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Author Archives: Bubba Rainwater
About Bubba Rainwater
Saturday: “Silence . . .”
On the Seventh Day, the LORD rested from all His work.
You are to keep the Sabbath Day holy by resting from all your work.
What do you do when everything in you wants to run . . . to run away as fast as you can and never look back? But you can’t. You are trapped behind a wall of tradition and honor.
Within a matter of 24 hours, your rabbi, the man you thought to be the Messiah, was ripped from your presence, subjected to an illegal trial, handed over to the hated Roman occupiers, and tortured to death on a cross. And all you did was cower in the corner of the house, fearing for your life.
And now when you want to just run away . . . it is the Sabbath. You have no choice to but to sit.
Now surround yourself with a group of people who feel the same way. Their profound affection for one another was no consolation on this day. There was an eerie silence the room. No one wanted to speak . . . and no one did.
Blank stares.
Deafening silence.
Tear-stained cheeks.
And there was nothing they could do . . .
Friday: “The will of God . . .”
The day would end with Jesus being buried in a borrowed tomb in a garden on the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem, but the day began in a garden as well . . . the story of this day begins in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Having shared a meal with His disciples, Jesus made His way in the early hours of that fateful Friday to the garden. It is called “Gethsemane” which in the native language meant “olive press” . . . a fitting place. Jesus brought a few of the disciples with Him to keep watch, but this would be a time of profound solitude. After going some distance from the disciples, Jesus fell to His knees . . .
“Abba, Father! All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I want, but what You will.”
Over the next few hours, He would make this request three times—a literary device often used in the Jewish culture to indicate a superlative. The writers of the Gospels wanted us to know that Jesus asked to the fullest extent, with every ounce of His will, and that the Father was silent . . . He had spoken.
When Jesus rose from prayer the third time, the issue was settled. There would be no retreat. The Father has spoken and the Son would obey. No hesitation. No reservation.
The sins of the human race, from Adam to the last man to take a breath in this fallen world, would collide with the just nature of the Creator, and the Son would take the full force of the wrath of God. It would be the most horrific collision the world would ever know. Yet, in that garden on the Mount of Olives, the sinless Son of God chose to honor the will of His Father . . . and my sins would be washed away.
The victory was won in Gethsemane!
The rest is just details . . . tragic, horrific, romantic details.
Thursday: “The new rule starts tomorrow”
A lonely man sat in the ruins of the once-glorious city of Jerusalem. He had pled with the kings of Judah for 30 years to seek the God of their father David, but one after another ignored his pleas . . . so he sat in the devastated city and wept.
In that moment of utter devastation, God spoke . . .
“Look the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah . . .
“I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts . . .
“I will be their God, and they will be My people.
“For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.”
For over 600 years, this promise of God sat unfulfilled. Generation after generation departed without seeing a new covenant. They saw the oppression, slavery, deprivation, and conquest. They saw the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans march back and forth over their land . . . but the promise remained unfulfilled.
Until one quiet Thursday night in the city of Jerusalem . . .
Jesus of Nazareth sat down to a meal with a small group of His disciples. The meal had an awkward beginning when the Rabbi began to wash the feet of His disciples. The disciples could feel the weight of this evening as they sat and ate. Jesus was serious. The normal dinner conversations were hushed. Something was different about this night . . .
Then Jesus took a piece of bread and He broke it. It was a sound they had heard a thousand times, but they never forgot what it sounded like on this night. Looking around at the disciples, Jesus spoke . . .
“Take and eat it; this is My body.”
He then took a cup of wine . . .
“Drink from it; all of you . . . “
And then He spoke the words the people had been yearning to hear for 600 years . . .
“For this is My blood that establishes the new covenant; it is shed for the forgiveness of sins.”
Did the words Jesus spoke on that Thursday night even register with these young men? Did they get the fact that Jesus was fulfilling the 600-year old words of the prophet Jeremiah? The “old covenant” established by Moses 1,500 years earlier at Sinai when he sprinkled the blood of bulls on the people was going to be completed, perfected, “finished” . . . and the sins of humanity would be forgiven.
And all Jesus asked was . . . “Love one another”.
Wednesday: “When will these things happen?”
