How Shall We Then Live?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2, NIV)

Holiness is an issue that I find most Christians don't want to discuss; the subject usually gets turned around to claims of legalism. But holiness is what we pursue because we love God and want to represent him well; it is not a way to earn our salvation. Holiness is a subject that is avoided by most preachers. In fact, I have come to learn that even doctrine is usually avoided so as to not cause division in the assemblies. It is a sad commentary on the Christian church today that most teaching ends up being anecdotal and fence-straddling fluff for fear of stepping on toes. But we do need to learn our doctrine, and we do need to learn about living holy lives.

In Paul's letter to the Romans, he spends the first 11 chapters developing the entire Christian doctrine, the full meaning of the Gospel message. It is very important for our understanding of our faith.

In his commentary on Romans 12:1-2, James Montgomery Boice tells us: If revelation is the basis for social morality and ethics, it is impossible to have valid, effective, or lasting values without it. We must have the doctrines set forth in Romans 1-11 in order to understand and act upon Romans 12-16.

Charles Hodge stated, All the doctrines of justification, grace, election, and final salvation, taught in the preceding part of the epistle, are made the foundation for the practical duties enjoined in [chapters 12-16].

Beginning at chapter 12, Paul is saying, in effect, "Therefore, in light of all that I have just told you about in these past 11 chapters, how it came about that we are saved from our sins and are set apart to God - how shall we then live?" My rather lengthy message today will be surrounding chapter 12, verses one and two, the two-verse summation of the answer to that question: "How shall we then live?”

At the very beginning Paul tells us the reason we must act in accordance with the rest of this passage, and that is because of God's mercy. God's Word to the Nations version says, ...because of God's compassion toward us. The New Living Translation puts it, ...When you think of what he has done for you.

So what does it mean to be "living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God"? It means giving our whole life, body, mind and soul to the service of God. It means to be holy in order to please God. Today' English Version (GNB) says, dedicated to his service and pleasing him. The Revised English Bible translates it: dedicated and fit for his acceptance.

Paul had previously told us in chapter 6:13-14: Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your bodies to him as instruments of righteousness. (NIV)

Paul has a similar theme in 2 Cor. 7:1, again after expounding on doctrine: Therefore, my dear friends, since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that can defile either body or spirit, and strive to be completely holy, out of reverence for God. (JNT)

Paul says that presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God is our "spiritual act of worship." Today's English Version says, the true worship that you should offer. God's Word to the Nations says, This kind of worship is appropriate for you. J.N. Darby says, ...which is your intelligent service. William F. Beck tells us to worship him as thinking beings. The Revised English Bible says, the worship offered by mind and heart.

Well, just what does this mean? For one thing, it means that our worship should be rational and intelligent. It does not consist of altered states of consciousness, nor is it rolling on the floor laughing or making animal sounds as with the so-called Toronto Blessing and Pensacola Outpouring. Real worship isn't just liturgy or something that happens one or two days a week in a church building. Real worship is offering our everyday lives to God. Real worship is seeing the whole world as God's temple, whether it is on the farm, in the factory, behind a desk or even at home with the family.

The idea of our bodies, ourselves, as being set apart for God is not unique here. In 1 Cor. 3:16 Paul says, Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's Spirit lives in you? He expounds upon this three chapters later when he says, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Peter 1:18-19 rounds this out by explaining the price Paul referred to: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

This then returns us to the question of, "Why should we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God?" The answer is because of God's mercy, his compassion, and the price of Jesus' blood.

Romans 12:2 then tells us just how this worship, this sacrifice of ourselves to God, takes place. Paul says we are to not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Let me show some other translations to give the full idea behind this text:

1. Today's English Version says, Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.

2. God's Word to the Nations says, Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think.

3. The New Living Translation: 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.

4. The Jerusalem Bible: Do not model yourselves on the behavior of the world around you..

5. J.B. Phillips: Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its mold.

According to James Boice the verse means, Do not let the age in which you live force you into its scheme of thinking and behaving.

The final part of this passage tells us of the benefit: Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. Or, Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants - what is good, pleasing, and perfect. (GWN)

Before I discuss what this means from a practical stand-point, let me remind you that being a Christian who daily offers one’s self as a sacrifice to God, who daily worships God with his body and in fact treats his body as a temple of God, is not going to be easy. In 2 Tim. 3:12 Paul said, In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. He didn't say "may be persecuted", but rather, "will be persecuted." Lest we become pessimistic about this, we are reminded of the words of 1 Pet. 4:14,16: If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.... [i]f you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

Even Jesus said it would be hard to be his disciple. In Luke 14:28-33 he tells this parable: Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, "This fellow began to build and was not able to finish." Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

A couple of centuries ago William Law wrote: If you would now devote yourself to perfection, perhaps you must part with some friends, you must displease some relations, you must alter your life. Nay, perhaps you must do more than this - you must expose yourself to the hatred of friends, to the jest and ridicule of clever mockers, and to the scorn and derision of worldly men. But had you not better do and suffer all this than to die less perfect, less prepared for mansions of eternal glory? Indeed, suffering all this is suffering nothing. For why should it signify anything to you what fools and madmen think of you? And surely it can be no wrong or rash judgment to think those both fools and mad who condemn what God approves, and like that which God condemns. But if you think this too much to be done to obtain eternal glory, think, on the other hand, what can be gained instead of it.

Following Christ takes work. We have to choose whether we really want to follow Him enough to leave the world's ways; we must "count the cost". We can't say we want to follow God on the one hand, and then on the other hand say we don't want to give up all that the world has to offer - we must make a choice. As Elijah said at Mt. Carmel: How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.

