I've been walking through this series dealing with the things in the church, the focuses in the church that we need to continue to reform. This year we will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and one of the greatest truths that came out of that time in the history of the church. was the truth of semper reformanda, always reforming. We ought to be a people who are constantly and consistently looking at our practices and looking at our faith and evaluating those things in light of the Scriptures. And so how are we doing? There are things that we need to make sure are in line with the Scriptures, friends. And so, a few weeks ago, I laid out a foundation, a three-fold foundation. Everything the church does has to be built upon a foundation concerning the grace of God, the gospel of God, and the glory of God. All of these things in Christ Jesus are our focus. So how do we magnify Christ's gospel, Christ's grace, and Christ's glory in our church and in our world. And upon that foundation, we have four primary pillars in the church. The first that we spoke of was gathering together, how the church comes and assembles. The second of which we looked at last week, growing together. What does it mean to be a church that is discipled on these principles of grace, gospel, and glory? And today, I believe appropriately, we are going to discuss what it means to be a church based upon the grace, gospel, and glory of Christ. What it means to be a church that gives together. We are a giving church. But are we giving in the right way and for the right purposes? That has to be a question we are constantly asking. Before we look to Romans 12, I want to read to you just briefly from Matthew 6, starting with verse 19, Jesus' words as part of the Sermon on the Mount. He said, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourself treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Where is our treasure, church? What do we treasure most? Because that's what it is that God desires of you. The gospel is best said, I believe, by recognizing that Jesus didn't simply come down to earth and die on a cross so that He can be something that is added to your life. Jesus came down and died on the cross so that you would give up your life and cling to Him. What do you treasure, church? Let's stand this morning as we read from Romans 12, beginning with verse 1, and we will read through verse 13 today. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, do not think of himself more highly than he ought to think. but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of his faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually all have the same function." Individually, rather, are members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them if prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service and serving. The one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, and the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Verse 9, let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful and zeal, but be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints. And seek to show hospitality. Let's pray. Lord, today this is Your Word. Father, we are thankful again that You have preserved it for us. That through the mouths of the prophets and apostles, through their pens, that Father, that You have given us all the words necessary for faith and life. So Lord, may we live, may we worship, may we serve in accordance with the standards that we see here in your word. And Father, may in all these things, we seek to glorify the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, our Savior, for it's in his name we pray, amen. Amen, you may be seated. So a quick contextual statement, a few statements about the context here. Many of the greatest chapters, in my opinion, in all of Scripture on the nature of salvation can be found in the book of Romans. It's a fantastic book. And we see in the passages in the chapters leading up to chapter 12 that there's these great statements about the nature of salvation and how God is working all of these things out to bring to it an end that He has ordained. But we see here in chapter 12 sort of a change. Now that salvation and the nature of which has been established, we now see here in chapter 12 what the expectations of the fruit of one's salvation ought to look like. We have been saved, but for what reason? And here, Paul lays out for us in this letter what some of those expectations might be. If you've got a bulletin on your way in, feel free to take out your outline as we walk quickly through this text today. Three things. as we've been understanding these last few weeks, three things that we are attempting to understand today. The gospel of Christ as it is laid out for us in giving, the grace of Christ in giving, and the glory of Christ in giving and through giving. These are the foundations we find in this text, so let's begin to take it apart. First of all, the gospel of Christ in giving. What does the gospel do to us? For those of us who have been saved, who have experienced the truth of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us on that cross, Paul says, therefore, to those who know Christ, therefore, I appeal to you brothers, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. We are being compelled here by God's mercy. Because of God's mercy, because of the work of His gospel in your heart and life, we are now being compelled to do something. And what is that something? It is not insignificant what we are being called to do. We are being called to be sacrifices on the altar of the gospel. Because of what Christ has done for us, we are now to live in such a way that honors Him. Friends, I want you to understand that there is nothing natural in our human nature that would compel us, that would propel us