Monday: Dying Comes Before Knowing God’s Will
Many Christians sincerely seek to know God’s will for their lives. “If only I could know God’s will for my life, I would sacrifice everything for Him.” But even after promising God this, we still may be confused about what His will is. The reason for this confusion may be found in Romans 12:1-2. Paul is describing how we can know God’s will, and he makes an important point: if you want to know what God’s will is, you have to sacrifice first!
Read Romans 12:1-2. Paul writes that we will be able to “test and approve what God’s will is” (Romans 12:2, NIV) when:
- We have a true understanding of “God’s mercy” for us (Romans 12:1-2).
- We offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God ().
- Our minds are renewed (Romans 12:2).
Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com
It is only the renewed mind that truly can understand God’s will. But this renewal hinges on our death to self first. It was not enough that Christ simply suffered for us — He had to die.
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas in which you are not completely “dead.” What things does the Holy Spirit need you to give up in order for you to become a “living sacrifice” for God?
When areas of our lives are not completely dead to self, God permits crucibles to bring them to our attention. However, our suffering not only helps us confront our sin — it also gives us an insight into Jesus’ giving Himself up for us. Elisabeth Elliot writes, “The surrender of our heart’s deepest longing is perhaps as close as we come to an understanding of the cross … . our own experience of crucifixion, though immeasurably less than our Savior’s, nonetheless furnishes us with a chance to begin to know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings. In every form of our own suffering, He calls us to that fellowship.” — Quest for Love (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1996), p. 182.
| Read and pray over Romans 12:1-2. Think about the things you need to give up in order for you to become a sacrifice. How does this help you to understand the sufferings Jesus faced for you on the cross? How can this knowledge help you enter into fellowship with Jesus and His sufferings? |
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The way that Sabbath School lesson reads this morning it almost sounds like a recipe. If you do this and that, you will get this result. I suspect that for most of us Christian living is a lot messier than that. We grow and develop and interact with different people. We have mid-life crises and disagreements with people. And then we have the 20/20 vision of hindsight and wish that we had done some things differently, and know that other people should have definitely lived their lives differently.
I am sorry that the lesson author stopped at Romand 12:1-2 because the next few verses expand out and address the messier part of Christianity - namely, working together with one another.
Then comes the clincher. "Let love be without hypocrisy!" Rom 12:9 NKJV
Salvation is not a recipe for success, It is a plan for active living. It is something that you take beyond the forum discussion out into the real world.
I found this book from Morris Venden so helpful, most of us do not have a dramatic event like Saul/Paul did on the road to Damascus but the LORD has a plan for us and will reveal it in several steps.
Summary: How to know God's will in your life
God's Will
Eight steps for those who have committed their life to the LORD to discover to which ministry in which place is the LORD leading them.
1) Have no preference of your own, Num 22-24 (Balaam), Matt 26:39
2) Don’t depend on your feelings only, 2Tim 1:7, John 10:4
3) Consult God’s Word for principles & communication, Ps 32:8, 2Tim 3:16, in your daily reading you will note texts that apply
4) Remember how God has led you in the past Deut 8:2, divine appointments – people crossing your path John 4:7-10
5) Consult Godly friends, Ex 18:23-24
6) Pray specifically for guidance, James 1:5, Isa 37:14-20, Phil 4:6-7
7) Take time to consider all above, make a decision & tell the LORD, Jos 24:15, Ex 32:26, 1Kings 18:21, Ps 95:7-8, Matt 6:24
8) Step out in faith (Jos 3:13) and invite the LORD to stop you if you are wrong Acts 16:6-10
Note: God’s timing takes into consideration His plans for our whole life and our place in His plans for the world.
Thank you Shirley, very helpful.
The Morris Venden comments are like a jewel with 8 facets; each person, family, church, etc may have to start at a different point. The only one that should be common as a starting point is number 6. Without prayer, for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the others will be lacking in strength to be accomplished. After His resurrection, Christ blew on the disciples a portion of the Holy Spirit so the day of Pentecost (full Surrender) could be realized. Only then did the disciples know and follow the perfect will of God.
God's will for our ministry is not necessarily the same as His will for us to earn a living.
Paul worked as a tentmaker to support himself while he was serving the LORD as an apostle.
Thank you so much Shirley for the information that Morris Venden wrote. This is very helpful for not only me, but others who I will come in contact with
I would like to thank all those who take a part in producing the Sabbath lessons. I look forward every morning to reading them. I rejoice in seeing what I have learned and am still learning in print for the whole world to see. May God bless you, everyone.
Dying to become alive. Paul essentially says that even while we were dead in transgressions God in His great mercy made us alive with Christ. And what is also marvelous He raised us up and seated us with Him in the heavenly realems in Christ Jesus. Epheasians 2:4-10.
