Elder Chew Chong Kiat

Are You Serving God? (Romans 12:1-2)

Introduction
Some Christians think that service means to do something ‘big’ like serving as a missionary, being a leader in the fellowship, teaching in the SS, etc.; others think of duties like ushering, folding of the bulletin, kitchen duty, etc.. And on our yearly Dedication Sunday if they are not one of those who stand up to take the vow of consecration, they may conclude that they do not serve God. But is that a biblical understanding?

What is a biblical definition of service to God? "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." (Rom 12:1)

The Connection between Rom 1-11 and Rom 12:1

Romans 12:1-2 link chapters 1-11 to the rest of the book of Romans.

Borrowing the OT concept of animal sacrifice, the apostle Paul besought all believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices back to God for service. The OT sacrifice that best fits this context is the burnt offering sacrifice which always involved the burning up of the whole animal (except for the ox whose skin is too thick to be burned and will be thrown outside the camp) upon the altar of burnt offering. This is always done willingly and never by compulsion.

Romans chapters 1-11 describe what God did to reconcile fallen man to God by the sacrifice of Christ for the expiation of their sins. Paul appealed in Rom 12:1 to these mercies, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God….". "Mercy" is used instead of "grace". Grace means the eternal blessings given by God to believers that they do not deserve such as entering heaven. Mercy refers to the judgement man deserves, such as death and hell, that God withheld since Christ has taken their place when He died on the cross for their sins. When the believer thinks of mercies, he is filled with the deepest sense of gratitude and thankfulness to God in Christ for the great deliverance from the bondage of sin and the penalty of sin which is death and hell. Christ paid all for him!

What is therefore the reasonable response since Christ is sacrificed for us to reconcile us to God? The answer has to be to offer up a sacrifice to God! But what sacrifice? Who is to offer? Where and how do we sacrifice to God in thanksgiving for such mercies?

The answer is given by Paul. "…that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 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." (Rom 12:1-2)

Yes, a reasonable service in response to the mercies we have received is to offer ourselves up to God as a living and not dead sacrifice! We are the priests who offer up the sacrifice (1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood…). And the sacrifice is none other than our lives (mind, body and soul). We are to offer ourselves.

This is where service begins! Notice that service is defined as an offering up of ourselves to God in response to His mercies. This must be the first act of service by every born again believer. All other areas of service in or outside church must be because we have offered ourselves to God to live only for Him and that is why we serve.

Where should Christian offer up himself? We do not need to present ourselves in a physical temple. Once you have experienced the mercies of God, you can and will say with the hymn writer, Thomas Chisholm, "For mercies so great, what return can I make–For mercies so constant and sure? I’ll love Him, I’ll serve Him with all that I have, as long as my life shall endure." It is ‘here and now’ that we consecrate ourselves to serve God.

This sacrifice we offer differs from many of the sacrifices of the OT. They were all killed and offered but we are to be offered "alive". The manner in which our bodies are to be offered alive to God is "holy, acceptable unto God." Holiness means to get rid of sin in our lives. God cannot use a sin-filled body for service. The person the believer must seek to please in his service is God and not man. In pleasing God, it might result in pleasing man. But the one and only goal is to seek God's approval. This means that the means of service are just as important as the ends. The servant and the service must glorify God.

Have we done so? Are we serving God in this manner? This is our reasonable service to God based upon the mercies we have received from Him through Christ Jesus.

Hence we come to the house of God every Lord’s Day to serve Him. "Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. … Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." (Ps 100:2,4). Aptly therefore is the Lord’s Day Worship called morning service and evening service. We come to His house to serve Him both in the morning and evening. Worship is a service. We are serving the living God as a living sacrifice. We oftentimes do not see Sunday service as a service to God. We pick and choose which service to ‘attend’, much like a choice of concerts. We go from church to church because of speakers and topics, the music, the environment, the distance or even because of friends and relatives. These reasons become the very reasons why we ‘attend’ a service. Be not mistaken. We are to come and serve God in His house - morning and evening. It is our privilege and a reasonable service to God for His abundant mercies.

But do not stop at serving the Lord at His house. Serve the Lord daily, every waking moment of every day and do so everywhere too. We are the ambassadors of Christ, the salt and light in this world of darkness. By our lives, others are to see Christ and by our testimony, they are to know Christ. Everything that a believer does is a service to God - whether we eat or drink, it is a service to God if it is done for His glory. Our entire life is a service. We offer not part of ourselves but our entire being. God does not need every Christian to die for Him as a martyr like William Tyndale who was burned at the stake for translating the Bible into the English language (this is not everyone’s calling) but He wants all to live for Him and do the work. Soon Christ will come again to ask for an account of how we have served Him in this life.

So, are ushering, kitchen duty, teaching and preaching etc a service unto the LORD? Yes, if it is done for His glory. Everything we do for Christ is a holy service because it is done by holy people. "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." (Col 3:17)

Let us all serve God sacrificially and cheerfully. Let no Christian say that he does not serve God. We are all saved to serve and not to sit and do nothing for God. To encourage us, God’s Word says, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." (Heb 6:10). It is expected of servants to serve their master without rewards. But in the service of God, God graciously promises rewards. He is a good Master indeed. So, let us serve Him with much joy and gladness. Amen.