No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets
No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets
Romans 12:1-2
Upon his graduation from a Chicago High School at 16, William Borden, was sent by his parents for an 11 month trip around the world as was the custom for wealthy families. Borden came from one of the wealthiest families in Chicago. On July 2nd 1905, at the age of 17, Borden attended a meeting in London on the topic of assurance of salvation. After the message, the congregation rose and sang, “I Surrender All,”
I surrender all; I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.
Only 17 years old, but his decision to give his life to Jesus Christ was made. He returned from his travels and started to give away the millions his parents gave him for his future. While studying at Yale he wrote in his journal, “Say 'no' to self and 'yes' to Jesus every time.”
Borden decided to forgo his fortune in the family business and go to China as a missionary. His father told him he would never have a place in the family business if he continued in his missionary zeal. It was said that Borden simply wrote in his Bible, “No Reserves.” He made his choice to give his life to Jesus Christ and leave nothing in reserves. Upon graduation from Yale, he was offered high paying lucrative jobs, but wrote in his Bible again, “No Retreats.” Borden was known as the Millionaire Missionary when he set sail for China, he was not going to turn back. He arrived in Cairo Egypt to begin his language learning, but sadly caught Spinal Meningitis in late March of 1913 and died 19 days later. It was reported two days before his death, Borden wrote two more words in his Bible, “No Regrets.” Borden had no regrets on his choice to follow Jesus Christ. His life helped to inspire thousands of young men and women to go to the mission field.
No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets. Borden surrendered all to Jesus because of what Jesus surrendered for him. He understood the mercies of God and responded the only way one could: with this life. Borden’s is one example of a life captivated by the mercies of God. When he understood the gospel of Jesus Christ and the salvation he offered, the only logical conclusion was to present his life as a living sacrifice to God.
Romans 12:1-2 are some of the most well-known verses in the New Testament. Romans 1-11 unpack the glories of salvation and Romans 12-16 tells us how to respond. Romans 1-11 displays the “what” of salvation where Romans 12-16 is the “now what do we do” with salvation. When we properly understand the “what” of salvation, then the “now what do we do” with salvation is obvious. We surrender all. It may mean you give away millions and become a missionary in China like Bordens, or it may mean you stay home and raise your kids to follow Jesus or to work heartily unto the Lord on the machine press, or to teach children how to read and write with a Christ-like devotion. The details of every Christian may be different but the root is always the same. We must surrender all. We all have to live that refrain:
I surrender all, All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
If Jesus is our Savior, and we understand what he has saved us from, then there is only one reasonable response.
The Response to God’s Mercy (Romans 12:1)
The Apostle Paul has richly unpacked the glories of salvation in the first 11 chapters of Romans. And verse 12:1-2 lays out our response and then spends the rest of the book applying how we live out these two verses. Romans 12:1–2
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 discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Paul has laid out his case for 11 chapters and says now, based on what I just said about God’s mercies, present your bodies as a living sacrifice. Let's do a little review of God’s mercies so the response makes sense. We begin with the theme verse in Romans 1:16-17.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
The gospel has the power to bring salvation to everyone meaning the gospel can provide us the righteousness we need for salvation. And we need righteousness because our sin has separated us from God. Romans 1:18,
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
And who are those who suppress the truth? Everyone. Romans 3:9b–12
For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
For two and half chapters Paul shows that every single person is a sinner and because of their sin is without home to be made righteous by their good works. Romans 3:20,
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
No human being will be justified by the works of the law meaning no one can get to heaven by doing good works. You can’t do enough because of your sin. We can’t justify ourselves meaning we can’t save ourselves. Our sin separates us from God.
Friend, if you are not a Christian, this may sound harsh, but we know it's true. We know we are sinners. Our consciences teach us we have sinned against God. We have lied and lusted. We have been arrogant and angry. We have been selfish and slothful. As Christians, we agree with God’s indictment of us. We know we are sinners. We have admitted we are sinners. Have you? Have you acknowledged your sin? Have you understood what you deserve because of your sin? The main difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that a non-Christian still has some hope their good works will be enough on the day of judgment. Fundamentally, Non-Christians believe they can be saved by what they do or do not think they need saving at all.
