David- Life After Sin

Good morning church, I am so glad to be able to open up the word with you this morning, and if you have a copy of God’s Word, I ask you to either turn it on or open in to Romans chapter 12. Before we get there, I want to take you back in time to 2015. Now for the millennials in the room, I want to insert a trigger warning for whats about to happen. Back in 2015 this dress took over the internet. All of the sudden, and seeming out of nowhere everyone was arguing over if this dress was gold/white or black/blue. Now, show of hands if you think this dress is black/blue. Show of hands for Gold/white. Now show of hands if you have no idea what I am talking about. Truly this dress is black and blue, but I refuse to believe it. Now, this was not the first internet argument and if you've been on Facebook for more than a second, you will certainly know that it was not the last. The world is full of this side vs. that side. my way vs. your way, and on and on and on. The problem is, if we are not careful, this idea of we vs. them can creep into the church, and if we are really honest we all have examples of this problem.

Look with me at our theme verse again this morning, and if you will, read this out loud with me.

1 Corinthians 8:5–6 ESV

5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

As we have been going through our One series we have been focusing our attention on the uniqueness of our theology and salvation, and today we are going to look at the unity and beauty of God’s One Spirit and Body of Christ.

Let’s dive into Romans 12, and follow along with me.

Romans 12:1–3 ESV

1 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. 2 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. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Paul here is bridging the gap between theology, or what we think about God, and the actions that flow from that. Romans chapters 1-11 discuss salvation and man and everything in between, but now his attention turns to how our salvation should change how we live. If you have been saved, if you are a follower of Jesus, you have experienced the Mercy of God. Though your sin rightly separated you from a Holy God, He made a way for you to come into right relationship through Him by the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus did what you and I could never do. He took on the likeness of sinful flesh, yet was obedient in all things. He faced temptation and yet proved faithful. He was crucified and took the penalty for our sins and shame. Early in Romans 5, Paul reminds us that Jesus did not die for good people, or good enough people, or even the best people. He died for sinners. and three days later he arose from the grave victorious of sin and death. Now he offers you a relationship with God through Him. All that we have as Christians is IN HIM. Do not ever overlook or forget those two words, because those two words define all that we are and will ever be. We put our faith In his redeeming life, death and resurrection, and now we are complete and truly IN HIM. Because of this great truth, Paul calls us to submit ourselves to God as spiritual worship. Our lives, our bodies, our finances, our marriages, our kids, our retirement, or thoughts, on screen time, our road rage, our twitter fingers, our workplace. All of it submitted to God. Why? Because our lives are in Him. Paul said in Galatians that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ in me. This is not unique to Paul, but is unique to all believers who have put their faith and trust in Jesus.

Verse 3 is where the rubber meets the road, and if your taking notes we find our first point.

1. The Proper Attitude for One Body and Spirit- Romans 12:1-3

Who here would say they like themselves. You don’t have to raise your hand, but if we are honest, for the most part, we like ourselves. When I was selling phones, the company would send out an email every single morning celebrating the top 25 kiosks in the company for total revenue. One month, the Kiosk I managed was able to be the top kiosk in the entire southeast region. The second that email got sent, I immediately screenshot and sent it to all the other kiosk managers in our area to let them know who was the best. On the other hand, I have two toddlers. I am constantly breaking up fights because someone took someone else’s toy. No matter how many toys we have Tristan will always want to play with the one in Alex’s hand and vice versa. Clearly the world is full of this selfish mentality. The world tells you to do whatever it takes to be the best and have the best life. Yet, this is not the way of the Church. We are told to think with sober judgement about ourselves. Why? Because IN CHRIST, we are not called to compare ourselves to others, we are called to compare ourselves with Jesus. Look with me at Philippians 2.

a. Philippians 2:1-11

Philippians 2:1–11 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus having all things. Jesus being seated at the right hand of God enjoying perfect love in the trinity. Receiving the worship of countless angels, looked at you and me and said, you know what. They are worth it, and he laid everything aside to be born. The infinite God takes us human flesh and dies so that he could have a relationship with you! That is our comparison. Our attitude can not be, “well I went to church 3 times this week and you didn’t so i’m better,” or “can you believe they wrote that on Facebook, I would never...” The proper attitude for One Body and Spirit is to walk into any room and declare in your mind, that you are the chief of sinners. We spend so much time and energy looking this way and puffing up and pushing down, when all we really should be doing is looking at the cross and thanking Jesus for saving us! We spend way too much time looking at other people’s sin, and not enough looking at our own. This is the attitude that we must posses if we are to be the Body of Jesus. This is the attitude that brings us into unity in the church, the Body. Everything instruction and command that follow hinges completely on this one thing.

