Romans 12

Chapter 12. Consecration and ServiceTherefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)We have now been led in the course of this wonderful treatise through the revelation of sin, salvation, sanctification and God’s providence and purpose respecting His people and the world, up to the coming of our Lord. He now proceeds to the practical part of the epistle, and by all these blessings that have been received and all these mercies that have been unfolded, he calls us to consecrate ourselves to God for the service which should be the outcome of all these blessings. God’s Order It is most important to notice the place of consecration with reference to sanctification. A mistake in theology or terminology will not hinder God’s blessing. God’s grace is so full and free that He will give it by any door through which the poor sinful soul may come in the name of Jesus, yet there is a clear and definitely revealed order of spiritual blessing which it is better for us to know and follow, and which the apostle most definitely unfolds in this epistle. According to that order, salvation comes in the third, fourth and fifth chapters, sanctification in the sixth, seventh and eighth, and now in the 12th chapter consecration follows in its true place, as an entire offering up of our saved and sanctified life to be used for the service and the glory of God. The Hebrew Offerings These two steps will be apparent if we remember the two great offerings of the Hebrew tabernacle. The first was the sin offering. It was the type not only of consecration for service, but of surrender, of sanctification and cleansing. It was the seventh chapter of Romans in type. The sinful man, conscious of the evil within him and powerless to remove it, comes before the altar of his God, bringing as his substitute a spotless lamb. He lays his hand upon its head and confesses his sin, and it passes over into the lamb, which immediately becomes a mass of sin and uncleanness. It is not sacrificed. It would be sacrilege to consecrate it; it would defile the altar. There is only one thing to do with it: take it out beyond the camp, cut it open and lay it, with all its ghastliness, upon the consuming fire which ever burns, as a type of God’s hatred of sin. It teaches us that the sinful heart cannot be offered to God in consecration. It must be laid at the feet of Jesus for cleansing, and as of old we still may lay our hands upon the Lamb of sacrifice and transfer our sin to Him. Then our sin passes out to Him and His righteousness and Spirit pass into us and we are sanctified by His life and indwelling. But there was another offering, quite different. It was the burnt offering. After the sinner was cleansed through the sin offering, he brought his burnt offering—a lamb, too. Laying his hand upon it to identify himself with it, it was accepted and cut into a thousand pieces to indicate that every part of it was precious, and then it was burned in the holy fire on the altar as a sweetsmelling savor unto the Lord. This is the type of consecration as taught in this beautiful picture of Romans. Sanctified now through the death and life of Christ, we bring our offering and lay it before God’s altar, and it is accepted with approval and delight: “as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). This is consecration in its true spiritual sense, and this is the beautiful picture in the 12th chapter of Romans. It will be noticed in this verse that the offering is presented “holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). Service Now the great object of sanctification or consecration is service. God wants to use us, and He cannot use us until He gets us purified through His own indwelling Spirit. The popular idea of holiness is that it is to prepare us for heaven. But we find that old Zechariah had light enough to know that God’s great purpose of grace for His people was “to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days” (Luke 1:74-75). Let us now look first at some of the characteristics, and then at some of the consequences that true consecration has unfolded in this picture.

