1. The Journey of Being Reborn as the New Israel in Christ
Romans 12:1-13 presents the Apostle Paul’s concrete instructions on how those who have received salvation should now live. Paul expounded on the profound mystery of salvation in Romans chapters 1 through 8, and then, in chapters 9 through 11, he explained the historical significance of Israel and the New Israel. Through this flow, we realize that within God’s redemptive history, there is both a mainstream (中心史) and a peripheral stream (周邊史). The mainstream is driven by the people chosen by God. Within this context, we find crucial teaching on what the “New Israel” is and how we can be reborn in Christ as this New Israel. Drawing upon the soteriology and historical perspective laid out in Romans, Pastor David Jang emphasizes the new life that begins after salvation and how we must live as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The New Israel Paul speaks of can be applied to our own story. In the Old Testament, there was the Old Israel that had been chosen, and when we move into the New Testament era, we see the emergence of the New Israel, which includes Gentiles who profess Jesus Christ as Savior. In Romans 9-11, Paul explains how the New Israel is formed and how the scope of God’s salvation expands. The Old Israel, in continued disobedience, is compared to branches that are cut off, and the Gentiles are shown as grafted into the empty spaces—this is the origin of the Church. Thus, all who believe in Jesus today belong to the New Israel and are called to be the “creative minority” that shapes the mainstream of God’s plan in history. This point is significant.
To understand this concept more concretely, we need to look at the story of “the sons of God and the daughters of men” in Genesis 6. The “sons of God” there refer to those whom God had chosen and set apart. However, they intermarried with the daughters of men and became mixed with the world, leading eventually to the judgment in Noah’s time. Jesus said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man” (Luke 17:26). His warning was that if those chosen by God become entangled with the world and go down the path of sin, divine judgment can come upon them. This is the very point Pastor David Jang frequently underscores in his messages: We must not compromise with the world but live as those set apart in Christ. Instead of conforming to the pattern of the world, we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), discerning what is good, pleasing, and perfect in God’s sight.
In Romans 8, Paul declares that “creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.” God’s kingdom is brought forth on earth when the children of God rise up and the New Israel stands. Pastor David Jang connects this to the eschatological calling that the Church must fulfill. After being saved, we must grasp eschatology—not merely to predict signs of the end or to be afraid, but to realize that we are called to establish the kingdom of God here on earth. The imagery of “washing the robes” found in Genesis 9 and 49, and also in Revelation 22, refers to “keeping one’s conduct pure.” Having our sins forgiven at the cross of Jesus Christ, we must continue to wash our robes in everyday life. Abandoning worldly, sinful habits and living a consecrated life is the hallmark of the New Israel.
Paul’s exposition of salvation (Romans 1-8) and history (Romans 9-11) logically leads into the “practical application” of Romans 12. If we are saved and have become God’s New Israel in redemptive history, how then should we live? The answer is that our entire life must become “spiritual worship.” The life of the saved is itself an act of worship—not confined to formal gatherings in the church building, but extending into every facet of daily life. In many of his sermons and services, Pastor David Jang reiterates this message: “Our very lives must be worship.”
Paul exhorts us, “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Romans 12:1). This means dedicating our entire being to God. Rather than living self-centeredly, we must choose a life of self-sacrifice and service for our neighbors. The world typically prioritizes personal interests, but those called as disciples of Jesus Christ should opt first for the path of sacrifice for others. This is the way the New Israel must walk, the way of the creative minority that bears the central narrative in history.
In addition, Paul strongly emphasizes: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). “This world” refers to worldly value systems and trends. The world is dominated by greed for more and by self-interest, weighing pros and cons. But Christians should not be swept along by such currents. We must renew our minds daily. This renewal is about taking on the mind of Christ, which is to obey the will of God as revealed in Scripture.
Pastor David Jang repeatedly teaches that we should have both “eyes to read history” and an “eschatological calling.” We must not remain satisfied with personal salvation alone; it is crucial to see how the redeemed gather to form the Church, how that Church exercises influence in the world, and what mission it fulfills in the broader flow of salvation history. Paul’s teaching on Israel and the New Israel helps us grasp God’s purpose in choosing us. Being chosen should never lead to self-boasting or a sense of privilege; instead, it instructs us to humble ourselves and serve at even lower places because we are chosen.
