The Attitude of a Christian

Romans 12:14-16

June 1, 2008

As you know, Paul is in the middle of a very direct portion of Scripture.

It began in the very first verse of chapter 12.

Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Because of God’s great mercy, we as believers should be motivated

To offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God.

That sacrifice is not a ram, or a lamb, or unleavened bread.

The sacrifice that God desires is our bodies.

And so Paul has spent the remainder of this chapter

Explaining in detail exactly what God wants.

The call on your life is not to sacrifice your firstborn…

It is not to put yourself through horrendous suffering…

It is not to steep yourself in mind numbing ritual…

It starts simply with you using your spiritual gift

To the absolute best of your ability.

Romans 12:6-8 “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.”

· Preachers ought to work hard at being better preachers.

· Teachers ought to work hard at being better teachers.

· Servants ought to look for more opportunities to serve.

· Leaders ought to be more diligent in their leadership.

· Givers ought to give more.

· The merciful should be happy about their ministry.

Using your spiritual gifts in this way, is worship to God

And it is part of what Paul meant when he told you

To “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God.”

From there Paul then began a list of 25 commands

That relate to the specifics of the Christian life.

They are examples of how we are to lay our lives on God’s altar.

Last Sunday morning we saw the purity of a Christian.

Romans 12:9 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.”

Christians should have:

Purity in Devotion – truly love God without hypocrisy

Purity in Discernment – abhor what is evil

Purity in Desire – cling to what is good

In other words take your calling as a Christian seriously

And be a Christian with everything you have.

Sunday night we saw the brotherly love of a Christian.

Romans 12:10-13 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

And if we are to effectively love our brethren, it will require:

Commitment – a true desire to do it and do it well

Composure – because some people are difficult to love

Contribution – because love without contribution is not love

And so thus far, we are seeing a clear picture

Of exactly what sort of life is “acceptable to God”

This morning, the list continues.

We will look at six more of God’s commands this morning,

As we discuss the concept of THE ATTITUDE OF A CHRISTIAN

While Loving God is the first command and

Loving your brother is the second command,

I would think this command is an extremely logical next step.

SO MUCH OF OUR LIVES IS DICTATED BY OUR ATTITUDE.

An unknown author penned this:

“ATTITUDE: I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today…My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have. Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free. Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste. Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive. Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born. Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate because thorns have roses. Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships. Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do. Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge. Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because God has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul. Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of a day I will have! Have a great day…unless you have other plans.”

You understand the huge impact our attitude has upon our lives.

That is not only true for life in general,

But is especially true for our Christian life.

Our attitude greatly affects

How obedient we will be to God in the little things of life.

We have all at times in our lives mourned over those times

When we were not a good witness for Jesus Christ.

James 1:19-20 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

We are reminded of that poor waitress who was the victim or our impatient attitude…

We are reminded of how we hurt our child with a scream because of our bitter and angry attitude…

We all know what it is to fail to live the Christian life as we should have because our attitude was not right.

Our attitude greatly affects our obedience to God,

And it must be shaped long before

The opportunity for obedience manifests itself.

Paul gave the best passage of Scripture on the attitude in the Bible:

Philippians 2:1-11 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We can easily see that the Christian attitude

Begins with a love for God,

Is revealed in obedience to God,

Ends for the glory of God.

The attitude is important,

And this is precisely what Paul is speaking of this morning.

Now the word “attitude” is not mentioned in our text this morning.

The reason I tell you that this portion deals with our attitude

Is because none of these commands can be obeyed off the cuff.

Everything Paul commands of us in this passage

Flies exactly contrary to human nature.

The only way we will be found faithful in regard to these commands

Is if we begin our day with the proper attitude

And determine that if these scenarios present themselves,

We will be ready to respond to the glory of God.

Obedience to these six commands

Are fruit of a proper Christian attitude.

This morning, we will take these 6 commands, and combine them into four points.

These are four practical way to exhibit the proper Christian attitude.

#1 TO THE HOSTILE

Romans 12:14

Paul pulls absolutely no punches in this first command.

It flies in the face of human logic.

“Bless those who persecute you;”

We know persecution is promised

Matthew 10:22 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

2 Timothy 3:12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

But this point is not about the promise of persecution,

This point is about the attitude of the persecuted.

Paul tells us how we are to respond to those who persecute us,

If we truly desire to be a “living sacrifice” for God.

“Bless those who persecute you;”

Now he could have said:

“Ignore those who persecute you;”

“Endure those who persecute you;”

“Pity those who persecute you;”

But Paul took a next step that is foreign to human nature.

“Bless” them.

When someone is persecuting you

It is not enough to simply endure it.

If we truly desire to be “a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God”

We must return their persecution with a blessing.

Which is also mentioned in the second command in this verse.

“Bless and do not curse.”

As Christians we are to have such concern for others,

That even when we deal with those who are hostile against us,

We don’t desire their demise but for them to come to the Lord.

Jesus said:

Luke 6:27-36 "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. "If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

And as you and I know, that is difficult.

Even Paul, who penned this command, had difficulty at times.

Acts 23:1-5 “Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, "Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day." The high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?" But the bystanders said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" And Paul said, "I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK EVIL OF A RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.'"

Paul did what we often would want to do.

The point is, it is extremely difficult to obey such a command,

For it is not human nature.

