What does First B Jackson teach about romans 12?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on Romans 12 starts with the word 'therefore.' Carl, stepping in for Ray one Sunday, opened by drawing a line through the whole letter: chapters one through eleven lay out what to believe, and Romans 12 is where Paul turns to how to live in light of it. The 'therefore' is the hinge, pointing back through everything Paul has already established about guilt, grace, and God's mercy to both Jews and Gentiles, and making all of that the basis for what follows.
The first two verses set the frame. The call is to present yourself as a living sacrifice, which is a voluntary act. God is not forcing anyone. Pastor Ray pressed on the continuous quality of both sides of verse two: 'do not be conforming' is an everyday thing because the current of culture will simply carry a person along, and 'be being transformed' is something God does, though a person has to be willing. The pattern of this world Ray named as individualism, self-indulgence, self-sufficiency, pride, and fear of the other. The renewal of the mind is the mechanism by which a person gradually begins to discern God's will, stopping the habit of overestimating themselves and starting to see both their limits and their God-given gifts more clearly.
The gifts listed in the chapter, prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy, are not achievements. They are things God has wired into different people. Ryan made the point plainly: whatever God has gifted you to do, be doing it, and do it without pretending. The second half of the chapter gets very specific about behavior inside the body and toward people outside it. Pastor Nathan showed that several of the phrases in Romans 12:9-21 function less as direct commands and more as a portrait of what love looks like in practice, set inside the larger frame of God's mercy and grace that Paul established at the start of the chapter. When it comes to blessing those who persecute you and refusing to return evil for evil, Nathan read that as the same logic Paul uses in Romans 2:4: it is the kindness of God that leads people to repentance, and responding to an enemy with generosity either becomes the means by which they draw closer to the gospel, or removes any excuse they might have had for rejecting it.
Taught from Romans 12:1-2 · Romans 12:9-21 · Romans 12:3-21 · Romans 6:13 · Romans 2:4
The passage taught · 1 Peter 2:23
23 Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- January 21, 2024 Many Parts, One Body Romans 12 shows us how to live in light of God's mercy: present yourself wholly to God, renew your mind, and serve one another with your God-given gifts.
- September 11, 2016 Love Must Be Sincere Romans 12 shows love without hypocrisy not as a checklist but as a Spirit-empowered way of life, overcoming evil with good even toward enemies.
- September 4, 2016 By the Mercies of God, Present Yourself Romans 12 calls every believer to present themselves as a living sacrifice. Pastor Ray walks through spiritual gifts and what faithful service looks like in the church.
- August 28, 2016 A Reasonable Response to the Mercies of God Romans 12:1-2 calls believers to offer themselves fully to God. Carl explores what that means, why God's mercy compels it, and how transformation actually happens.
- August 28, 2016 Offer Yourselves: A Reasonable Response Carl walks through Romans 12:1-2, asking why believers should offer themselves to God and how it happens, grounding the answer in the mercies listed throughout Romans.