The story of Jacob in Genesis is particularly instructive on this point. In his reconciliation with Esau, Jacob bowed seven times before his brother, thus restoring peace. Jesus went further, declaring, “Not just seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). This underscores that the ultimate solution to personal, communal, and even national or ethnic conflicts lies in “reconciliation and forgiveness.” Pastor David Jang consistently emphasizes this “spirit of breaking down dividing walls,” teaching that the key is found in the spirit of the cross. In Ephesians 2:16, Paul states that God put to death the enmity “by the cross.” The cross is the place where God’s forgiveness and reconciliation become reality. The Church must therefore inherit this spirit of the cross and, in a world that alienates and divides, live out the “koinonia” that breaks down walls.
“Koinonia,” a Greek term meaning “fellowship” or “communion,” is not mere camaraderie but a spiritual fellowship that dismantles barriers through the cross. Paul placed great emphasis on “kerygma,” the proclamation of salvation through the gospel, and then stressed that those who received the Word must develop fellowship in “koinonia.” If we have come to understand salvation (soteriology) and history (the theology of Israel and the New Israel), the next step is to dismantle the dividing walls among us and create true fellowship within the Church. When brotherly love is realized within this fellowship, we display to the world an identity distinct from the world—indeed, the testimony of the New Israel.
But the process does not end with koinonia. Once koinonia is established, we must proceed to “diakonia.” “Diakonia” means “service” or “ministry.” In Romans 12:13, Paul says, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” This is a direct picture of diakonia. If we truly love, we must meet others’ needs in tangible ways. The apostle James also highlights this: “If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:16). Love is not merely expressed in words but must be evidenced by actions.
Romans 12:1-13 thus contains the core teaching on what “practical worship” means for us. Paul exhorts, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” while also emphasizing, “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” And finally, he concludes: “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.” Pastor David Jang translates this into our everyday practice, urging us to be all the more generous to those in need. If a mission field needs a laptop, do not stop at sending just one, but if possible, send more. This exemplifies Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:41 about going the extra mile and verse 42 about giving to those who ask. It is the posture of a disciple who puts love into action. The Church, as the New Israel, must supply each other’s needs and function as one body to carry the gospel and love to the ends of the earth.
The heart of Paul’s message in Romans 12 is that those who are saved and understand God’s work in history must demonstrate their faith through “practical living.” Salvation is not merely doctrinal knowledge; it must connect to a transformed life. By embracing the love of Christ, choosing a path opposite to worldly values, loving and respecting one another, and ultimately sharing what is ours with others in sacrificial love, we offer “spiritual worship.” Pastor David Jang reiterates that worship is completed not merely in the sanctuary’s formal gathering but also in our daily acts of service. The Church should raise global mission bases, assist one another, and bountifully provide the necessary resources, thereby expanding God’s kingdom. The vision of Ezekiel 37 that speaks of the strengthening of spiritual “bones” (structure) is insufficient without “tendons and flesh” (practical love and service). Once God has established the bones by His grace, we must add tendons and flesh to build a living, vibrant Church. This is the spirit of diakonia and the concrete command in Romans 12 to “share with the Lord’s people who are in need.”
All of these teachings are rooted in the love Jesus Christ personally demonstrated. The Lord asked Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” and then commanded, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). If we truly love the Lord, we must prove it by feeding His sheep. This includes caring for the Church and its community, supporting mission fields and neighbors in practical ways. This is the path for those called to be the New Israel, the practical direction of Romans 12, and the essence of Pastor David Jang’s teaching.
2. The Diakonia of the Saints and Practical Worship
To live as the New Israel, we must necessarily engage in diakonia and practical worship. Paul’s specific instructions in Romans 12 show believers how to worship through daily life. According to Pastor David Jang, Paul’s teachings here complete the soteriological discussion (Romans 1-8) and the historical discourse on Israel and the New Israel (Romans 9-11). No matter how thoroughly we know doctrine or understand redemptive history, such knowledge is useless if we fail to practice love in our lives.
In Romans 12:1, Paul declares: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” The word “Therefore” indicates that all the preceding statements about salvation and history now converge on this conclusion. How must those who are saved live? The answer is to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. Previously, people offered animal sacrifices to God, but now, because we have been saved through the cross of Jesus Christ, we are the sacrifice, dedicating our entire lives to Him. Since we are offered in a living state, this becomes “spiritual worship.”