After a long day of contentious confrontation with the religious leaders in the Temple courts, Jesus and His disciples made their way out of the city. As they exited the city, one of them must have looked back at the Temple. In awe of its immensity and grandeur, he marveled at the greatness of this edifice.
Jesus, however, was not impressed . . .
“I assure you: not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”
A statement like that is not easily dismissed. When your temple is destroyed, your city probably has some issues. But they made it all the way out of the city, down the Kidron Valley, and to the ascent of the Mount of Olives before four of the disciples could not bear the suspense any longer. Mark tells us that it was Peter, Andrew, James, and John who approached Jesus as He sat looking down from the mount at the city of Jerusalem . . .
“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
In essence, they were asking two questions. First, what is this about the temple being destroyed? Second, when are You going to assert Yourself as the Messiah and bring in the new age, or as they called it, “the age to come” . . . the age in which Israel is restored and the Messiah reigns? The answers given by Jesus seem to point to the second question . . .
Jesus tells His four young friends that they are to be careful not to be deceived as if someone is going to try to lead them astray. He then speaks of wars and rebellion taking place. Along with the hostilities among men, Jesus speaks of famines and earthquakes. He describes these events as “birth pains” . . . it is just the beginning, but the end is not far away.
Jesus tells the disciples that persecution is coming, referring to it with the Greek word “thlipsis” which we often translate as “tribulation”. In fact, Jesus tells His disciples the sign that will precede this persecution. You see, about 600 years earlier, Daniel spoke of a “coming prince” who would make a covenant with many nations, but after three and a half years, he would break the covenant, defile the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and severely oppress the Jewish people. So Jesus reminds the four of this prophecy and tells them that when they see this happen, they must flee to the mountains because a time of “great tribulation” will ensue.
At the end of this time of tribulation, Jesus declared that there will be signs in the heavens: the sun darkened, the moon darkened, the stars will fall, and the “celestial powers will be shaken”. Then the people of the earth will mourn because the “Son of Man” will appear in the sky, and He will send out His angels to gather the believers . . . and that is all Jesus tells them of the story.
Can you picture the faces of these four young men?
Jesus continues by telling them a series of parables.
“Who then is the faithful and sensible servant . . .” Jesus is telling His disciples to be faithful to their Master. In doing so, they will be blessed when He returns.
“Then the kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom . . .” Only half of the young women were prepared to wait, the other half would not persevere.
“He called his own slave and turned over his possession to them . . .” The talents of the master are dispersed to the slaves, and there will be a day of reckoning.
“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats . . .” The only question is what your faith has compelled you to do. The one who has served well will be ushered into eternal life, but the one who has neglected to serve will find his place in eternal punishment . . . there is no middle ground.
Recognize the returning Messiah.
Be found doing His work when He returns.
(For additional reading I would recommend Daniel 9:24-27, Isaiah 13:10, Joel 2, Revelation 6-7 . . . that is a good start.)
Tuesday: “Confrontations and Consolation”
Some people thrive on confrontation. They love a good fight regardless of whether the fight is worth fighting. I just do not believe Jesus was one of these people. That is why I believe this day was the most draining day Jesus experienced . . .
The day began with a fig-less fig tree and it went down hill from there . . .
“By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave you this authority?” The religious leaders thought they could undermine the influence of Jesus by forcing Him to reveal His credentials (or lack thereof). They never saw the question about John the Baptist’s credentials coming.
“A man had two sons . . .” When the explanation is that tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom before you, you might begin to guess that you may be on the wrong side of the parable.
“A man planted a vineyard and leased it . . .” When you are implicated, with profound subtlety, of beating, killing, and stoning the prophets of God, you may begin to think Jesus has something against you. Would you dare to kill the Son as well?
“A king gave a wedding banquet and sent out his slaves to bring in those who were invited . . . “ There is no way you refuse the calling of the king, right? But Matthew’s words are chilling, “They did not want to come!” In fact, they took the slaves and treated them harshly, so the king returned the favor. Staring at an empty banquet hall, the king sent out His slaves to call anyone and everyone to join Him in the marriage supper for His Son . . . Sound familiar?
“Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” No more indicting parables! Let us try to trap Jesus in the questions that always stump us. But Jesus easily answers their question, and He also gets in a dig for those who cheat God.
“Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?” The irony of the question is the ones asking did not believe in a resurrection. So do you think Jesus will play their game of match the husband? Nope! He turns the question on the questioner and reveals the emptiness of their beliefs.
