you good to see all of you. And we are moving now to the practical section of the book of Romans. Actually this is going to be a transitional message, transitioning from the doctrinal portion into the practical message. And the title of the message this morning is, Good Doctrine Leads to a Good Walk. That's why Paul spent 11 chapters teaching doctrine and then he says, I beseech you to present your bodies a living sacrifice. last few months we have studied through the first 11 chapters of Romans and in those 11 chapters we have wrestled with several fundamental doctrines of Christianity. We saw the universal guilt of mankind laid out in the first two chapters. The Gentiles were found guilty and without excuse in chapter 1 and the Jews were found guilty and without excuse in chapter 2. I think what Paul was doing here he was laying out the universal guilt of all mankind in order to lay the groundwork for the conclusion that in the Gospel there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile. Then we saw in chapters 3 and 4 that the saving method of God is also the same for Jew and Gentile. All men are justified by faith and faith alone. Jews are not somehow saved by another method. Justification is by faith without the law, Paul said. And furthermore, Jews are not privileged by the fact that they are Abraham's physical descendants. said, these are not the children of God, referring to the physical descendants of Abraham. So the saving method of God is by faith and in chapter 4 it is illustrated that salvation has always been by faith. Paul used the example of Abraham who was saved by faith when he believed God. Abraham was saved it was before he was ever circumcised and it was before the Law was ever given to Israel. And Paul also stressed that justification was never by works and it was never by man's own righteousness. And he quotes David in Romans 4, 6, and David said, blessed is the man unto whom God imputes righteousness without works. And Paul's point is that this kind of justification puts Jews and Gentiles on the same footing. There is no difference in the way of salvation. You don't have to be a Jew to be saved. You don't have to perform all of the rituals. You don't have to go to the temple. You don't have to be in the bloodline of Abraham. You don't have to be circumcised. don't have to live in Israel. We also saw the doctrine of the federal headship of Christ in Romans chapter 5 verses 12-21. Adam as you remember was a type of Christ in that Adam was a representative of a people and when Adam sinned all of his people died spiritually. But Adam was just the type. Christ has a people too. It is all those whom God chose before the foundation of the world and gave to Christ, you see. And when Christ lived His life in perfect obedience, His obedience counted for His people. You can see that there are some pretty substantial doctrines laid out in this great book of Romans. We also learn some of the great benefits of justification by faith in chapter 5. And then in chapter 6 we learn that salvation by grace through faith is not a license to sin, it's just the opposite. In chapter 7 we found that the old sin nature is still with us and it is at war with our new nature. Chapter 8 is the great chapter on eternal security and the fact of the matter is that believers are eternally secure. Why? Because their salvation is a work of God. And God makes no mistakes and God never fails. Salvation is a work of God from beginning to end. Paul wants us to realize that from before the foundation of the world, it is God who loved us, and it is God who takes all the responsibility of saving us on himself, you see. Take a look at Romans chapter eight, verses 29 and 30. Romans chapter eight, verse 29, and then verse 30 says, for whom he did foreknow. predestinate, to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He glorified." I want you to keep your Bibles right there and take a look very closely at Paul's words here. and you will not find any reference to anything that we did. It's all what God did to save us. And if there is anything that we do along the way, it is only because of what God has done in us. So give all the glory to God for your salvation. That's what chapter eight is about. And then we have Paul's discussion of the Jewish question in chapters 9 through 11 and his main point is that God has a people by election but it is not all the Jews and it is not only the Jews. The fact of the matter is that God chose a remnant of Jews to be his people and the rest were blinded and God chose many Gentiles to be his people too. And this collection of chosen people from all nations are God's children. So that concluded the doctrinal portion of Romans. Now this morning, beginning with Romans 12.1, we begin the practical portion of the book, which will continue on through the end of the book. And we want to consider first the necessary marriage between doctrine and practice. people say, oh that church all they do is teach doctrine. And I say, praise the Lord you see because doctrine is what our faith is based on. Most of Paul's writings do follow this general outline by the way. He first lays out the doctrine and then he follows up with the Christian behavior which it should produce. You know one of the goals of Bible doctrine is is to properly direct our conduct in this world. Now you know that we highly value Bible doctrine here at Grace Baptist Church. That is, we believe that sound doctrine is crucial to the Christian life. If you're ever searching for a new church, consider first the doctrine. That's what Sonia and I did years ago. looked up several and we looked up their statements of faith and we found a church that believed in sound doctrine. Everywhere the Bible encourages us to be built up in the knowledge and the wisdom of the Scriptures and that is why there is a whole lot of doctrine laid out in our Bibles. But we should always understand that the goal of Bible doctrine is to properly direct our conduct in this world. If Bible doctrine were for the mere purpose of helping us pass a written test, like in Bible college, or if it were for the purpose of showing that we are smarter than others, then it would be of no real value at all. Christianity is much, much more than a system of doctrines. If our religion began and ended with doctrine and merely doctrine, our religion would be