Introduction: At a meeting of
the American Psychological Association, Jack Lipton, a psychologist at Union
College, and R. Scott Builione, a graduate student at Columbia University,
presented their findings on how members of the various sections of a 11 major
symphony orchestra perceived each other. The percussionists were viewed as
insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun-loving. String players
were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and un-athletic. The orchestra members
overwhelmingly chose "loud" as the primary adjective to describe the
brass players. Woodwind players (flutes, Saxophone, Clarinet etc.) seemed to be
held in the highest esteem, described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit
egotistical.
Interesting
findings! With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could
an orchestra ever come together to make such beautiful music? The answer is
simple: regardless of how those musicians view each other, they subordinate
their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his
guidance, they play beautiful music. In the same way, if we respect one
another, consider others better than yourself and come under the leadership of
the conductor (the head) of the Church, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The
imagery of the Orchestra seems to convey the essence of what the Church should
be like and how its members ought to function. Just like in an Orchestra in the
Church, it is not about who is the loudest, or most visible, but it is all
about preferring others, loving and serving one another. Does our Church
reflect a well-coordinated orchestra? Or a chaotic Rock Concert where everyone
tries to dominate the other person? We have been following a series called
“Life in Christ” So far, we looked at Christ being the son of God, the Savior
and a servant King.
The
Apostle Paul gives a picture in Romans 12:1-13 of the Church is the body of
Christ and the responsibilities of both the individual and corporate believers
in the Church.The
letter to Romans was written in AD 57. I will divide this passage into three
parts. 1 The transformed Lives. 2. Church: The body of Christ. 3. Unity in
diversity.
I. THE TRANSFORMED
LIVES.
Many
people attend Church regularly week after week, month after month, pay their tithes
and show up at community events, read their Bibles yet they never seem to be
experiencing the power of transformation. Why? Merely showing up at church
every Sunday or listening to great sermons will not change you, then what will
help? Paul highlights two ways of how one can live transformed lives.
A. PERSONAL
WORSHIP:
Paul
began his letter saying, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be
saints.” That tells me that this letter is addressed to the believers in Rome
and not to the unbelievers. If Paul were to write a letter today to our Church,
he probably would treat us the same because we, too, are loved by God and are called
to be saints.
In
Chapter 12 vs. one, he says, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which
is your spiritual service of worship.” There is deep meaning in this
scripture. Let me unfold it for you. The
word urge has a range of meanings: “To beg, push for, appeal to, beseech (with
a strong force), charge, implore, plead and drive etc.,” the word “urge” here
is anything but a request or a good suggestion. It is a passionate appeal.
Why
was Paul so passionately urging the believers? The last verse in Romans 11:36,
gives us the reason, “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” In other words, we came from Jesus, through
Jesus, and to Jesus, we belong. All the glory belongs to Him.
Therefore,
I beg you to offer your bodies (not to sin and idolatry as we were previously
used to) as living, not a dead sacrifice, which is our reasonable or rational
service of worship to God. Are we
honoring God in our bodies? Or are we tearing down this body by indulging in
sin? How are we releasing ourselves when we come to worship Him on a Sunday
morning?
What
is a living sacrifice? In the OT, people used to offer animal sacrifices, but
now God doesn’t require animal sacrifices from us, then what does he expect from
us? Paul explains what a living sacrifice is in Hebrew 13:15-16, Through Jesus,
therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of
lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share
with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
What
does this mean? It means when we sing praises to God during worship with thanksgiving,
we are offering the fruit of our lips to Him, but that is not enough along with
that we need to show our devotion to God by doing good and sharing with others.
Worship is the fruit of our lips, coupled with the work of our hands. The
second way to live transformed lives is by making a personal resolution not to
follow the demands of the culture.
B. PERSONAL
RESOLVE:
Romans
12:2-3, “Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it
without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed
from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly
respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its
level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed
maturity in you.” (The Message Bible).
When
Paul wrote this letter, the Church in Rome was relatively a new Church with a
few Jewish believers living in a predominant pagan culture. The believers were
told not to conform to the lifestyle of the culture that was around them.
Instead,
they were to be transformed and live as though they belonged to another world.
Each individual personally has to resolve to live a transformed life; no one
can make that decision for you. The Greek word used for transformation here is metamorphoo
from where we get the English word metamorphosis. What is metamorphosis?
It
is a biology term that explains a profound change from one stage to the next in
the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from
the pupa to the adult butterfly. It is also used to describe a complete change
of form, structure appearance, character, circumstances, etc. In religious
terms, it means to turn around, conversion, transformation, alteration, modification,
changeover, rebirth, or born again.
