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Life in God's Service
Romans 12:1-8
Good News Translation (GNT)
1 So then, my friends, because of God's great
mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a
living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service
and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you
should offer.
2 Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this
world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete
change of your mind.
Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is
good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.
3 And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every
one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you
should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge
yourself according to the amount of faith that God has
given you.
4 We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts
have different functions.
5 In the same way, though we are many, we are one body
in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other
as different parts of one body.
6 So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with
the grace that God has given us.
If our gift is to speak God's message,
we should do it according to the faith that we have;
7 if it is to serve, we should serve;
if it is to teach, we should teach;
8 if it is to encourage others, we should do so.
Whoever shares with others should do it generously;
whoever has authority should work hard;
whoever shows kindness to others should do it
cheerfully.
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Taken from 'word-on-the-web' supplied by
Scripture Union
active living sacrifice arises
The question isn't whether we are going to be transformed
or not.
We will be - either in the pattern of the world or in the likeness of Christ (v 2).
But even as community we grow together in Christ-likeness,
which will produce glorious diversity.
Change won't look exactly the same for any of us.
We are all graced differently and called differently (vs 3,6).
The first verses of this chapter hold a wealth of meaning.
'Therefore' (So then) looks back to all that Paul has written
of God's mercies in Christ.
Now the people of God - 'brothers and sisters', Jew and
Greek, rich and poor, children together of one heavenly
Father - are urged by Paul to radical, sacrificial, on-going
transformation of body and mind.
That active living sacrifice arises from gratitude for all that
the Lord has done.
Now we begin to see our world and ourselves with different
eyes - a world where we serve our Lord and other people,
supported and nourished by Jesus.
The implications for our daily lives are huge, and in
verses 3-8, Paul begins to spell them out.
It is important for twenty-first-century readers, with a strong
sense of individual autonomy, to recognise the deeply
communal aspects of New Testament teaching about the church.
Paul emphasises that we are one body in Christ and
individually members of one another. Paul calls his readers
to the sober humility of self-awareness, avoiding pride in
status, intellect, religious piety, or even pride in children and
material possessions.
These attitudes can make churches oppressive for the poor,
the handicapped, the single, and for new Christians who
know very little about their new faith.
So the gifts are different, and cheerful generous service
is to be valued - even when the giver hasn't yet sorted out
the Minor Prophets!
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