nothing more than a cold collection of systematic thought, a cold, hard science. Our religion would be nothing more than an intellectual exercise. and a contest, one against another, contending for ideas. But our religion, that is Christianity, has as one of its main goals, not the mere collection and arrangement of doctrine, but the understanding of doctrine such that it orders our steps before the Lord. This is what we're aiming at. We want to know how to live. We want to know Bible doctrine because we believe a proper understanding of the Scriptures provides not only the motivation for holy living, but also the knowledge of what holy living really is. Someone once said, the Word of God is not merely to inform us, but to reform us. It is designed to equip us with the tools to put off the old man and to put on the new man. Let me tell you this morning, God is a very good master builder. He knows exactly what to teach us in his word so as to equip us for holy living. You know, mere doctrine tends to puff us up. If our goal is merely the acquisition of intellectual knowledge then at the end of our studies we puff out our chests and we say we are smarter than you and that's about all the value we get out of it. But the goal of Bible doctrine is not to puff us up but it is to prop us up. It is designed to lift us up out of our fallen condition and to hold us steady in this very unsteady world. You know, I found that Bible doctrine is often 180 degrees opposite of human thinking. The way that God thinks is very different from the way the world thinks. Now we all grow up in this fallen world and most of the time we get very bad information along the way. Perhaps you had unsaved parents. And if you did, I guarantee that you got bad instruction on how to live. And as you grew up, you associated with people who conveyed to you very faulty information. And then you went to school and they gave you bad information. Your teachers told you there is no God. They told you that God didn't create the universe, that millions of years of evolution transformed chaos into this complex and useful universe that we see today. And in all of your interactions, you were bombarded with bad information. The world tried to teach you that there is no accountability to a divine being and that there is no ultimate judgment day. And so who is to say what conduct is bad or good? It is not what God says, but it is what society says is good or bad. So all of us, in a way, had a pretty faulty education as we grew up in this fallen world. A lot of bad information made up our understanding of things. And that's where the Bible comes in. God's word is designed to undo all the faulty information. It is designed to teach you what is really the truth in this world. and really it is designed to teach you how to live and how to conduct yourselves. And the Christian life is much about laying aside what we have previously learned about life and trusting what God says about it. It says in Proverbs 3, five, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto your own understanding. But we always need to be careful that we approach Bible doctrine with the right goal in mind. The learning of Bible doctrine is not to win an argument. But the learning of Bible doctrine is to win the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, as Paul said. Bible doctrine is designed to lead us into the kind of life that is pleasing to our Creator, And if we live a life that is pleasing to Him, then it will ultimately be very rewarding to us indeed. Bible doctrine is designed to lead us to the proper observance of our Christian duties. This is what the last section of Romans is all about, Romans 12 through 16. Paul has taught us some profound Christian doctrine in the first 11 chapters. And now he will show us how we should conduct ourselves in light of this knowledge. In light of the great need for sound doctrine for the performance of our Christian duties, let's consider for a moment the necessity of doctrinal preaching. I want to take a moment here and preach concerning preachers and pastors. And I want to say to preachers and pastors everywhere that you are under a duty to preach sound doctrine so that your congregation will ultimately live sound lives in this world. As a matter of personal observation, I have found that preachers that do not preach and teach the great doctrines of the Bible have congregations that are very shallow, tossed about by every wind of doctrine that blows their way. Those congregations who don't hear sound of doctrine don't endure when troubles come their way. They have nothing to believe in since nothing of substance is preached. Such congregations tend to be a social organization. rather than a spiritual organism. They tend to be very carnal in their daily walk. They love to fight in business meetings, I've discovered. They wag their tongues with useless utterances. And when their children see the great emptiness of it all, they leave the church and they never come back. On the other hand, the great preachers that preach the great doctrines of the Bible, they build congregations over the years that are substantial both in knowledge and in character. Their congregations cannot be moved. especially in times of trouble, they have a foundation of truth upon which to cling. I have found that those congregations who are well built in doctrine not only have a firm foundation of the great rock, who is Christ Jesus, but also they have a firm footing on the truth of the Bible that can never be shaken. They tend to be spiritually minded. They would rather contend for the truth than to fight about the color of the carpet. People who have been exposed and grounded in the great doctrines of the Bible tend to be very mindful of their own weak condition and less mindful of the weaknesses of others. And so you don't see a lot of judgmentalism and legalism in those congregations that have their feet firmly planted in sound doctrine. Sound doctrine causes us to be more concerned with the beam in our own eye rather than so concerned about the speck in our brother's eye. I've also noticed that congregations that have received solid teaching over a long period of time don't pick their preacher to death. That's what I appreciate about being here. They tend to love him for the great service that he has rendered in laying a doctrinal foundation