DEDICATED TO GOD

Read Romans 12.

Paul has presented the glory of God’s Gospel in the first eleven chapters of Romans.  Now, he turns to the practical implications of that truth, as we see belief is to impact behavior.  His call is to complete dedication to God.

The basis of this dedication is in grace—what God has done for us, “I beseech [beg, implore] you therefore [because of what God has done for you], brethren, by the mercies of God [that has spared us from hell and opened up heaven], that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”  (v.1, comments added). That is, it is a perfectly reasonable thing for you to dedicate your all to the Savior who gave His all for you.

The means for this dedication has both a negative and positive dimension.  In verse two, the negative to avoid is “do not be conformed to this world,” and the positive to apply is “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” with the result, “that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  You will either be conformed to the world or transformed by the Word.  It’s your choice.  You can’t do both, for they are mutually exclusive. You cannot walk in opposite directions at the same time!

For the rest of the chapter, Paul makes practical application of what it means to be dedicated to God.  There will be the deploying of spiritual gifts in humble service (v.3-8). There will also be the demonstration of sanctifying grace in personal action (v.9-21). We are in the world to make a difference, but not of the world in being different. Our dedication to God is seen in our devotion to our fellowman.

OUR SACRED STEWARDSHIP

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  (Ephesians 5:17)

Typically, when we hear the word, “stewardship,” we think about money.  That is an element of stewardship, yet, it is much more than that.  In the ancient world, a steward was a household servant entrusted with the goods of another and accountable to his master for how he managed those assets.  Therefore, we believers are servants of God, given His goods to care for and invest—time, talent, treasure—all the gifts of God bestowed on earth in view of the day of accounting in eternity.

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:15-17 that we are STEWARDS OF OUR STEPS.  We are to “walk circumspectly”—to be careful where we place our feet, setting them on the right path.  As a child, I learned this truth when taught to sing, “Be careful little feet where you go…There’s a Father up above, and He’s looking down in love, so be careful little feet where you go.”  God has a path for us to travel—a course established according to His will and purpose for us.  Yet, we walk through a spiritual minefield in this world of sin.  We must, therefore, walk in wisdom (v.15).  A wise walk is directed by our roadmap—the Word of God, and accessed through prayer (James 1:5).  In this walk, we treasure the time (v.16).  There is a destination called eternity and only a set number of hours on earth—so our pace must be swift and steady—not being detoured by the Devil! 

Then, we are to be STEWARDS OF OUR SANCTUARY (Eph.5:18).  Our body is the sanctuary of the Spirit (1 Cor.6:15-20).  Jesus has purchased us with His blood, and we will render an account of the deeds done in the body at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor.5:6-10).  Paul tells us that there is an intoxication to be refused, “do not be drunk with wine….”  Alcohol is so dangerous that avoiding it altogether is the wisest course.  Drunkenness is dissipation—a wild and wanton waste of life.  We have all witnessed the sad result of abusing alcohol—destroying family, finances and health.  Instead, we are called to an infilling to be received, “be filled with the Spirit….”  In refusing to let your body be under the control of alcohol, yield your body to the control of the Holy Spirit!  As destructive as the former is, so delightful is the latter.  The old hymn tells us how to be filled with the Spirit, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Furthermore, we are STEWARDS OF OUR SPEECH (Eph.5:19-21).  Jesus said, “for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”  (Matt.12:36)  This has implications in our singing (v.19).  If our heart is in tune with God, then the lyrics of our lips will flow from the love for Him in our heart.  This has implications for our thanksgiving (v.20).  We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.  Rather than the destructive expression of grumbling, there is the constructive exclamation of gratitude.  This has implications for our submitting (v.21).  We defer to one another when we speak words that heal rather than hurt—when we consider others as to the effects of our speech.

We have a sacred stewardship—how will we invest our time, our body, and our words?