Section I: Its Characteristics

Section I—Its Characteristics1. It is voluntary. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers,… to offer your bodies…” (Romans 12:1). The first condition of the ancient burnt offering was, “He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, so that it will be acceptable to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:3). You are already the Lord’s, by right of purchase, creation and new creation, but now you recognize that right, and with your own free consent give yourself to Him to live as one that is henceforth the bondslave of love and the property of God. 2. It is hearty. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies…” (Romans 12:1). It is drawn forth, not by the fear of punishment, but by the remembrance of mercies and the glad response of a living, believing heart. You cannot consecrate yourself to God fully until you know, love and trust Him. You cannot put yourself into the hands of a dreaded foe, or even an uncertain force. You want to know that He is your Friend. Therefore, all this revelation of God’s grace has preceded, and it is in view of all this that we now come, drawn by the mercies of God, allowing every one of them to become a cord of love to bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar. It is infinitely good of Him to be willing to take us at all. We count it an unspeakable privilege to be able to come, and we fly to His arms as a child to its mother, as a bride to her husband, as the steel to the magnet that attracts it. The word “urge” here is literally paraclete. “I paraclete you,” and Paraclete is the name of the Holy Spirit. It means that the Holy Spirit is pleading with us to give ourselves to God. But He will not press us beyond our will, nor will He accept the sacrifice if given with reluctance and fear. Let us, therefore, present ourselves with wholehearted gladness. 3. It is a very definite consecration. “Offer your bodies…” (Romans 12:1). It is not merely some emotional sense of spiritual ecstasy, but a real, practical contract for service, quite as much as when a laborer gives his time and labor to his employer, to belong to him during the hours of labor. It means to give your eyes to see for Him, your ears to hear only what He is pleased to have you hear, your tongue to speak always at His bidding, your hands to be employed for Him, your feet to walk for Him, your physical senses to be possessed by Him, controlled by Him, and in everything subject to His will. 4. It is not only a physical, but a spiritual consecration, “your spiritual act of worship [reasonable service]” (Romans 12:1). It is not a dead body you bring to Him, like the old Jewish sacrifice, but your living body, the life you are to live, or, as the Revised Version has it, “your pleasing service.” You are not only to give your outward members, but your inward powers, faculties and capacities, your whole surrendered self. Your brain is His to think for Him. Your reading is for Him. Your very intellectual and aesthetic tastes are His, to be used for His glory and not for your own gratification. The other day I noticed in the last issue of one of our leading religious weeklies, on the first page—the principal editorial of the week—an article headed “What Is the Best Reading?” A whole page was given to the discussion of the monthly magazines and the question of their decadence or their improvement. This was the reading for God’s children, and their best reading! We could not wonder that such food gave poor Christians something worse than spiritual dyspepsia. Our affections, our friendships and our friends are to be His—used for Him and controlled by His perfect will. Our whole inner being is to be one constant outflowing of the incense of prayer and praise, trust and love, as a sweet-smelling savor unto God. Like a golden censer glowing, Filled with burning incense rare, All my heart is upward flowing, In a cloud of ceaseless prayer. 5. This offering is “holy and pleasing [acceptable] to God” (Romans 12:1). It has been made holy by the grace of Christ revealed in the previous chapters, and the fact of its being offered to God makes it doubly holy, and the altar sanctifies the gift. It is accepted. God is pleased to accept the gift, and we may know the moment the gift is presented with a sincere, loving heart, the seal of heaven falls upon it, the fire consumes the sacrifice, and God again says: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 17:5).