under their feet over all the years. Now let me say that you don't notice the effects of sound doctrine all at once. It's like feeding a baby. After you feed him a jar of applesauce, you don't pick him up and say, ah, he's much bigger and healthier now. No, you don't even notice a difference after one feeding, but you keep feeding that child for years. And one day you look at him and you say, wow, look how he's grown. And that's the way doctrine is. A steady feeding will grow strong, healthy Christians. I want you to look what Paul told a young preacher by the name of Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4, verses 13 through 16. This is wise advice to any preacher. Till I come, give attendance to reading. to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them, now this is very surprising, this last phrase. And we'll talk about it in a moment. For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. Did you know that good doctrine saves you? It's what God uses to save you. We'll talk about that. I want to evaluate this statement. You might keep your finger there. This statement which Paul made to his very young preacher. And we see first that Paul said to Timothy, give attendance to reading. Though a minister may have a special calling from God and a special office and even special gifts, nevertheless his ministry requires much labor in the Word. Just because he's called doesn't mean he automatically has a vast knowledge of the Scriptures. Did you know that? Everybody just thinks that the preacher just knows it all, you see. You know better, don't you? Knowledge of the Scriptures comes by very natural means, that is, by reading and studying. Secondly, Paul told Timothy, give attendance to doctrine. That is, assemble and organize the truth of the Scriptures. Go through the Scriptures continuously and tediously and collect the great truths of God Put them together in an organized way. If God has called anyone to preach, I rather suspect that God has given him the necessary gifts to do it. But now, Mr. Preacher, put in the hard work. Take out your shovel and dig the treasures out of the hard ground. God has gifted you with the tools to do it. now give attendance to doctrine. That's what Paul told Timothy. Paul then told Timothy in verse 15, give attendance to meditation. Did you know that a preacher must contemplate these things? He must ponder them and turn them over in his mind And he will find that he must reshape his own thinking at times. A preacher should lose a little sleep meditating on the great thoughts and the majestic things of God. And so Paul told Timothy to meditate on these things. But look what else he told him. A minister must give himself wholly to them. Did you know that God's word is his principal business. Not that other things aren't needful too, but his principal business is not to organize the social functions of the church. It's not even to do the music, although sometimes the preacher likes to do the music, you see. It's not even to do the ordinary matters of visiting and caring for the poor and other things like that, but his principal duty is the Word of God. 1 Timothy 4.16, notice that it is the great doctrines of God that save the minister and save those that hear him. Now we all know that it's God who saves from beginning to end, but God uses means to do the saving. And one of the chief means which God uses is the preaching of sound doctrine. Paul says, Timothy, give yourself to reading, to exhortation and doctrine because In so doing, you will save yourself and those that hear you. Sound doctrine saves. It is not just that sound doctrine brings justification, but sound doctrine is the means that God uses in all the processes of salvation. Remember, salvation is a great process from beginning to end. It's not complete. The moment that God elects you. It was not complete the moment that Jesus died on the cross. It was not complete even the moment that you believed in Him and were justified as a judicial act. But He continues to save us as a process and He preserves us to the end as an act of His salvation. And God uses sound doctrine. to accomplish the various parts of salvation. Romans 1 17 says, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. You see, God is determined to save you. He was determined to save you when he chose you before the foundation of the world, and he is determined to save you all the way through this life. And finally, he is determined to take you to heaven eternally. Philippians 1.6 says, being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. And you know what? God will do it in large part by the preaching of sound doctrine. Not only do the doctrines of God save us, but it is the great doctrines of God that encourage us and engender in us a Christian walk. So we understand that Christian doctrine and Christian duty walk hand in hand. They are wedded together as though they are one. Doctrine that does not lead to the observance of Christian duty is useless. It's just a head full of cold information if it does not lead to a Christian walk. Likewise, to preach Christian duty without doctrine is useless. There was a man and his child in a boat which drifted to the middle of the lake and the child said to his father, row us to the shore. But the man said, I can't, I left the oars at home. And Bible doctrine is the oar that will get you to the shore of Christian duty. Now many religions have stringent requirements in order to be saved. You remember Jehovah's Witnesses must go door to door in order to acquire a little portion of heaven. Catholics must not commit mortal sins like missing mass or else they must be absolved by confession to an earthly priest. All religions have their various duties and requirements to be saved. The difference in Christianity is that our duties in life are not requirements in order to be saved. Our salvation is completely free. Apart from works and by faith alone, our duties are a result of being saved by the sheer grace of God. I want us to see first of all from our text now, we only have a few minutes left, but we finally get to our text, Romans 12 one. A Christian walk is made possible especially by the doctrines of mercy. Do you see that? