Sermon Tone Analysis

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”1

The message this day is planned as the first in a series dealing with the topic of worship.

In particular, I wish to begin exploring what worship is and what happens when we worship.

In this way, I am endeavouring to ensure that we have a basis for our conduct as a congregation and as individuals during times of worship.

These studies will require several weeks as we review the Word of God and as we think of what is required for worship to be pleasing to the Lord.

Whatever else may be true concerning worship, I trust that we will discover that central to worship is meeting the Risen Saviour.

When the Apostle wrote the words of our text, he provided instruction for worship.

Seldom do we think of this as a text instructing Christians in the elements of worship; we read these words and imagine that Paul is perhaps speaking of how we conduct our daily lives.

However, reviewing the words of the text as they occur in that original language gives a different understanding from what may be commonly accepted among the saints.

Permit me to read that opening sentence, employing a freer translation of the Apostle‟s words.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your logical liturgy—(Greek, logikós latreía).”

If the presentation of our bodies as a living sacrifice is our logical liturgy, then it should be important for us to understand as precisely as possible what the Apostle is saying, adjusting our own worship to align with the biblical expectation.

In view is worship that we present to the Living God and to Christ Jesus the Son of God.

Such worship is presented as logical, reasonable, thoughtful and deliberate.

Biblical worship is not wild ecstasy; but rather it is defined by reason, by thoughtful service to God, by rational acts performed deliberately.

The word that is translated “spiritual” in the text occurs but one other time in the New Testament, when Peter urges Christians, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual (logical) milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation” [1 PETER 2:2].

The word translated “worship” in our text occurs but five times in the New Testament.

Jesus warned of a time when religious people would put the disciples out of the synagogues, and such people would kill even disciples, arguing that they were “offering service [latreía] to God” [JOHN 16:2].

The author of the Letter to Hebrew Christians spoke of priests performing in the outer section of the Temple “their ritual duties [latreía]” [HEBREWS 9:6].

That author also reminded readers that “the first covenant had regulations for worship [latreía]” [HEBREWS 9:1].

In addition to using this word in our text, Paul had earlier written these words concerning the Jewish forebears of our Faith: “They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship [latreía]…” [ROMANS 9:4].

Therefore, what is in view when this word is employed is the concept of service offered to God.

This service is qualified as reasonable, sensible or even logical.

I confess that for most of us who name the Name of Christ the Lord, worship is an event we plan—a performance that we endure in order to say that we have performed a duty.

However, as the Apostle wrote the words of our text, I believe he was urging us as followers of the Risen Son of God to prepare for and to anticipate a dynamic, life-changing event—worship.

Join me as we unpack the passage to learn the facts about spiritual worship.

WORSHIP IS CONTINUAL — For the child of God living in the presence of the Living God, worship is continual.

Worship is ongoing for him who is known by the Lord and who walks in His presence.

Worship is not so much planned as it is spontaneous.

Paul urges believers “to present [their] bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God” [ROMANS 12:1 NET BIBLE].

In this instance, the participle and the two adjectives are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice.”

This makes Paul‟s admonition more emphatic still, which I believe to have been his intent in writing these words.

The presentation of the body is to be a one-time act for the child of God.

This is not something that should need to be done repeatedly.

Years ago, among many evangelical churches, and certainly among Baptists, the invitation frequently included a call to “recommit” one‟s life to the Lord.

Consequently, I witnessed multiple people coming to the altar asking for prayer as they “recommitted” their lives to Christ and to His service.

I was disturbed by this phenomenon, as I did not see a single call in Scripture for recommitment.

I did observe, however, multiple places calling for the lost to trust Christ the Lord—in effect, calling them to commit themselves to His reign.

Early in my Christian walk, I found myself rebelling against the idea of recommitment.

This passage convinced me that such a call was unbiblical.

If we commit ourselves to Christ, it is enough.

There is no need to recommit our lives to Him if we have entrusted ourselves to Him.

It is as though He is unable to keep His own, or as though the Spirit of God is unable to change the life of those in whom He dwells.

There is a serious problem in contemporary Christian service.

Our churches are filled with church members who are unconverted.

The average professing Christian lives a life that is indistinguishable from the world about her.

Church members see joining the congregation as somewhat akin to joining a service club or taking our membership in a political party.

There is a lot of excitement in belonging to a group, there is a measure of comfort in a shared experience, but there is no true change in lifestyle.

Christian Smith identified the religious faith of American teenagers as “moralistic therapeutic deism.”

According to his analysis and studies, the creed of this religion may be identified as:

 A God exists who created and orders the world and watches over human life on earth.

 God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.

 The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.

 God does not need to be particularly involved in one‟s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.

 Good people go to heaven when they die.2

American teenagers did not simply invent this distorted religious view—they adopted the faith that was lived out before their eyes by their parents!

In short, the prevailing religiosity that Smith charges teenagers as holding was communicated to them by their parents.

I suggest that this view of religious faith is the prevailing view of Canadian evangelical churches.

If the members of our churches had met the Living Christ, if our fellow church members had truly been born from above as result of knowing the True and Living God, would they not gladly make the decision to present their bodies as a sacrifice?

Take note of a point of grammar.

When Paul calls on believers to present their bodies as a sacrifice, he employs the aorist tense, which would indicate that such a presentation is to be an act that is performed once; thus, it need not be repeated!

For some decades there has been a rot sapping the energy of the churches.

Long years ago, a Texas Baptist divine wrote, “It is greatly to be feared that much of the preaching of modem times has lost its depth and power.

The plough does not run deep enough.

There is no deep conviction of sin.

There is no mourning for sin such as we find set forth in Zechariah 13.

We find our way to a modern profession of religion, dry-eyed.

There is no weeping in it.

And hence, feeling ourselves to be but little sinners, we need only a little Saviour.”3

This assessment was originally written in the early twentieth century.

At that time, the preacher saw evidence of incomplete conversion, of growing emphasis on membership in the assembly than in conversion, of accepting statements affirming faith while refusing to hold the membership of the congregation accountable for actions.

If the worship in Heaven is indicative of God‟s ideal for mankind, then worship should be a continuing experience.

Think of just a couple of instances recorded by John in the Revelation.

In the fourth chapter, the Revelator writes: “Around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

„Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!‟

“And whenever the living creatures give glory and honour and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.

They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

„Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honour and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.‟”

[REVELATION 4:6b-11]

In Heaven, the holy angels worship continually, and the redeemed, represented by the twenty-four elders, worship continually!

Again, this continuing worship is dramatically witnessed as the Lamb is revealed to John.

“Between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sang a new song, saying,

„Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.‟

“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, „Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!‟

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, „To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!‟

And the four living creatures said, „Amen!‟