“Which is the greatest command?” More trivia! But, once more, Jesus uses their question to reveal their lacking. While all may have agreed with the beginning of the answer, few saw the hook. Love God, but prove it by loving others!
When silence fell on the guys in the big fancy hats, Jesus decided to ask them a question . . . “The Messiah? Whose son is He?” Everyone knew the answer was “David” and a few were foolish enough to say it out loud. Jesus confounded their understanding and exalted Himself by asking them why David would call his son, “Lord” (the Hebrew word “Adonai” which means “master, lord”).
Matthew records that with that, “No one dared to question Him anymore.” Well played, Pharisees! Well played!
Turning to the people, Jesus warned them about the hypocrisy of their leaders.
He must have been emotionally spent by this time. Harsh words do that to a person no matter how true or how necessary they may be. So I believe Jesus found a quiet place to sit . . .
He found a place with a perfect view of the Temple treasury coffers. He watched silently as men and women of great wealth came by to drop off large sums of money in the treasury. And then He saw her . . . she waited quietly for her turn, unassuming and meek. With no fanfare or applause, she dropped in the coffer “all she had to live on” (literally, her “bios” from which we get the term “biology”). And just as quietly as she came, she disappeared into the crowd. What she did not know is that Jesus saw her . . . and He was amazed! Unable to contain His joy, He called His disciples to Him to tell of the greatness of the widow’s faith.
Refreshed . . . Renewed in spirit . . . Jesus made His way toward the Mount of Olives.
Monday: “This is the Day the LORD has made . . .”
For three years, Jesus had traveled around the Galilee teaching, preaching, and healing. With the exception of a few trips to Jerusalem to celebrate a festival, and one notable trip to the region of Syro-Phoenicia, Jesus spent much of His time in the Galilee. His fame grew and the rumors swelled. There was a constant air of speculation . . . Is Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah?
Though we know that Jesus was, and is, the Messiah, He never allowed that title to stick. It is referred to as the “Messianic Secret”. But all that would change today . . .
On the Monday of the Passion Week, Jesus and His disciples left the village of Bethany where He was staying with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Jesus made His way to Jerusalem where everyone was gathering for the Passover celebration. When He reached the village of Bethphage, He sent two of His disciples into the village to retrieve a young donkey . . . this would be the first time we see Jesus riding.
What Jesus was doing was fulfilling a 500-year old prophecy . . .
“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, Your king is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
This message of Zechariah was a message of restoration and victory. It was written at a time when all Israel had known for 100 years was defeat, deprivation, and enslavement. But this message gave them hope . . . their King was coming!
The disciples threw their coats on the back of the young donkey and Jesus began His descent of the small hill to the east of Jerusalem known as the Mount of Olives. Someone in the crowds must have noticed Jesus coming because word of His arrival spread rapidly throughout the city. As the people rushed out to greet Him, they threw their coats on the ground and waved palm branches to celebrate His arrival. Noting His Messianic posture, the people began to shout a passage proclaiming the arrival of the Messiah from Psalm 118 . . .
“Hosanna to the Son of David! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
There was no mistaking the declarations of the people. This was not a veiled allusion or guarded symbolism. Jesus of Nazareth was being proclaimed as the Messiah, and He did not do a thing to stop it. Why now? Why this day?
About 50 years before the prophecy of Zechariah, a man named Daniel was praying for his people when Gabriel revealed to him a great prophecy. It is referred to as the “70 Weeks” prophecy and it is found in Daniel 9:24-27. In the passage, Gabriel reveals to Daniel that a ruler would make a decree to “restore and rebuild” the beleaguered city of Jerusalem, and from the date of that decree until the arrival of the Messiah, there would be “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” . . . 173,880 days.
About 90 years later, the most powerful king in the world, King Artaxerxes of Persia, gave such a decree to his lowly cupbearer (Nehemiah 2). Guess what happened 173,880 days after that decree was given . . .
Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem, riding on the back of a young donkey to the shouts of Psalm 118.
Their Messiah had arrived on the very day that Gabriel has announced.
Maybe this is why the “rocks” would have cried out . . .
When I Remember . . .
Three people went to the mailbox and received an invitation to a birthday celebration. It was a celebration for a man’s 50th birthday, but the man himself would not be there . . . he had died six months earlier.
