In Romans 12:1,2 we find the apostle telling the church what some within her were failing to do. With the possible exception of a few small churches, this condition is found in every church body on the planet. Read “My People Who Are Called by My Name” and Who are God’s People? (key words Called and People respectively). In those two series the reader will learn the Bible truth about who in the church are truly God’s people and who are not. In the Romans 12 passage we find Paul “beseeching” (vigorously compelling) the false Christians (the vast majority) in the church to repent of their sins, then do SIX THINGS in order to prove that they are living in the perfect will of God so that they might be saved. These six things WE MUST DO in order to receive the promise of eternal life which is the ultimate reward for having obeyed the Lord during this life. We will examine each of the six behavioral commands which Paul proclaims must be manifested in our lives if we are to inherit salvation upon Christ’s return to earth.

First and foremost we must: (1) present ourselves a “living sacrifice” unto God. We must ask ourselves some questions. For example: How do I use my free time? Do I think about Godly things often, or at all except on Sunday morning? Paul speaks to this question in Philippians 4:8 where he instructs salvation seekers to think on things which are honest, just, pure, lovely, of good reputation, that produce virtue and bring praise to God. He says that we are to “THINK ON THESE THINGS.”

Long ago the Lord led me to stop watching entertainment television. He reminded me that, with the exception of straight news reports, there is nothing depicted on the screen that does not involve sin, beginning with the people themselves including the preachers who admit their sins by calling themselves “sinners saved by grace.” With the exception of the raw news (no commentary), every program is about man, what he does, says, thinks, wants, plans, etc. Many years ago I concluded that television was Satan’s way of infecting mankind with his message which always concerns man and what man wants, does, etc.

Jesus brought this out perfectly as recorded in Mark 8:33 where we find Him telling His disciples something they did not want to hear. Peter, speaking for the group, corrected Him, telling Him that He was wrong, that what He had proclaimed would happen could not possibly take place. Why could it not happen? BECAUSE THE DISCIPLES DID NOT WANT IT TO HAPPEN. Their wishes overruled what God pre-ordained would happen and what the One they proclaimed to be the Son of God had just told them was about to happen. Upon hearing Peter, Jesus looked at him and said: “Get behind me, SATAN, FOR YOU CARE NOT FOR THE THINGS OF GOD, BUT FOR THE THINGS OF MAN”–SATAN IS VITALLY INTERESTED IN THE THINGS THAT MAN WANTS. Satan wants man to think about and seek the “things of man,” things that take him away from God’s spiritual influence and keep him focused on that which serve his wants and self-determined needs.

UNREGENERANT MAN THINKS ABOUT THINGS OF THE FLESH. MAN THEN DOES AND SAYS WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT. Good thoughts exalt God; evil thoughts exalt Satan. Man thinks about what enters his mind through his eyes–“the windows of the soul.” Television, the internet, etc. all exalt man, his achievements, his wants, his desires, etc. I do not own one of those portable brains which people carry in their hands and stare at for hours each day. They are as addicted as a drug addict.

A drug addict can last only a couple of hours without a “fix.” However, man, including churchman, can go days without a spiritual “fix” from God which comes by partaking of His Word. Cigarette addicts are perfect examples of this Satanic addiction to “the things of man.” Rarely can a nicotine addict last more than an hour without a fix. If only man had an equally powerful “Scripture Fix.”

Christ’s reply to Satan proves that Satan was controlling Peter’s mind and directing his desires inward toward himself and not outward toward Jesus. His Words describe the desires of UNCONVERTED (SATAN-LED) MAN whose needs are connected only to that which satisfies his selfish desires. Knowing this, Satan does everything he can to give man what man is most interested in–SELF-DETERMINATION, SELF-RULERSHIP, SELF-DESIGNED PLEASURE, SELF-EXALTATION, ETC.

The truly converted man has the opposite desire. He wants above all else to PLEASE GOD IN EVERY WAY during this short earthly life so that he can live eternally with Him in the next life. This is what Paul meant in verse 1 of the focal passage where he tells us to present ourselves as living, HOLY SACRIFICES unto God. In order to receive eternal life we must sacrifice our fleshly desires for ourselves in favor of God’s holy desires for us, Jesus being our perfect example.

Number two on the list of things Paul tells us to do in Romans 12 is to make our bodies holy. Paul, who received his Gospel directly from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12), speaks to this command in Second Corinthians 7:1 where He tells us to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh (body) and spirit, thereby “PERFECTING HOLINESS IN THE FEAR OF GOD.” “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7). Those who fear Him, being wise, will remove everything from their lives that could tempt them to choose self over the Savior.

Note the command for “PERFECT HOLINESS” on our part. Notice who DOES the perfecting–we do as we obey God’s Word/Law, which enables God to recreate Himself in us, as He did in Jesus of Nazareth who obeyed the Father’s Law perfectly, which resulted in His perfection. In Romans 10:4 we are told that Jesus is “the end (Gk. telos–end result, outcome, goal) of the Law for righteousness. In Roman 5:21 and 6:22 we are told that the end result (telos) of righteousness and holiness (obedience) is eternal life. By His Words and example, Jesus declares that righteousness and holiness are EARNED by (are the result of) obeying God’s Law. The result, outcome, goal of our lives must be the same as was Christs when he walked this earth–eternity in paradise. The Bible Truth is this: the goal of the Christian walk is the Kingdom of God; the method of entering the kingdom is obedience to His Word/Law/Truth/Gospel.

Paul calls God’s Law “holy, just and good” (Rom. 7:17). In Second Corinthians 3:17 He reminds the true saints in the church that “the temple of God is holy, WHICH TEMPLE YOU ARE.” He says that whoever defiles God’s temple will be destroyed by Him. God commands holiness of mind and body in those who would join Him in New Jerusalem. Holiness is the result of obedience to His Word. Read The Kingdom of God. Key word–Kingdom in order to see that the sacrifice of self through obedience to the Word/Law of God will make the sacrifice well worth while

The final four things that the heir of salvation must do are: (3) to make oneself acceptable to God (vs 1); (4) to render reasonable service unto Him (vs 1); (5) to not be conformed to the world (vs 2) and (6) to be transformed from the world (vs 2). These commands are summarized in First John 2:6 where such a life is characterized as+ “WALKING AS JESUS WALKED,” the end result (telos) of which is eternal life. L.J.