The only possible shot you and I have is if we first get our attitude right.

Get in the word, and make that decision before it happens.

For as you and I know, this is the attitude of Jesus.

Luke 23:34 “But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.”

1 Peter 2:21-23 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

The point is that the Christian attitude is revealed

When we are faced with the hostile.

It is promised that people in this life will not treat you proper.

At those moments make up your mind to have the attitude of Jesus,

And “Bless those who persecute you;”

That is how we lay our lives on God’s altar.

First, to the hostile

#2 TO THE HAPPY

Romans 12:15a “Rejoice with those who rejoice.”

While this life does promise hardship,

This life also has moments of sheer joy.

There are things in this life that bring true rejoicing for people,

And you and I are called to rejoice with them.

The implication is that we have such concern for them,

And so deeply desire their happiness, that their joy is our joy.

WHEN WE HAVE KIDS

We love them so much, we get joy from their joy.

It is that type of command that Paul commands here.

Be so compassionate towards other people

That you truly rejoice with them when they rejoice.

It speaks a person whose attitude

Is more concerned with the happiness of others,

Than with their own happiness.

Now I do need to say that we are not talking about unrighteousness here.

1 Corinthians 13:6 “[Love] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;”

But on those things in life that are not sinful and bring joy to others,

We are called to rejoice with them.

Luke 15:6 "And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!”

Luke 15:9 "When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!”

In fact, this was the problem of the older brother to the prodigal son.

Luke 15:25-32 "Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. "And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.' "But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.' "And he said to him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'"

And of course the reason the older brother did not rejoice

Is because the benefit his brother received is not what he wanted.

And that lends itself to why our attitude is important here.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE ELSE’S REJOICING IS AT YOUR EXPENSE?

What happens when they get the job you wanted?

What happens when they are able to buy the car you can’t afford?

What happens when they have a child, while you and your spouse cannot?

What happens when their favorite team beats your favorite team?

DO I CARE ENOUGH ABOUT SOMEONE THAT I CAN REJOICE

AT MY EXPENSE AND THEIR GAIN?

That is the Christian attitude.

It was also the attitude of Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The cross wasn’t about His joy, it was about ours.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice.”

We know our attitude by how we respond to the hostile, how we respond to the happy

#3 TO THE HURTING

Romans 12:15b

“weep with those who weep.”

The implication is that I would so elevate what is important to them, that it also becomes that important to me.

I have so much compassion on another person,

That I hurt BECAUSE they are hurting.

Again, we see it best with our kids.

As a parent you love your kids so much that you hurt when they hurt.

It pictures that we would pick up and carry their burdens.

Romans 15:1-2 “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.”

The writer of Hebrews also gave unique perspective on this.

Hebrews 13:3 “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.”

And of course this was the attitude of Jesus:

John 11:33-35 “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept.”

Not only do we “Rejoice with those who rejoice”

But we also “weep with those who weep.”

It pictures an attitude of compassion.

It is the attitude that truly cares for others more than you care for yourself,

Which is exactly what we read earlier in Philippians.

Philippians 2:3-5 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”

To the Hostile To the Happy To the Hurting

#4 “TO THE HELPLESS”

Romans 12:16

And this final verse is really the epitome of the Christian attitude.

Paul begins by saying, “Be of the same mind toward one another”

The idea here is that of unity.

It is the idea of loving others as yourself.

It is the idea of “Doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

2 Corinthians 13:11 “Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

1 Peter 3:8 “To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;”

It highly speaks against that renegade,

“me first”, attitude that stinks of arrogance.

It is a person who has determined to get along with people.

A person who cares more about others than they care about themselves.

It is a selfless attitude.

And to help picture it even better, Paul gives another command,

Which can also almost work as an illustration.

“do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.”

The idea is that all people are important to you,

Not just those who can reward you.

You are concerned about others,

Not concerned about what others can do for you.

Jesus spoke of this:

Luke 14:12-14 “And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Some do for others because in the long run it still benefits them. A Christian does for others because it benefits others.

James spoke of this as well.

James 2:1-4 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”

Your motives are evil when you do such a thing.

James continues:

James 2:5-9 “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

Be truly concerned about others.

It doesn’t matter if they are hostile to you

It doesn’t matter if they are happy

It doesn’t matter if they are hurting

It doesn’t matter if they are helpless

Have an attitude that considers them as more important than you.

And then Paul sums each of these commands up

In this final command.

“Do not be wise in your own estimation.”

We fail to obey each of those commands

When we have an attitude of arrogance.

When we think this life is about my comfort, and my glory, and my happiness, we are not walking with the proper Christian attitude.

That being said,

We are partaking in the Lord’s Supper this morning,

And it is an ordinance that can only be truly obeyed

In the proper Christian attitude.

We often read the portion about examining ourselves.

This morning I want us to back up a little

And see why Paul penned that section.

TURN TO: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

LORD’S SUPPER

DEACON’S FOLD BLANKET

Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

GIVE BREAD TO DEACONS

PRAYER

DEACONS PASS OUT BREAD

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

PARTAKE OF BREAD

Philippians 2:5-11 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

GIVE JUICE TO DEACONS

PRAYER

DEACONS PASS OUT JUICE

1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

PARTAKE OF JUICE

PARTING CHORUS