Moved by Mercy

Well, we are here in the wonderful days of Unleavened Bread. And with that, the title of our sermon today is, Moved by Mercy. Moved by Mercy. And if you have your Bibles, I invite you to open them again. And let's turn to Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. This is where we're going to begin. Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, on these great days of Unleavened Bread. You know, biblical scholars date this letter from Paul to the Church in Rome to be somewhere written around 24 to 27 years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That's interesting to consider. Paul sits down to pin this letter. It's been some 24 to 27 years after that event, Jesus's sacrifice. And what's so remarkable about that is we find him still absolutely transformed by that sacrifice. All these years, after all these years, we still find him moved in his innermost being by such a merciful act by our Lord and Savior. And now he endeavors to move the Church in the same way. Move the Church then and move us today through his recorded Word. So here he writes these words, Romans 12 beginning in verse 1. Paul writes, I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Let's stop there. Now, I think it's immediately obvious what Paul desires the Church at that time to understand here. Pretty obvious when he begins with this phrase. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. So simply stated, he wants them to be moved by God's mercy toward them. Okay? It's as simple as that. He wants them to be moved by God's mercy, and he now beseeches them on the basis of that mercy. And the use of the word therefore, it really is his means by which he connects everything he's about to say with regards to God's mercy, with everything he's already said with regards to God's mercy. In other words, what he's saying is, because of everything I've written to you up to this point about God's mercy, I now beseech you on those mercies that I've just written about. And he's taken some 11 chapters to lay that foundation as to what is the divine mercy of God toward us through Jesus Christ's sacrifice. And he has set the foundation that it is only by that divine mercy that we have any hope.

He's built the foundation of the Gospel upon the wonderful hope which comes by God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In the first 11 chapters of this letter, he explains the reality of sin. He says and explains that we've all fallen short of the glory of God. That's true. Yet mercy is already hard at work. Let me show you just a few examples from Paul revealing this mercy which he contrasts and which it resolves man's hopelessness due to sin. So keep your marker here in Romans 12. Let's just turn back. Stay in here in Romans. Turn to Romans 5 verse 6 and 8. We're going to see what has led up to this point in the letter where he says, therefore, here where Paul is now going to write here in Romans 5 verses 6 through 8 about the hopeless condition of man without God's mercy through Christ's sacrifice. Romans 5 verse 6 through 8. Paul writes, For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. So here's the contrast here. Man's hopelessness due to sin, yet held up against God's mercy toward us through Christ's sacrifice. And then allow your eyes to go down to verses 18 through 21 here. Here we have it again. Paul laying the foundation of God's mercy. Listen to this verse 18. Therefore, as through one man's offense, that's Adam in the garden, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation that's true. Even so through one man's righteous act, that's Christ's sacrifice, through one man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in the justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, that's Adam, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous, that's Jesus. Moreover, the law entered that the offense may abound, so the law is like a mirror held up to us and it shows us where we've offended causes offense, but where sin abounded grace abounded much more. So that as sin rained in death, that's not good, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amazing. So through one man's merciful act, Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, we now have all these different aspects and the different results that that merciful act brings. We have now the justification for God to offer life to us, eternal life. That's one extension of that merciful act, one result. We also, as a result of that merciful act, we now have been made righteous through Jesus.

That's pretty powerful, it's pretty good. Through one man's righteous act, this merciful act of sacrifice, now eternal life is made available to us, Paul says, through Christ Jesus.

And it's this merciful act of his sacrifice that has opened these results to us. So again, he's building the foundation here to that climatic moment in Romans 12 where he says, therefore, right? But we're not done yet. He's still building. Go forward to chapter 7 verses 21 through 25. Again, chapter 7 verses 21 through 25. Again, all throughout this first 11 chapters, Paul is explaining the reality of our sin. We've fallen short of the glory of God, yet mercy was already available to us. Look at this. Paul continues to build the case here. Chapter 7, beginning in verse 21, Paul says regarding his own condition, I find then a law that is ever present with me, the one who wills to do good, for I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into the captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?

Well, he pauses, I'm sure, and says, well, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

He was the one that extended this mercy to us, God the Father through Jesus Christ. Again, man's hopelessness condition without God's mercy through Jesus Christ's sacrifice. So, turning then back to chapter 12, when this dramatic and climatic moment comes, and he says, I beseech you therefore, what he's saying is, in light of how hopeless you were, and in light of the mercy that's been extended to you, I'm going to now make an appeal to you.

He says, I'm going to beseech you, brethren, by those mercies that I just laid out to you, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, present your bodies as holy, present your bodies as acceptable to God. This is your reasonable service. I think I've built that case in my letter leading up to this moment. And don't be conformed to this world. Rather, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

So, I appeal to you to be a living sacrifice. The result of this mercy is to present yourself, your body, as holy, acceptable to God. This is your reasonable service, he says, so that you may prove, so that you may show the evidence that you are the recipient of that mercy, you see. So, this is so fascinating. If you really think about this, it's profound. This appeal, it's not an appeal built on guilt. No. It's not even an appeal that's ultimately driven by obligation. We are obliged, yes, but that's not the primary basis of this appeal. It's not even an appeal that is merely to earn God's favor or to earn his blessings.

Favor and blessings are good, but that's not the true basis of the appeal. Rather, the ultimate basis of the appeal to live a life of sacrifice, to live a life that's holy, to live a life that's acceptable to God, the appeal ultimately emerges from our response to God's mercy through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Whew! That's deep. So, why do we do what we do?

Where does our motivation come from? Why do we sacrifice so much in this physical world? Why do we commit ourselves to live in such a way where we crucify our own desires and live in such a way that is holy and acceptable to God? Why do we bend our will to His and keep His commandments? Why are we here during these holy days of unleavened bread? Why are we here on this Sabbath day?

Why do we do what we do? Even down to the food we eat and don't eat. What is the ultimate motivation to conform ourselves to God's word and not to this world? Well, brethren, our motivation is simply a response. We're simply responding to God's wonderful mercy, and this is the essence, the beautiful essence of Paul's appeal here to us. In other words, he says, God has mercifully given you everything in Jesus Christ. So I appeal to you to give everything to Him and become a kind of living sacrifice in response to His ultimate sacrifice. Take that merciful act, take that mercy, and allow it to move you and transform you today.

You know, that's why the Passover, picturing God's ultimate merciful act through Jesus Christ's sacrifice, that's why the Passover ushers in these days. Doesn't that make sense? This is what Paul is longing to teach the church then and teach us today.

So, with all of that, you know, in many ways, Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 is really the connection between the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Isn't that true? Romans 12 verse 1 is the bridge. Romans 12 verse 1 and 2 is the bridge between our belief and our behavior. It's a simple way of putting it. Belief in Jesus's righteous and merciful act of His sacrifice and how that belief then transforms how we live, our behavior. So, Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 is the bridge. It really is the bridge between merely doctrinal knowledge and the deep worship and devotion to that doctrine which transforms our lives.

That's why what Paul is teaching here is so important, about where our deep motivations come from to transform our life. Where does that come from? Where does that emerge from? Where does that desire emerge from? It emerges from a deep understanding of God's mercy. And I'll tell you, if you've been trying to make some behavioral changes so that your life can show more evidence of what God's good and perfect will is, and say you've been having difficulty doing that, go back to your motivations here.

True behavioral transformation can only take place if you truly understand the motivation for that transformation. If we miss the mercy but behind the therefore, our behavioral changes will be superficial, shallow, not lasting, not transforming, and ultimately insufficient to what we're called to do. But when we see the basis of this appeal and where our desire comes from, then this life being a living sacrifice, then it's not a burden. It's a reasonable, joyful response to the overwhelming mercy from God through Jesus Christ. So the call to action of these days of Unleavened Bread must come forth from our deep understanding of the Passover. It's foundational to these days. You know, these days of Unleavened Bread, they're active.

You examine, you remove, you put this in, you take that out, you know, you turn from this, you walk in this way. But if we're not careful, those actions will become mechanical, external, even burdensome. And God never intended that. The removal of sin was not meant to be driven from cold obligation, but from a heart that's deeply moved by mercy because of all that God has done for you.

And when you realize the depth of that has been extended to you personally, then the action of these days, it's not forced. It's not even resisted. It's a response, a natural response of a grateful heart. So before we dive into the do's and the don'ts, we must first dwell in the wonderful, gracious mercy from God through Jesus Christ.

We must first dwell in all the deep meaning of the Passover. That's the appeal, brilliantly and masterfully written by Paul, and just a sentence, right? The motivation for these days of unleavened bread.

Okay, that's the appeal. So what about this action? What about the action itself? What about the behavioral implications of this instruction that Paul has given us here?

When the time we have left, we're going to look at the action itself here, now that we're standing upon a good foundation here by Paul. So on that basis, we're going to move past the therefore now. We're going to continue on. Where there at the second part of verse 1, he says, therefore present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this world. Verse 2, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove or show the evidence of what is the good, acceptable, perfect will of God. Let's stop there. So this is the behavioral instruction here, the implications that come from God's mercy here. So as a summary, you who are the recipients of God's mercy, it's your reasonable service then to not be conformed to this world, but you now must present your bodies in such a way. He says, you are not to be conformed to this world in how you present your bodies. The world which hated Jesus Christ, you know, don't be conformed to it. Don't be conformed to the world which hated the one who gave you mercy. Rather, be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you can show the evidence of what is his perfect will. So simply stated, this is, Paul is appealing here now for us to live a life that's in full commitment and sacrifice to God. Live a life and sacrifice to him in how you behave. This is a living commitment. It may go without saying, but the indication is as long as you're living, right? This is your commitment. You're to be a living commitment. It lasts as long as you're alive. The duration of your life. This is the action that you're being called to today, and you're being called to give all of you to be all in. In my research, I was reminded of those great western scenes. I don't know how many of you like western movies? Quite a bit, and I know you're going to know what I'm talking about. Particularly the gambling scenes. Every good western has a gambling scene. I think that's a true statement. I love that scene. You have the two gamblers facing each other there at the table. Their crew is behind them. That scene is always dark. It's always a little sweaty. I can imagine it didn't smell too good in that room. One of them has half a stogie, and it's kind of burning his eye. The other guy typically has a gun underneath the table, pointed at the guy. But they focus back on the guy with the stogie. He's got this amount of chips in front of him. The room gets silent. It's building to the climax. And he leans forward. He says, I'm all in. And he pushes it forward.

You know, maybe there's a cock of a gun. You know, at that point.

Oh, it's great. I'm going to have to look one of those up. You know, I forgot where I was going with this.

All in. All in, right? You may not remember anything else from this sermon except for that.

Committed. Committed. All in.

So on the basis of that failed analogy, I will ask, you know, are you holding anything back from God? Are you all in?

Really be participating in this sermon at this point. Really be thinking, yeah, I am holding back that area from God. I want to bring that to God. I want to bring it on the basis with a deep understanding of His mercy. And we're going to go through what it means to be all in as a living sacrifice. But what does it mean to you? And just to help you as you're considering this and as you take this home with you, it's really fascinating here to notice that Paul specifically mentions our bodies. Did you notice that? How we present our bodies proves this, whether we are recipients of God's mercy. Let your body show the evidence that you've been moved by God's mercy. Let your body show this. Very practical, I think we could say. Because without your body, without my body, we have no way of showing this, right? Is that a fair statement? It's through our bodies that we show the evidence that we're living sacrifices you see. Very practical. Everything we are is carried in our bodies. Everything we have, everything we think or feel, all the positive and negative influence we have on others, we exert on others, the differences we make in this world, all of it comes from how we present our bodies. And so Paul says, loved ones, brethren, I want you to be living sacrifices with your bodies, how you present your bodies. I want you to prove that you've received His mercy. Now we know we're not spiritual in nature yet, but those of us who have made that commitment, we have God's Spirit in us, God's Spirit in our physical bodies. And so from that time, you can't separate what we do in the physical body with that of the Holy Spirit that resides in us. Once God's Spirit comes into us, the physical is linked with the spiritual. Now you might be saying that's, I don't even know why that had to be stated, that's fairly obvious, but actually there's a false and erroneous contemporary spiritual notion that from time to time grows in popularity where this idea that someone will say, I'm a spiritual person, but that's not connected to what I do in the physical, with my physical body. It's actually a contemporary false notion. They somehow try to separate the two. It's not true. You can't get that notion from Paul, Romans 12 verse 1 and 2. I cannot separate what I am in terms of my attitude and my actions from that with God's Spirit living in me. You can't just believe without the evidence.

That doesn't make any sense. It's one of the contemporary notions out there. You can just believe without having to prove it in your physical and how you present your physical bodies. Not so. Paul says, it is by our bodies with God's Spirit in us that we prove these things out, how the use of our bodies here prove what is the acceptable perfect will of God. JB Phillips, popular commentary, paraphrases verse 2 this way. I think he does a pretty good job. Quote, don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but submit to God as he remolds your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good. Unquote. You can prove in practice, he says. So the mind is part of the body. Don't allow contemporary thinking. Don't allow your human nature thinking. Take control. True Christianity is this mind-altering experience, reality, a living sacrifice. All of you, Paul has put forth here, and that includes your mind.

Paul had previously written about this truth. Turn back with me to Romans 8 verses 5 through 8, where Paul contrasts here between how we live in the flesh and how that's directly connected to being spiritually connected through God's Spirit. Romans 8, look at verse 5 through 8 here.

Very plain, very clear. Paul puts forth here Romans 8 verse 5, for those that live according to the flesh, they set their minds on the things of the flesh. You're not a living sacrifice for God, if that's your reality. But those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death. You're not going to be recipients of the results of what mercy gives you life. No. If you're carnally minded, that is death. But to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity. It is an enemy against God. It is not subject to the law of God. It doesn't want to be, nor indeed can it be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. That's a powerful statement. So we bring these things to God in this desire to become a living sacrifice, and we align our motivation as to why we're doing so. And then we understand this full picture that it is all of us. We are to be a living sacrifice. And so you cannot separate anything, any behavior in this physical world, while showing the evidence of what God's perfect will is. Our body, our mind, all of it provides the means to prove that we are recipients of His Son's mercy. Staying here in chapter 8, let's continue with verses 9 through 11. Paul continues here, Romans 8 verse 9, but you, and I speak to you today, brethren, you are not in the flesh. That's not who you are, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. That's logical. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. And that's the reality of today. If you have God's Spirit living in you, God has given you life. Life.

And through grace and mercy at the end of this physical life, he will extend you eternal life to live with him forever. This is the radical distinction that marks those in Christ. In other words, true Christianity, those responding to the Passover, the result is going to be a whole body, a whole mind-altering reality. So much so, you kind of become this kind of living sacrifice in response to Christ's sacrifice as God the Father makes you in the image of his Son. Now, if we're not feeling, feeling the weight yet, Jesus Christ takes a moment in Scripture to really raise our eyes, our minds, onto the depth and the height that we need to achieve in this life.

The importance of these days and what they represent, the days of unleavened bread, making progress out of sin. Jesus Christ takes a moment, and I'll warn you a little bit, it's a striking moment that we want to turn to with regards to all that we've spoken about. And it's found in Matthew 18 verse 8. Let's turn there, if you will. Some of you may have been ahead of me. As Jesus Christ now takes this notion of our bodies, and symbolically he now teaches from it on these things. Matthew 18 verse 8. Here it is. If you didn't believe Paul, here's Jesus Christ.

Hear him. Jesus says, Matthew 18 verse 8, If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off. Cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. Let's stop there. Okay, it matters what we do in this physical life. If you are the recipient of God's Spirit, made possible by Christ's sacrifice, it matters. Let that sink into your heart as a deep motivation here. It matters what we do. It matters. That's why these days immediately follow the Passover. Take the somberness from our observance of the Passover and let it move you. Let it move you. Let it usher you into these days. We do not physically cut off our hand or our foot, of course. But I hope you see the deep symbolic meaning of this. Whatever is causing an offense, what is causing an offense in your life? You want to approach it with the intensity as this symbolism requires. It's serious. Consider everything in your life. How are you presenting your body? How are you presenting your mind in this physical life?

And Jesus makes the call to us to get rid of anything. Don't allow it to remain anything that is not honoring of his sacrifice. Allow his sacrifice to move us in that direction.

So, when we enter into these days of Unleavened Bread, I want you to think about this practical examination. Very practical. Paul is helpful to us in this way. Start with your body. Okay, let's start with our hands. What do our hands do? Are they gentle and supporting of others?

Do you find your hands in service of others and in humility? Do you find your hands helping a fellow brother or sister along in their journey?

Where do our feet take us? Are our feet taking us places that reveal God's good and perfect will or not? Are there areas that our feet are taking us that symbolically we need to get rid of and cut them off? Our eyes. What are we allowing our eyes to set their affections upon? Is it good and honorable of Christ's sacrifice or not?

Our ears. What are we allowing to enter into our ears? What kind of messages are we listening to? What kind of gossip are we providing a home to? And of course, our tongues, the words we speak, are they representative of someone who is moved by God's mercy?

So this is a very practical self-examination that we have before us. And all of it is connected to responding to the Passover.

Well, there you have it. And as we conclude here on this wonderful Sabbath day during the days of Unleavened Bread, you and I must heed this appeal. Consider the mercies of God and the consider the mercies of God. Allow that mercy to be the motivation to which you give your whole body to God, not only for these seven days, but for all the days of our life. So I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice today, holy and acceptable to God.