Benefits of Choosing God Over the World

By Dean Collins

The benefits far outweigh your surrender. Often when we are contemplating a major purchase or considering a big life change, like changing jobs, having a child, changing careers, or pondering retirement, we consider the cost of the change or purchase against the benefits of making the purchase or change. If the benefits are significantly less than the time, energy, or money we will invest, we usually do not go through with the changes or purchase the item.

Romans 8:1 uses some language that rarely comes up in daily conversation. When was the last time you told someone that you recently gave your body as a living sacrifice? Probably never, except in this one particular context that we should explore for a few minutes. I doubt any of you, unless you were preaching on this passage, ever asked anyone to give up their body as a living sacrifice.

This verse may bring to mind the story of Abraham who obeyed God and placed his son on an alter to be sacrificed because God told him to do it. What faith does that take?! Of course, you know the rest of that story. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, an angel spoke to him and stopped him, saying:

“He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’” (Genesis 22:12) 

And God provided a substitute sacrifice of a ram that Abraham saw stuck in the bushes.

Romans 12 begins with Paul’s appeal to us as believers: 

“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. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Paul urges us to consider strongly. It’s the kind of conversation you have probably had with someone you love who is facing a big decision and you want to offer help and assurance. So you place your hand on their shoulder and strongly encourage them to make this tough decision. You want them to realize the importance of this moment and this decision. I think Paul was appealing to believers in just that way.

If you look back at the end of Romans 11, Paul used beautiful language that attempts to describe an indescribable God.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “

It is truly impossible to know the depth and breadth of the riches of God’s love for us. No matter how hard we try, we just can’t get our heads around the wisdom and knowledge of God, which possesses perfect judgment, can never be fully understood, and is unchanging. Yet our almighty God demonstrated his love, his mercy, and his compassion when he sent his only son who bore our sins on the cross willingly.

Paul goes on to say that God gave a gift that cannot be repaid. As Paul continues in Romans 12, he urges believers, saying that based on the mercies of God already demonstrated, we now present a gift to God of our lives, which God sees as holy, acceptable, and our way of worshipping the one who forgave our sins and who makes us alive now and forevermore.

Paul wants to be clear that when we offer our lives to God, we must simultaneously choose to not conform to the world and worldly ways of thinking. We cannot hold onto the things and patterns of this world and follow Jesus. In fact, to follow Jesus we must be transformed daily by renewing our minds through the work of the Holy Spirit and through his word.

And what about the benefits I mentioned in the beginning? Well, they include:

·      Discerning God’s will, including understanding that what God is offering is good, acceptable, and perfect.

·      God’s grace, which helps us have a proper view of ourselves and enables us to live with the humility and mind of Christ in all we do.

·      Proper judgement based on and renewed by our faith in God and not in ourselves.

And finally, we get a clear picture that we are not to be lone rangers or superheroes as we live out our missions. We are to be part of a functioning body, the church, which daily embraces and fulfills the commission Jesus gave us: Go to the world and make disciples!

 Father, today we hear your word and offer ourselves back to you as living sacrifices. Use us however you choose today. Make our paths straight and our hearts to overflow with your mercy and love for those around us. We reject the ways of the world and choose you as our foundation and our guide. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 Your Time with God’s Word
Romans 11:33-36, Romans 12:1-8 ESV

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