Section II: The Effects of Consecration

Section II—The Effects of Consecration1. Separation It separates us. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). This separation is twofold. It is negative and positive. It separates us from the world by taking us out of it. “Do not conform” (Romans 12:2). But it separates us from the world in a much better way by taking the world out of us. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). This is the true separation. This was the way Christ was separated from the world. He had no affinity for it. Like the sea fowl which plunges into the miry water, and yet rises without a drop adhering to its shining wings, like the pure gold that can go through the flame untouched, so Jesus passed through all scenes and associations with sin without any response in His holy heart. Man’s way is to shut himself up in a monastery and so keep out of the world. God’s way is to put Christ into the heart, and so keep the world out of us. Man’s way is to give up the dance and the theater. God’s way is to get the dance and the theater out of us. The desires of the consecrated girl gravitate heavenward, and the pleasures of the ballroom have no charm for such a heart. This is so much easier than the other way, and then it becomes second nature. 2. Brings Us Into the Will of God The next result of consecration is to bring us into the will of God. “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). The consecrated spirit is wholly united to the divine will. It chooses it, delights in it and wants to meet it in all its fullness. There are three stages here in the description of the divine will: the positive, comparative and superlative. There are some who only aim to reach the good will of God. There are others who press on to the pleasing will of God, to a life which pleases God and has the testimony constantly of His acceptance. But there is a perfect will of God into which we may enter and realize all for which He has called us and saved us. 3. Leads to Self-Renunciation True consecration leads to self-renunciation. “For by the grace given me I say to every one 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” (Romans 12:3). The highest spiritual life is always the lowliest. It does not minister to spiritual egotism, but destroys it. It does not lead us to recognize our own sanctification, faith or spiritual powers, but rather to see our nothingness and helplessness and entire dependence upon Christ. Its language—with Paul—is, “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves” (2 Corinthians 3:5); “I am less than the least of all God’s people” (Ephesians 3:8); “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20). Its spirit is that of deep humility and self-forgetting lowliness. 4. Receives Strength and Sufficiency True consecration recognizes and receives the strength and sufficiency of Christ and draws its health and life from Him with holy boldness. “In accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). The power of the consecrated life is the grace of the indwelling Spirit of the Holy Christ. 5. Leads to True Individuality True consecration leads to true individuality. “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” (Romans 12:4-6). If the spiritual body were composed of one or two features it would be a monstrosity. If you were made a finger, don’t try to be a foot. If you were called to be a fragrant rose, don’t continually fret because you are not a sunflower or an orange tree. Be yourself, with Christ shining through you and living in you, and you will fit into your niche and accomplish your high calling. The most agreeable wood finishing of a building is the natural wood showing all the simple fiber and grain of the tree shining through the translucent varnish. A common pine board, when genuine and natural, is far prettier than the most elaborate daubs of paint. God wants each of us to be true to the natural grain, and then varnished with the crystalline glow of the Holy Spirit. 6. Adjustable to Others The truly consecrated spirit is adjustable to others, and easily fits into its place in the body of Christ. “We are all members of one body” (Ephesians 4:25). The more fully we receive the Holy Spirit, the more perfect will be our fellowship with the people of God and the more simple our adjustment with all other Christians. One who has but a limited measure of grace is apt to be angular, impracticable, determined and hard. But one who is really filled with God can easily see good in others, as well as his own leadings, and work in harmony and fellowship even amid great varieties of temperament and taste. The secret of true fellowship and cooperation is to see God in one another, and not adhere to the human, but to the divine. Thus, as each of us fits into God’s place for us, we will all together make a perfect whole, and nourished by that which every joint supplies, the whole body will grow up to the full stature of Christ. 7. Leads to Definite Ministry True consecration will lead to definite ministry in the body of Christ. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8) Each of these ministries is equally important in its place. One is called to be a public teacher, another to be a soul-winner, another to be the executive head in some department of Christian work, another a successful merchant and a generous giver, and by his means supply the resources necessary to advance the work of Christ. Let each be true to his calling, and let everyone have a calling and a definite work for God. There is no place for drones. There is no single member of the body that can be excused from some special ministry, and yet there is no one whose ministry can be regarded as more important than another’s. As each is called and fitted, let him be true to his calling and his trust in the power of the Holy Spirit. No one, or two, or 10 should monopolize the work of any church, but all together, in holy, harmonious fellowship, should cooperate in consecrated service. This is the model church. This was the apostolic church, and this is true consecration. 