(Rom 12:1-2 KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Works vs. Faith / Crypto-Galatians March On!!!
From a forum thread:
{{_ Romans 12:1 and 2 are very important verses and should be put to memory. }}
___ Amen.
{{_ Our Christian walk is one of service, }}
___ It is our Lord who continues to be the Servant through His Body. His Body has two sorts of members. The tares are merely nominal, soulish and carnal, professing belief, participating in ordinances and outwardly decent behavior. The wheat are spiritually begotten again in Christ Jesus, spiritual, righteous by unmerited favor through justifying faith, walking in preordained good works.
{{_ first we must be willing to put to death the old nature. }}
___ For the wheat, the old nature is dead, only bad memories and bad habits remain. The tares are in their original fallen condition.
{{_ It is only possible by his mercies and by His Holy Spirit. }}
___ The Greek word in Rom 12.1 is compassions, not mercies. Usage of the two words makes clear that God’s mercy is very often applied to tares as well as wheat and thus often involves only temporal blessings. Church membership often leads to temporal benefits for tares as well as wheat. The compassions of God lead to eternal blessings. (The immediate primary application of the verse to its first readers and hearers is rather clear from context. Those of the faithful remnant of Israel who have perceived Jesus as their Messiah are encouraged to join their bodies to those of the begotten again in Christ by being spiritually crucified and raised in Him.)
{{_ We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and separated unto God. }}
___ Rom 1.1 reads "sacrifice", not "sacrifices". Those who are truly in Christ spiritually are part of a single sacrifice. And solely because they are in Christ spiritually are they part of a sacrifice that is living, holy, and acceptable.
{{_ We cannot sacrifice an unclean sacrifice, we must live a clean and pure life to be a sacrifice. }}
___ And so we are led to the error of the Galatians. The error is ubiquitous. We are all crypto-Galatians. The merely nominal, as well as the remnants of the old man growing more corrupt, always want something to boast about.
___ Actually, as shown above, the single sacrifice is clean, pure, living, holy, and acceptable because of the merits of our Lord and Savior. Those who are effectually called to be part of that sacrifice have had their sins taken away on the basis of unmerited favor through justifying faith. The remnants of past sins are being continually cleansed by the blood of our Lord. They have been newly created and are eternally sustained as the first born ones of the new creation.
{{_ We offer ourselves }}
___ Rom 1.1 reads "present your bodies". The offering of the single sacrifice is accomplished by our Lord as the Great, High Priest. It is the body of one begotten again in Christ that is suitable to be part of the sacrifice because that body has died with and in our Lord.
{{_ and ask the Lord to remove anything that offends. }}
___ For the wheat, God is continually cleansing from all sin. For the tares, He is not.
{{_ Changing our behavior is necessary to live a holy life, an acceptable life }}
___ The tares change behavior to adapt to the better environment of the field. The wheat have eternal life, which is both holy and acceptable.
{{_ and if we are His people we will not desire to sin. }}
___ The tares are enslaved to sin. The old man in the wheat grows more corrupt and can be quite troublesome.
{{_ [|] Permission granted by Eagles Wings Ministries to post this. }}
___ Interesting. Two interpretations of rising on wings as eagles in Isaiah 40 demonstrate the difference between works and faith. Many are naturally inclined to think that the eagle beating his wings furiously in order to get airborne is in view. But reason, some knowledge of eagles, context, and faith combine in the realization that the rising toward the heavens through outstretched wings taking advantage of a warm updraft is in view. It is the begotten again spirit of the true believer being raised to heavenly places by the spirit of God that is in view.
{{_ Romans 12:1 and 2 are very important verses and should be put to memory. }}
___ Amen.
{{_ Our Christian walk is one of service, }}
___ It is our Lord who continues to be the Servant through His Body. His Body has two sorts of members. The tares are merely nominal, soulish and carnal, professing belief, participating in ordinances and outwardly decent behavior. The wheat are spiritually begotten again in Christ Jesus, spiritual, righteous by unmerited favor through justifying faith, walking in preordained good works.
{{_ first we must be willing to put to death the old nature. }}
___ For the wheat, the old nature is dead, only bad memories and bad habits remain. The tares are in their original fallen condition.
{{_ It is only possible by his mercies and by His Holy Spirit. }}
___ The Greek word in Rom 12.1 is compassions, not mercies. Usage of the two words makes clear that God’s mercy is very often applied to tares as well as wheat and thus often involves only temporal blessings. Church membership often leads to temporal benefits for tares as well as wheat. The compassions of God lead to eternal blessings. (The immediate primary application of the verse to its first readers and hearers is rather clear from context. Those of the faithful remnant of Israel who have perceived Jesus as their Messiah are encouraged to join their bodies to those of the begotten again in Christ by being spiritually crucified and raised in Him.)
{{_ We are to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and separated unto God. }}
___ Rom 1.1 reads "sacrifice", not "sacrifices". Those who are truly in Christ spiritually are part of a single sacrifice. And solely because they are in Christ spiritually are they part of a sacrifice that is living, holy, and acceptable.
{{_ We cannot sacrifice an unclean sacrifice, we must live a clean and pure life to be a sacrifice. }}
___ And so we are led to the error of the Galatians. The error is ubiquitous. We are all crypto-Galatians. The merely nominal, as well as the remnants of the old man growing more corrupt, always want something to boast about.
___ Actually, as shown above, the single sacrifice is clean, pure, living, holy, and acceptable because of the merits of our Lord and Savior. Those who are effectually called to be part of that sacrifice have had their sins taken away on the basis of unmerited favor through justifying faith. The remnants of past sins are being continually cleansed by the blood of our Lord. They have been newly created and are eternally sustained as the first born ones of the new creation.
{{_ We offer ourselves }}
___ Rom 1.1 reads "present your bodies". The offering of the single sacrifice is accomplished by our Lord as the Great, High Priest. It is the body of one begotten again in Christ that is suitable to be part of the sacrifice because that body has died with and in our Lord.
{{_ and ask the Lord to remove anything that offends. }}
___ For the wheat, God is continually cleansing from all sin. For the tares, He is not.
{{_ Changing our behavior is necessary to live a holy life, an acceptable life }}
___ The tares change behavior to adapt to the better environment of the field. The wheat have eternal life, which is both holy and acceptable.
{{_ and if we are His people we will not desire to sin. }}
___ The tares are enslaved to sin. The old man in the wheat grows more corrupt and can be quite troublesome.
{{_ [|] Permission granted by Eagles Wings Ministries to post this. }}
___ Interesting. Two interpretations of rising on wings as eagles in Isaiah 40 demonstrate the difference between works and faith. Many are naturally inclined to think that the eagle beating his wings furiously in order to get airborne is in view. But reason, some knowledge of eagles, context, and faith combine in the realization that the rising toward the heavens through outstretched wings taking advantage of a warm updraft is in view. It is the begotten again spirit of the true believer being raised to heavenly places by the spirit of God that is in view.
N.B. Lord willing, I may be taking advantage of RefTagger by thoroughly
adding scripture references to the text of this post and then redistributing
copies in the near future. This depends, in part, on feedback.
I2C 140211a Rom 12v1to2 Works vs Faith / I2C /
140211 1030 / Rom 12:1-2 Works vs. Faith / Crypto-Galatians March On!!!
