Every believer receives the exact gift and resources he needs to fulfill his role in the body of Christ.” This “faith” can be thought of as a resource provided by God.
Romans 12:3 indicates that we are not to think of ourselves "more highly" than we ought, but should consider ourselves with sober judgment. Note that Paul does not tell us that we should not think of ourselves highly in any sense, but that we must have a right estimation of ourselves.
It is our natural bent to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to, but God tells us to see ourselves as we actually are, no more and no less. It is important not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement.
As followers of Jesus we are to be living sacrifices – transformed by the renewing of our minds – in other words, as I often say, “we are to get a new mind for a new age.” We are called to be change agents for the Kingdom of God!
Theme: To be a living sacrifice we must think accurately about ourselves, know how the body of Christ works, and use our gifts. And those are the takeaways of my study of Romans 12:3-8.
The transformation of the mind “so that you may discern what is the will of God” (Rom. 12:2) comes hand in hand with involving the community of faith in our decisions. As those in the process of being saved, we bring others into our decision-making processes.
Paul here explains how to live out the will of God: Keep in mind the rich mercy of God to you – past, present, and future (by the mercies of God). As an act of intelligent worship, decide to yield your entire self to Him (present your bodies a living sacrifice).
3 God has been kind to me so that I can serve him. Because of that, I say this to every one of you: Do not think that you are better than you really are. Instead, think about yourself carefully. Decide how much God has helped you to trust him.
Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.
General Idea: This passage is about exercising the Spiritual Gifts, abilities and opportunities that God has given us. But, one thing needs to be cleared out of the way for us to move in His Way- our pride! We must be honest about ourselves and seek Him as Lord not by who we are and what we can do.
Romans 12:2 shows that we live out God's will when we change our thoughts to God's thoughts, rather than living like the world dictates. The world will always pressure us to live sinfully and selfishly, but to live the good life God wants from us requires changing how we behave—by changing our thoughts.
Do not conform 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.
This phrase depicts the church as a human body. The body cannot function without diversity of functions, such as eyes, ears, hands, and feet. Both diversity and unity obtain in the local church. and the members do not all have the same function, It takes many gifts to make up the proper function of the church.
Sober-minded means you are focusing on the grace that will be revealed in Jesus Christ; you're living with eternity in view. And because of that, your values are clarified, and you live with motivation and hope.
(ˌsəʊbəˈmaɪndɪd ) or sober-headed (ˌsəʊbəˈhɛdɪd ) adjective. characterized by seriousness and lack of excess. So I'm saying let's just be sober-minded about where we find ourselves at this point. Collins English Dictionary.
In Romans 1–3, Paul emphasized that justification and salvation come not by the performances of the law of Moses, but by the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and we receive the blessings of the Atonement as we live by faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul is calling for Christians to give themselves as sacrifices to God because it is our reasonable act of worship. It is eminently reasonable and rational for believers to fully dedicate themselves to God. The reason we should offer our lives as complete sacrifices to God is because of God's mercies.
Don't change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.
Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God's marvelous mercies? To surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart.
Romans 12 encourages us to be living sacrifices in view of the mercy we have received in Christ Jesus. We do this through renewing our minds to the truth of God's word, serving and blessing the body of Christ through our gifts and above all by loving and being devoted to one another.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2 what being a “living sacrifice” involves and then what the results of such living are. The essence of this idea of sacrifice is that we are to be willing to offer ourselves to God. The truest sacrifice we can make is to try and live according to His purposes for our lives.