In
2 Cor 5:17, we read, “Therefore if anyone in Christ, he is a new creation, the
Old has gone, the new has come.” What Paul meant here was a metamorphosis, a
complete makeover. When we claim ourselves to be Christians, then we are to
live like Christians. Our behavior thought, and habit patterns, priorities, and
lifestyle must reflect our Christian faith.
Otherwise,
what is the point in calling ourselves Christians? In eastern cultures becoming
a Christian is much more challenging. It means saying goodbye to their old
friends, burning their idols, in some cases even leaving their ungodly
families. I know several friends were persecuted when they became Christians. They
realized what they found is much more worth than what they were giving up, that
gave them the strength to withstand persecution.
Unfortunately,
in the west, we can hardly differentiate Christians from non-Christians. We
live compromised lives like everybody else; we pursue the same goals as others
and have the same priorities. One commentator said, “There is no greater
weakness in the Christianity of our day than the fact that so many church
members accept without question the dominant intellectual and social atmosphere
of the age.”
Those
whose lives are transformed offer themselves in worship to God, get involved in
acts of service and resolve not to live according to the demands of the
culture. Are you living a transformed life? Let’s look at the Church being the
body of Christ
II. CHURCH: THE
BODY OF CHRIST:
What
is the Church? You may answer this question one of two ways: Church is a
building where a group of Christians comes to worship. Or a group of believers
gathers for religious purposes. These are OK for quick answers, but when it
comes to what a Church ought to be and do, they won’t get us far.
When
people join a church, they have specific preconceived ideas of what a Church
should be like or what a church should do for them. And for that matter, what a
Pastor should be. When their expectations are not met, they quickly become disgruntled
with the Church and eventually leave that Church only to join another Church.
A
few years ago, during a New Year message, my former Pastor spoke about his
commitment to the Church. He listed the things he was committed to doing in the
Church. After mentioning several commitments, the pastor then said that he and
his staff are also committed to disappoint the Church. I was baffled by that
statement at the time.
How
could my Pastor say that he is committed to disappoint us? Now I realize how
true that was. It is not that I or any pastor would desire to hurt or
disappoint anyone purposefully. But the truth of the matter is that no Church
or no Pastor can meet all the needs and unrealistic expectations of all its
members. Only Christ can meet all our expectations.
Let’s
ask one of the great church planters of the first century what he has to say
about the role of the church and the part of its members is. According to his definition,
the church is the body of Christ. He used the analogy of the human body to
explain it.
Romans
12: 4-5, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do
not have the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ and
individually members of one another.” The Church was comprised of many
individual believers from diverse backgrounds joined together, as they belong
to one body that is the body of Christ.
Let’s
take a look at our Church how rich and diverse we are. We come from various
ethnic, cultural, educational and socio-economic backgrounds. Understanding
that we are the visible body of Christ on earth, a lot of misunderstandings and
bickering may disappear.
Striving
may cease, appreciation for the other members of the church may increase. Disunity
may make room to unity because just as the physical body cannot function
without the cooperation of the different parts of the body the same is valid
within the Church.
There
is no place for lone rangers; in the body of Christ, we need each other. We are
not independent but are interdependent with each other in Christ. On the one
hand, we are connected, yet we are individuals, so what is our responsibility
as individuals in the body of Christ? The beauty we see in the body of Christ
is the Unity in Diversity.
III. UNITY IN
DIVERSITY:
Coming
back to the analogy of the human body, we realize that every part of our body
is unique. All of them do not have the same function but have a specific
purpose. No one part of the body is insignificant. The hand, the eye, the
mouth, the head, the heart the feet all are part of the same body. They cannot
exist on their own, and they need each other’s support.
When
all these parts work in coordination with other parts, then we have a healthy
body; otherwise, we have a sick body. The same principle applies to the body of
Christ. To explain our corporate purpose in the body of Christ, Paul said, we have different gifts, according to the
grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in
accordance with your faith;
If it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving,
then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show
mercy, do it cheerfully. In this passage of scripture, Paul
mentioned seven different types of gifts. God gives them all. I cannot dwell on
each gift here for want of time.
However,
this is what I would say about these gifts. For a Christian, these gifts are
not given for their own pleasure or to serve their own selfish ambitions but to
serve God and to serve one another in brotherly love so that the body of Christ
may be built up. May the Lord help us to be mindful of one another and serve
one another so that together we can glorify God. Amen!
