Exposition by Max A Forsythe
Christ Covenant Reformed (PCA)
After reading Calvin's comments on the passage before us, I realized how much more there is to be learned from these short verses that I first imagined. These eight short verses should be preached over for a solid month. However, as I view the schedule for where we need to be, so that we are able to start something new by Easter time, I do not have the luxury of saying all that I would like about these riches. So for our purposes this morning, let us divide these verses into three parts. In verses one and two Paul makes a brilliant transition from the first eleven chapters to the issue at hand in the remainder of this epistle. In verse three, he cautions us to accept the spiritual, material and mental limitations with which we are all created. And lastly, in verses four to eight he encourages us to work together as one body, Christ's Church for the greater glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Doing that glory as a way of life is difficult.
Ever since I have been in the ministry I have heard people ask what they should do with their lives in their daily walk. Or as two people, separated by a decade, have too crudely put it: "Just tell me what I need to do to get to heaven". Like the rich young ruler who we will consider next week in our introduction to the book of Proverbs, it is a heartfelt question which people really do not want an obvious answer. And to view the faith once given to the saints as only a process of getting oneself to the heavenly precincts is to lower the greatest faith ever known to an all too common and ordinary manmade religion.
You see the proper biblical understanding of this issue resides only in our understanding, as Calvin puts it, that: "we are to seek for righteousness only from God; we are to look for our salvation from His mercy alone; and the sum of all our blessings is laid up for us, and daily offered to us, in none but Christ. ... Since the soul is regenerated into a heavenly life by that saving knowledge of God and of Christ, and our life itself is formed and regulated by holy exhortations and precepts, we display our enthusiasm for reordering our life in vain, if we have not first shown that the origin of all righteousness for men is to be found in God and Christ."
John says in the great passage of his eighth chapter, verse thirty-two: "You shall know the correct doctrine and that truth will set you free." And correct doctrine is what Paul has been arguing for all along in this letter to the Romans to this point. Calvin goes on to emphasize the importance of knowing doctrine before ordering our lives, "Paul's entreaty teaches us that men will never worship God with a sincere heart, or be roused to fear and obey Him with sufficient zeal, until they properly understand how much they are indebted to His mercy." For those of you who have not grown up in Presbyterian congregations, have you noticed that we use that word "debt" in our saying of the Lord's prayer? It may seem like a minor distinction in translation, but the Presbyterian emphasis, which is just as scriptural as using "trespass" has been around for generations in the English language.
By knowing the great debt of salvation given to us by the mercy of the Lord which is celebrated here in these opening verses, we are encouraged to listen to admonitions and friendly entreaties rather than being commanded to do certain things by Church decree! Both Calvin and Paul agree that we must cease to live for ourselves in order that we may more and more bring every thought, word and deed under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
The sacrifice commended here is to be living, holy and pleasing to our God. Imagine the comparison to the dead animal flesh burnt on the altar in the temple. The sacrifice encouraged is not like those consumed by the temple fire, but a sacrifice of living that out of our love for God is a daily attempt to live a righteous and holy life pleasing to Him. One certain way of doing this, is to follow the instruction of verse two: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The instruction here is that we as the Church are salt and light to the earth. We are not to conform our thinking to the world or allow the world to set the agenda for Christ's Church. Here in America, just as in all cultures, we have to begin to understand how much our thinking has been affected by the popular media and the public education. Harry Blamires, who was a student of C.S. Lewis, wrote a fine book entitled The Christian Mind, where he explores what it means to think apart from our culture and within the context of a truer Christian culture which was once ordered under the banner of Western Civilization.
That Christian understanding was fathered by John Calvin in the educational processes and programs placed under the authority of our God at the time of the Reformation. Sadly, the teaching of that world view cannot even be bought in this decade by a millionaire who endowed Yale University for that very purpose. He ended up taking back his gift because it was not being used for the purpose he intended. So our job of pleasing God in our time is all the more difficult because the world stands against His revelation and instruction. So if we would know His will and do it, we must learn anew to measure first our minds against His doctrine and having done that then to submit our living to the ordering of His divine word.
Our second point today is explained in verse three: "For by the grace given me I say to everyone of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." The popular supposition today is that everyone should be all they should be, and that every obstacle, and every glass ceiling should be demolished that might stand in the way of individual self-fulfillment. Hardly anyone is flunked out of any program. Such a policy is thought to be unfair, instead the training requirements for law enforcement, fire fighting, flying combat aircraft and so on are changed so that more people can qualify. Thirty years ago when the colleges began expanding to absorb the baby boomers, all kinds of standards were lowered to crowd the universities with enthusiastic learners.
The idea of everyone having a calling and that that calling should be tested, fell away as if it had never existed. The story book, The little engine that could and the once popular song about the ant moving the rubber tree plant, encouraged a whole generation to be more than they were able. Within the faith, we are not to run ahead of our calling. Not everyone according to Scripture is of leadership quality and certain gifts can never be learned. Thus we are charged with being asked to take on the role and responsibility of leadership. And within Christ's Church since the Reformation, the evangelical churches have mandated that their leaders stand for election regularly. Recently, I was even surprised to hear that a congregation had only called their Pastor for a five year period, which can be renewed only by common consent! So we see here some essential teamwork within Christ's Church. And with that said, we can go on to our last four verses to see God's plan in action within the Christian community. Verses four to six are indicative of what follows: "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us."
F.F. Bruce observes that "diversity, not uniformity, is the mark of God's handiwork." A few years ago I wanted to do a photographic advertisement for our Church. I wanted to emphasize the doctrinal standards of our group but also wanted to vividly demonstrate that we are all free to honor our Lord in our own way. I wanted to have two color pictures of TULIPS! One picture would have a regimented stand of identical red tulips. Under that picture, I intended to to say, "This is some people's idea of a Reformed Congregation". The second picture would be a riot of color with every imaginable variation in the TULIP family. Under that picture, I intended to say, "This is our idea of a Reformed Congregation".
Yes, we want to emphasize that all of God's people have something in common, and that common element is the essential doctrines represented by the five points of Calvinism summarized in TULIP. However, it the Church is to be what God intended, every bulb and bulblette should be allowed to show God's glory in the way set out for each and every person! In this way, the whole Church is built up and our God is honored and glorified. The offerings that we each bring to God's service are diverse indeed as we see in the last few verses before us today. And these offerings if they are to be acceptable, must be freely given in thankful response for all that Christ has done for us. May we learn from Paul's witness here today that even as we learn the essential doctrines, we ought to go on and gratefully serve the God who has shown us this great mercy. May we be so empowered.
Resources Used: The Holy Bible, New International Version
Places Preached:Bruce, F.F. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Romans. Hodge, Charles. Romans. Mackenzie, R. Calvin's New Testament Commentaries: Romans.
Christ Covenant REFORMED (Presbyterian Church in America) Post Office Box 13926 - Columbus, OH 43213-7926
Rom12a.htm 021 January 96
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