2. The Unity and Diversity in One Body and Spirit- Romans 12:4-8

This brings us to our second point

Look with me in verses 4-8

Romans 12:4–8 ESV

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

He Paul uses the metaphor of the body to describe the church. Much like the human body, we are made up of incredible complex systems to work together. Our body is not completely fingers, nor are our bodies only tongues. But each part of our bodies is designed to work perfectly with the next to keep us alive. The church is the same way. The Church, and I mean BIG C Church, is one body of Jesus. Jesus does not have a baptist body and then a catholic body. Jesus does not have a different body for Americans and Chinese believers. He has one body because, if you're listening you might know what I'm going to say, He has redeemed a people from every tribe, tongue, nation, political party, and broken ideology IN HIM. We are a church not because we have a nice building and lights, not because we sing songs or dance, but because we have been brought into HIS BODY. And because we have been brought into ONE BODY, Jesus has given us His ONE SPIRIT as a promise and guide. This is what makes the CHURCH beautiful because it is both unified, and the most diverse entity on the planet. The Holy Spirit tears down every wall that we put up and unites us! Not only does He unite us, but he also gifts us with his power to serve. Here Paul lists a non-exhaustive list of ways that the Holy Spirit gifts people to serve the body. Here again is the unity and diversity at play. We all share of the same SPIRIT, but we are gifted in different ways so that the body can be effective. Paul explains this beautiful truth a different way in Ephesians 4.

a. Ephesians 4:1-16

Ephesians 4:1–16 (ESV)

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Again we can look at Galatians, this time in Chapter 5.

b. Galatians 5:13-26

Galatians 5:13–26 ESV

13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

So because we have been crucified with Christ, and because we have been made One with Him through the Holy Spirit, we are called to serve and love the Church so that it may be full! The hard part is, there are no asterisks in those passages. This is no clause where someone can be exempt from this calling to service. If you are IN CHRIST, you have been gifted with spiritual gifts to serve and love the church. Now here is the really hard thing. When you hear me say that you may think of one of these 3 excuses or maybe a mix of all three.

“I have not been given a spiritual gift.”

This excuse calls God a liar, and the Bible tells us that it is impossible for God to lie. Maybe you don’t know your gift. That’s okay! Come talk with me or pastor John an we will do all we can to help you find out how God wants to use you. If you look back at the Ephesians passage, that is literally our Job! Try something, then try something else, but don’t call God a liar by saying you have nothing to give, because he has already given it to you!

“My spiritual gift is ___, but I can’t/won’t serve because _ (Enter Excuse Here)”

This excuse rides off the back of the first one. You know your gifting because the Holy Spirit has made it evident to you, but your fear, or laziness, or apathy, or selfishness causes you to not serve. The problem here is, you’re saying that God’s power that is Living in and through you, is not actually powerful enough to overcome your excuses. “God, I know that you removed my sins as far as the east is from the west, and I know that by your redeeming blood I have been made free, but I don’t believe that you can use me for that...” Do you hear how insane that is. He has already done the most incredible miracle in your life by taking you from a kingdom of darkness into his marvelous light, but he cant give you the strength to teach that class, or love on children, or care for the sick and hurting.

“By not using my spiritual gift, I am not hurting anyone”

Because the world around us is so individualistic, it is easy to fall into this excuse. The problem is you do not exist alone. You are a part of ONE BODY. There is no rouge Christianity. Jesus Christ is redeeming his Church, not you. You are being redeemed though your unity IN HIM. When you fail to serve in the way God has called and gifted you, you hurt the body by withholding the blessing that God is trying to give!

Warren Wiersbe said it this way:

“When the individual believers in a church know their gifts, accept them by faith, and use them for God’s glory, then God can bless in a wonderful way.” -Warren Wiersbe.

Which excuse are you holding on to? What are you telling God by not allowing Him to work in and through you? Because if our lives are to be a living sacrifice, and if we are to think with sober minds about ourselves in comparison to Jesus, how can we put anything besides a yes before HIM?

3. The Authentic Love from One Body and Spirit- Romans 12:9-13

Here we come to my third point.

Romans 12:9–13 ESV

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Now let me remind you, each of these imperatives, or commands, hinges completely on verse 3. If we love or anything else in these verses without humility then it is a fake love. If the Church is to be unified and fully glorifying to God then our love must be Genuine. Now, we are all guilty of putting on a face. I bet there is someone in this room that you smile at each week, but deep down you just cant wait to leave so you don't have to see them for another week. Brother and Sisters, Jesus said that the world would know that we are his disciples because of our love for one another. Not the building, not the signs out front, not the songs we listen to, not the stuff we post, simply by our love for one another. Trust me I know it is hard to love, but we do not rely on our love, but the love that comes from God. It is IN CHRIST, through the POWER OF HIS SPIRIT that we can love one another with a genuine love. Everything else may make you feel good, but it is not serving the church for the building up of the Body. Let me close with 1 Corinthians 12 and 13. This passage may sound familiar if you have ever been to a wedding, but it is crucial that we understand it in context.

a. 1 Corinthians 12-13

1 Corinthians 12–13 (ESV)

5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;

6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?

20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,

24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,

25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Church, it is our love for one another, by the usage of our gifts for the benefit of others, as we think of others as lower than ourselves that we conform ourselves into the image of Christ as a living sacrifice.

Bow your heads with me. Some of you are feeling convicted by telling the Holy Spirit No to whatever He is calling you to. Some of you desperately need to walk over to someone and apologize for the fake love you have been giving. Some of you need to fall on your needs before God and ask for forgiveness of you pride. Some of you have never trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You think church is a building you attend because you're supposed to, or it makes you look good. God wants to have a real relationship with you, and you can know Him today if you simply call out to him. Whatever you need to do to be obedient to God’s calling you do that now. Pastor John and I will be down front to talk with you or pray with you.