Romans 12:1-2

SPIRITUAL GROWTH IS A PROCESS THAT TAKES TIME

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Many sincere believers spend their entire lives earnestly searching for an experience, a conference, a revival, a book, a CD, or a single truth that will bring about instant change — the search for the right “key.”

There is no key and there are no shortcuts. Maturity is a slow process. Spiritual maturity is a journey that will last a lifetime. In fact, a key New Testament word is grow, or growing (see Ephesians 4:16; Colossians 1:6, 10; II Thessalonians 1:3). Peter writes in II Peter 3:18: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ…” II Peter 3:18

According to the apostle Paul, we’re to train ourselves to be godly (I Timothy 4:7). Neither Peter nor Paul are saying — or even implying — that we have to be a mystic, a monk, a nun, or a “super-saint” to grow in Christ.

Some Christian biographers gloss over the humanity of godly people and imply that if you don’t pray for 10 hours a day, move to the jungle, and plan to die as a martyr you can forget spiritual maturity. This is discouraging for the average believer.

The truth is, spiritual growth is very practical! Any believer can grow to maturity if they will develop the habits necessary for growth. The process begins with 1) Full-on dedication to God’s will as revealed in His Word (implication: daily, systematic reading/study!) and 2) The worship of God via unreserved consecration to Him and His will (Romans 12:1-2).

WORSHIP IN BRIEF

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The last five Old Testament psalms (146-150) are joyous hymns of praise — the call for all God’s creation to worship and extol the Lord! Let ALL creation worship and adore the LORD!

Psalm 148 capsulizes the basic essence of true worship — that which God designed each aspect of His creation to do: “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established them forever and ever—he issued a decree that will never pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.”

Notice that verses 1,3-6 call on the heavens to praise the Lord and in verses 7-10 the earth and its creatures are beckoned to the same exercise. In verses 2, 11-14 angels and all mankind are directed to praise the Creator.

Implied here is that the heavenly bodies (planets) and the creatures of land and sea have a role; angels and men have a will. Both role and will are summed up in one word: conformity. In other words, Conforming to God’s design, decrees, and purpose equals worship!

In fulfilling their God-ordained roles, planets and creation render “worship”; angels and men do so by choosing conformity to God’s proclaimed will. For man, that will is recorded in the Word of God.
Our conscience and the Holy Spirit of God assist in the willingness to obey our Creator.

In this new year, may our chosen-resolve be conformity to Scripture’s mandate as set before us in Romans 12:1-2: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

SEXUAL PURITY

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The apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 6:13, 18-20, that “…The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body…Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

In the Bible, sexual immorality includes adultery, homosexuality, pre-marital sexual intercourse, incest, bestiality (sexual intercourse with an animal), (see Deuteronomy 22:20-21; see also Leviticus 18:1-30; 20:10-20). Jesus went even further by including our very thoughts: Looking at a woman with lustful intent is considered adultery from God’s perspective (Matthew 5:27-28). Much like our current culture, the Corinthian believers were surrounded with such sexual perversion and temptation that Paul urged them to marry instead of imitating their peers and living promiscuously:

“Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry [literally not to touch/cohabit with a woman]. But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.” I Corinthians 7:1-2

As believers in Christ, Paul says to “…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer 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.” Romans 12:1-2

For those who choose to conform their lives to the pattern of Scripture, the promise is that
“The LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless [i.e. integrity and sincerity of purpose].” Psalm 84:11

Therefore, as God’s dearly loved children, “Let us purify ourselves…let us be blameless, pure, and set apart from sinners.” II Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 7:26

God’s gift of sex is to be enjoyed — and the only way to have that happen in the fullest measure is to follow God’s guidelines as presented in Scripture. They are actually quite clear when taken at face value!

So much can be said; so much has been written and spoken on this subject! From my perspective, here’s the bottom line:
• Be Spirit-led, not hormone-driven!
• God hard-wired us for sexual pleasure — but we must remain self-controlled; we must, simply, say “No!” when tempted to compromise, to venture beyond what might be called “parametered liberty.”
• With each victory comes more strength