And here is the reality, every human being tries to justify themselves before God in some way. We are self-justifiers. And our self-justification will never be good enough. This is why Paul front loads so much teaching on how every single person is a sinner and cannot save themselves. We need to hear it. We need to believe it. We need to remember it. And when we do, the righteousness of God offered in Jesus Christ is all the more glorious, because in our desperate need, God provides abundant mercy. Listen to the way to be righteous and the only way to be righteous, Romans 3:21–26
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Righteousness. Justification. Propitiation. Redemption. Grace. These are all wrapped up in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the perfect substitute. He lived a righteous life and therefore could offer righteousness to those who had none. He redeemed sinners through his blood through faith. He was raised bodily from the dead to show we too could experience a bodily resurrection. This love is so amazing, so divine, it transcends human understanding,
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me!
It is so overwhelming because of our sin. Romans 5:8,
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
While we were sinners, Christ died for us. While we were enemies, Christ was crucified. While we were rebels, Christ redeemed us. It is only when you understand the depths of your sin and the wrath of God you deserve for your sin, when you understand how utterly inconceivable it is that God would show you mercy. He does not give us what we deserve, but gives us the exact opposite. Instead of giving us wrath, he gives us salvation. Instead of sending us to hell, he brings us to heaven. Instead of eternal torment, he gives eternal blessing. Instead of outer darkness, he gives us everlasting light. Instead of sorrow, he gives salvation. Instead of weeping, he removes all tears. Instead of pain, he gives pleasures forever more. Instead of judgment, he gives mercy. Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom of the knowledge of God!
Beloved, we have to gaze deeply into the mercies of God. He has given us so much, the only proper response is to give him everything. When we do not want to give our lives, we forget he gave his life for us. Romans 12:1,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,
Every single command of obedience is a response to his mercy. We do obey out of guilt or shame or to try to win favor with God, we obey in response to his mercy. We have to meditate on his mercy. Because when we don’t, we become like Romans 1:21-22,
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
When we dwell on his mercies, we flip the script. We honor him and give thanks to him and become wise in our thinking and foolish hearts are enlightened. Knowing we are fools, we become wise. It is having a sober judgment of ourselves and knowing the reality of our sin and dwelling on the abundant mercies of God that Paul challenges us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.
Paul has already made this point in Romans when he begin to speak about sanctification in Romans 6:13,
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
God wants us to use our eyes and ears, our hands and feet, our fingers and toes for his glory. We want to use everything as instruments to do and to show righteousness. John Chrysotom, the famed Archbishop of Constantinople of the late 4th century wrote on this verse,
And how is the body, it may be said, to become a sacrifice? Let the eye look on no evil thing, and it hath become a sacrifice; let thy tongue speak nothing filthy, and it hath become an offering; let thine hand do no lawless deed, and it hath become a whole burnt offering
Every word from our lips, every action with our hands, every step of our feet is an offering to the Lord. God wants it all. No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.
The sacrifice language would have stirred up thoughts of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. Sacrifices stay on the altar. It may be easier to die one time as a martyr than to die all the time as a living sacrifice. Remember Jesus words, in Luke 9:23–25,
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
The life that belongs to Jesus is holy and acceptable to God. Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Jesus. It is not a one time decision made one day but a lifetime of decisions we make every day. This is the Christian life.
The KJV translates the end of verse 1 as “reasonable service,” which highlights the logical, reasonable response to the mercies of God. When we consider what God has done for us, the mercies he gives us, our response is to serve him. Service and worship are translated interchangeably through the Old Testament. Our worship or service is far more than merely coming to the gathering of the saints on the Lord’s Day. We sometimes minimize worship to think when we are singing, but everything we do is worship. We worship in song, in hearing the word, in prayer, in shaking hands in fellowship, in changing diapers in the nursery, and in welcoming visitors. This is why you often hear our musicians say, “Let us stand and continue in worship.” And others use this verse as an excuse not to gather on the Lord’s Day saying, “I am called to give my life to God and not just my Sunday mornings.” The Christian life is not only about Sunday morning gatherings, but if Christ died for you obeying his command to fellowship with the saints doesn’t seem too difficult.