The first person was the mother of a six-year old boy. On a family vacation at the lake, the mother’s boy had wandered away from the family, and would have drowned had it not been for the heroic effort of this man. The man saved her son, but he lost his life.
The second person was a father of three young girls who was born with a heart defect. He had languished on the heart transplant list for over a year until he got the call. They had a heart! A 49-year old man had drowned in his effort to save a six-year old boy, and his family has consented to keep him on life support so that his organs could be donated.
The third person was an accomplished author. He was well known for his ability to tell tales with an amazing acuity to every detail. The deftness with which he could spin verbiage and metaphor had set him apart from the rest. He was crushed when he heard the news that his high school English teacher has died trying to save a drowning boy.
As each one opened their invitation, their hearts broke at the thought of what this man had meant to them. Overwhelmed with gratitude, each one quickly responded affirmatively to the gracious invitation to honor this man . . .
Is the invitation of Paul to the Roman church in Romans 12:1 any different?
“Therefore, brothers, I (invite) you, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.”
Consider this invitation. This is an invitation to respond to the mercies, or the numerous compassionate moments, of God. How do you respond to the mercy of God that allowed you to go on living in your treachery until His Son’s blood covered your sin? How do you respond to the pleading of the Holy Spirit that rescued you from addiction and shame? How do you respond to the obedience of Jesus to suffer the tortuous death of a cross so that you might be declared righteous before a holy God?
It just makes sense to respond affirmatively to this invitation . . . it is logical!
So what does it look like to respond to the invitation and present your body as a living sacrifice? What must we do to become a perpetually honoring offering for the glory of Jesus Christ? This is the content of the text of the remainder of Paul’s letter to the Romans.
When a man “presents” himself to God as a living sacrifice, he is setting himself apart from that which is normal. He does not follow the crowd onto the altar, he approaches it in solitude and out of the convictions of his heart. The crowd looks to God for His benefits, not for His honor. The living sacrifice, however, has looked deeply into the beauty of God’s mercies, and has set aside everything that competes with the honor of his God.
So Paul wrote . . .
“Do not be conformed to this age . . .”
Let us first deal with the verb—“to conform”. It is the Greek word “suschematizo” and it is a present middle/passive participle. Let me unpack all that for us . . .
This Greek word contains the prefix “sun” which is used to imply a group activity. We use it to speak of a “symphony” and “synergy”. When we join it with the Greek word “schema” we arrive at the idea of a group of people acting according to the same senses, bearings, actions, or manner of life.
What do you wear on March 17th?
What do you do when the national anthem is played?
On what night do dress up and ask for candy?
Do you see the scheme of life in these questions? They are not rules written down to be learned, or obligations of us as members of society. They are simply how we live in our culture . . . in our “age”.
This past weekend, people flocked to the movies, and what did most of them see? They saw “Hunger Games”. Why? There was something about that movie the drew audiences from all ages across the entire nation. I would dare say that if you were going to the movies this weekend, it was assumed that you were going to see “Hunger Games”. This is a “schema”. It is not necessarily bad, it just is . . .
But Paul tells the Romans not be “be conformed” . . . to not allow yourself to join the “schema” of this age. Should we run the opposite way when we see the flow of our culture? Should it be a 180 degrees turn from whatever is popular, cultural, or normal in society? No! Sometimes it is just a five degrees turn to something better, something more beautiful, something that reminds us of God . . .
“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
We also need to understand that Paul is exhorting the Romans to not let this happen to them. This is what is implied with the middle/passive form of the verb. Paul is not directly fighting conformation, instead, he is fighting that which will invariably lead a person to conform. Conforming is not an action, it is an effect. It is what happens when we fail to meditate on the “mercies of God”.
Before we know it, we have crawled off the altar, and are mindlessly conformed to the scheme of this age . . . and not of the “age to come”.
So what is the remedy?
“ . . . but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .”
Here is the picture . . .
I get up early, and spend some time reading the Bible, meditating on the mercies of God. I head off to work with my mind renewed as to what I have received through Christ. Now when the conversations at work turn to a subject matter that is not lovely or excellent, I am compelled to walk away rather than join in. When everyone is heading out after work for a drink, I head to the house to love on my kids. When everyone is talking about going to see the next great movie, I am thinking about how nice it will be to sit on the deck and read my Bible.
