Thank you, Mark, for leading us again. Appreciate that and good, rich meaning in songs. 

We're continuing our study this morning into the application section of the book of Romans in chapter 12 on our communion service the last Sunday of every month. Can't believe it's the last Sunday already. It's October, so coming quick. So better get ready for winter. It's coming soon, Matt. Soon it's coming. 

Well, we learned some very important truths in verses 1 to 2 of chapter 12 last time concerning biblical sanctification. And Paul exhorts us in this passage to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God, which he says is our reasonable service. And we learned that our spiritual act of worship, our obedience to Christ, is based on the mercies of God. 

And this phrase refers to all of the great doctrines that Paul has expounded concerning justification by grace through faith, regeneration, our new birth, death to sin, death to the law, release from the fear of bondage to death, the fact that we are new creations, new men with new hearts, with new spirits, and the Holy Spirit living in us. The admonition of the New Testament is this. You are new men. Now live like new men. 

And Paul instructs us that this becomes a consistent reality when we stop being conformed by this world and we start being transformed by the renewing of our minds. We learn that this word transform means to have our outward actions come into conformity with the reality of who we are on the inside because of salvation, because of regeneration. This is such a vital truth for us to understand. 

It's the why we can live a new life, the truth of who we are in Christ. If we do not understand this, if we believe that we are still vile, wretched sinners, that sin still dominates and controls us, that we are somehow two men, partially in Adam and partially in Christ, if we misunderstand who we are, then we have no basis for consistent holy living. Presenting our bodies a living sacrifice is not reasonable. It's not logical because we are not free from the controlling power of sin. We are not free from the bondage of the law. And we are not released from the sting of death. We are still who we were. And thus, our expectation becomes to live like we did in Adam. 

Unfortunately, in the church today, teaching is not clear about regeneration, recreation, and the new man in Christ. We are often instructed to put off the old man, to kill the old man, to fight with the sin that still dwells in us. We are justified. We're guaranteed heaven. But there's no real understanding of the transformation that has taken place in us by the grace and power of God and regeneration. And thus, there is little understanding concerning sanctification in the Christian life. 

And I fear that we are most often fighting the battle at the wrong point. And that's out here in our members. Do not touch, do not taste rules and laws to suppress the sin that dwells in us. But this is not the teaching of Paul in the book of Romans. He instructs us that the battle is one of the mind. He says, first, we must know the doctrine. We must understand who we are in Christ, what we have in Him, and why we can live a new life. But then we must choose to reckon these things to be so, to continually renew our minds to these mercies of God that we might increasingly come into conformity outwardly with who we are inwardly. 

And this, by the grace and power of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, Christ living in us. We live not by the letter, but by the Spirit. And that starts with understanding the truth and the nature of the battle and applying that truth in our lives by faith. All of this is the basis for the exhortations that we will see in the rest of this chapter and all the way to the end of the epistle. 

We're going to see many commands concerning how we can overcome evil with good. This morning, we will begin this study in the first section in verses 3 to 8 as we see God's plan and purpose for us within the body of Christ as He has given each one of us gifts for ministering in the body of the Church. 

Let's look at our text together, Romans 12.3. For I say through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we being many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. Or ministry, let us use it in our ministering. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. And we'll stop at that point for our study today. 

I'm going to give you four points on your outline. First, who we are. Second, what we have. Third, a right estimation. And fourth, the body principle. 

Well, we've spent a good deal of time in recent messages discussing who we are in Christ. And again, this is the why, this is the basis for our new life. Romans 6 tells us that when we believe Jesus, we were united with him in his death, burial, and resurrection that our old man and Adam was crucified with Christ and that we died, that we were buried with him and that we were raised to new life. 

Romans 7 goes on to tell us that we died to the law, having been freed from what we were held by and order that for the express purpose that we might now bear fruit to God by the spirit and not by the letter. Colossians 3 and 4 tell us that we have, aorist tense, put off the old man, one time event in the past, that we have put on the new man and we are being, present tense, we are being renewed in the spirit of our mind. 

Let's turn over to 2 Corinthians 5 with me, please. Let's look at what Paul writes there. 2 Corinthians 5, 14. He says, for the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus that if one died for all, then all died. And he died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again. 

Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and he's given to us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God, for he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Who we are is the basis for how we live. We died that we might live for him, the one who died for us, and he has given us a ministry. That is why Paul wrote in Romans 12, one and two, that it is based on the mercies of God that we should present our bodies a living sacrifice, and this is why it is our reasonable service. 