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. The doctrines of grace and mercy have a very great effect in encouraging us to serve God. That is why Paul said, I beseech you by the mercies of God. Now there are two ways to get someone to do right. First of all, you can try to do it by strict enforcement of rules. And this may work by fear and trepidation, you see. Or secondly, you can do it by the employment of kindness and mercy. Strict enforcement of the law only proved to be burdensome to the Jews, and in fact, it stirred up sin. They sinned more. But the grace of God causes us to love Him, and loving Him is the only thing that will really cause us to do right. Some people object to the doctrines of grace thinking that God's unmerited favor will cause men to sin more. If God saves you and takes you out from under the law and does not impute sin to your account, won't this just give you a license to sin, they say. Perhaps to an unbeliever, the doctrines of grace seem like a license. But to a believer, the doctrines of grace are the only motivation to forsake sin and to engage in Christian duty. We saw this in chapter six, Romans chapter six, verses 14 and 15 said, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace. What then, shall we sin? Because we are not under the law, but under grace. God forbid. And of course, we have seen it elsewhere in the scriptures. 1 John 4, 19 said, we love him because he first loved us. I wanna point out something here from Paul's opening statement in Romans 12, 1. I want you to notice that Paul does not command the Christian to his duties. I should have put the emphasis on that word command. He does not command the Christian to his duties. Now as an apostle, Paul had great authority. He had the highest authority in the church except for Jesus himself. And I suppose that Paul could have commanded that we present our bodies a living sacrifice. But instead, Paul took the more effective approach and he urged us to do it by the grace of God. Paul says, I beseech you. The word translated beseech is perikaleo in the Greek, which means to invite or to urge. Paul essentially says, I invite you, dear Christian who has been saved by the mercies of God. I issue you an invitation to your Christian duties. I urge you to them, it is not as though I have commanded you because I know that you love God because of his mercies. So I simply urge you to them. The same idea is seen in the word translated therefore. I beseech you therefore. Did you notice that word? The word therefore refers us back to the great doctrines of grace found in the first 11 chapters and especially to the great praise of God in verses 33 through 36. Let's read that. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His counselor, or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto Him again. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever, amen. And so Paul says, I beseech you therefore to present your bodies a living sacrifice. So notice that Paul is encouraging the Roman church to be about their Christian duties based on the sound doctrine of God's great majesty and based on the sound doctrine of God's rich mercies. There was a teenager. who was always interested in his own things. Most teenagers are. Most of us were. And he was never interested in helping out around the house and around the yard. And so his father laid out a whole list of chores and responsibilities for his son. And he said, son, as your father, I'm ordering you to take care of these things before you go out and do your own things. And he made a list for his son to do every day of the week. The son obeyed the father for about two or three days but he did it grudgingly and he griped and he complained about every chore. Soon the son began to skip out of his duties at home and finally he didn't do anything that his father asked him to do. One day the son made a grievous error, a sin. The son stole a car. And he got caught by the police. And he was in jail. And the son thought for sure that his father would send him to a boarding school or send him away somewhere. And the son was terrified of what the father would do. But the father came and spoke to him through the jail cell. And he said, son, here is what I want you to know in light of what has happened I want you to know that I determined to love you before you were ever born. And I determined to love you no matter what. And I want you to know that you will always be my son. It has never crossed my mind to disown you. And it has never crossed my mind to send you away. And furthermore, even though I hate what you did, I offer my unconditional forgiveness. And he said, son, after I bail you out of jail, will you come home and be my son again? And will you be my son forever? And this time, rather than demanding that you do your household duties, let me simply urge you to do your duties, not out of compulsion, but because I love you and because you love me. And tears ran down the son's cheeks. And he said, when I get home, what shall I do first? And he couldn't wait to go home and perform his duties as a son. What a difference there is between service by compulsion and service out of love. And this is what Paul is saying in verse one, you see. Romans 12.1, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. This week I have tried to show that true doctrine is linked very closely to the performance of our Christian duties and the doctrine of God's free grace. by faith alone without the law and without works is the greatest motivation for Christian service that there will ever be. Next week we will consider our great duty in general and that is to present our bodies, that is our whole selves as a living sacrifice unto God. It seems like a very unreasonable request, doesn't it? Paul urges us to give our whole selves as a sacrifice and the question would seem to be who can do it? Who will do it? Is there anyone who will do it? And the answer is yes. The man who considers the vast mercies of God will do it. Would you bow with me, please? Our Heavenly Father, thank you for your great word. Thank you for the doctrine that is found in your word, and thank you, Lord, that is designed to change us. It's designed to give us the encouragement and the motivation to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. Lord, help us to do it. It seems impossible, but help us to do it. Increase our faith, increase our knowledge of your great grace and mercy so that we will do it. And we pray these great things in Christ's name.