Idle gossip? Shallow social interactions? A movie? Is that really what you want?
Think about going to youth camp. Remember being far from home in a beautiful setting, surrounded by other Christians, and being taught the Scriptures throughout the day? What happened to your attention to things like television, movies, and music? For a week, you were free from the scheme of your life . . . the life dictated to you by your culture. You were being renewed in your mind, and the scheme of your life was being transformed . . . then you came home.
Again, not conforming is not some type of sin avoidance policy. It is about choosing the scheme of your life with a mind that yearns to know Christ. And when your mind is renewed to His mercies, the scheme of your life will be transformed . . . it will be changed . . . it will be different.
The only question is whether you renewed your mind.
The effect of the renewal which leads to transformation is what I find to be of infinite value in this life . . .
“ . . . so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
What happens to a person that is devoted to renewing his mind each day to the mercies of God? What is transformed? What happens to the societal norms of the present “age”? Be careful not to put this effect into only the super spiritual realm, because the will of God flows through all we say and do.
What is God’s will about the television show I am watching?
What movie does God want me to see?
Where does God want me to be on Sunday morning?
Is this the book God would want me to read?
When the mind is renewed to the “mercies of God”, even the trivial things of this life are affected. Our desires are transformed in such a way that they begin to mimic the desires of God. We long for truth and beauty, and we are repulsed by anything that sullies the human soul. We seek justice and mercy, and we cannot stand to be in the presence of pride and privilege.
The things of earth truly do grow strangely dim . . .
So they all went to the birthday party of the man who had given so much. Plans were rearranged, meetings were cancelled, and life was interrupted, but that is what you do when you consider all that you have received. In the presence of an invitation to honor a man who changed your life, everything is set aside, everything is secondary, and most things pale in comparison. This is what it means to be a “living sacrifice”.
And the man was honored that day, and every day since, because the people who had received so much remembered . . .
Living Sacrifice . . . The Invitation
What would you say if someone asked you for a list of Christian virtues? If you made a list, what would you write? Would they be simple or profound? Would you cut across the basic standard of morality, or would you probe the depths of human ethics? Would you take on the blatant vices of our secular world, or would you take on the deceptive virtue of the religious world?
When we come to Romans 12, we encounter Paul’s first written code of Christian ethics. Sure, Paul has made a few “thou shalt” statements in his previous letters, but the backside of Romans is Paul’s first unprompted, proactive statement of how the normal Christian should live. As we read this passage, however, we must be careful to understand that Paul is not painting a picture of radical Christianity. Instead, Paul is speaking to what we will call normative Christianity, or, how a follower of Christ and a recipient of God’s love is expected to live.
Strap yourselves in because this is not going to be a smooth ride.
Let us begin with Paul’s introductory statement—an invitation to a most excellent way of life . . .
“Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)
In the Greek text, Paul begins this sentence with the word “parakaleo” so we need to address this opening statement as he may have intended it. The word “parakaleo” literally means “to call out next to” and we interpret the word as “to comfort” or “to invite”. The Holy Spirit is referred to by Jesus as the “paraklete” . . . the One who calls, invites, and comforts. So what we see in this introduction is that Paul is not making an argument so much as he is inviting his readers into something.
This invitation of Paul, however, does not stand alone. It is an invitation to a quality of life for which we have great reason to respond affirmatively. To lead us to this response Paul wrote, “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God . . .” Now what have you heard all your life about the use of the word “therefore”? You are supposed to ask, “What is it there for?” But Paul does not wait for the answer; he gives it to us . . . “by the mercies of God”.
To be clear, however, let us look back at the astounding declarations that Paul has made in the previous 11 chapters of this letter . . .
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24)
“(Jesus) was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:1-2)
“For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:15)
“For God has imprisoned all in disobedience, so that He may have mercy on all.” (Romans 11:32)
I feel like I could go on forever quoting passage after passage that would justify the invitation of Paul, but this will have to suffice. What struck me as I was studying this text was that Paul did not base his invitation on the fact that God is merciful, but on the reality of the “mercies of God”. Did you notice the distinction? To declare that the characteristic of God, that of Him being merciful, was the impetus for accepting the invitation to this profound life is not necessarily a compelling argument. The demons know that God is merciful, yet they are not compelled to repentance.
