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Romans 46: A Living Sacrifice (12:1-3)

Joe Harby on February 14, 2010

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Introduction

As we have worked through this epistle we have seen certain characteristics of Paul’s turn of mind. We now come to another one, very much in evidence throughout his letters. His pattern of teaching is this—doctrine precedes ethics, and is foundational to it. He teaches us what we must believe (credenda, things to be believed), and then he goes on to teach us how we are to live in the light of that doctrine. He moves from what must be believed to what must be done (agenda). But it is not possible to faithfully go straight to the agenda. Whatever we do, we must “therefore do.” Although there have been ethical exhortations before this in Romans, we come to the place in the letter where Paul pivots, and moves to exhortation.

The Text

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:1-3).

Summary of the Text

So Paul moves from teaching to exhortation. In the light of what has been taught thus far (therefore), he beseeches them “by the mercies of God,” so evident in the first eleven chapters, to do something. He asks them to present their bodies a living sacrifice (v. 1), holy and acceptable to God, which is their reasonable worship (v. 1). In doing this, he wants them to be conformed to the gospel as he has laid it out, and to not be conformed to “this world” (v. 2). The alternative to being conformed is to be transformed in the mind, in order that they might prove what God actually wants (v. 2)—which is, that which is good, acceptable, and perfect. He goes on to spell out what this transformation will look like, as distinguished from what the world does to your head—which is to say, swell it. Our task is not only to look to Christ in faith, but also to see ourselves and our abilities by faith (v. 3). This demeanor will be of central importance in the upcoming discussion of spiritual gifts and church government.

Life on the Altar

The word translated as service here is worship, which is not a problem because service is what worship is. Paul tells the Romans here that their bodies are to be presented to God—this is what He requires of believers in our worship. Our bodies are living sacrifices, meaning that the sacrifice is on-going and doesn’t stop. You present your body here in the formal worship service as you kneel with it, listen with it, sing with it, eat and drink with it, and lift hands with it. But the benediction is not where that sacrifice stops—the sacrifice encompasses all of life. The car you drive in is an altar. The bed you sleep in is an altar. The dinner table you sit down to is an altar. The sidewalk you stand on is an altar. And when sin intrudes it is like trying to offer up pig meat.

One Way or the Other

Notice that Paul says that we are not to be conformed, but rather that we are to be transformed. You are hot, right out of the microwave, and the world is a jello mold. As much as we like to pretend that we are all “one off”individuals, living the Bohemian dream of autonomy, we actually are conformists to the bone. The only question concerns what we will conform to, not whether we will conform. We will either conform to the world or to Christ, and there are no other possibilities. Joining up with that sector of the world that pretends to be non- conformist doesn’t really do the trick. Young people want to become writers and film-makers by growing their hair long and smoking cigarettes, and nobody notices the sheer conformity until there are over a million of them doing it. So it is not whether we will conform, but rather which pattern we will conform to—the pattern of the old man, or the pattern of the new. Christ came to bring us a new humanity, a new heaven and earth. He did not come to us in order to fob off a battered repaint.

A New Way of Being

So we have to be very careful here. What does Paul give us in v. 3 that shows we are being transformed by the renewing of our minds? The way that he sets forth here is marked by an accurate humility about yourself. The new way of being human is not determined primarily by the landscape, but rather by what the people are doing there. Paul says that every man is to think of himself soberly, and not more highly of himself than he ought to. Now, can people have a faulty understanding of themselves in a pirate den or a thieves kitchen? Of course. But how about a prayer meeting? How about in a seminary classroom? An elders meeting? An assembly at a classical Christian school? Yes, also of course. This is why—if we neglect Paul’s astonishing teaching here—many spiritual activities that would never be censured by your Aunt Millie are nevertheless every bit as worldly as a tattoo parlor.

Present Your Bodies

When we present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice, this is an acceptable worship. And when we follow through on our formal worship here by presenting our bodies to Him late Wednesday afternoon, this is what validates and proves what is the acceptable will of God. When we present our bodies to God, we are refusing to allow the world to press us into its mold. This is not because it is bad to be pressed into a mold—it is bad to be pressed into the wrong one. When we are transformed, it is because we have been placed in the Christ-mold. We are being grown up into a perfect man.

But this is not a gospel self-help manual. The issue is not really what you see—we are all different and will see different things, different abilities, different gifts, different limitations. The issue is the way we see—soberly and not more highly than we ought. Conceited pride sees a lot more than is actually there. A faux-humility—which is just conceited pride doing a crab walk—pretends to see a lot less than is there, and takes enormous credit for it. True humility provides a peculiar clarity, and is the only demeanor that imitates and grows up into the new man.