You may say that the world has so much to offer, that there is just too much stuff that a true believer would have to give up. Jesus answered this also when he asked in Matt. 16:26, What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

Another thing to remember is that we are not called to live a holy life just on our own ability. 2 Cor. 5:17 says that we are new creations. Paul tells us in Gal. 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. In Gal. 5:16 we are told to Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Remember that, if we are Christians, then the Holy Spirit lives in us and is our guide.

Now let's talk about the practical aspect of living a holy life. A good place to start is with 1 Pet. 1:14-17: As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy because I am holy." Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

In his book The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges says, When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at our salvation, he comes to make us holy in practice. If there is not, then, at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy life pleasing to God, we need to seriously question whether our faith in Christ is genuine. It is true that this desire for holiness may be only a spark at the beginning. But that spark should grow till it becomes a flame - a desire to live a life wholly pleasing to God. True salvation brings with it a desire to be made holy. When God saves us through Christ, He not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but from its dominion. ... This does not mean the desire for holiness must be a conscious desire at the time a person comes to Christ, but rather that the Holy Spirit who creates within us saving faith also creates within us the desire for holiness. He simply does not create one without the other. ... If we know nothing of holiness, we may flatter ourselves that we are Christians but we do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Philip Schaff reminds us that: Religion is not a single, separate sphere of human life, but the divine principle by which the entire man is to be pervaded, refined and made complete. It takes hold of him in his undivided totality, in the center of his personal being; to carry light into his understanding, holiness into his will, and heaven into his heart; and to shed thus the sacred consecration of the new birth, and the glorious liberty of the children of God, over his whole inward and outward life. No form of existence can withstand the renovating power of God's Spirit. There is no rational element that may not be sanctified; no sphere of natural life that may not be glorified.

God's Word has many instructions in the practical application of his desire for holiness. Let's look at some of them.

Paul tells us in Eph. 4:1-6 to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of us all, who is over all and through all and in all. Think about this passage whenever you are discussing various traditions in the local assembly.

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians we are told to Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God, without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.

1 Peter 2:12-17 urges us to Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Are we living good lives among the pagans when we have a disregard for speed limits or other seemingly insignificant traffic laws? What about cheating on taxes? Does our language glorify God? Do people see our families as having something different or do we just look like the rest of the world?

Jerry Bridges tells us that, This call to a holy life is based on the fact that God Himself is holy. Because God is holy, He requires that we be holy. Many Christians have what we might call a "cultural holiness." They adapt to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around them. As the Christian culture around them is more or less holy, so these Christians are more or less holy. But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like Himself. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God.

How often do we conform to what other "Christians" are doing instead of conforming to the character of God. Do we take items from our place of work? Do we watch inappropriate movies or television programs, being entertained by sins that Jesus died to save us from? The Psalmist in 101:3 says, I will set no vile thing before my eyes: Do we practice that? Do we attend all the parties regardless of the drinking and other behavior taking place? Do we wear immodest attire because it's in fashion?

The whole world view of Christianity starts in the mind. BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND!

Proverbs 4:23 gives us a warning here: More than all that you guard, guard your mind, for it is the source of life.

Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 10 to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

So what do we fill our minds with - how do we spend our time? This will determine to a great extent just what kind of Christians we will be! What sort of books or magazines do we read? Do we fill our minds with nothing but thoughts of sports, recreation and entertainment? Do we fill our thoughts with all that the secular culture has to offer? Paul tells us that our thinking is to be distinctly different from that of the world around us. If we truly desire to live in the Spirit, we must continually feed our minds with the Word of God. How can we ask God to give us victory over our sins if we neglect the study of his Word? How will we get the discernment as to what holiness is if we don't know what God has to say?

The psalmist writes, in chapter 119:9-11: How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. In Job chapter 23:12 he says: I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

That's the ticket to holiness - hiding God's word in our hearts, living according to it, and treasuring it more than our daily bread. Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 2 Tim 2:15 says we are to Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. And 2 Tim. 3:16-17 says that All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Studying God's word means more than just reading your favorite parts. Some people say, "I only read the New Testament because the Old Testament isn't important for Christians," or "So much of the Old Testament is boring," or "I only read the Gospels because the rest is too difficult." But the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, has been given to us by God for a purpose. Study the entire Scriptures and you will develop the relationship with God that will automatically give discernment and lead to a holy life.

Knowing and memorizing God's word has the added benefit of protecting us from false teachings far beyond those of the cults. Learn to be Bereans: no matter who does the teaching, check what they say against the Scripture so you won't be led astray. Knowing the true Word of God will give us discernment to identify such things as the false teachings and scripture-twisting among various para-church ministries who tell us they have God's way of raising our children or of relating to our spouses and families, and the unbiblical teachings about spiritual warfare and so-called deliverance ministries. We will be able to avoid the false teachings of the Word-Faith movement and its so-called signs and wonders, and we will be able to recognize the watered-down doctrine of ecumenical movements.

We also need to be protected from the latest fads and spiritual junk food such as the Alpha Course, The Prayer of Jabez, or the heretical The Shack. Keeping our minds holy includes not bending to every new teaching that comes our way, distracting us from the truth that God would have us to know. Remember this little saying in reference to Scripture, "If it is new, it isn't true; if it is true, it isn't new."

Can we try to live this way? Can we call Jesus "Lord" if we don't at least try? Even he asked in Luke 6:46, Why do you call me "Lord, Lord," and do not do what I say?

I think it is important to remember Heb. 12:14: Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

In closing, let us think on these lines from Isaac Watts: Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.