The distinction lies in the fact that Paul declares that the compulsion for accepting his invitation to this new life is because of the “mercies” of God, not because He is merciful. Paul uses the Greek word “oiktirmos” (a word that may be translated as “compassion”), but he uses the plural form as if to say to his readers, “Consider the innumerable moments of compassion that you have received from God.” There is a huge difference between a person who recognizes God as merciful and one who recognizes that he has received that mercy . . . and received it a plurality of times.
So Paul’s invitation is not simply a moral compulsion, or a call to something I ought to do out of some sense of right and wrong. This invitation is an invitation to demonstrate gratitude . . . the gratitude of one who understands what he has received. It is a soldier being invited to the funeral of his comrade in arms who sacrificed his life so that this soldier might live. It is an organ recipient being invited to what would have been the donor’s 50th birthday celebration. It is the accomplished author being invited to his 12th grade English teacher’s retirement party.
So to what is Paul inviting the Roman church? To what was he calling them?
“ . . . I urge you to present your bodies as living sacrifices . . .”
To get what Paul is saying, you need to jump back into first-century religious practices. At this time, a man would demonstrate his worship of his god by bringing the best animal he could find in his flocks, and he would present it to the temple priests for them to offer up to the gods as a sacrifice. The priests would take the animal, kill it, and lay it on the altar. The fire of the altar would consume the animal and offer up an aroma that would please the gods. If the gods were pleased, everything would go well for you in the coming year, and we would start this ritual all over again.
So imagine the response Paul’s letter received when it contained an invitation for the people to present “themselves” as the sacrifice. But that is exactly what Paul invited them to do . . .
We need to get a visual of exactly what Paul is inviting the Roman church to do because it can be easy to allow Paul’s literal invitation to become a sentimental, abstract response. Paul invites his readers to “present” themselves as sacrifices, and in doing so, Paul uses the Greek word “parastesai” which is a word gained by joining the phrase “para histemi”. This phrase literally means “to set in place next to”. This is a deliberate act, not something that you casually encounter. Presenting yourself to God will never be an accident. It is an act of the will. To place yourself on the altar is to strip yourself of your own will and to submit yourself to the honor of your God.
As we work through this passage, be very aware of your placement on the altar. I assure you that the standards Paul is going to set for the normal Christian are going to make you want to crawl off the altar, so you are going to have to fight to stay in your place. Present yourself once and for all, and never entertain any retreat.
So what exactly am I to present? Paul has two options. First, Paul could use the Greek word “psuche” to say that we should place our souls on the altar, but I believe he knows that we could rationalize that far too easily. Second, Paul could use the word “somata”. This option is not so easy to rationalize because to use the word “somata” means that every fiber of my physical being belongs on the altar.
Guess which word Paul uses . . . yep, he wants it all on the altar!
So Paul is inviting his readers to take their hands, feet, tongues, eyes, minds, emotions, will, and anything else we could name, and place it on the altar. Which begs the question: what happens to stuff that is placed on the altar? First, it is offered up for the honor and worship of some divine being. Second, however, it is normally killed and consumed by fire. This is where Paul plays with his metaphor . . .
“ . . . present your bodies as living sacrifices . . .”
You have to appreciate the oxymoronic nature of this picture. Sacrifices do not live on. They are killed and consumed. When the worshiper brings the sacrifice to the priest, he has accepted that he is giving up this most valued animal. There is not expectation of its return. So you have to bear with the Roman church as they try to get their heads around this odd invitation.
So Paul is saying that our God does not want us to bring animals, he wants us . . .
And God wants us to place our bodies, not the bodies of animals, on the altar . . .
But God does not want us to be killed and consumed . . .
He wants us to live perpetually on the altar . . .
. . . a “living sacrifice”.
Now that would mean that the entirety of my life is devoted to worshiping and honoring God. Every fiber of my body is to be offered continually . . . offered up in response to the compassions that I have received through the perpetual offering of the blood of Christ for my salvation.
Paul goes on to say that this perpetual state of “sacrificed yet living” is to be holy and pleasing to God. By holiness, Paul means that God has no regard for a sacrifice that he has to share with some other altar. “Holy” means to be distinct, set apart for a singular purpose, presented for the honor of the One true God, and not to be shared with any other altar . . . not even the altar which honors the god of self.