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Romans 45: Theology and Doxology (11:33-36)

Joe Harby on February 7, 2010

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Introduction

Paul’s response to the very dense theology he has been working through is to break out into song. His theology bursts forth into doxology. These are not two unrelated things—rightly done, rightly understood, theology leads inexorably to praise. Let’s consider why.

The Text

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33-36).

Summary of the Text

The wisdom and knowledge of God have deeps that cannot be comprehended (v. 33). His judgments and His ways are beyond finding out (v. 33). Who could begin to undertake such a search (v. 34)? Who has known the mind of the Lord (v. 34)? Who could dare to volunteer to walk into the throne room of God to give Him advice (v. 34)? Who is able to give to God in such a way as that God needs to repay him? Who can place God in debt (v. 35)? These are all rhetorical questions, the assumed answer to which is no one. And the reason the answer is no one is that all things are of Him, and through Him, and to Him (v. 36). He is the one responsible for all that is, and He is the one who receives glory for all that is (v. 36). And amen.

All Things

Take a glance at the number of stars revealed in a photograph from the Hubble telescope. The God we worship knows every one of those stars by name (Ps. 147:4). The hairs on every head are all numbered (Matt. 10:30)— about 7 billion people are alive today, and the average number of hairs on a head range between 90,000 for redheads and 140,000 for blonds. God numbers them all. Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of the Father (Matt. 10:29). God simply spoke and the vast expanse of heavens and earth came into being (Gen. 1:1; John 1:3). The human body contains somewhere between 50 and 75 trillion cells, each one an exquisitely made library, each with the capacity to manufacture what the information in its library tells it to. Every last bird that hops from branch to branch in the deepest wilderness is known to God (Ps. 50:11). Every raindrop is prepared by God (Ps. 147:8), and does not hit your forehead accidentally. He gives food to ravens (Ps. 147:9), and uses ravens to give food to the prophet (1 Kings 17:4). Galaxies, oceans, mountains, nations, planets, giant stars, and all such things added together are just dust on His scales (Is. 40:15). “Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast” (Ps. 36: 6). His understanding is infinite (Ps. 147:5). It must be—for of Him and through, and to Him, are all things (Rom. 11:36). Never forget the Godness of God.

Mighty to Save

Now this God—can He save the Jews along with the world? Of course He can (Rom. 11: 23). God is clearly able to do this. But will He? If He is the one who cares for sparrows the way He does, what should we conclude from this? We are worth more than many sparrows (Luke 12:7). The psalm that tells us a number of these glorious natural gifts is also the same psalm that tells us that He gathers the outcasts of Israel (Ps. 147:2). The God who governs is the God who saves. We do not divide up the world—the God of nature is the God of grace. The Creator is the Redeemer, and the Savior is the one who spoke all things into existence.

Remembering Two Things

This is the doxological conclusion to a very densely reasoned passage of theology, chapter after chapter of it. But for many people, the chapters immediately prior can be summed up by “God can damn who He wants; deal with it.” With regard to His authority and power, that is true enough (Rom. 9:18). We don’t deserve His mercy. He has the strength to condemn us, and no injustice would be involved if He did. But this stretch of Romans deals with two fundamental issues. The first is the divine nature of His authority. God is God, and we shouldn’t try to pretend otherwise. The second is that this is power of the God who has determined to save the world. Two things must be remembered—His power and His intent. Can He destroy? Yes. Will He save? Emphatically, yes. We need to be humbled down to the ground, true enough. But this humbling is not the prelude to the world’s damnation. It is the threshold of salvation for all men, for all who believe. And here is the kicker—the world will believe.

Who Has Been His Counselor?

When we emphasize (as we ought to) how strong the power of His right arm actually is, we then make the mistake of believing that He is going to use that strength in order to strike the world, and all the sinners in it, such that they are blown to smithereens. Christians who emphasize God’s power tend to believe that He doesn’t really want to save anybody, but will save a few reluctantly. Those who emphasize His love (forgetting his justice, holiness and power) tend to veer off into a soupy sort of sentimentalism. We insist upon both. God hates sin, and He will make short work of it on the earth. God loves the world, and He did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world (John 3:17), but rather that the world through Him might be saved.

Now, by “saved” we mean saved. You mean saved saved? Yes—Africa, South America, North America, Europe and Asia, Australia, and the weather stations in Antarctica. All those people? Yes—red, and yellow, black and white. All those. As soon as this sinks in, what do we want to do then? We set up shop to be His counselor. We tell Him that all this is eschatologically irresponsible. We search out His judgments and bring them under review. His ways, which are past finding out, we claim to have found out.

