Radical For Christ

I ask you to consider your response to this question: are you radical for Christ? I hope your answer was an immediate “yes.” If your response was less than that, I venture to say God may intend for you to read on. Regardless of your age as an adolescent or adult or how new you may be to your faith, in a myriad of ways, the Bible repeatedly tells you and me to be radical for Christ. Here’s a good example”

ESV 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. 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.

I think most all would agree that God’s words through the apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2 call us to be radical Christians. Presenting yourself as a sacrifice? That’s radical, is it not? Yet this is precisely what God is commanding here. Many Christians often claim they can’t understand the Bible. It is more like they refuse to understand the Bible. Even though there are of course legitimate questions we might ask on exactly how our obedient response is to be carried out, the message, I think, is hard to miss or misunderstand. God wants us to be totally committed in our walk with Him.

How do we know if we are radical for Christ? I believe there are a lot of determinative tests spelled out in the Bible, but I think even without them most of us would confess that deep inside we know. We can rationalize and excuse ourselves, and we can put on a convincing façade, but I hope you would agree, deep down we know. Hopefully reading this blog will be helpful in making all of us at least more aware of the question and our obligation as Christians to answer it affirmatively.

Romans 12:1-2 tells us clearly how to be radical for Christ. Keeping it simple, I’d like us to focus on three ideas in this passage: (1) presenting ourselves as sacrifices to God; (2) not being conformed to this world; and (3) being transformed. To present yourself is to surrender yourself, to submit yourself to something or someone. Surrender or submission is the idea behind being filled by the Spirit:

ESV Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

Being filled by or with the Holy Spirit is made possible through surrender or submission to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to control your life. Note that this verse is a contrast. It is a contrast between being controlled by alcohol and being controlled by the Spirit.

Along with Daniel B. Wallace, whom most would recognize as the world’s leading Greek expert today, I believe a better, more accurate to the Greek and the context translation is by, not with (the Greek word could also be translated correctly as in). In Ephesians 3:19, the agent is not named precisely, but as the one in whom “dwells all the fullness of God” (Colossians 2:9), the reference is probably to Christ. In Ephesians 4:10 it is also Christ, not the Holy Spirit, who does the filling. All grammatical and contextual particulars considered, Wallace believes that the best understanding of being filled by the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18 is, “Believers are to be filled by Christ by means of the Spirit with the content of the fullness of God.” A pointed axiom I use in my classes when I teach on filling is, “it’s hard to be filled God when you’re filled with yourself.” You are controlled by that which fills you.

For the purposes of this particular study in Romans 12:1-2, I would like to shorten the two idea to two words: (1) surrender, and (2) obedience…

And then, I’d suggest to you that both surrender and obedience are but two sides of the same coin: Surrender = obedience; obedience = surrender. Surrender is best demonstrated in obedience. A heart surrendered to God will be an obedient heart. Each word includes the other. I hope this blog will encourage us all to be more surrendered, obedient, and “Radical for Christ.”

“Radical” can be a controversial word. Some may be hesitant to use the word “radical” in a good way. The media commonly use the word in a negative manner. Political radicals are usually not our favorite people. Do you know that to many unbelievers we fundamental, conservative Christians are radicals? Someone recently labeled Baptists the religious Taliban! Religious extremists are called “radicals,” and “fanatics.” “Radical” is generally seen in a negative light. But I’d like you to consider the word positively.

I am using “radical” in this blog to mean extreme. When I say “radical for Christ,” I am speaking about living an extreme life for Christ, a life intelligently lived to the maximum degree, “My Utmost for His Highest” (Oswald Chambers).

When you study “radical” from a dictionary, you get these facts:

• The etymology of a word is the word’s history. The history of radical has to do with “roots.” A political radical is one who favors drastic social reforms; he wants to change things at the roots.
• Our English word comes from the Latin radicalis, which is a derivative of radix which means “root.” Our English word “radish” also comes from this Latin
• The word radical is used commonly in mathematics, and here again it has to do with roots. There is the radical sign in

With these descriptions in mind we might say that radical means extreme to our roots. Committed to Christ to the core of our being.

The word “radical” is not found in Scripture, but I would suggest to you that the concept is present throughout the Bible. Faith in the Bible has always been radical faith. Abraham, for but one example, had radical faith:

ESV Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Heb. 11:8 ESV)

Caleb had radical faith…

ESV Joshua 14:8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God.

David had radical faith:

KJV Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

KJV Psalm 42:1 As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

The prophet Isaiah had radical faith:

ESV Isaiah 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

In the New Testament, Matthew had radical faith:

NAS Mark 2:14 And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he rose and followed Him.

The apostle Paul obviously had radical faith. Here are two of many examples:

NAS Philippians 3:8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,

NAS Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

And, of course, Jesus is the supreme example of radical faith:

NKJ Matthew 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

In this single verse we have the essence of Christian radicalism: the surrender of the individual’s will to the will of God in obedience.