Our response to the mercies of God is simple. We surrender all. All to thee my blessed Savior. We surrender all. No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.
The Reality of God’s Mission (Romans 12:2)
Paul provides the demands of the Christian in a positive light in verse 1 and then gives the contrast in verse 2. The reality of the mission of God is that we have to actively fight not to conform to the world but to be transformed to Christ. The reality is this world is in opposition to Christ and his kingdom. Romans 12:2,
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Paul is using the term world not in the physical earth, but in regards to the age or season of this world which is set against the Lord. To be conformed to this world is to be squeezed to be like the world. It is the pressure that is trying to make the church more like the world while the meaning of our name, ekklesia, literal means called out of the world. We are set apart from the world for God’s purposes. And yet the current of our culture is pushing and pulling us towards conformity. It is trying to squeeze us to use our hands and feet and eyes and ears to serve this temporal age and not the age to come.
The way we are not conformed to this world is by the renewing of our minds. We must renew our minds by testing what we think, aligning it with Scripture. We want to discern what is the will of God and how do we fulfill it. The currents of this world are constantly pulling us away from Christ. A couple of weeks ago the family was at the beach and we went out for an evening swim. The evening waves at Edisto are always the best. We got a little farther out in the water and we could feel the rip currents trying to pull us under. They were a lot stronger than I had experienced before. I could not see the currents but I felt them pulling me away from the shore. Beloved, there are currents we can’t see pulling us away from our Savior. They are subtle but they are constant. They are trying to squeeze us to think and live like the world.
As Christians we have to test our thoughts and attitudes to see if they are lining up with Scripture or with the world. I think this is one way we present our bodies as living sacrifices. We think and meditate on whether or not we are living in the pattern of this world or in the world to come. Are living and thinking like Christians or like those who belong to this world? If we are Christians, our citizenship is in heaven. This world is not our final destination, but a temporary rest spot on the way home. So how can we determine if we are being squeezed into the pattern of this world. We have to renew our mind and test our thoughts. Let me offer 7 ways you may be squeezed into a worldly way of thinking.
Do not conform to the pattern of self-exaltation, but live for God’s glory - As Borden wrote in his journal, “Say 'no' to self and 'yes' to Jesus every time.” The pattern of this world is self-exaltation. It celebrates self. Individual self-expressivism is the rot of our society. Our culture believes the highest good is individual freedom, happiness, self-definition, and self-expression. Carl Trueman notes, “If expressive individualism is the typical way in which people think of themselves and their relationship to the world, then Christians must understand that they too are deeply implicated.” Many modern-day evangelicals choose a church and stay in a church not because of commitment to a family of God but because of their personal individual preferences. People are attracted to a particular style of worship, particular interpretation of difficult texts or particular emphasis in the pulpit or children’s ministry, and when the church does not speak to their preferences or meet their personal individual desires, many leave.
There may be wisdom in leaving this or that church, but Christians should not conform to the pattern of the age of individual self-expressivism and exaltation over God’s people. Your life is not your own but you were bought with a price. We can’t live for ourselves but God and his glory. Jesus called us to deny ourselves not to seek our personal preferences. This is nuanced conversation, but one way we offer our bodies as living sacrifices is not to conform to the pattern of the age. In what ways are you conforming to the pattern of individual self-exaltation and self-expression over God’s Word and his people? I believe this is the root of many of things that may follow.
Do not conform to the pattern of overemphasized political zeal, Christ is our hope - Our only hope in life and death is Christ. If our allegiance to a political candidate or party causes us to react in anger when they are attacked, we are probably putting our hope more in them than Christ. We would never verbalize that but our emotional responses reveal where our true allegiances lie. Beloved, do not put your hope in a political candidate or a political platform, there is only one King who will deliver us. The pattern of the age is to trust in politics more than the coming Savior.
Do not conform to the pattern of entitlement and victimization, be content with God’s providence in your life. - The pattern of our age is to play the victim when things do not go our way. We may blame our gender or ethnicity or age or birth order, but we are trained by our culture to blame others when we do not get what we think we deserve. The culture is training us to conform to an entitlement position to argue and complain when we do not receive what we think we are entitled to. But we deserve nothing, but death for our sins. God has already given us so much mercy that we should be thankful every day for what he has done for us. Do not conform to the worldly pattern of entitlement and victimization that wants to highlight what you don’t have and blame others for you not having it.