Nebuchadnezzar came to understand that God’s hand of rule could not be stopped (Dan 4:35). But neither can He be stopped when He stretches out His arm to save.

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Romans 44: Deliverance from Zion (11:23-32)

Christ Church on January 31, 2010

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Introduction

We now come to the place where Paul makes his dramatic statement about the future blessedness that awaits Israel. He has shown us that Israel according to the promises must receive the blessings (by definition), but here he is saying that Israel according to the flesh will be included in them. How so?

The Text

“And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in . . .” (Rom. 11:23-32).

Summary of the Text

Paul begins with a conditional, on the human level. If Israel repents of its unbelief, then God is certainly able to graft them in again (v. 23). Just consider the nature of the case. If wild olive branches can be grafted in, then how much more can severed natural branches be grafted in (v. 24). But Paul then moves from the logical possibilities to the prophetic necessities. He does not want the Romans to be ignorant of this mystery (Paul’s common word for something prophesied in the Old Testament and made manifest in the New). The partial blindness of Israel (excluding the remnant) was predicted until the fullness of the Gentiles had been reached (v. 25). And knowing this would keep the Gentiles from getting conceited about it (v. 25). So then Paul cites one of the places that tells us about this (v. 26)—which was Isaiah 59:20-21; 27:9). God’s covenant with Israel was that He would take away their sins (v. 27). So, for the time being, the Jews were enemies of the Gentile Christians, because of the gospel. But as concerns election, they are still beloved for their fathers’ sake (v. 28). How long will this last? It is irrevocable— which is why the Jews will in fact return to Christ (v. 29). The Gentiles used to be in unbelief, and were brought out of it by the unbelief of the Jews (v. 30). In a reverse twist, God will bring the Jews out of unbelief through the mercy that was shown to the Gentiles (v. 31). Put this all together, and we see that concluding the Jews in unbelief (for now) was the first move in His plan to bring mercy to the whole world—Jews included (v. 32).

The Mystery Revealed

Now Paul says that this is a prophetic mystery, now revealed, and revealed so that Gentiles would not become conceited. Salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22), and always will be. Let’s look at how it works. The prophet Isaiah laments the condition of man. Our iniquities have separated us from God (Is. 59:2). This detestable condition is applied by the apostle Paul to all men, to Gentiles and Jews alike (Rom. 3:15-17; Is. 59:7-8). Everything falters; everything fails. There is no soundness anywhere. All men are in need of a Savior. When God saw this, when He saw that there was no man, He sent a man— He sent a Deliverer (Is. 59:16). This great warrior will put on His panoply—the armor of Jesus (Is. 59:17). Remind you of anything? Of course—this is the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11). Put on the whole armor of God therefore (Eph. 6:13-17), which is another way of saying that we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. What does Jesus do in this armor, back in Isaiah? First, He judges the wicked (Is. 59:18). As a result, the Gentiles stream to Him. They shall “fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun” (Is. 59:19). The world will gather to Him, and He will save them. And then the Redeemer shall come to Zion—this is the place. Paul quotes with reference to his brethren in the flesh, collating it with Is. 27:9. The covenant is that Israel’s sins will be forgiven, and this is equated with the Spirit never departing from the mouths of all their descendants (Is. 59:21). And this ties Is. 27 into the mix as well. “Jacob shall take root” and “Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit” (Is. 27:6). Glory to God, and may He hasten that day.

Gifts and Call Irrevocable

God has, in His wisdom and providence, tied the fortunes of the world to the fortunes of the Jews. The apostasy of the Jews opened wide the door of salvation for the Gentiles, and their eventual conversion will be a blessing for them (of course), along with the remainder of the Gentiles. This is a decision that God will never repent of—this is the mystery that He has revealed, and which we are to live out.

Now this means that it is not possible to be in sync with the purposes of God in this world without loving the Jewish people. Christians who fall prey to anti-Semitism are trying to disrupt the grace of God for the whole world. It is counterproductive; it is anti-gospel. At the same time, loving the Jews as God does, for the sake of their fathers, is not the same thing as approving of what the Jews do, or agreeing with Zionism, or agreeing with the present position of the current administration of the Israeli government. That is not the point. The point is that animus against the Jews is out, and to give way to it is rebel against God’s gospel strategy. One might say “what about the Palestinian Christians that Israel has killed?” Look, this teaching comes from Paul, who was willing to be damned for the sake of the Jews (Rom. 9:3), and he maintained this attitude while outlining their hypocrisies throughout this book, and while in full knowledge of the fact that they had spent a great deal of energy trying to kill him.

