Study Guide : Romans 12 : Beginnings

<Guide for Informal Bible Study>

Guidance from the Scriptures:

Selections from 1Co 12-14, EPH 4:11-16, 1PE 4:7-11

ROM 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

“Therefore” is a word that brings back to mind all that has preceded it.

<Outline of the Book of Romans>

It can be a challenge to try to recall all that has been said in the book of Romans in the first 11 chapters.

So instead you can simply recall the truths about Christ that are fresh in your heart whenever you come to this word.

So for us today it would include all the wonders of being in Christ.

The mercies of God are on prominent display in the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans.  Mercies to the entire human race at the cross. Mercies to the Gentiles, and mercies to the Jews. 
 

ROM 11:30-32
30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. NASU

The expression “present your bodies” hearkens back to Romans 6 and in fact you can see Romans 12 as Paul spelling out with the specifics what he said generally in Romans 6 when he wrote:

ROM 6:12-14
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as  instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as  instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. NASU

ROM 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

So what does it mean to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice?

Paul is about to elaborate by giving us 20 practical ways to live in this statement.

So the rest of chapter 12 consists of over 20 specific ways that we are commanded to be obedient in our spiritual service of worship. Over 20 aspects of our obedience to God in light of His mercies toward us in Christ.

So let’s start in together on these things, and as we do let’s go about answering those basic 3 questions each time we stop at a statement:

What does this say?

What does this mean?

How are we , the saints of Lighthouse Bible Church, to live according to what this means?

What would we look like coming under this command and being obedient to it now as best as we can?

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Are we doing this?  If so, how?  How can we do this better, more fully?

We are to be the FULLNESS of Christ in this world!

ROM 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

How has this lesson been brought home to us this year?  How do we remain faithful to this command, as one assembly and as individuals?

ROM 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,

ROM 12:5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

This is an analogy.  What is the analogy?

Analogies call for a drawing out, a consideration of what is well known about the first to be the basis for new insights concerning the second.  Let’s do some of this together by relating the human body and its different members to us, the body of Christ who are individually members of one another.