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Sermon #3300

Present Your Bodies

A Sermon on Romans 12:1-2

Originally preached Oct. 29, 1965

Scripture

Romans 12:1-2 ESV KJV
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 …

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Sermon Description

The Bible offers many commentaries about the spiritual, but how can we glorify God with our physical bodies? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides 3 key points to why and how we must Glorify God with our bodies in his sermon on Romans 12:1-2. First, that the whole person is to be saved, not just a man’s mind and spirit. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that we must never leave out the body in our ideas of redemption because it is the “temple of the Holy Ghost” and should be treated as such. Although we will someday leave the body, it is not simply flesh that houses our soul. It is instead, a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Secondly, we must glorify God with our bodies because the soul must have a body to express itself. We are not just souls floating around inside of bodies. No, we are intelligent beings that can think, see, and do physical acts. The body, soul, and mind are all intertwined and when combined, they make us who we are. Thirdly, we must not disregard the eternal importance of our physical body because it is one of the chief sources of temptation and sin. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states, “The greatest fight for every Christian is the fight against the temptation of the body.” Sin is lurking around every corner. We must always be on the lookout to protect ourselves from bodily temptation. To counteract our sinful tendencies, we must present our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” Like Paul states, we must sacrifice our own sinful desires for eternity. We want to preserve our bodies to be “holy and acceptable to God”. If we strive for this, then we will be ready when we must inevitably present them to God.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul is explaining why and how Christians should live the Christian life in Romans 12:1-2.
  2. There are two great motives for living the Christian life: understanding God's mercies and having a heart touched by them.
  3. Paul says to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This means offering ourselves as slaves to God.
  4. The body refers to the physical body. The Christian life involves the whole person - body, soul and spirit. The body will also be redeemed.
  5. The body is the instrument through which the soul acts and expresses itself. The body needs to be offered to God.
  6. The body is a chief source of temptation and sin. Sin takes advantage of the body. Christians must fight against sin in the body.
  7. Christians are to glorify God with their whole being, including the body. They are to offer their bodies as living sacrifices.
  8. A living sacrifice means offering your body continually, not just once. It is an ongoing process.
  9. A holy sacrifice means a sacrifice without blemish, set apart to God.
  10. An acceptable sacrifice is pleasing to God, like the sweet smelling sacrifices of the Old Testament.
  11. Many Christians today neglect offering their bodies to God, but it is essential. Some teach that what you do with your body does not matter if you are saved in your spirit. But this is false and dangerous.
  12. Christians are to glorify God with their bodies through living and holy sacrifices acceptable to Him.

The Book of Romans

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.