Mercy to the Gentiles

Mercy to the Gentiles has been God’s game plan to bring mercy to the Jews, and mercy to the Jews is what He is going to use to bring about “life from the dead” for all (Rom. 11:15). And so what we are called to do is preach God’s mercy in Christ to all the nations—with a view toward cultural transformation, remember—and to live it out in such a way that the Jews want to get themselves some of that. Personal conversion, certainly, planting of churches, even more. But what we are doing is building Christendom, and doing so in a way that leaves the doors wide open for the Jews. One of the great failures of the first Christendom was at just this point, and it is something we have to address. We are called to provoke emulation (11:14); we are not called to be envious.

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Romans 44: Deliverance from Zion

Joe Harby on January 31, 2010

Sermon Notes:Deliverance from Zion

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Some Thoughts on Life Together

Joe Harby on January 24, 2010

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Introduction

As you may observe by looking around you, we are now worshiping together in one service, instead of the two services we have had for the last year and half. This was not a decision made lightly, and part of the decision depended upon us having a message dedicated to the various issues surrounding this kind of logistical dilemma. So here we are.

The Text

“And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:1-7).

Summary of the Text

First, notice that their problem was caused by growth (v. 1), and their solution to it resulted in growth (v. 7). Growth brings about growth problems (v. 1), in this case a particular group being overlooked. Consider how ordinary and how predictable such a problem would be. The apostles responded with a proposal to delegate responsibility for this particular problem (vv. 2-3). They, for their part, were going to keep their focus on the ministry, that which was causing the growth (v. 4). And so the congregation chose seven godly men (with Hellenistic names, note), and they were set before the apostles, who ordained them (vv. 5-6). The end result of this godly solution to a dispute was godly growth (v. 7). The early church did not float through the book of Acts, never quite touching down. They were real people, with real irritations, and, we may assume, with real comebacks that could have set off a real quarrel.

Growth and Growth

The initial thoughts are taken from this text, but we are also going to assemble some biblical principles from elsewhere. First, we must distinguish growth problems from wasting disease problems. Growth is good compared to the dull as dishwater ministry of the scribes (Matt. 7:29; Acts 13:45). Growth is not an automatic good, but it can be a great good. So we also need to distinguish growth blessings from growth curses. Not everything that grows is good. Cancer grows. Morning glory grows. False teaching grows (2 Tim. 4:3; 2 Tim. 2:17). And when growth problems occur, they don’t solve themselves (Acts 6:3). When godly leadership of one sort causes a difficulty, godly leadership of another sort is needed to address it.

Organized Solutions

A balance must be maintained between focusing on the main thing, and solving the distracting problem (Acts 6: 4, 3). Giving ourselves to one or the other is foolish. This is why a godly approach must be applied both to the spiritual side of the ministry and the practical side of the ministry. In this place, the men they appointed to address their practical problem were “full of the Holy Spirit.” They didn’t appoint the impractical sky-pilots to the spiritual stuff and then appoint “realistic” worldly men to the practical side of things. Godly principles apply to everything, everywhere, and they must be applied by men who understand this.

Basic Orientation

Koinonia fellowship is the work of the Holy Spirit. As we gather to worship God, He knits us together, and we glorify Him together. This can be intimidating to outsiders, and we should not try to make that go away (Acts 5:12-14; 1 Cor. 14:25). At the same time, in the growth of God’s community, a clear priority should be placed on welcoming visitors and outsiders (Dt. 26:11). There is a real difference between the clannish and sectarian exclusion of outsiders and the scary prospect of real community. This is why our deacons, for example, have set aside two rows for visitors.

Seating, Parking, and the Hellenistic Widows

And a balance needs to be maintained between provision for those you are responsible for (1 Tim. 5:8) and adaptability in the light of larger concerns (Heb. 13:17)—and the needs that those who are responsible for those larger concerns have. So if the deacons ask you to do something, an appropriate response would not be, “This ain’t Russia, pal.”

The Whole Point

And last, but also first, the task before us in establishing a worship service is to worship God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear (Heb. 12: 28-29). Just as we want to sing songs that God wants to hear, and not those which we want to sing, so also we want a service that is acceptable to Him in the first place, and our convenience occupying a subordinate place. This does not mean that two services dishonor Him (it depends, right?), but simply means that given our particular circumstances at this point in time, we should be largely focused on what would glorify God the most. Then we labor to make that happen. We want to do this across the board—with the fellowship, with the music, with the energy, with Word and sacraments.

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