For life to become worship, we must not conform to the pattern of the world but be renewed in our minds daily (Romans 12:2). The world is focused on self-satisfaction and self-interest, but the child of God shifts focus to self-sacrifice and love of neighbor. Hence, Paul provides detailed guidance on how to utilize our gifts and serve one another as members of one body (Romans 12:3-8). This culminates in “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). “Sharing with the Lord’s people” is not limited to giving financial help to those who lack material resources. It also includes providing spiritual comfort, empathy, and care—meeting all kinds of “needs.”
Pastor David Jang interprets Romans 12:13 as the essence of diakonia, describing it as the most important ministry the Church must practice. The Church proclaims the message (kerygma), and those who receive the Word share fellowship (koinonia). But we cannot stop there. The overflow of Christ’s love must manifest in tangible acts of service that meet needs—this is diakonia. When this diakonia flourishes, the Church implements the vision of Ezekiel 37, in which dry bones come to life and become a vast army.
Practically speaking, how do we “share with the Lord’s people who are in need”? Pastor David Jang offers many examples. If someone on the overseas mission field needs a laptop, a vehicle, or medical supplies, we should supply them generously. This obeys Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:41-42: “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” If someone requests one thing, we should be prepared to give two. This shows the posture of a disciple. Love is not proven by saying “I love you” but by meeting real needs in concrete action.
Further, this concept extends beyond individual or local church efforts to a global network of cooperation in “world missions.” Pastor David Jang uses the framework of “G20” to describe how churches in different countries should cooperate to assist one another and establish new churches elsewhere. Some mission fields have abundant financial resources but lack spiritual ones; other fields have ample human resources but are financially weak. When churches collaborate as one body to meet one another’s needs, the gospel is powerfully spread worldwide. This is diakonia on a global scale.
Romans 12:9 and following states, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” All of these exhortations involve practical steps. It tells us to love, but also shows how: honor one another, be diligent in serving the Lord, remain hopeful under trial, persevere in prayer, and ultimately provide real help. When someone expresses a need, we must not simply tell them, “I hope everything goes well for you,” but actively work to fulfill that need. Moreover, we should be attentive to “the needs they haven’t yet voiced.”
When a church community engages in diakonia like this, the world sees the character of Jesus Christ in the Church. Just as in the early church era, nonbelievers exclaimed, “See how they love one another!” so too in our modern times, if the Church practices the teachings of Romans 12 in a society starved for genuine love and service, it will cause great impact. This is the Church’s calling to be salt and light, and it becomes a powerful channel for spreading the gospel.
However, such practice is not easy because human nature is self-centered and prone to worldly influences. This is why Paul pleads, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” Also, for diakonia to flourish, we must first work to “tear down walls” within the Church. In Ephesians, Paul notes that the cross breaks down hostility—meaning that we must confront divisions, biases, discrimination, and misunderstandings inside the Church through the spirit of the cross. Through this process, koinonia is formed, and only then can diakonia truly unfold.
Pastor David Jang frequently mentions how we should experience a sense of holy fear when reading Scripture. For example, upon reading the scene where Jacob bows seven times before Esau (Genesis 33:3), we might ask ourselves, “Could I really make such a pure gesture of reconciliation?” Similarly, when Jesus says “not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22) about forgiveness, we might tremble at a command that surpasses our human limits. Yet such fear does not drive us to despair; rather, by the help of the Holy Spirit, it motivates us to approach that level of love. If the Church truly practiced forgiving seventy-seven times, we would witness a love of a magnitude rarely found in the world.
This is the lifestyle of the “New Israel.” If the Old Israel stumbled because it could not keep the Law, we who are called as the New Israel must fix our eyes on the cross of Jesus Christ, repenting daily and humbling ourselves to serve the saints. Throughout Romans 12, and also in 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Galatians, Paul tirelessly repeats the command: “Serve one another in love.” The distinguishing mark of the Church, set apart from the world, is precisely this “practice of love,” and this ultimately fulfills diakonia.
Moreover, diakonia is closely tied to the proclamation of the gospel. Simple charitable or humanitarian acts have their limits; we must do such works in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul, too, raised funds to support the Jerusalem church during his missionary journeys, connecting Jewish and Gentile believers into one body through acts of service. We must follow this example in our practice of diakonia. Our service should not merely be perceived as “human kindness,” but should lead people to say, “This is the love of Jesus Christ,” revealing an undergirding gospel message.
