We begin our final section of the The Romans Study For Kids. We now are in part 5… the Service of Salvation!

We have just completed our study on the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans. Today we are beginning our last section of this very important book. Let’s do a quick review of our section outline. In Romans 1:1-15 we were introduced to who God used to write this book and who he was writing to. Then in Romans 1:16-17 we discovered why this book was written. The main theme of the book of Romans is to teach us that the righteous live by faith and the gospel is the power of salvation.

We titled our first section, The Need for Salvation. In Romans 1:1 – 3:20 God uses Paul to teach us our need for salvation. He shows us why we all need saved, no matter who we are or where we came from.

Our next section was, The Way of Salvation. In Romans 3:21 – 5:21 God uses the writings of Paul to teach us that the only way of salvation is by faith in His Son, Jesus.

Our third section was, The Life of Salvation. In Romans 6:1 – 8:39 God uses the writings of Paul to teach us how we are alive in Christ. He teaches us how we become His children. He teaches us how His Holy Spirit lives in all His children and how His Spirit gives us power to live our new lives in a way that pleases God. He also teaches us that nothing will ever separate us from God once we are His in Christ.

Our fourth section was, The Scope of Salvation. In Romans 9:1 – 11:36 God uses Paul’s writings to teach us that He is sovereign, or in total control, of who is saved. He also teaches us that He is not done with the people of Israel. God will never break His promises to us and He will never break His promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the children of Israel. He is going to graft them back in to His family one day very soon.

We closed section four with one of my favorite passages in the whole Bible:

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. 

(Romans 11:33-36)

God uses this passage of Scripture to close up all of what Paul has written about salvation and God’s sovereignty and God’s ways. It’s perfect because it reminds us that it is okay if we don’t understand all of this yet. It’s okay if what God says doesn’t make sense to our human mind. It’s okay, because He is God and we just need to trust Him and take Him at His word.

Now after these first eleven chapters on all the why’s, and explanations, and teachings, that God gives us about our sin and His salvation we come to Romans 12 and our last section of study, The Service of Salvation.

Now that we know the need, the way, the life, and the scope of our salvation… we need to know how we live it out in our every day lives and within His church. God uses Paul to teach us this in Romans 12 – 16.

Are you ready?

Let’s go!

Romans 12:1-2 

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Read Romans 12:1. What word does this verse begin with?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Do you remember what we have learned about this word? If there is a “therefore”, we need to know what the “therefore” is there for!

I believe this “therefore” is connecting us all the way back to everything we learned in the first eleven chapters. Let’s look at the rest of the verse to see why I believe what I do 🙂

 

Read all of Romans 12:1. 

What does Paul urge us to present to God as a living and holy sacrifice?

our __ __ __ __ __ __

 

What does Paul say this is?

spiritual __ __ __ __ __ __ __  of __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

From what you learn in this verse how much of you does God want? Circle your answer.

all of you       some of you     just a little of you

 

Listen to this version of the Hokey Pokey and think about what all you have learned in the book of Romans and especially this first verse of chapter 12.

In this song we sing that we give our hearts to Jesus and we give Him our hands, our feet, our head, our whole selves. When we give our hearts to Jesus we give Him everything. We worship Him with our hearts, our minds, and our bodies. God wants what we think, what we say, what we do, and where we go all to be for Him. He wants all of us to honor Him.

 

Read Romans 12:2. What are we not to be conformed to? 

do not be conformed to this __ __ __ __ __

 

What does it mean to be “conformed”? Take a moment to look up the word conformed in a dictionary. Write done what you learned.

___________________________________________________________

 

Why would God not want us to be conformed to the world? Look up and read John 12:31, John 16:11, Ephesians 6:12, and 1 John 5:19. Who is the ruler of this world?

Satan         President Obama      Superman

 

Look back and read Romans 8:29. Who does God want us to be conformed to?

__ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 12:2. What are we to be instead of being conformed?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

The word “transformed” in the Greek is metamorphoó. This Greek word might sound familiar to you. Have you ever studied what happens when a caterpillar becomes a butterfly? 

What is this called? 

Yes, metamorphous! 

Below is a picture of a caterpillar.

 

During the process of metamorphous this caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly. The caterpillar becomes a whole new creation. It used to be a worm like creature that could not get off the earth… and then after being transformed it becomes a beautiful butterfly that can now fly!  

Now color in the butterfly below in all your favorite colors!

                      

Read Romans 12:2 again. How are you transformed? 

by the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of your __ __ __ __

Before we know Jesus our minds are full with all the things of the world. We live in the world everyday. We see television shows and movies. We listen to songs. We go to school and hear things from other kids and learn things from school books that may or may not be true. What goes in our eyes and ears goes into our mind and into our heart and becomes our belief system which then controls our actions.

What has God given us so that our eyes and ears can be filled with what He says is true?

The  __ __ __ __ __

 

What does Romans 12:2 say we will know if we renew our mind with God’s word? Circle all that apply.

will of God                      what is good

our favorite color             who we will marry

what is acceptable                 what is perfect

what the weather will be like

God tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 that His thoughts and His ways are not our thoughts and our ways. He also tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 that we are not to lean on our own understanding but to trust in Him. The only way that we can learn what God’s thoughts and ways are is for us to read His Word, the Bible. He has recorded for us His thoughts and His ways and not only that He sent Jesus to come and show us His thoughts and His ways. Remember that John 1:1-3 and 14 teaches us that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

That’s enough for today!