To be pleasing, or to be acceptable, is drawn from the picture of the sacrifices offered to God in the Old Testament. It was said of the sacrifices that truly honored God that the aroma was pleasing to God. God would breathe in the worship of His people and it would be acceptable, it would be honoring, it would be worship.
So have you accepted Paul’s invitation to the celebration of the beauty of Jesus Christ?
Your response, mind you, will literally cost you your life. You will be expected to deliberately, and in profound gratitude, present your whole body on the altar of God. You will be asked to be singularly committed to the honor of the One who gave His life for you, and the expectation of God is that every breath will be an aroma pleasing to Him.
Overwhelmed yet?
Does this seem radical?
Paul closes the invitation with the most sobering words . . .
“. . . this is your spiritual worship.”
The problem with the translation of this phrase is that the word for “spiritual” is nowhere in the Greek text. It is too bad because it sounds like Paul is begging us to join in him in some kind of super spiritual endeavor, right? Instead, Paul actually uses the word “logiken” . . .
Tell me Paul is not telling us that this invitation is “logical”! He could not be implying that this is normal, expected, or in any way, a reasonable response to the romance of God manifest at Calvary. This invitation is far too radical, super spiritual, and extreme, right? . . . the average Christian would never go this far.
Maybe that is the problem.
The Christian author Watchman Nee makes it very clear in his book, The Normal Christian Life, that there is an immense chasm between the experience of the “normal” Christian (what a Christian should logically be) and the experience of the “average” Christian.
So let us be the ones to bridge that chasm . . .
May we appreciate the compassions that we have received.
May we recognize the full nature of what we, in gratitude, must offer.
May we be compelled to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing, because this is our logical response to the greatness of the God we serve.
And this is how the adventure begins . . .
The Perfect Plan . . . Romans 11
Get a picture in your head of a large tree. Not necessarily a tall tree, but a tree whose trunk is strong and its foliage is spread as wide as its trunk can bear. Think of a tree whose branches are so plentiful that they cannot possibly be counted . . . it is a perfect climbing tree.
.
In Romans 11, Paul describes this tree. It is a tree that he has seen all his life. This tree litters the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea. It is an olive tree.
Now that you have this tree in your head, picture this tree with most of its branches stripped away and lying on the ground . . . only a handful—a “remnant”—of its branches remain connected to the sturdy trunk.
This is the condition of Paul’s people—the Israelites. Foreknown by God, chosen as a blessed race of people, they made up this magnificent tree. The once mighty tree has been decimated by unbelief. As Paul looks intently at the desolate tree, he grieves for his brothers. He grieves when he sees so many branches littering the ground. He even wishes that he, a branch firmly fixed to the trunk, could trade places with the severed branches.
But in spite of his grief, Paul finds hope . . .
“But it is not as though the word of God has failed.” (Romans 9:6)
How can Paul say that when the ground is littered with branches? How can Paul both wish to be cursed so as to secure the fallen branches, and yet rest securely that God will have the last word?
Paul explains in his letter to the Roman church that things are not always what they seem. There are times when the Gardener is working His will, and the branches are simply not able to understand the depth of His plan. The Gardener shows mercy to some branches and to others He turns away. Some are pruned, and some are severed, and they are done so in the providence of the Gardener.
So does the Gardener simply rip away branches? Does He reject the tree that He so carefully planted? Does He find pleasure in tearing away branches? These are questions that the branches may ask, but are they capable of understanding? They do not see what the Gardener sees when He looks at the tree from afar . . . they only see their fellow branches strewn on the ground. And, rightly so, they grieve.
But there are moments of hope for the remnant still being held fast to the trunk. The Gardener likes to talk while He does His work, and in the quiet moments of the day, when the sound of the wind does not overwhelm His gentle whispers, He can be heard speaking to the tree . . .
“I will call Not My People, My People . . . they will be called sons of the living God.”
“. . . the remnant will be saved.”
“The Lord of Hosts will leave an offspring.”
In this moment, if you look a little closer at the tree, you will see a handful of branches wrapped in gardening tape, secured to the tree. These branches look different. They are not like the branches of the tree and not like the branches littering the ground. They are still olive tree branches, but they are wild, unkempt, and you can tell they have not been cultivated by the loving hand of The Gardener.