It is in Christ where the seed grows, becoming alive. This is the transformation that takes place when we accept Christ as our Saviour, As Paul was praying for us to do in Romans 12:2.
*SS Lesson* The lesson indicated that in order to know God’s will we must offer our bodies as a sacrifice AND have our minds renewed. But I think that the thoughts expressed by Paul in Romans 12:1 and 12:2 are distinct ideas and not a progression. So that to know God’s will we need renewed minds. This idea stands independent of the thought expressed in 12:1 that we must offer our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Paul also speaks of crucifixion of self in Galatians 5:24 and Galatians 2:20.
In these verses we see/hear the familiar theme of Paul, contrasting our default 'flesh-based' tendency to self-seeking that inherently leads to death with the Christ-like/based renewed tendency to self-renouncing/other-benefiting that underpins abundant life (zoe).
In every moment of today, you will face situations and circumstances where you can either respond from a self-seeking motivation or an other-benefiting one. Your 'flesh' will be prompting you to embrace the self-seeking impulse. The Holy Spirit will be prompting you to embrace the other-benefiting option. And if you do so through the Spirit's empowering, you will effectively be 'putting to death' (crucifying) the self-seeking option. This is how, in situation by situation, 'you' (meaning your self-seeking nature) will no longer live, but instead you will be practicing newness of self-renouning/sacrificing life through choosing the Christ-like (self-renouncing/other-benefiting) option.
Paul also affirms that this growth process from flesh-based, self-seeking to Spirit-based, other-benefiting is a progressive transition. Thus, there will likely be times where you will slip-up. And Satan will be on-hand to accuse you bitterly at those times. But do not be disheartened and give up. Instead, like Paul, keep on pressing forward to the 'prize' of newness of life (Philippians 3:12-15) that Jesus came to make available to you - and through you, to others.
By faith we:
Psalm 37:3-4 – ”Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
Prov.3:5-6 - ”Trust in the LORD will all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Matt.6:33 - ”But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Rom.8:28 - ”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those wo love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
We live the Will of God by:
Rom.12:2 - ”And be not confirmed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
How do we 'prove' this ‘good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God'?
We can only prove it by living it; applying again and again the Fruit of the Holy Spirit! When living according to the Fruit of the Spirit of Christ and the Father, the Spirit will direct the path of our life and lead us to the destiny which our faith - applying faith by doing the Will of the Father - will lead us to.
How else can one ‘prove’ a spiritual Truth other than by living that Truth? The Father and His Son’s Truth is the very essence of our faith. We learn from 2Cor.,3:18 - ”But we all, with uncovered face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Ellen G. White: “The only way man can become elevated is by receiving the righteousness of Christ. We are individually perfected by the beholding of Christ’s image. ‘By beholding/(living) we become changed’ to the same likeness from glory to glory (from character to character). We become sons and daughters of God, equal to the angels. It is our privilege to be complete in Him who is our power, our purity.”
Letters & Manuscripts Volume 15, Letter 124
become changed
There is no other way to ‘knowing’ God’s Will than to experience it when living according to the Fruit of the Spirit – God’s Will – by faith.
Death to self is very important, but I feel like the lesson is focusing too much on giving up "this, that or the other thing" to be a living sacrifice. I think our minds naturally gravitate to certain actions that we should stop doing so we can "die." I'm not saying this is wrong; there are plenty of things God wants to help us stop doing, but I don't think that's really what dying to self is about. It's about an attitude. It's about trusting God with everything and living a life of sacrificial love. After all, Jesus didn't give up sins when He chose to die for us. He'd never sinned. Never said a mean word or indulged in lust or was lazy at work etc. etc. When He cried out in the garden, He wasn't struggling to give up those things. He was struggling to go through agony to save His children. It was really a struggle of self vs. love. And that's what dying to self is at its core.
Christina - thank you for sharing your insights. I find myself looking through the same lense which helps me to uncover the more hidden meaning of our Savior's struggle when overcoming self and instead chosing the loving acts of kindness to live by.
Hello Christina,
I agree: it is not about the things we give up—it is about letting go of everything that keeps us from Life.
The “assets” Paul refers to are those of his previous religiosity and zeal. Why hold on to these when they are like dung and get in the way of gaining Christ? After writing of the women and men of faith, the writer of Hebrews uses another analogy:
Again, it is not about giving things up—it is discarding anything that keeps us from gaining Christ.
We do not need to die before coming to know God's will for us. We just need to do what God says to do like "seek Him with our whole heart and soul and mind." Joseph never died when he did this very thing. And God was there for him even though he did have to leave his father, mother and brothers etc.
Just to add to my previous post: Even though Joseph did not die and even though he did leave his father, mother, brothers, and his home, it was not a choice of his to do this. God imposed this on Joseph but still, Joseph did not die for him to get to know God's will for him.