2013년 9월 8일 주일 영어예배 설교
로마서 12:1

A Living Sacrifice
(Romans 12:1)

Now here, the Apostle Paul has just finished giving his rationale behind the appropriateness of Christian faith. In the previous part of the book, chapter 1~11, he let Roman Christians know of the greatness of the absolute sovereignty of God, the misery of sinful human beings, especially sin that man left God and doesn’t acknowledge God as his creator, savior, and controller, the most horrible sin among sins that man can commit. And he suggested the one and only way for human beings to be saved from their sins is through our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s perfect plan, the effect of Jesus bleeding on the Cross of Calvary. Above all, the Apostle Paul emphasized God’s amazing grace, mercy, and sovereignty on his chosen people which has wiped out all our sins including both our original sins and actual sins despite our terribly miserable situation due to the result of sins. He showed the reason why human beings must eventually die under the power of the sin, how the sin came to this world, and how God revealed the way for God’s chosen people to conquer the power of death through Jesus Christ. He continually taught the very crucial fact that we are the people who follow Christ, we are Christian people, and we are the children of God. Like this, he let them know a very important doctrine of Christian faith, and then he now begins his new teaching with a very meaningful word, the Greek ‘ohwn’ which means ‘accordingly or then’. From now on, he begins to preach the practical aspect of Christian faith in this world. Today’s text is the first and strong exhortation for Christina life. Through today’s text, I want us to appreciate the teaching of the Bible about the one of the basic principle of Christian life in this world.

In verse 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.” To begin with, his appeal to Christians in Rome is based on the mercies of God; he says “I appeal to you……by mercies of God”. That is to say, in spite of our countless failures, disobedience, and our weakness, he is still appealing and can appeal due to the mercies of God, which means that regardless of our weakness and frequent stumbles, there is still the reason, chance, and duty for Christian people to struggle to live as a Christian in this world because of the very never-failing mercies of God. So how does he describe Christian life? Let’s listen to the Bible’s appeal to the Christians in Rome that used to have the strongest power and cutting-edge knowledge and civilization at that time in the world. He depicts the Christian life as a living sacrifice. He appeals to us “to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.” Here, the word ‘body’ means ‘yourself’ including heart, soul, spirit, and flesh, namely all factors that consist of individual and whole personality. The expression, ‘a living sacrifice’ doesn’t mean the sacrifice just once burnt for appeasing God’s fury or catering to God’s requirement, but means the continual and consistent life attitude toward God throughout one’s life. Therefore, the Bible requires us to live as Christians throughout all factors of our lives, in other words, all our space, time, and energy must be focused to God as ‘a living sacrifice’.

In this regard, there have been several wrong concepts in Christian history and some of them are still rampant to this day. Let me introduce the most typical view of the wrong concepts. They who have this idea usually divide lives into two categories, a Christian or church life and a secular or worldly life. They regard a service of church position like a deacon and elder and so on, attending worships including Sunday worship, offerings, donations or financial support for church, and participating in events related to church and these sorts of things as a ‘work for Lord or work of Lord.’ But they regard making money, landing a job, raising children, pursuing their dreams, leisure and pastime, and married life etc. as ‘a work for themselves or earthly work.’ So they think that if they do first and well ‘the things related to church’ mentioned above, God may bless on their ‘earthly work,’ and if not, God may not help their lives or sometimes God gives a punishment. In the frame of dichotomy of view, they are generally satisfied with their lives in the world that keeps rules and common sense, does not commit a crime, and sets a good example of a man of sincerity. Of course, I never mean to devaluate these things above. Who can despise these things? These are absolutely necessary for our society and also demand of the Bible for Christian people in this world. However, the teaching of the Bible is that you, Christian people, cannot stop at just satisfying with this kind of reasonable and good life. Here, in today’s text, ‘to present your body as a living sacrifice’ means that all the factors in your life, such as time, space, the way of thinking, things, and events must be toward God as the children of Him. According to the Bible’s teaching, for Christians, there is no division between ‘church work and my work’ or ‘work for Lord and earthly work,’ all the works of Christians are ‘works for and toward the Lord.’ Your money spent for Sunday school events and your money spent for your children’s institute fee are exactly the same for the Lord if you are a Christian. The time you spent for worship service with your church members in the church building and the time you spent for summer vacation with your family at Atlantic City Beach have the same value before God if you are a real Christian. It means that our whole lives and all factors of our lives are God’s and for God as ‘a living sacrifice.’ To become a Christian doesn’t mean that he leads his religious part of his life as a Christian or chooses Christianity as his religion in order to help his life quality. To become a Christian means that he is totally reborn as a new creature as the Bible declares, ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We work at jobs as a Christian, we nurture our children as a Christian, we study as a Christian, and we enjoy our leisure time as a Christian. We are now on the journey, the wilderness, to heaven as a Christian; the journey will end up reaching heaven. And there is one thing we must not forget. It is the fact that if somebody despises or doesn’t acknowledge church life asserting that Christian life means all factors of life not only church life, he may not understand the Bible’s teaching because the Bible always demonstrates the church life as the core and center of Christian life. Do you remember Jesus saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21).

