What moves you to worship God?
The sound of your favorite song? A breathtaking sunset? Your favorite preacher preaching your favorite text?
While all of these can move us to worship God, in Romans 12 we find another motive that stirs our heart to respond to God by giving Him all that we are.
Romans 12:1 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.”
True worship of God is found in giving our bodies, our entire self, to God as a living sacrifice. We are to worship God through everything we think, do, and say. And to what does Paul appeal to motivate us to respond in obedience to this high call?
Mercy.
God’s mercy.
God’s many, many mercies.
But, what particular mercies does he mean?
In Romans 12:1 Paul points us back to the first eleven chapters of the book that chronicle the many mercies of God toward His people in Christ. These mercies are intended to warm our heart toward God so that we might respond to Him by offering our entire lives to Him as worship.
In a recent sermon on Romans 12:1-2, one of our pastors, Shai Linne, walked us through God’s many mercies in Romans 3-11 and showed us how God’s mercy moves us to worship.
You can listen to Shai on the Mercies of God as you read through the list.
3:24 – the mercy of justification – we have been declared righteous by God
3:24 – the mercy of redemption- we have been purchased by the blood of Jesus
3:25 – the mercy of propitiation- Jesus absorbs the wrath of God on our behalf
4:7-8 – the mercy of forgiveness of sins
5:1 – the mercy of peace with God through Jesus Christ
5:2 – the mercy of access to the grace of God
5:2 – the mercy of the hope of Glory of God
5:3 – the mercy of joy even in the midst of suffering
5:5 – the mercy of the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit
5:5 – the mercy of the Holy Spirit Himself
5:8 – the mercy of the Love of God
5:8 – the mercy of Christ’s death for Us while we were still sinners
5:9 – the mercy of being saved from the wrath of God
5:11 – the mercy of being reconciled to God
5:20 – the mercy of abounding grace
5:21 – the mercy of eternal Life
6:2 – the mercy of us dying to sin
6:5 – the mercy of us being united with Christ in His Death
6:5 – the mercy of being united with Christ in His resurrection
6:13 – the mercy of being brought from death to life by God
6:18 – the mercy of being freed from slavery to sin
6:18 – the mercy of being made slaves of righteousness
6:22 – the mercy of sanctification, that we are being made more like Jesus
8:1 – the mercy that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus
8:3 – the mercy of being set free from law of sin and death
8:9 – the mercy of the indwelling Spirit of God
8:15 – the mercy that we have been adopted as sons of God
8:17 – the mercy of being heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ
8:23 – the merciful promise of the redemption of our bodies
8:26 – the mercy of the Spirit’s help in our weakness
8:27 – the mercy of the intercession of the Spirit
8:28 – the mercy that God works all things together for our good
8:29 – the mercy of being foreknown by God
8:29 – the mercy of being predestined to conformity to the image Christ by God
8:30 – the mercy of being called by God
8:30 – the mercy of being justified by God
8:30 – the mercy of being glorified by God
8:31 – the mercy that God is for us
8:32 – the mercy of God promising to graciously give us all things
8:34 – the mercy of Christ Jesus interceding for us
8:39 – the mercy that nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
9:18 – the mercy of the sovereign mercy of God
9:23 – the mercy of the riches of His glory being made known to vessels of mercy
9:25 – the mercy of Gentiles being called the people of God
9:33 – the mercy that we will not be put to shame
10:17 – the mercy of faith that came from hearing the word of Christ
10:20 – the mercy we found God when we weren’t seeking Him
11:5 – the mercy of being chosen by grace
11:17 – the mercy of being grafted into the people of God
11:22 – the mercy of the kindness of God
11:33 – the mercy of the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.
“How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!”
These mercies are what move us to respond in worship to God.
His love moves us to love others (1 John 4:19). His service moves us to serve others (John 13:14). His forgiveness moves us to extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us (Ephesians 4:32). His welcoming us in Christ moves us to gracefully welcome others (Rom. 15:7).
Let this be a cue to us to study and meditate deeply on God’s mercies. As we do, let’s plead with God to move our hearts to respond in worship that brings Him everlasting glory and us everlasting joy.