own example, that he follows Christ is
now evident in his life and he chooses to give us an example via his letter to
the Romans here.
We
accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, to which he refers us to present our
bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to Him. Then He goes on to
explain how to do this! Paul answers our questions right here in Romans.
We
are told in verse 2 to transform ourselves we need to really renew our minds in
the Word daily, then allow God to transform us through that. It’s the Read it,
pray about it, and apply it to our daily lives but living that out is not easy
it takes the work of reading the Word with thought and contemplation. We need
to study to show ourselves approved by God remember? (2Timothy 2:15) So, we are
transformed by renewing our minds by studying the Word of God. This really is
more than just reading it but it starts there. As we grow in Christ, we grow in
knowledge, we also grow in our gifts that God has given each of us.
In Romans12:6
to 8 we find the next steps have to do with the gifts God has given us to serve
in His Kingdom. As it says below, if you are a teacher then teach with the best
of your ability using the skills God gives you to teach with, do not do it half
heartedly and remember that He gave you this as your calling. If you are given
the gift of exhortation, exhort one another. One that takes on a heavier gift
is prophecy, because it means you need to share it accurately and boldly. Each
gift written here is given a direction to help serve the body of Christ, which
is the members of the Church as a whole, not just your congregation but all Christ
following believers, and to reach out to the lost to bring them in as well!
In
his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So
if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as
God has given you. If your gift is serving others,
serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. your gift is to
encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has
given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you
have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Romans 12:6-8
Exhorting
is translated ‘encouraging’ in this version (NLT) but it is the same meaning.
If we are given the gift of giving, we shouldn’t give to boast about it but to
fill a need, or in obedience to God’s directing us to do. It is not about us to
gain visibility or to feel good about ourselves, but really, we do feel good
when we obey God’s directions to help others. When we follow His example and
then Paul’s we will find the Holy Spirit is pleased with us and it can
overwhelm us with ‘good feels’. God sees our good deeds and that is what
matters, He is the one who will give us the ‘pat on the back’ when we keep
quiet. Give God the glory does not always mean saying “Look what God has done through
me!” Yet, if someone says that we did something we can say that it was God’s directions
and thank them for any praise but pass it on to
Him as well.
Okay,
really living like a Christian is living Christ-like and really asking ourselves
not just what would Jesus do but how can I give God the glory in my life. How
can I help, or give Him reason to be pleased with me, and in this we will find
ourselves feeling pretty good because we did not do it to feel good, we get
both!
If
we go on through this chapter, you know, read the rest of the chapter, Paul
teaches us that being a Christian means loving one another.
Don’t
just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly
to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection andtake delight in
honoring each other. Never be lazy but work hard
and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble
and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be
eager to practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13
Loving
one another for real is harder, and easier, than we think. When you love someone
the way that the world teaches you chose who to love by who you get along with,
and who is someone you want to hang out with; to love as Christ loves us is a
lot different than that! Genuine affection
is honest and truthful, but its not always easy when it’s a stranger you are
showing love to. This is because we are tainted by the world’s teachings.
Again,
this is where both the study of the meaning of the Word, the prayers, and in
that asking for the Holy Spirit to help us to love the unlovely as well. Yes,
there are people who are stinky, messy, and downright annoying to us but God
wants us to love them as He would. That does not mean we have to hug them or
even really get that close physically with them but to honor them as Christ
would have. (See the Woman at the well, the woman who committed adultery who
was about to be stoned, and Zacheus the crooked tax collector stories if you
need references or clear examples as to how to do this). Look beyond the
exterior view, to the hurting soul within. Basically, it means we treat them as
if they are clean, with kindness and unmerited favor as Christ gives us! Treat
them how Jesus treats you. Unconditional love of God is something we definitely
will need that help to do sometimes but the more we do it the more we share it,
the more we live it, the easier it becomes.
Another
thing we need to learn is not to treat others as they treat us but as the ‘Golden
Rule’ we are taught even by non-Christians; treat others the way you want to be
treated. In fact, Paul tells us here to go even further with that and bless
those who treat us wrongly by praying for them and this means often allowing God
to take the vengeance, not us. We need to share in their happiness, and cry
with them when they are sad, as Christ has also shown us to do.
Bless
those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy
the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Romans
12:14-16
Never
pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you
are honorable. Do all that you can to live in
peace with everyone. Romans 12:17-18
We
could stop here but there is more! In verses 19 to 21 Paul reminds us not to
try to take on the physical fixing of others but sometimes to just offer them
up to Him, not to get caught up in the evil thinking but instead allow God’s
word to filter our hearts and minds and keep us clean with that renewal we
talked about. To keep our minds on Jesus our example is the best way to do all
that, get in His Word, Pray His Word, and Apply His Word to our life daily and
we will be living like Christians should.
Beloved
do not avenge yourselves but rather give place to wrath for it is written; “Vengeance
is Mine, I will repay, Says the Lord”
Therefore,
“if your enemy is hungry feed him, if he is thirsty give him drink, for in
doing so you will heap coals of fire on his head “Do not be overcome with evil
but over come evil with good.” Romans 12:19-21
Heavenly
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus coming to save us from this sinful world
and to show us how to live righteously before You. Help us to dig in Your Word
and learn more and more about You and how to apply Your will to our lives. In
Jesus’ name, amen.