Speaker: Pastor Neil Lindwall

Additional Resources: Extra readings can be found on this page and appear indented like this.

NIV Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

NIV Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

Hear God’s Plea. παρακαλέω parakaléō = Urge NIV / Appeal ESV / Beseech KJV / Plead NLT  

par-ak-al-eh'-o; from G3844 and G2564; to call near, i.e. invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation):—beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort(-ation), intreat, pray. – Strong’s Definitions.

3870 parakaléō (from 3844/pará, "from close-beside" and 2564/kaléō, "to call") – properly, "make a call" when "close-up and personal." … 3870/parakaleō ("holy urging") … Depending on the context, 3870 (parakaléō) can mean: exhort, admonish, warn, build-up, etc. In each case, 3870 (parakaléō) retains the core-meaning "urging (making a call) from close-beside." The Lord inspires 3870 (parakaléō) in His people so they can urge each other to follow His preferred-will (2307/thélēma). Accordingly, 2307/thélēma ("God's preferred-will") and 3870 (parakaléō) are closely connected. – HELPS Lexicon.

Consider God’s Mercies. οἰκτιρμός oiktirmós = Mercy NIV / Mercies ESV 

3628/oiktirmos ("visceral compassions") is used of the deep feelings God has for all of us, and powerfully shows and shares in those following Him. Four of the five occasions of 3628 (oiktirmós) are plural (…exception Col 3:12). [The Lord's compassions for us are infinite – and hence we impact Him without measure which hints at the use of the plural ("compassions"; see Ro 12:1; 2 Cor 1:3; Phil 2:1; Heb 10:28).] – Exerpts from the HELPS Lexicon. 

רְחֵם (Strong’s 7359) denotes earnest pleading for “mercy” or “compassion.” Related to the more common plural רַחֲמִים, [rahamim] it speaks of tender, heartfelt pity—never a cold legal pardon, but a warm, affectionate inclination to relieve misery. – Topical Lexicon.  οἰκτιρμός, οἰκτιρμοῦ, ὁ (οἰκτείρω), the Sept. [LXX] for רַחֲמִים) (the viscera, which were thought to be the seat of compassion (see σπλάγχνον, b.)), compassion, pity, mercy: σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ (Rec. οἰκτίρμων), bowels in which compassion resides, a heart of compassion – THAYER’S GREEK LEXICON. 

The Hebrew word rahamim (רַחֲמִים) means compassion or mercy. It is an essential quality of God and a desirable ethical trait in human beings. … The word rahamim comes from the Hebrew noun rechem, which means womb. This etymology reflects the powerfully nurturing, protective qualities associated with compassion — like a mother’s care for her child. In the Hebrew Bible, rahamim is often linked with God’s mercy toward humanity. … Rahamim often comes into conflict with strict justice. When acting from a principle of rahamim, deserved punishment may be unadministered. … In other words, if humans were judged “fairly,” God would have to destroy them. – My Jewish Learning. 

Mercies of God In Romans: 

• Eternal Life: The Free Gift paid for by Jesus (Rom 3:23)
• Justification: Declared righteous by faith (Rom 3:24)
• Peace with God: Reconciled through Jesus (Rom 5:1)
• Sacrificial Love: Christ died for sinners (Rom 5:8)
• Saved from Wrath: Saved from final judgment (Rom 5:9)
• No Condemnation: Free from the punishment we deserve (Rom 8:1)
• Gift of the Spirit: Divine presence within (Rom 8:11)
• Adopted: Made children of God (Rom 8:15)
• Unbreakable Love: Nothing can separate us from His love (Rom 8:39)
• Mercy: Chosen by His grace (Rom 9:15-16)
• Open to All: All who call on Jesus (Rom 10:9-13)
• Grafted in: Gentiles included in salvation (Rom 11:17)

NIV Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

OFFER YOURSELF.  

ESV Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  

Keep It Real. λογικός logikós = True & Proper NIV / Spiritual ESV

log-ik-os'; from G3056; rational ("logical"):—reasonable, of the word. – Strong’s. *Isa 58… *Corban…. *you have heard…

3050 logikós (from 3056/lógos, "reason") – properly, logical because divinely reasonable; "what is logical to God," i.e. logic working with divine reasoning discerned through faith. logikos ("divinely reasonable") is constantly necessary in making acceptable offerings to the Lord – each of which is equally profound to eternity when done in faith ("divine persuasion"). These produce a "seamless" life in which every decision (action) can have profound, eternal meaning, even in earthly "setbacks" or suffering (cf. Mt 13:31,32, 17:20 with Ro 8:18). In sum, 3050 (logikós) refers to what is reasonable in light of the revelation of faith (see Ro 12:1-3), i.e. God's reasonableness which brings His provision for growth and nourishes the soul (1 Pet 2:2). 3050 (logikos) then is not only "logical," it is "supra-logical" (divinely logical). – HELPS Lexicon.

NIV Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

REFUSE THE WORLD.  

4964 sysxēmatízō (from 4862/sýn, "identified with" and sxēmatizō, "possessing outward shape") – properly, to assume similar outward form (expression) in following the same pattern (model, mold).  

4964/sysxēmatizō ("having the same shape, form") occurs twice in the NT (Ro 12:2; 1 Pet 1:14), expressing the outward impact of sin on people living without faith. Here human nature conforms to the "shape" ("mold") of this world (missing God's mark). – Excerpts from HELPS Lexicon.

PHILLIPS Rom 12:1-2 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

NIV Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Let God Work. μεταμορφόω metamorphóō = Transformed.  

3339 metamorphóō (from 3326/metá, "change after being with" and 3445/morphóō, "form changed in keeping with inner reality") – properly, transformed after being with; transfigured. – Excerpt from the HELPS Lexicon.

BECOME

NIV Romans 8:5-6 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

Mind = 5426/phroneō ("visceral opinion-making") is the God-given capacity of each person to have in-sight which has God's approval (when exercised through faith) or disapproval (if done in the flesh). … 5426 (phroneō) conveys an individual's personal priorities, i.e. "visceral opinions" which need to line up with living in "God's inbirthed persuasion" (4102/pístis), i.e. thinking God's thoughts after Him to walk with Him. – Excerpts from HELPS Lexicon.

CONFORMED or TRANSFORMED?

MSG Romans 12:1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.