8. Shows Itself in Practical Ways True consecration especially shows itself in the social and practical duties oflife. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12:9-16). The apostle now brings down the spirit of consecration to the entire range of our social and religious life and presents a very beautiful picture of the consecrated man in the home, the social circle, the business office, the hour of sorrow and the time of gladness. It will make us affectionate, sincere and tender in all the relationships of life. We will not be hard and cold, but “be devoted to one another in brotherly love” (Romans 12:10). It will make us very sincere in our expressions of regard, and sanctify us from all the sham phrases of society and the empty compliments with which the world deceives its friends. “Love must be sincere” (Romans 12:9). It will make us frank in our expressions of disapproval of that which is evil, and intent in our devotion to that which is good. It will make us energetic and enterprising in our business, and yet devout in the midst of the world’s bustle and constant in our devotion to the service of God, for His glory. It will make us bright and beautiful Christians, “joyful in hope” (Romans 12:12), but at the same time it will balance our characters and steady our wing, by making us “patient in affliction” (Romans 12:12) and keeping us “faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12), and held in holy confidence, calmness and inward recollection by the consciousness of God’s overshadowing presence. It will make us sensitive to the joys and sorrows of others, simple-hearted in sharing their happiness and quick to feel their pain, as we “rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). It will make us very tender in our consideration of the poor and the homeless, and lead us to “share with God’s people who are in need” (Romans 12:13) and to share our hospitality with the household of faith. It will give a beautiful modesty to our bearing and make us not “conceited” (Romans 12:16), but considerate and condescending even to those of lower rank and social standing. The condescension here spoken of, however, is not to people, but to things. The Revised Version renders it “condescend to things that are lowly.” To the high and consecrated nature nothing is mean. Even the most menial labor is honorable if done by an honorable and noble hand. Above all things, the consecrated spirit will make us upright and honest in all relations to our fellow men. “Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:17-18). It will keep us out of wrangles, quarrels, controversies and difficulties, and make us careful to avoid all debt, injustice and dishonorable transactions of every kind, so that we can look in the face of every human being without shame, and be blameless, harmless, “children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:15). 9. Shows Itself in Times of Trial The truly consecrated heart shows itself most truly in the time of trial, and under the pressure of unkindness and wrong. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. (Romans 12:14-17) The truly consecrated soul will leave its case in the hands of God, and He will avenge its wrong. As the Revised Version has it, “I will recompense” (Romans 12:19). If we are truly consecrated, we will desire His mercy and blessing for those who have wronged us. Our business is to “bless and do not curse” (Romans 12:14) and heap upon the heads of our enemies the fiery coals of our love and benediction. Many a life that has triumphed amid prosperity and praise breaks down under misunderstanding, misrepresentation and cruel wrong. Nothing but the Spirit of Him who, “when they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate” (1 Peter 2:23), when He was pierced, mocked and crucified, gave prayers and blessings in return—nothing but His grace can enable us to stand triumphantly in the hard places that come sooner or later to every life that is truly given to God. This is the crowning glory of patience and love. 10. Overcomes Evil with Good The great principle of a life of victory and consecration is: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). This gives us the true secret of the life of faith. It is not by resisting evil directly that we overcome it so much as by receiving the life and power of Christ, and letting Him purify us by the expulsive power of a higher principle and a more divine life. It is the bringing in of the light that drives out the darkness. It is the presence of the alkali that destroys the acid. The indwelling Spirit of Christ brings the exclusion of sin and the world. When the presence of God came into the ancient tabernacle there was no room for Moses, and when the Holy Spirit comes into the soul, He will dispossess the power of evil. A gardener had tried to straighten a willow that insisted on growing distorted and lopsided. All his pruning and his trimming were ineffectual to make the branches grow on the other side of the tree. He was about to give up in despair, when it occurred to him to investigate the subterranean sources of its life. He took his spade and dug down, and found a little stream on the side where the branches were growing, and the reason was obvious. The tree grew on the side where the stream was. He dug a little channel on the other side of the tree, and lo! the next year the tree straightened itself, the branches grew from the other direction, and the willow became symmetrical and beautiful. It could not be compressed or forced into symmetry, but it was gently turned into it by the attraction of a new and spontaneous life. This is God’s remedy for evil: “Overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). There is none good but God; fill the heart with Him and His life and love, and we shall be lifted above the region of evil, and as the trees and plants of righteousness fill all the garden of the Lord, the weeds of the wilderness will disappear, and “the favor of the Lord our God [will] rest upon us” (Psalms 90:17).