Practical worship as diakonia starts within the Church. By tending to each other’s needs among believers, we learn how to care, and that love naturally overflows into social service and public acts of compassion. Pastor David Jang warns that if the Church fails to care for its own members internally, no matter how flashy its external mission activities, the Church’s sincerity will be questioned. “Sharing with the Lord’s people who are in need” also implies carefully observing the circumstances of those closest to us. When love abounds in our inner circle, it will inevitably extend outward, becoming the true “light of the world.”
Romans 12’s command to “share with the Lord’s people who are in need and practice hospitality” remains a core directive that modern churches must reclaim, and it is also the “true worship” every believer must re-examine. Worship cannot be limited to one hour in a sanctuary; rather, we receive grace and the Word in that hour so we can apply it to everyday life, meeting the practical needs of our neighbors, mission fields, and fellow believers around the globe. Paul’s statement that “our life itself is worship” reaches its completion only when diakonia is put into action.
Pastor David Jang insists that if we truly love Christ, we must obey the command, “Feed my sheep.” To feed them is not merely to offer food but also to supply the spiritual nourishment of the Word, the material resources people lack, and the emotional support the weary soul needs. The Church community must collaborate in this “sheep-feeding ministry,” mobilizing individuals according to their gifts. Some excel at teaching, others at counseling and pastoral care; still others, with financial means, can share their resources, and those with administrative skills can organize efficiently. When diverse gifts unite to form one body, the Church exerts tremendous influence.
In this sense, diakonia is like muscle in the body. While a solid skeletal frame is essential, bones alone cannot function without muscles. Likewise, the Church, though possessing strong spiritual structure (doctrine, faith), needs the “flesh and sinews” of practical love and service to operate powerfully. Ezekiel 37’s vision of a “vast army” illustrates just this. Dry bones come to life through the Spirit, but they also need connecting tendons and flesh. If we already have the framework of faith in Jesus Christ, we now must add the muscle and flesh of service and love. Without these, the Church remains but a collection of “dry bones.”
As we practice the message of Romans 12:1-13, we learn true discipleship. Jesus told the disciples, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34) and “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). He personally washed the disciples’ feet, fed the hungry crowd with five loaves and two fish, and sat at the table with sinners. Each of these scenes is an example of diakonia. When the Church reflects such love, the world catches a glimpse of God’s kingdom through the Church and gains an opportunity to encounter the gospel.
We must remember that all this diakonia is not merely philanthropic work but an extension of “spiritual worship”—the living sacrifice we owe as those who have received salvation. Pastor David Jang reiterates Paul’s exhortation in Romans 12:1 that we should become “living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.” True worship is ultimately fulfilled in the sphere of self-sacrifice. Beautiful music and good preaching in the sanctuary alone do not complete worship. Only when we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to meeting the needs of the saints after the service does God receive true spiritual worship.
Therefore, the new life in Christ described in Romans 12:1-13, which belongs to those who have been saved, culminates in diakonia, whereby we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, stand against worldly values with renewed minds, honor each other’s diverse gifts in the Church, destroy the dividing wall through the cross, and serve the brethren in tangible ways. Through this process, the Church grows, the world sees the love of Jesus through the Church, and all of it aligns with God’s overarching plan of salvation. As Pastor David Jang frequently stresses, redemptive history is the grand narrative of God saving humanity from sin and bringing everything to its eschatological fulfillment. At its center stand the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Church.
Our task is simple: hear the Word (kerygma), share fellowship (koinonia), and demonstrate love in service (diakonia). By doing so, we display our identity as the New Israel, glorify God, and follow Jesus’ teaching. Romans 12 is a condensed guide to all these practical steps. All who have received salvation should examine themselves in the light of these teachings: “Am I truly worshiping God through my life? Am I sharing with those who are in need? Am I genuinely practicing hospitality?” Pastor David Jang’s message reawakens these questions, urging us to take concrete action.
Hence, both as individuals and as a church community, we must not only remember today’s teaching but also promptly put it into practice. When someone expresses a need, instead of first asking, “How much am I able to give?” we should ask, “How can I give more, more generously?” That is the love Jesus demonstrated and the essence of true worship described in Romans 12. A community of believers who truly embrace this will be clearly recognized as “disciples of Christ” by the world. This is the life after salvation, the calling of the New Israel, and the practical conclusion of the gospel that Pastor David Jang persistently proclaims.