Questions:
1) What is your own understanding of the passage?
2) Is there examples of undying commitment in daily life?
3) If you have never read a commentary on the book of Romans before, try this extract. A sample of an in-depth bible study from R. Kent Hughes’ book on Romans http://thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/Theology-to-Doxology
4) What is your own understanding of the passage?
5) Is there examples of undying commitment in daily life?
The Basis of Commitment (1a):
Both Ephesians and this passage in
Romans moves from doctrine, doxology to duty/practice. The greater our
comprehension of what God has done for us, the greater our commitment should
be. Practically applied, Christ’s gift, meditated on, accepted, taken to heart,
is a magnet drawing us to deepest commitment to him. Immense vision will bring
immense commitment. That is what Isaac Watts meant when he wrote:“ Love so amazing, so divine
demands my soul, my life, my all.”
The character of commitment (1b)
The totality of commitment comes dramatically to us through the language of sacrifice. The Greek translated “to offer” is a technical term used for the ritual presentation of a sacrifice. “Your bodies” referring to more than skin and bones, signifies everything we are—our totality. “Sacrifices” refers to the holocaust in which the offering is totally consumed. Old Testament sacrifices pervade as “living…holy…pleasing.” The believer isn’t killed as the Old Testament sacrifices were, but remains alive. We are to be living sacrifices in the deep theological sense of “a new life”. We are also to be “holy” in that we have renounced sin and are set apart to God. Finally, we are “pleasing” sacrifices not because we deserve to be accepted, but because the offerings are true to God’s specifications.
The character of commitment (1b)
The totality of commitment comes dramatically to us through the language of sacrifice. The Greek translated “to offer” is a technical term used for the ritual presentation of a sacrifice. “Your bodies” referring to more than skin and bones, signifies everything we are—our totality. “Sacrifices” refers to the holocaust in which the offering is totally consumed. Old Testament sacrifices pervade as “living…holy…pleasing.” The believer isn’t killed as the Old Testament sacrifices were, but remains alive. We are to be living sacrifices in the deep theological sense of “a new life”. We are also to be “holy” in that we have renounced sin and are set apart to God. Finally, we are “pleasing” sacrifices not because we deserve to be accepted, but because the offerings are true to God’s specifications.
Not only is commitment to be total,
it is also logical. I am glad I first memorized this in the King James Version
which more accurately represents the last phrase of the verse 1,”….which is
your reasonable service,” rather than the NIV’s “which is your spiritual
worship.” Cranfield is correct in maintaining that the root idea of the word
“logikos" is "logical.” For Paul, true worship in offering ourselves to God is
reasonable or logical because it is consistent with a proper understanding of
the truth of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. Total commitment is the only
rational course to take when you really see who God is. Nothing else makes any
sense.
As Cranfield says:"Halfway commitment is irrational.
To decide to give part of your life God and keep other parts for yourself—to
say “Everything is yours, Lord, but this relationship, this deal, this
pleasure”—is beyond spiritual logic!
"The intelligent understanding of
worship, that is the worship which is consonant with the truth of the gospel,
is indeed nothing less than the offering of one’s whole self in the course of
one’s concrete living, in one’s inward thoughts, feelings and aspirations, but
also in one’s whole self in the course of one’s concrete living, in one’s
inward thoughts, feelings and aspirations, but also in one’s words and deeds".
If we are worshiping apart from
commitment to God, it is false worship. We are deceiving ourselves if we are
doing “Christian things” but are not consecrated to Jesus Christ. Sam Shoemaker
said it well: “To be a Christian means to give as much of myself as I can to as
much of Jesus Christ as I know.” This is why as we grow in knowledge of of his
mercy we should be committed at age twenty-one than sixteen, and more so at
thirty-five, forty-five, sixty and seventy.”
6) Are there questions that
Kent Hughes doesn’t answer?
The renewing of the mind
The renewing of the mind
7) The bible seems to depict life
like an examination, where there needs to be a renewing of the mind. What 4 tips would you give someone from your faculty, who wanted to "renew" their mind?Malaysian Christian David Chong Wui Howediscusses what this means for students in http://www.scribd.com/doc/77551012/Love-God-With-All-Your-Mind
Here is an extract:
Here are four simple suggestions which are by no means exhaustive:
Our mind needs to be fed.
You are what you eat. If you eat junk food, your body will be weak or sick. You are what you read also. If you read healthy, solid books, your mind will also develop strong mental muscles or habits. There is no short cut. Let’s start small: Have we read the whole Bible at least once? LT Jeyachandran: If we don’t even know what’s inside this book, why do we believe it is God’s word?
Our minds need exercise.
Memorizing bible verses and facts alone doesn’t mean that we have developed a Christian mindset.
We need to re-imagine creatively and critically how to apply the biblical teachings of creation, sin, and redemption to life issues we face daily in the marketplace as a lawyer, artist, businessperson, teacher, healthcare
workers etc. Advertisement: The Catalyst website has many interesting helpful resources to equip us to do just that. Start with your own interests and passions.
If you are a student, do you think Christianly about the subjects you learn on campus?
I once met a student in church who was studying psychology at HELP
Institute. So I encouraged her: “Wow, that’s an interesting field. There are many areas in which psychology overlap to what the Bible teaches about the soul. Some faculty members like Dr Goh Chee Leong are committed Christians”. What she told me next broke my heart: “You know what, most Christians would frown when they hear that I’m doing psychology and you are one of few people who actually encouraged to pursue it”. I know there are some theories in psychology that may be incompatible with the Christian
faith. But in every discipline, including law, economics, arts and science, you’d find some theories which do not fit well with our beliefs. If we discourage people from studying and run away then who’s going to get in there and do better psychology, better economics and better science from a biblical outlook? Speak to the pastors and see how you may discern what is true, beautiful and right expressed in these disciplines of your research. They could well be your “fulltime ministry” in future.