Do not conform to the pattern of consumerism, it is more blessed to give than receive - Self-expressivism breeds entitlement and a consumerist mindset. We live in a culture where the customer is always right. We live in a BK - have it your way - world. And when we do not get it our way, we get upset and frustrated. It is a worldly way of thinking. The life of Christ is to deny our wants and desires for the sake of others. And yet, the world is trying to squeeze us into thinking we need all sorts of things to make us happy. A new car, a new dishwasher, a new church, or even a new spouse, will make us happy. Consumerism is the pattern of the world, but it is more blessed to give than to receive. Yet if we should humble ourselves and at the proper time Christ will exalt us. When we lose the stuff of this world, the world loses its grip on our heart. When we have less, we realize, we need less and our hearts long for eternity.
Do not conform to a world’s way of parenting, train your children in the fear and admonition of the world - The world way of thinking is that you have to give everything your kid wants or you are a bad parent. Sign them up for every sport or club or activity or they may miss out on something and resent you forever. The world way of parenting places the child as the decision maker and what makes them happy rather than training them to submit to the God-given good authority of their parents. Too many Christians are functionally teaching their kids that sports are more important than the Lord by forsaking the assembly of the saints and hearing the word by choosing sport over worship. Remember the world is not passive but it is actively trying to squeeze you into thinking about the temporal age rather than the age to come. What does it profit a child if your child gains a scholarship to college, but forfeits his soul? He may be cheered by the world, but he may not love the world.
Be careful not to fall into the worldly way of thinking of gentle parenting which does not discipline our children or allows our child’s desires and wants to dictate our schedules. Be the parent. Be the authority God has placed in their life. A child-centered home is a pattern of the world. Our homes should be built on God’s priorities and family life, schedule and instruction, should reflect that.
Do not conform to the world’s way of gender, celebrate God’s good design - God has made men and women differently. Men are built for work. Women are built to raise a family. Men are called to lead in the church and home. Women are called to use their gifts in a supporting role in the home and church. And this is glorious. It is God’s good design. We are being trained by our culture to ignore gender differences and to feel guilty for wanting to live according to the Scriptures. The culture is trying to squeeze us to think and live as if gender is non-existence.
Do not conform to the world’s view of authority, God gives us authority for our good. - The pattern of this world is to reject authority and to criticize it. We do not want anyone telling us what to do and we do not naturally want to obey those who are over us. We want to do things our way. And yet God says, submit to those who are over you in the church who are in charge to oversee your souls and submit to the state which is God’s servant for our good. Do not conform to a worldly way of thinking of authority, but rejoice in the authority God has placed over you for your good.
Do not conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind to test and approve God’s will. This is how we live as living sacrifices. This is how we are transformed into the image of the Son. We daily test our thoughts and attitudes by the Word of God. We test and see if we are conformed to the here and now or being transformed for eternity. Test your thoughts on sex, money, food, exercise, music, friendship, to see if you are being conformed to the pattern of this world or of the world to come. Ask your friends and family members, “In what ways am I thinking and living like this world?” The world is not passive. It is actively trying to squeeze you into its image. And like those rip currents, you can’t seem them. And if you are unaware of them, you will be pulled under.
Beloved, remember the motivation of why we fight the currents of the world, because Christ is worth it. Christ died for us. He bled for our sins. He was raised for our justification. He is King. He is our Savior. He has given us mercy when we deserve death. He has given us eternity in glory and we deserve everlasting punishment. So present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
William Borden died at the age 25. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. His life left almost everything to mission agencies and Christian causes. On his tombstone was written a simple statement by those who knew him best. It simply read, “Apart from Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.” In view of God’s mercy, he presented life to Christ. No reserves, no retreats, no regrets. May it be written on our tombstone, “Apart from Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.” Beloved, it is all grace. It is all mercy. Only with the presence and power of Jesus Christ can we live holy and acceptable to God. So, I appeal to you by the mercies on of God, to respond in the only way that is fitting for the mercies offered in Christ, to surrender all. No reserves, no retreats and no regrets.