Notice in verse three of our text, Paul uses the word for, a linking word, linking us back to verses one and two, and he begins to talk about the application of these truths in our lives. In verse three, he says, "'For I say, through the grace given to me, "'to everyone who is among you, "'not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, "'but to think soberly, "'as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 

"'For as we have many members in one body, "'but all the members do not have the same function, "'so we being many are one body in Christ, "'and individually members of one another, "'having then gifts differing according to the grace "'that is given to us.'" And here's the instruction, here's the admonition, let us use them. 

We see who we are, and in these verses, we see what we have, and what we have is the grace of God. Paul says, through the grace given to me, verse six, gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us. The measure of faith is grace. Who we are in Christ, and all that this means, and what we have is the grace of God. 

Romans five says that we now stand in grace. Paul tells us that God's grace is sufficient to meet our every need, and we are what we are by the grace of God. In Titus two, Paul tells us that grace teaches us. He says, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us. What does the grace of God teach us? That denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. 

It is the goodness of God, the grace of God, that teaches us holiness. It is the grace of God that empowers us to live for him. Now, in our text this morning, in context, Paul is instructing us concerning the church, the body of Christ, and the grace given to each one of us in the body in the form of gifts for the purpose of edifying one another. 

And first, he says we must have a right estimation. That's what he means when he says think soberly, have a right estimation. Do not think more highly of yourselves than you ought, but think soberly as God has given to each one of us a measure of faith. This is an interesting phrase that God has given to us, each one of us, a measure of faith. This is directly concerning gifts, concerning our role within the body as God has given us gifts to exercise for edification and for his glory. 

Paul's calling on us to make a right estimation of our gift, of our calling within the body, as God has given more to some and less to others in way of responsibility, gifting, and opportunity for service. So we are to make a right estimation in a spirit of humility, he says. We are not to overestimate our gift or our role, not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, but we are also not to underestimate our gifts and our calling, God's intention for us within the body. We are to think soberly, we are to be humble and know that we have what we have, we have by the grace of God. 

But we are to use our gifts. In verse four, he says, we have many members in one body, but all members do not have the same function. So we being many are one body in Christ, individually members of one another, having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. Let us use them, this is the command. God has given to you a measure of faith. He has gifted you according to his grace. He set you within this body, in this local fellowship, the body of Christ for the purpose of ministering to others. 

Now use your gifts, minister your gifts according to the grace given you for the good of your fellow brothers and sisters in the body. So how is it that I can present my body a living sacrifice acceptable to God? Well, the first way is by using the grace gifts that God has given to me for his purposes in the church. 

Turn over to Ephesians four with me, please. Paul writes a similar instruction, Ephesians 4 11. Here he's talking about Jesus giving gifts to the church. And he says, he himself gave some to be apostles and some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastor teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. 

But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ. Now look at verse 16. He says, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. 

Every part does its share and causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. This is God's plan. This is why he by his grace has given to you gifts. 

I was thinking about a little turkey we had this last couple of months, a little turkey chick. And a little turkey chick with chickens, chick, little baby chickens, you can kind of grab them up. You know, we do 1,200 a summer, so we're sometimes handling 200, 300 chickens. And you can kind of grab four or five up by their legs and put them in a crate to move them or whatever. But a turkey, when he's young, you can't grab his leg because it'll pull his leg out of socket. It'll ruin him for life. 

So somewhere along the line, somebody grabbed this little turkey and he had a bum leg. But I thought, I'm going to give that turkey a chance, you know? So we'll let him. And all the turkeys kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And he just kind of was hobbling around. And his leg had healed, but it was messed up. And finally, it was clear he wasn't going to grow. 

See, one part of his body wasn't functioning. And that caused his whole body to suffer. That's a principle that Paul is giving us here in the local body in the church. If one part of the body is suffering, we all suffer. If one part of the body is not functioning, then it hampers the productivity, the fruit of the whole. 

Paul says, make a right estimation of your gifts, of your calling within the body. Use your gifts to edify the body. If we could obey this command as a body, as a fellowship, it would be amazing to see what God could do through us in this body. If everyone would seek to present himself to God, giving wholly all that we have to the ministry that he has for us, if we could be seeking to use to minister our gift for the good of each part, every part doing its share, then we would see the next verses worked out here in our little church. 