toward self-sacrifice. That's not naturally who we are. We are a people that are naturally compelled and propelled by self-preservation. What can I do so that my life is better and easier? What can I do to sustain myself and sustain my happiness? This in man's natural state is our response to this world and this culture. And so when someone would come and willingly lay down his life, lay down his treasure, lay down his finances for Christ, there is something different happening in him. This is something outside of his natural desire. So if we know Christ, we will be compelled by the mercy of Christ to be living sacrifices. Friends, when we come to know Jesus Christ, we have received a new nature. His nature. A nature that is alien to us in the natural human. We are now held to a higher standard. And so, friends, when we have received the nature of Christ, it is only to be expected that we would act in the same way that Christ acted. As He laid down His life for others, we are now called to give up our life for Him. So we are compelled by God's mercy. If we have been saved, we are called to be givers. Second, look with me at verse 2. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. We are called not only to be compelled by God's mercy because of our salvation, but to be conformed not to the nature of this world. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you should look more like Jesus and less like culture. So as we give of ourselves, Christ takes us and molds us to look like Himself. The fruit of salvation, friends, is repentance, not worldliness. And if we are to be like Christ, that has to be our banner. May we be a people who don't simply repent once at the altar at the moment of salvation, but may we be a people who are constantly walking in repentance so that we might be conformed into the image of Christ and not the image of this world. Let us look like Jesus. The gospel, it says, transforms and renews our mind. This sort of renewal is not a natural human category. This is not what we would do if left simply to our own devices. We're naturally disposed to self-preservation, not self-sacrifice. Friends, in Christ, we are different. What is God's will for my life? It's one of the most common questions that's being asked in this world today. What is God's will for my life? And the Bible here tells us that for those of us who are in Christ, we are to discern God's will and pursue that which is good and acceptable and perfect. This is not the desires of the world to do those things which Christ would say are good and acceptable and perfect. In fact, it wouldn't have even been a possibility for you to do these things prior to knowing Christ. Gospel transforms us into a new creation that is now eager to give in a way that the old creation would have been reluctant to do so. So that is the gospel of Christ in giving. Jesus has saved you, not merely so that you can someday arrive at heaven, although that's certainly a fantastic byproduct of your salvation, but Jesus has saved you, friend, so that you, right now, can be a living sacrifice that is wholly pleasing unto God. That is the gospel. Second, What does grace do concerning our giving? Look with me at verse 3. For by grace, by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to his own measure of faith that God has assigned. So grace, friends, I want you to know, has given us in Christ a level playing field. You are no better than your neighbor in Christ. Sure, you may have more money or drive a nicer car, or they may have more money or drive a nicer car than you. These are worldly things, and in Christ, who cares? What the gospel does, it is the great equalizer. What grace claims to us is the great equalizer. You were not good enough to save yourself. Your sin was so heinous that God had to become a man and die upon a tree. That is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter how much money you have. It doesn't matter how hard you work. It doesn't matter your social status or what you do with your life. In Christ, we are all the same. Because we acknowledge that we are sinners. And we acknowledge that we deserve hell and damnation. But in Christ, He has promised. He has promised to make us new creatures. It's a level playing field. In the gospel, in the grace of Christ, we can no longer say that we are better than someone else. And as a result, friends, God has knit us together with a function. Verses 4 through 8 speak to us, speak to the church about a plurality of functions. A plurality of functions. The many of us who have gathered together here today at Grace Community Church, God has gifted you with something that can contribute to the whole and make each of us better for it. We are called to give together. Because if we are not on the same page concerning our gifts and our talents and our treasures, then we are not as good as God has called us to be. Each of us has been given a role, a gift, a function in the church. And friends, we are called to serve that function. And it is by God's grace that we've been given these things. Don't for a moment begin to think with a haughty spirit that your gift is better or more important than someone else's. Again, if we have a level playing field, then that means that the gifts that God has given to us weren't something that we've earned or developed ourself, but were given to us by God. And so no man can boast. This is the beauty of God's grace, the truth that we need each other, that in God's grace that we even as a body of believers complete each other. May we rely on those truths. May we see that it levels the playing field and that each of us have a gift to contribute to the body. Finally, finally, the glory of Christ in giving. Look with me at verse nine and following. Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints. And seek to show hospitality." Here, friends, we see the results of giving. I want you to know that one of the greatest results of being a people who give together is that Christ is glorified in our midst. If we give in the way that we've been called to give, whether it be through serving on some sort of ministry team, whether that be going and preaching the gospel in the dark places in Africa that have never heard of Jesus Christ, whether it be that we have financial means and are able to give to the church in a great and mighty way. Friends, none of these things are things that we can take credit for or claim as any sort of greatness in ourselves, but rather we acknowledge that the results of giving is for the glory of Jesus Christ. It's not for ourselves. When the church uses its gifts, these things will result. The scripture tells us right here what these results are. When the church uses these gifts, there will be genuine love in the company of other believers. There will be a hatred of evil and a love of good. There will be brotherly love and affection. There will be honorable service to one another. We will be zealous, fervent in serving the Lord. This is the result of giving. We sharpen one another. We serve the Lord with our gifts. And God gets the glory. Second, we are called to rejoice in the gifts. To thank the Lord for what He has blessed us with. Look with me again at verses 11 and 12. Do not be slothful and zeal, but be fervent in the Spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constantly in prayer. Friends, this is language here of thanksgiving. We glorify Christ when we praise Him for His good gifts. Not when we take credit for them ourselves or claim some sort of superiority over another person because of the giftedness we have received. We glorify Christ when we praise Him for His good gifts. We also glorify Christ when we use these gifts, the gifts of his blessing to be a blessing to others and back to Christ himself. Let us not simply receive these gifts. Let us not simply. Thank the Lord for these gifts, though we ought to be thankful, but may we take these gifts and return them to the service of the Lord that they might be multiplied. May the Lord use us. Finally. We've seen the results of giving. We've spoken of the rejoicing that is necessary in the gifts. And then finally, we are called to respond to needs. Why has God gifted you the way that he has? Well, I think verse 13 tells us we're called to contribute to the saints, to the needs of the saints and to show hospitality. We glorify Christ when we meet the needs of others with the gifts the Lord has given to us. What are we doing to meet those needs? Church, we have a great opportunity each week as we give offerings to meet those needs. And that is a fantastic way, a necessary, in fact, I would say that that is a matter of obedience as to whether or not you are faithfully tithing and giving unto the Lord of your finances. But that is not all that the Lord desires of you when it comes to giving. We are called to give of our time. We're called to give of our talents, those gifts that He's blessed us with. We're called to give of our treasures, our finances, but the thing that God wants most, let me read it to you one more time. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. More than your time and your talents and your treasure, what God desires for you to give most of all is you. All of you. Not a part of you, not a mere 10% of you. Why? Because as Jesus again says back in Matthew 6, where your treasure is, there your heart is also. God wants your heart. Friend, if you're here today and perhaps you are thinking to yourself, well, I don't have a gift. I want to reassure you, if you're a believer in Jesus Christ, He has gifted you in some way in the work and service of His ministry. He has called you to be faithful about tithing and giving of finances to support the work of the local church. He has called you to be faithful in searching out in your own heart how God has gifted you so that you can give back to the local church and to the community for the furtherance of the gospel. So if you're a believer, you may not be aware of your gift, but I want to reassure you, you have one, at least one. But perhaps you're of another category today. Maybe you're here this morning and you don't yet know Jesus Christ. Maybe you're here this morning and you're thinking, well, I don't have this gift because I don't have this savior. Friend, I want you to know that today you can know the savior. He loves you. He died upon a cross to purchase you, to pay for you, so that His wrath would not fall upon you on that day of judgment. And the Scriptures are clear that if we would simply believe and repent, that He would save us, that He would make us a new creation. And so friend, I wanna encourage you today, myself and some of our elders will be up here. I would love to talk with you about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We'd love to pray over you if you have some sort of need. If you're here today and perhaps you're a believer, but you're looking for discernment and understanding how God has gifted you so that you can join with the rest of the church in giving, I would love to talk with you to help you to discern what your gift might be. But friend this morning, Would you in your heart begin considering how the Lord is calling you to give? He's already given you so much, friend. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, He has given you His gospel, something external of you, He has given you His grace, something that is internal of you, and now He's given you a task, which is to return to Him glory that He deserves. In all of these things, because of what Christ has done for us, we're called to give back. So consider in your heart how the Lord has laid upon it what you are to give.