Volunteer to join or lead evangelism groups like Alpha or Christianity Explored where small groups are trained in the art of giving a reason for our faith in Christ. So you learn to handle frequently asked questions from seekers with humility, confidence and knowledge. When you are stumped once, just say “I don’t know but I’d find out for you” – then go home and do your homework, ask around and get back to them. That way,all of us learn to grow in our journey of faith.Can you imagine what the transformation of our spirituality and witness in society looks like when our minds are regularly renewed with such practices?
It is a lifelong project that requires lots of energy and time, but the effort will be worth your while. And you’ll never know just when a curious young believer may approach you with questions like“ Why did God create the dinosaurs?” You know what, recently, a student in MMU asked me about the dinosaurs and how they fit in Genesis. Ask and you shall be asked in return. Do you know how I answered him? Basically I gave him a few possible Christian answers to that question, some pros and cons in each theory depending on how you look at the fossils and how you understand the book of Genesis. But in the end, the Bible is not meant to be a biological textbook to tell us everything about dinosaurs. Genesis tells us who created the universe and why everything is created, but its main purpose is not to tell us specifically how it all came about. Then one female student chipped in: “If God didn’t create dinosaurs, we won’t have any petroleum today! Our cars depend on fossil fuel ma...” And I thought “Ya hor…Have you ever thought of becoming a theologian?”
The point is this: Loving God with“ all our mind” does not mean that we can understand absolutely everything about God and His ways. Because God is God, and we are finite creatures, there will always be mystery. And some of our questions will only be answered when we meet God one day. That should not be an excuse for us to be lazy in our thinking, but it is a needed reminder that there is a limit to our ability to reason and sometimes, all we can do is save up our questions for heaven… To ask God when we finally meet Him face to face.
THE CHALLENGE IS TO STAY COMMITTED
Here is an extract:
Here are four simple suggestions which are by no means exhaustive:
Our mind needs to be fed.
You are what you eat. If you eat junk food, your body will be weak or sick. You are what you read also. If you read healthy, solid books, your mind will also develop strong mental muscles or habits. There is no short cut. Let’s start small: Have we read the whole Bible at least once? LT Jeyachandran: If we don’t even know what’s inside this book, why do we believe it is God’s word?
Our minds need exercise.
Memorizing bible verses and facts alone doesn’t mean that we have developed a Christian mindset.
We need to re-imagine creatively and critically how to apply the biblical teachings of creation, sin, and redemption to life issues we face daily in the marketplace as a lawyer, artist, businessperson, teacher, healthcare
workers etc. Advertisement: The Catalyst website has many interesting helpful resources to equip us to do just that. Start with your own interests and passions.
If you are a student, do you think Christianly about the subjects you learn on campus?
I once met a student in church who was studying psychology at HELP
Institute. So I encouraged her: “Wow, that’s an interesting field. There are many areas in which psychology overlap to what the Bible teaches about the soul. Some faculty members like Dr Goh Chee Leong are committed Christians”. What she told me next broke my heart: “You know what, most Christians would frown when they hear that I’m doing psychology and you are one of few people who actually encouraged to pursue it”. I know there are some theories in psychology that may be incompatible with the Christian
faith. But in every discipline, including law, economics, arts and science, you’d find some theories which do not fit well with our beliefs. If we discourage people from studying and run away then who’s going to get in there and do better psychology, better economics and better science from a biblical outlook? Speak to the pastors and see how you may discern what is true, beautiful and right expressed in these disciplines of your research. They could well be your “fulltime ministry” in future.
Volunteer to join or lead evangelism groups like Alpha or Christianity Explored where small groups are trained in the art of giving a reason for our faith in Christ. So you learn to handle frequently asked questions from seekers with humility, confidence and knowledge. When you are stumped once, just say “I don’t know but I’d find out for you” – then go home and do your homework, ask around and get back to them. That way,all of us learn to grow in our journey of faith.Can you imagine what the transformation of our spirituality and witness in society looks like when our minds are regularly renewed with such practices?
It is a lifelong project that requires lots of energy and time, but the effort will be worth your while. And you’ll never know just when a curious young believer may approach you with questions like“ Why did God create the dinosaurs?” You know what, recently, a student in MMU asked me about the dinosaurs and how they fit in Genesis. Ask and you shall be asked in return. Do you know how I answered him? Basically I gave him a few possible Christian answers to that question, some pros and cons in each theory depending on how you look at the fossils and how you understand the book of Genesis. But in the end, the Bible is not meant to be a biological textbook to tell us everything about dinosaurs. Genesis tells us who created the universe and why everything is created, but its main purpose is not to tell us specifically how it all came about. Then one female student chipped in: “If God didn’t create dinosaurs, we won’t have any petroleum today! Our cars depend on fossil fuel ma...” And I thought “Ya hor…Have you ever thought of becoming a theologian?”
The point is this: Loving God with“ all our mind” does not mean that we can understand absolutely everything about God and His ways. Because God is God, and we are finite creatures, there will always be mystery. And some of our questions will only be answered when we meet God one day. That should not be an excuse for us to be lazy in our thinking, but it is a needed reminder that there is a limit to our ability to reason and sometimes, all we can do is save up our questions for heaven… To ask God when we finally meet Him face to face.
THE CHALLENGE IS TO STAY COMMITTED
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