Look at verse 9. Romans 12.9. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love and honor, giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 

Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. 

Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

We're going to explore these verses more next month and what it means to overcome evil with good. But wouldn't it be wonderful if these verses characterized our church body? Think how effective we would be in our communities and loving the lost if we had this tremendous love for one another in the church, if we were diligently seeking to minister to one another, to use our gifts as we make a right estimation of what God has given us to do, each of us, individually. 

Paul explains this body principle further in 1 Corinthians 12. Turn to 1 Corinthians 12 with me, at verse 12. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one spirit. For in fact, the body is not one member, but many. 

If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body, just as he pleased. 

Let's look at that, read that again. But now God has set the members, each one of them, that's you, each one of you, in the body, just as he pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed, there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 

No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary, and those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. God has given to me a gift. He's given me a gift to preach and to teach. He's given me a measure of faith to understand and to properly exercise that gift by his grace. 

I should make a right estimation of my role, my gift, and how to exercise it. And that includes the truth that we see here in 1 Corinthians 12, that we are all members of one body, that we all have vital roles and gifts according to the grace of God, and we should all use them for the benefit of each other for the cause of Christ. 

I should not think of myself more highly than I ought, but I also should not fail to exercise my gift because I do not trust the grace of God and his power to work through me to utilize my gift. Every one of us in the body has a gift, has a calling, has the sufficient grace of God and the measure of faith to make a right estimation and use my gift. 

God has provided it all, equipped us, given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, and intends to use us for his purpose and glory. So it's my obligation and my privilege to use my gift and to use it as God intends for the benefit of others. 

We see similar words in Philippians 2. He says, therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if there's any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What mind was in Christ Jesus? The mind of humility, of obedience, even to the point of death on the cross. He says, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. He was God. He is God. But he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 

Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven, of those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father. 

Our mind should be one of trust and obedience to God, committing ourselves to him who judges righteously. And part of that right estimation is faith in God, is trust in his grace, knowing that he is sufficient, that he is able and willing to work in and through us as we walk by faith. Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 3. He says, you are, talking to the believers in Corinth, you are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men. 

Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient, listen, as ministers of the new covenant. Not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. 

God makes us sufficient. Paul reminds us again and again that it is by the grace of God that he ministers, that he preaches Christ, that he encourages the brethren and persuades men to believe, that he takes the rod patiently. It's not that we are sufficient in ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God to minister this new covenant grace. 

My friends, think about the flow of Paul's thoughts here and what this means to your ministry in the body of Christ. It's God who saved me. It is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who created the plan of salvation before the world began and brought it to pass in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It's God who brought by his grace faithful witnesses to me, his spirit working in me to draw me to Christ. It's God who saved me by his grace through faith. 

And not only did he justify me because of Christ, but he also caused me to be born again, regenerated, made alive with a new spirit and a new heart and the Holy Spirit permanently indwelling me to work in me by the very power that raised Jesus from the dead. And it is God by his grace that has designed and brought into being the body of Christ. And he's gifted me individually and given to me a measure of faith that I might minister my gift within this body for its growth and edification so that we all might go out into the world and preach the gospel to lost men and they might believe and be saved and become part of the body, the church. 

And my brother, my sisters, it's God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever ask and think he is faithful, he will do it. We stand in grace, we stand in grace, we trust in the God of grace and we believe him and therefore we obey him. He has given to you grace, gifts to minister as part of this body. 

Paul says, use your gifts, get active in the body, help the body to function fully and freely to accomplish God's will for his glory and for our good. This is part of your reasonable service. This is part of your spiritual act of worship. 

As we move through this great chapter in Romans 12 and on into chapter 13, we're going to see something very important. We touched on this last week in our study of Galatians 3 and we will flesh it out more in that study next week and as we continue in Romans but I wanna look at Romans 8 again as we strive to understand how we serve and live within the body as believers in Jesus Christ. 

Turn to Romans 7 first, if you would please, at verse 20. In Romans 7, 20, it says, "'Now if I do what I will not to do, "'it's no longer I who do it but the sin that dwells in me. "'I find then a law that evil is present with me, "'the one who wills to do good. "'For I delight in the law of God, "'according to the inward man, "'but I see another law in my members, "'warring against the law of my mind "'and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, "'which is in my members.'" 

