Home>
Ministries>
The Pastor Nathaniel's Blog>
The Pastor's Blog Archives>
Pastor's Blog Archives 2021>
Pastor's Blog July 22, 2021
"View of God in Romans XX"
{Scroll over scripture reference to read the scripture or reference.
For the last few months, we've been journeying through Romans 1 - 11 and looking at the many passages where Paul highlights what God shows us about himself. When Paul gets to Romans 12, however, there is a shift in his language. Instead of talking about what God wants us to know about himself, the apostle now talks about how obvious and evident God has always been to us.
And we find this right at the beginning of Romans 12, in verse 1: "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (NASB). Paul's use of the word "therefore" is his way of letting us know that what he will say in Romans 12 - 16 is based on everything he has already said in Romans 1 - 11. The primary motivation for us paying attention to what Paul says is "the mercies of God" - the fact that God is merciful and has continually shown himself to be a merciful God throughout Romans. This motivation makes sense, because Paul has been emphasizing throughout Romans 1 - 11 that the primary way in which God demonstrates his character to us is through his attributes of mercy, kindness, compassion, patience, and love. And it's because God's kindness and mercy have been made so evident to us that Paul can specify what he is urging us to do: "present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."
clear demonstration of his mercy over and over again is what convinces us that our true and authentic form of worship is to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice - something that is acceptable, even pleasing to God! In other words, Paul is encouraging us to recognize that God's kindness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4) AS WELL AS into the ethical framework of the Christian life (Romans 12:1), thanks to what God has already done for us in Jesus.
Friends, if you are struggling to know what God's purpose is for your life, trust wholeheartedly in God's mercy and know that God wants you to live by his mercy - a mercy he has already demonstrated in Jesus Christ.
God bless,
Pastor Nathaniel Gamble