I don’t have to tell you that the word “surrender” is not a popular word in our culture today. We do not generally applaud submission. Surrender implies weakness to most people; it implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser. Surrender evokes the unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. In today’s competitive culture we are taught to never give up and never give in – so we don’t hear too much positive about surrendering.  If winning is everything, surrendering is nothing. Studied in Scripture, however, surrender to the will of God is seen as the heart of worship. Our wisest moments are when we surrender to God…

“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the potter, I am the clay! Mold me and make me After Thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.”

Surrendering our wills to Word of God is radical. “Not as I will, but as Thou will” is extreme. Genuine, Christ-honoring discipleship requires total surrender. There is no partial yielding or half- heartedness allowed if one is to become a true disciple of Jesus. Partial obedience is disobedience. Radical words, I know, but true.

When the Jewish religious leaders, trying to trap Jesus into an answer that could be interpreted as being contrary to the Jewish law, asked Him what the greatest commandment was, Jesus’ response was definitely radical:

KJV Matthew 22:36-38 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.

I believe this passage and many others directly or indirectly like it clearly tell us what it means to be radical for Christ.

Jesus asked the same radical faith from His disciples that He Himself displayed:

ESV Luke 14:33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

I think you’ll agree the that the Bible clearly validates the title of this blog. “Radical for Christ” must be interpreted as extremism for Christ Radical Christianity means being sold out, holding nothing back. Listen again to Matthew 22:37 with added emphasis:

KJV Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy mind.

And then there is Luke 9:23:

NAS Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Denying one’s self is surely radical in any age or culture, but it could hardly be more so than in this current self-indulgent age in which we have been placed by God. Taking up a cross, a universally recognized instrument of death, is direct, explicit identification with Christ’s own surrender in obedience to His death – that is as radical as it gets! And following Christ in surrender and obedience in a world that brazenly scoffs at biblical faith is also radical.

In last week’s sermon from 1 John 2, Pastor Matt’s closing remarks included the astute observation upon how strange it is that when a person does something Christlike or glorifying to God it is regarded as special, as if something extraordinary, when in fact it should be seen as commonplace. I wrote down in my sermon notes, “Radical for Christ should be normative.” Living extremely for Christ is our responsibility as Christians, our privilege. Something to think about…

Something also to think about: surrender is not easy. Surrender takes discipline, commitment, and a genuine desire to please the Lord. The Christian surrenders once (at salvation) and then (throughout life on earth) it is a never-ending process. Surrender is the essence of the beginning of our lives in Christ, and surrender is at the center of our daily walk with Christ. Our hearts should be heats that are always surrendered.  If we are not surrendered to Him, then He is not really Lord to us.

Supporting these thoughts is the grammatical analysis of Romans 12:1-2. The grammatical diagram of v. 1 shows plainly that there is intensification. From a simple reading of the verse in any of our modern translations makes this point clear, I believe, but I want to call your attention to the word “sacrifice.” It is hard to overlook the direct connection to the sacrificial system of the Old Testament Jews. Inherent in the word “sacrifice” is surrender. Although the animal may indeed fight to its very last breath, seen from a higher perspective outside the animal itself, ultimately its death is surrender to the inevitable and is offered. The noun “sacrifice” is modified by no less than three descriptive terms: “holy” (adjective), “acceptable” (adjective), and “living” (participle). Three such strong modifying words qualifies “sacrifice” as intensive.

In v. 2, the imagery becomes even more intensified. The Greek word for “present” (παρίστημι [par- is-tay-me]) is also used basically the same way by Paul in Romans 6:13 and 19:

ESV 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.

NAS Romans 6:19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

As the Bible Knowledge Commentary rightly points out about the general implications of a believer’s offering his life to God as a sacrifice: “Such an offering represents a complete change in lifestyle.” Radical for Christ.

Continuing this brief section on the value of the grammatical dimensions of Romans 12:1-2, it should be noted that in v. 2 the command to be transformed is in the present tense and the passive voice. The present tense means that the transforming is intended to be continuous, not a onetime event. We are to be continuously changing, growing, improving. Continuous transformation is another way of saying “Radical for Christ.”

Additionally, the passive dimension of the word tells us inarguably that we do not do the transforming ourselves; it happens to us. It happens to us by means of the renewing of our minds. Therefore, something outside us does the renewing. Surrendering is essential for this renewing to occur. When all things are considered, the answer to who or what brings about this renewing is God’s Word. As has often been wisely said, “The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to accomplish the will and work of God.

One more word on “transformed.” The Greek verb (μεταμορφόω [met-a-mor-fah-o]) is the word from which we get our English word “metamorphosis.” Metamorphosis is a total change from the inside out. Paul uses the same Greek word in the same grammatical way (present passive) in 2 Corinthians 3:18, another passage about surrender and radical transformation.

ESV 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Finally, please note especially Paul’s conclusive words in Romans 12:2:

ESV 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.

The radical surrender, sacrifice, and obedience called for is “good and acceptable and perfect” in God’s eyes. I personally prefer the New English Translation’s rendering here:

NET Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God– what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

A believer’s offering of his or her total life as a sacrifice to God is sacred service that is pleasing to God. That thought alone should be sufficient to strive to be “Radical for Christ.” As Pastor Matt likes to say when he wants to emphasize a point, “Drop the mic.”

-Professor Rohm