Sermon Recap · When in Romans

You Become What You Consume: Romans 12 and the One Change That Changes Everything

Have you ever let one thing wreck your whole day? Pastor Logan Key opened this message by admitting he's been there, letting a football loss sour his mood. For you it might be one comment from a coworker, or someone cutting you off in traffic. In Romans 12 and 13, Paul points to a single change that affects everything else.

Main passage: "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." (Romans 12:1, NLT)

1. Be a living sacrifice

In the Old Testament, a sacrifice on the altar didn't move. A living sacrifice can, and when life gets hard we're tempted to wiggle off the altar and do things our own way. Pastor Logan pointed to Psalm 51:17: "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." In his words, "God isn't looking for you to be perfect... He's looking for you to be honest with him about your shortcomings."

2. You become what you consume

Romans 12:2 says not to copy the behavior and customs of this world, but to let God transform you by changing the way you think. Pastor Logan noted that we rarely just quit a habit; we replace it. Paul does the same thing here. He doesn't stop at "don't copy the world." He gives us the replacement: "let God transform you."

"You will become what you consume," Pastor Logan said. That's true of our friends, our diet, and our social media feeds. "If you are spending hours on the daily on social media... and minutes in the Word and prayer, which one are you allowing to shape you?"

3. Love for real and overcome evil with good

The rest of Romans 12 shows what a changed mind looks like: "Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them." Every person is made in the image of God. So we celebrate with people who are happy and sit with people who are grieving. We don't think we know it all, and we do all we can to live at peace with everyone. When we've been wronged, we leave revenge to God. As Romans 12:21 puts it, "Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."

Romans 13 then ties it together: "Owe nothing to anyone except your obligation to love one another," and "clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Pastor Logan closed with this challenge: "You will become what you consume. How much Jesus are you consuming?"

Listen to the full message: Romans: Consume Christ, Not the World. It's also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Your next step: plan a visit this Sunday

If you want what shapes you to start with Jesus, a good place to begin is a Sunday at Refuge Church. We gather Sundays at 10:00 AM at Riverwood Elementary in Mustang, OK. Come as you are. Plan your visit →