This Sunday's Sermon Info

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Romans 12:1-2

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Beginning in what we call chapter twelve and verse one, the Apostle Paul starts a new section of his letter.  Paul, having established clearly in chapters 1-11 what God has done for sinful humans, both Jew and Gentile alike, will now in chapters 12-15 “underlie the imperatives outlining ones’ duty and obligation to God.” (Schreiner, 1998, 640.)  What should the saints in Rome do now that they have been enlightened as to what God has done?  There is a proper response to the truth the apostle has shared with the saints.  It is not a passive response but an active one, “rooted in faith and energized by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Schreiner)  The Apostle Paul exhorts the saints to give themselves exclusively to their Savior God and reject any part of this world system that would cause them to be unacceptable to God.  They were not to “be conformed to this world” but they were to be holy, proving what God’s will is, “that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Submission to God is paramount for the redeemed sinner.  Nothing else can be achieved if the saints do not submit to their sovereign Savior-God.  In fact, their very salvation could be called into question if they cannot submit to God in faithful obedience.  How is a believer to “prove what the will of God is” if he cannot or will not submit to that will?  The transformation about which the Apostle Paul writes occurs when the saint turns from conformation to the world and through obedience to God’s Word and the supernatural work of God’s Spirit is transformed daily.  This transformation will result in submission to God’s will, proving “that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”