Point of Connection
I am two days tardy with this post. Sorry.
Romans 12:1-2
In a word, the book of Romans is "foundational". So much of what we know about the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) comes from the book of Romans. Paul lays out the grand problem of the world. Mankind is lost and seperated from God and he (man) cannot do anything about it. The picture Paul paints is plain. Man is doomed to spend eternity in torment because he is born in a state apart from God.
But...there is hope. The hope is that Jesus was obedient to God the Father and came here to offer himself as a sacrifice for all mankind. One of the words used to describe this gift to humanity is mercy.
Romans 12 provides us with a simple response to mercy: Serve and think.
We are taught that the logical response to the multiple mercies of God is to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. The ancients would have a perfect understanding of sacrifices. They would picture large barns filled with animals just waiting to be sacrificed. No thought or decision on the part of the animals, they are just going to go when it is their turn. The living sacrifices we are called to be are ones that think. We are thinking about being on the receiving end of mercy and how we can respond to it with our lives. Not a one time usefulness but an ongoing self-presentation. We must all ask ourselves, what can I do to offer myself to God today?
Following right on the heels of that command is the one to have a changed way of thinking. We are not to let our minds be crammed in a mold like Jello. We are not to let anything take captive our minds. On the contrary we are to be transformed. I think this means we are to continually learn to think biblically, moving from one thought process to another.
Sometimes people get it wrong. They think they need to be cleaned up on the inside and out before they decide to serve. Well, that is not the order here. Realize what God has done for you and jump in!
Romans 12:1-2
In a word, the book of Romans is "foundational". So much of what we know about the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) comes from the book of Romans. Paul lays out the grand problem of the world. Mankind is lost and seperated from God and he (man) cannot do anything about it. The picture Paul paints is plain. Man is doomed to spend eternity in torment because he is born in a state apart from God.
But...there is hope. The hope is that Jesus was obedient to God the Father and came here to offer himself as a sacrifice for all mankind. One of the words used to describe this gift to humanity is mercy.
Romans 12 provides us with a simple response to mercy: Serve and think.
We are taught that the logical response to the multiple mercies of God is to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. The ancients would have a perfect understanding of sacrifices. They would picture large barns filled with animals just waiting to be sacrificed. No thought or decision on the part of the animals, they are just going to go when it is their turn. The living sacrifices we are called to be are ones that think. We are thinking about being on the receiving end of mercy and how we can respond to it with our lives. Not a one time usefulness but an ongoing self-presentation. We must all ask ourselves, what can I do to offer myself to God today?
Following right on the heels of that command is the one to have a changed way of thinking. We are not to let our minds be crammed in a mold like Jello. We are not to let anything take captive our minds. On the contrary we are to be transformed. I think this means we are to continually learn to think biblically, moving from one thought process to another.
Sometimes people get it wrong. They think they need to be cleaned up on the inside and out before they decide to serve. Well, that is not the order here. Realize what God has done for you and jump in!
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