Now the context here comes out of Romans 7, 5 where Paul writes, "'When we were in the flesh, "'the sinful passions in us were aroused by the law "'so that we bore fruit unto death.'" Okay? In beginning of verse seven, Paul addresses the two questions that arise from this statement. Is the law sin? And in verse 13, is the law what brought death to me? Paul's intent in this passage is to exonerate the law and to highlight indwelling sin as the problem for the man and Adam. 

The law is good, but there's something in me that will not allow me to keep the law, to do what is good, and that is controlling and dominating me. It's indwelling sin and it lives in my members. Verse 23 again, "'But I see another law in my members, "'warring against the law of my mind "'and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, "'which is in my members.'" 

This man in verse 23 is in captivity to the law of sin, which is in his members. But notice the language of chapter eight at verse two. He says, "'For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus "'has made me free from the law of sin and death.'" Verse three, "'For what the law could not do "'in that it was weak through the flesh.'" That's just what we learned back in seven, isn't it? He said, "'I want to keep the law in my mind. "'I know the law's good. "'I want to be good. "'I want to do right. "'But there's another law, "'a principle that lives in me, in my members, "'and it keeps causing me continually, perpetually.'" 

It's all present tense in the Greek. I never, ever do the things I want to do and the things I hate, I always continually, perpetually do them, okay? So he says in verse three of chapter eight, "'For what the law could not do.'" Why could the law not do? Is the law bad? Is the law a problem? No, the law is holy, righteous, and good. 

"'What the law could not do "'in that it was weak in the flesh. "'Because of the sin that dwelled in me in Adam, "'I couldn't keep the law of God.'" What the law could not do, God did. What did God do? "'He sent his own Son "'in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. "'He condemned sin in the flesh.'" Why? 

Verse four, "'That the righteous requirement of the law "'might be fulfilled in us "'who do not walk according to the flesh, "'but according to the Spirit.'" This man is free from the law of sin. This man doesn't walk according to the flesh, he walks according to the Spirit. 

These are two men in our world. The first man is in Adam, the second man is in Christ, and notice what it says about the man in Christ. He has been set free from the law of sin by the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus for the express purpose that he might now live to God and bear fruit for the glory of God. That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the Spirit or according to the law but according to the Spirit. 

And note quickly that this is the very thing he said about the believer back in 7.6. Contrasting verse 5, in 7.6 he said, but now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve, right, it's not that we just do whatever we want, we're slaves to Christ now, we're to serve Jesus, our Lord. We were released from the law, that which we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. 

So what is the righteous requirement of the law? When we work through these wonderful verses in chapter 12, when we come to chapter 13, I want you to look with me at what Paul writes here, chapter 13 at verse 8. 13.8 he says, "'Owe no one anything,' except what? To love one another. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandment, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet, and if there's any other commandment are all summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.'" 

What is it that we can now do because of what God did in Jesus, condemning sin in the flesh? What is it that we can now do in Christ that we could not do in Adam? We can now love, agape, self-sacrificial love, and this is manifest through us by the grace of God as we walk by faith. This is first toward God, right? We love Him because He first loved us, to those who believe Jesus is precious. And next, this great love that God has poured out into our hearts is for the body, for our brothers and sisters in Christ, to love one another. Jesus said they will know you, that you are my disciples by this, that you have love for one another. I give you a new commandment, love one another. 

And ultimately this love is toward the lost, desiring for them to be saved, loving men as God loves men, taking to them the gospel, the message of salvation through faith in Christ. The command of the new covenant is this, believe Jesus and love one another, 1 John 3, 23. We can now love because of what God has done in us. 

And now by the mercies of God, by the grace of God, we can have His love poured out through us to others. Paul says within the body, in the church, God has given to each believer a special gift of grace and a measure of faith to minister that gift. Our brothers and sisters, let us love one another by using our gifts. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful, thankful for Your grace, Your mercy. Thank You for the plan of salvation, that You gave Jesus as a propitiation, a full payment for our sins, Lord, punishing Jesus for our sins, He who knew no sin became sin for us in order that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Thank You that You impute to us Your righteousness, making us fit for heaven. 

And thank You that You have also recreated us, regenerated us, gave us a new spirit and a new heart and that You Yourself have come to live in us, to live Your life out through us, to accomplish Your will and Your purpose. Help us to trust You, to believe You, to obey You. Help us to love one another and help us to use our gifts that we might minister in the body, bring edification to the body. Help to equip each other to go out and do the work of ministry and most of all to bring glory to You. 

In Jesus' name. Amen.