How did these branches get engrafted into the tree?
“Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained righteousness—namely the righteousness that comes from faith.” (Romans 9:30)
To which the natural branches of the tree, unable to gain the perspective of the Gardener, lovingly ask of the Gardener regarding the fallen branches . . .
“But I ask, ‘Did they not hear?’” (Romans 10:18)
The Gardener lovingly replies, speaking of His eternal voice as demonstrated by the invisible, yet unmistakable voice of the created world . . .
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the inhabited world.” (Psalm 19:4)
The connected branches swell with joy at the beauty of God’s created works, yet they sink in grief that so many of their fellow branches failed to see the glory of their Maker. They could feel the design in their Creator. They knew of the majesty of the created order. So they reach out to the Gardener with another question . . .
“But I ask, ‘Did they not understand?’”
The answer to this question is more than the connected branches could possibly understand because they see life from a finite vantage point. The Gardener sees the life of the branches from a broader perspective, yet, the Gardener lovingly explains what He experienced . . .
“They have provoked My jealousy with their so-called gods; they have enraged me with their worthless idols. So I will provoke their jealousy with an inferior people: I will enrage them with a foolish nation.” (Deuteronomy 32:21)
The Gardener continued . . .
“I was sought by those who did not ask; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said: Here I am, here I am to a nation that was not called by My name.” (Isaiah 65:1)
The branches once more drooped at the truth of the Gardener. Though the Gardener had pleaded with the branches time and again, the branches would not listen. The branches severed from the tree were there because the Gardener removed them. He laid them at the foot of the tree for all to see what becomes of those who hear, yet fail to truly understand.
The Gardener noting a hint of a question left in the heart of the connected branches, asked the branches if they were wondering if He had done enough. Could the Gardener have done more? To which the Gardener spoke . . .
“I spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in the wrong path, following their own thoughts.” (Isaiah 65:2)
The branches knew it was true, yet they still grieved. Those were their brothers and sisters. They were chosen. They received the promises . . . Yet they lay helpless, lifeless on the ground, removed from the nourishment of the trunk.
So why are we still connected? Why did the Gardener not remove us? Are we more virtuous? Were we more obedient? More faithful to the Law of Moses?
Have those branches been cut off forever? Is there any hope?
This is when the Gardener began to speak to the branches, both the natural branches and the ones that had been grafted into the trunk of the tree. He revealed to the branches that they had a purpose. They were connected to the nourishment of the tree, and in that they ought to be perfectly satisfied, but they also had a role to play.
They were to make the fallen branches “jealous”.
To the natural branches, the Gardener implored them to find the glorious fellowship that they have and to manifest it with songs of thanksgiving. They were to glory in the promises of God to them and to the whole of their people, so that those who have fallen away would long for the joy of their heritage.
To the wild branches who were grafted into the tree, the Gardener implores them to cling to the faith that allowed them to be brought into the fellowship of the tree. They ought not feel superior to the fallen branches, but they should be grateful to the Gardener for the wisdom and mercy of His plan that made room for them to be grafted in to the tree.
And then the Gardener revealed to the branches the “mystery” of His work . . .
“A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25)
As the branches looked around, they began to grasp the beauty of the Gardener’s plan. They knew that the new branches would have found no place in the tree if not for the severing of the branches. These wild branches would have never known the satisfaction of the tree if all the natural branches had remained. They had come to love the new branches—the branches who had brought so much joy to the tree.
But the Gardener did say “until” . . . Is there hope for the fallen branches?
“In this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Liberator will com from Zion; He will turn away godlessness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:26-27)
The Gardener confidently declared that His tree will be filled in due time. His perfect plan has not “failed”. His design will not be thwarted. Though the branches still litter the ground, they will not stay there forever . . .
“Now if their stumbling brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full number bring!” (Romans 11:12)
And one day the full tree—the chosen remnant, the engrafted branches, and the regrafted branches—will glory in the compassion of the Gardener. They will shout of His forgiveness. They will marvel at His long-suffering in the face of such great disobedience. They will rest securely in the provision of the tree. They will sing . . .
Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments
and untraceable His ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been His counselor?
Or who has ever first given to Him,
and has to be repaid?
For from Him and through Him
and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen
