When we think of our redo for godliness, we think of the changes – the transformation – that needs to take place. This daily devotion will begin a look at the last five chapters of the Book of Romans.
Nuggets
- God calls us to submit to Him.
- God calls us to be, do, and suffer in order to achieve the perfection of being.
- We can only be transformed through the power of the Sovereign God.
- Transformation must include our bodies, minds, and souls.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Transformed to Perfection series
We are going to do something we haven’t done for a while. In the past, we walked through almost the whole book of Ephesians.
For our Redo for Godliness series, we are going to look at the ending chapters of Romans. I was always told that the first 11 chapters are how you become a Christian (Romans Part I), and the last five chapters are what you do then (Romans Part II). The book ends by telling us what it means to have a personal relationship with God.
We would have looked at this last year because my Ladies and I were supposed to look at the book of Romans for Sunday Morning Bible Study. But Covid hit, and we didn’t get to do that – which was a big bummer. I was really looking forward to our discussions.
We are going to do the walk through the second part of Romans a little differently than we did when we did the walk through Ephesians. I am going to break it into a couple of series. We’ll handle it more like we did the Attributes of God and Silence of the Soul series. We’ll work on one series a while and then pull in some other stuff to give ourselves a break.
So, let’s get going and see where it leads.
Let's Put It into Context
We’ve looked at Romans 12: 1-2 before — pretty extensively. We broke apart the phrases in the verses when we developed the first job duty for our Disciples’ Job Description.
We looked then at what we were supposed to do. Let’s look now more at the end result — perfection means being.
Transformed into a Sacrifice
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God …” (Rom. 12: 1 CSB)
God calls us to submit to Him.
Sacrifice has long been a part of service. With the Jewish sacrifices, they were categorized as sacrifices for reconciliation and sacrifices for celebration and worship.
Resource
Where Jesus was the sacrifice for sin in Romans Part I, we are the sacrifice in Romans Part II. Maclaren said that “sacrifice means giving up everything to God. That is the true sacrifice, when I think as in His sight, and will, and love, and act as in obedience to Him. Godet gave us what being a sacrifice looks like. He wrote, “… the symbol of consecration after pardon had been received … and of the communion established between Jehovah and the believer …”
Resource
Elaine-speak. A living sacrifice is the embodiment of becoming sanctified and giving everything to God after being forgiven of our sins.
Hmmm. That kind of turns it on its ear, doesn’t it? Well, usually when we think of sacrifice, don’t we think of the things we are giving up or not doing because we are now a disciple? Sometimes, we consider it a sacrifice because God is asking us to do something when we would rather do something else.
So, being a sacrifice isn’t about giving up. It is about being changed.
Kelly’s point kind of stopped me in my tracks. When the Jews sacrificed the animals — to have any value as a sacrifice — the animals had to be dead.
Resource
But we know how that translates, don’t we? We have to be dead to ourselves.
- “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2: 20 ESV).
- “And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (Lk. 9: 23 ESV).
Then Miller added to that by reminding us that the sacrifice had to be without blemish. I still have it in my folder for this year to take another peak at being perfect in this world.
Resource
For us, that is what without blemish means. It means no sin. It means we are to be holy. Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
We can’t accomplish that while we are in these bodies. The only way we can is to be covered by the blood of Jesus. Then God sees His blood, not our blemishes.
Wardlaw reminded us that the choice to be a living sacrifice to God is ours. We can choose to let Him have control. Or we can choose to be independent and not believe in Sovereign God.
But when we do choose to be a living sacrifice, Wardlaw confirmed that it has to be a daily submission.
Resource
Transformed into the Sanctification
God calls us to be, do, and suffer in order to achieve the perfection of being.
Okay, we’ve been saying that perfection isn’t about doing. It is about being.
Nell said, to be sanctified, it encompasses being, doing, and suffering. We deliberately have to choose to be, to do, and to suffer all that God has in store for us.
Resource
I can see that. The three-pronged act of sanctification combines into the perfection of being.
Let’s look at it this way. I decided what I wanted to be when I was in third grade — well, two things. I wanted to be a secretary and a singer.
I can just hear God saying, “Elaine, it really isn’t about what you do. Either way you choose, you need to do it for Me and be like Me.”
Think about it. If our transformation to perfection was all about what we do, what we might be doing might not necessarily be for God. We might be part of a Save the Kids, Save the Animals, Save the Planet organization that — though they do good work — aren’t working to glorify God, but the worldview.
Instead, we are to change our character to be like that of God’s. We are to kick the world’s moralities up to spiritual graces heading toward holiness.
But we can’t just be and not do. Because God is in us, the love and joy has to bubble out of us. We can’t keep it to ourselves.
The suffering is going to be a component, also. Once Satan knows we have thrown in with God, he is going to unleash temptations on us.
So, we’ve got to be, do, and suffer to change into being like God.
Transformed by the Power
We can only be transformed through the power of the Sovereign God.
Arnot talked about a link between doctrine and duty. Both have to be united in order to have a living relationship with God. Arnot said that the link “… unites the product to the power.”
Resource
How do we unite the product to power? Communication. Remember the last part of Godet’s definition? He wrote, “… the symbol of consecration after pardon had been received … and of the communion established between Jehovah and the believer …”
Resource
The product Arnot was talking about is the life of being a living sacrifice. By being in constant communication with Him, we are devoted to God and serve Him and others. That is the greatest commandments, right?
Glossary
Transformed Completely
Transformation must include our bodies, minds, and souls.
A quick word of caution. Don’t think bodies means just our physical bodies. However, Leach brought up something interesting. He wrote, “Christ had but little to say about souls, but much about bodies.”
Resource
Paul is telling us to present our nature and souls — in fact, all of us — to God. Taylor wrote that we can’t “… give the body apart from the soul, which would be formalism and hypocrisy.” A formalist is a person who gives the appearance of being a disciple, but in reality, isn’t.
Resource
Making the Connections
Fiddes made a great point. He wrote, “When we consider that the generality of men are more governed by example than precept, or the intrinsic reason of things, we must acknowledge it adds a very great force to instructions we hear from any person when they come recommended by his own practice, and that upon two accounts.”
Resource
How is that evident in today’s society? We used to be a Christian nation. But now, we hear that we are supposed to be doing and believing like worldview people. We are to follow their examples instead of God’s laws and commandments.
How Do We Apply This?
Barnes said that we should exhibit the attributes of God. He wrote, “Ministers of the gospel should be gentle, tender, and affectionate. They should be kind in feeling, and courteous in manner — like a father or mother.”
Resource
When life turns chaotic, we have to look to the One who is steering us. That means we have to have Him in our boat instead of just being the stars that guide us. The stars do us no good if we don’t have the ability to steer the boat.
Resource
We are a living sacrifice by
- Cheerfully being obedient.
- Consistently following God.
- Walking in the Spirit instead of allowing worldly passions rule us.
- Prepare ourselves for service to God.
- Be grateful to God in all things.
- Controlling our physical desires.
- Doing all that is “… holy and pleasing to God …” (Rom. 12: 1 CSB)
- Making being a living sacrifice a habit.
Resource
After we ABCD, we have to be transformed to be like God. It is a process called sanctification. It will take our lifetimes to complete – but it is worth it.
Father God. We thank You so much that You take us as we are for salvation. Help us to be transformed to like You are as we navigate the Sanctification Road. Amen.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.