The next thing we need to know is the meaning of the expression ‘holy’ in today’s text. In today’s verse, “holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” The word ‘holy’ is ‘agios’ in Greek which means ‘being separate.’ This ‘separation’ or ‘distinction’ is meant in two respects. The first is from the perspective of ‘the ultimate identity,’ and the other one is from the perspective of ‘purpose of life.’ So when we say ‘being holy’ as a Christian, it means being distinguished from the non-Christians in terms of ‘identity’ and ‘a purpose of life.’ By the way, here are two vital ideas concerning ‘being holy.’ The first is that being holy or being separated includes both of ‘soul’ and ‘flesh,’ in other words it doesn’t only include ‘soul’ or ‘spiritual’ aspect. Unbelievers don’t use their body or muscles, five senses, brain, appetite, desires and so on for God and according to the will of God, but believers use them for God and according to the will of God. This is what ‘distinction’ or ‘holy’ means in the Bible. Being holy according to the Bible doesn’t mean just keeping away from the world, and just saying and acting politely and purely with a peaceful smile on his face, living without any desire as if he has a halo above his head. We received not only soul and spirit but also body from God, and as I preached about resurrection before, when we will resurrect at the second coming of Jesus, we will resurrect with this body and go to heaven with both of them, soul and body. Christian faith is involved in both our soul and body or all factors of human beings. To think highly of soul and spiritual aspects and to devaluate body and earthly factors can be a characteristic of Buddhism, Hinduism, or Greek philosophy, but definitely not the idea of the Bible or Christianity. The second idea concerning ‘being holy’ is that ‘holy’ or ‘distinction’ is accomplished in the very world not in the monastery or temple in the deep forest. When we receive the God’s command and definition, such as “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) and “You are the salt of the earth…..You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13~14), they are set in the midst of this world. Being holy means to function as holy people in this world, it doesn’t mean to avoid or face away from this secular world to be holy. To be holy or distinct as God’s people is valid in the world or the same place that the unholy are living. In regard to this principle, Jesus gave us several metaphors like ‘the parable of weed’ and ‘the parable of the two women in the same field.’ Jesus said that the wheat and the weed will grow together in the same field, but they are distinguished and separated from one another, and at the day of harvest, they will be totally and eternally separated. The wheat will go into the master’s barn, and the weed will be bound to be burnt. In the other parable, two women are grinding at the same mill, such as you are working in the same office with unbelievers, but Jesus says, “one will be taken and one left” at the Jesus’ second coming. This is the ‘holy,’ namely ‘separation’ or ‘distinction.’

Everyone, are you always ready for presenting your body as a living sacrifice? Do you have a conviction that you are holy in this world as a Christian? You must have this worldview from the Bible’s teaching. You have to live the rest of your life remained over 50~70 years holding this value and worldview according to the teaching of the Bible. And then, as God’s promise, you can lead your life blissfully, you can face your death triumphantly. Regardless of whatever you did in the past, however you were in the past, begin to present your body as a living sacrifice promptly in front of God’s severe, gracious, and merciful requirement.