We Are Holy and Acceptable

in Christ, WE ARE ALREADY holy and acceptable!

By: Eric RYAN, PERIMETER SCHOOL DAD AND PERIMETER CHURCH Executive Pastor OF Shepherding and Spiritual Growth

“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.”
Romans 12:1

Happy first week! If I haven’t met you yet, I’m Eric Ryan, and I have the awesome privilege of being one of the pastors on staff here at Perimeter Church. More than that though, I’m also a Perimeter School parent, and we will have five of our children here this year! 

Today, I hope to encourage you with a passage that really encouraged me last spring. 

Back on May 15, Perimeter Church had Dr. Bryan Chapell as a guest preacher. That week, I happened to walk into the service a bit weary and frankly, hard-hearted. Looking back, I was tired of obedience. As a father and as a pastor, I had no desire to put in the right amount of effort towards following Jesus where He’s called me. 

But that morning, God didn’t use a sermon on grit or character to soften my heart. He didn’t use a reminder of Old Testament saints and their faithfulness either. No, to my surprise, He knew I needed a reminder of His mercy. 

We Are Holy and Acceptable

Dr. Chapell beautifully used Romans 12:1 to remind us that “holy and acceptable” are not conditions we strive for with our obedience, and that the appeal by Paul here is “by the mercies of God!” In Christ, we ARE holy and acceptable, only by what He has done, and that motivates us to be living sacrifices!

I don’t know what your parenting style is, but I love that in our Perimeter School community, our families get to learn a lot from one another. I fear, often, that I fall into the camp of “constantly coaching dad.” If I’m not careful, my children will, by default, hear from me, “be a good living sacrifice.” And like their dad, they will be left tired and maybe a little hard-hearted. 

But what a joyful privilege that we get to work together to remind our children’s hearts that they, in Christ, ARE ALREADY holy and acceptable!

Their gaze isn’t to be first fixed on the work to be done but rather on Jesus and His great mercy. That’s where their strength and motivation will be found … the mercies of God!  

How about you, mom and dad? There will be a lot asked of us this year. Where will you find your strength? Where will you find your motivation? My prayer as I write this is that we will encourage one another this year to first look to Christ, stare at His great mercy, and allow His great and glorious mercy to be our strength for what He has called us to do this year! 

Click here to check out Dr. Chapell’s full message, The Power of Mercy.