Because we are wired for worship, our response of worship should shape our lives to reveal and reflect Jesus...

This week we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans. We looked on as Apostle Paul pondered what he had just written about the reality that God is sovereign and man is responsible. We looked on as Paul revealed that he had a hard time wrapping his mind around how God could sovereignly be in control of the universe while man was totally responsible for the decisions and desires of their lives.

However, the lack of total clarity and the tension that Paul felt did not lead him to reject God and these two truths. Instead the mystery surrounding these two truths led Paul to respond in worship of God and to embrace the tension that these two truths create. Paul worshipped the Lord because Paul recognized that we are responsible for the choices we make. And Paul worshipped the Lord because Paul recognized that in God’s sovereignty, He does not give everyone what we deserve. Instead, by His gracious choice He rescues some. And it is God’s gracious choice that should humble us and provoke within us a response of worship. Today, we will see Paul unpack what our response of worship should look like in Romans 12:1-2:

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. 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.

Here we see Paul strongly appeal and urge the members of the church at Rome, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to respond to the fact that God is right. In light of the God’s response of rescue from selfishness and sin through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; In light of God’s activity through the history of the Jewish people, God has been revealed Himself to be right. And the fact that God is right should result in a response from His followers.

Paul then revealed exactly how followers of Jesus should respond God’s rightness and response of rescue: “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” When Paul uses the phrase “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice”, this phrase, in the language this letter was originally written in, literally means to offer your bodies as a living act of worship.

In addition, when Paul use the phrase “spiritual service of worship” this phrase refers to a carefully thought through act of worship.  Paul here is revealing for us the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we are to respond God’s transformational intervention and activity in our lives through Jesus Christ by living in a way that is worthy of God as an act of worship to God that is pleasing to God.

Paul here is bringing us back to the reality that worship, simply put, is a response. Worship is a life that is lived in response to what we value most. Paul’s point is that our worship should be a response that is focused on who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do by valuing the Lord supremely. Paul here is reinforcing the reality that worship is not simply singing, reading your Bible and prayer, although worship can involve singing, reading your Bible and prayer. Worship is a lifestyle; worship is a life that is lived in a way that is focused on and that responds to God’s character and activity in the world so as to value the Lord supremely.

Paul here is urging the members of the church at Rome, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to respond to who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do by making a life time decision, through prayer, to tell God that all of our life is His. This is a one time commitment to practice a lifestyle that reflects a response of worship that values the Lord supremely and that strives to please the Lord.

Paul then unpacks what such a response of surrender and worship looks like in verse 2. Paul commands followers of Jesus throughout history to do not be conformed to this world. In other words, Paul is saying that, as followers of Jesus, we should not model our lifestyle after the times that we live in. As followers of Jesus we not to embrace and be shaped by what Paul refers to as this world, which refers to the different worldviews that are prevalent in the culture around us. Instead, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Paul’s point here is that our response of surrender to God as an act of worship results in God transforming and changing our way of thinking by the power of the Holy Spirit. And as a result of the Holy Spirit’s transformation of our inward way of thinking, we will be able to “prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul here is revealing for us the reality that, our response of surrender to God results in the Holy Spirit’s transforming our inward way of thinking in a way that helps us evaluate and draw a conclusion as to what God’s good standards and desires are for our lives.

Paul’s point here is that when we practice a lifestyle of worship that values the Lord supremely and that is committed to live a life that is surrendered to the Lord, the Holy Spirit transforms our way of thinking and our mindset in a way that results in us being able to recognize and become aligned with the Lord’s desires for our lives. And it is here, in this response of worship by the Apostle Paul, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to the fact that we are wired for worship in that because we are wired for worship, our response of worship should shape our lives to reveal and reflect Jesus. The timeless reality is that because we are wired for worship our response of worship of Jesus should shape how we live our day to day lives as followers of Jesus.

Our response of worship of Jesus should shape our day to day lives in such a way that we living a life that views Jesus as being of supreme value. Our response of worship of Jesus should shape our day to day lives in such a way that we living a life that is not shaped by the worldviews that place themselves in opposition to Jesus that are prevalent in the culture around us. Instead, our response of worship of Jesus should shape our day to day lives in such a way that we living a life that is being transformed by Jesus in such a way that our lives are able to recognize and become aligned with God’s desires for our lives. And as our lives are able to recognize and become aligned with God’s desires for our lives, the result is a life of worship that is being shaped into the image of Jesus and that reveals and reflects Jesus to those around us.

So here is a question to consider: What does what is shaping your life reveal about what you are worshipping? As a follower of Jesus, is there an aspect of your life that is displeasing to God? Could it be that the reason that there are parts of our lives that are displeasing to God is because we have never made the decision to practice a lifestyle of worship that has surrendered all of our life to Jesus in a way that views Jesus as being of supreme value?

Could it be that the reason that there are parts of our lives that are displeasing to God is because we are being shaped by the world instead of being shaped by Jesus? Could it be that the reason that there are parts of our lives that are displeasing to God is because we have never made the decision to practice a lifestyle of worship that is allowing Jesus to shape our lives into His image?

Because, the reality is that, because we are wired for worship, our response of worship should shape our lives to reveal and reflect Jesus...