A living sacrifice
A living sacrifice
Romans 12:1 - Our “true and proper worship” is a life lived according to God’s Word.
The Sacrifice of Noah, Attributed to Antonio de Bellis, 1640-1655, Public Domain (from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston)
“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.”
Romans 12:1 NIV
When I looked at my list of all of the devotionals we’ve written for Heaven On Wheels (over 900), it surprised me that a full dozen of the verses came from Chapter 12 of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. That says a lot about the importance of this chapter and its 21 verses in the New Testament.
Paul begins the verse and chapter with an appeal to our will (“I urge you”). God is calling us to make a conscious decision about how we live for Him. Paul is begging his brothers and sisters in Christ to live a certain lifestyle out of thanks for what God did has done for us.
The next words, “in view of God’s mercy”, remind us that we will answer Paul’s appeal in the positively because we understand the mercy God has shown us. God commands us to offer ourselves to Him as He works His mercy in us. We’ve been commanded to do this, and He also makes it possible for us to respond in kind.
What are these mercies of God that we are reminded of elsewhere in Romans? Here’s a concise list from Enduring Word:
Justification from the guilt and penalty of sin.
Adoption in Jesus and identification with Christ.
Placed under grace, not law.
Giving the Holy Spirit to live within.
Promise of help in all affliction.
Assurance of a standing in God’s election.
Confidence of coming glory.
Confidence of no separation from the love of God.
Confidence in God’s continued faithfulness.
That is a LOT of mercy, available for all time; past, present, and future. Paul urges his readers to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Those reading the epistle in both the first century knew what sacrifice was all about — offering up animals, bread, oils, and grains at an altar as seen in the image at the top of this page. A living sacrifice would have been something new to those early Christians.
What makes a sacrifice a living sacrifice? It is brought alive to the altar, and it stays alive after being brought to the altar. It is an ongoing, continuous sacrifice, not a “drop and go” sacrifice as offered both by Jews and pagans of the first century.
God wants our living sacrifice — the spirit, soul, flesh, and mind that make up our bodies — to be holy and pleasing to Him. In the Old Testament (as found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy), the physical sacrifices had to be hold and pleasing to God. In the New Testament covenant, our holy sacrifice is our decision to be holy and to yield to the work of God in our lives. Once again from the Enduring Word commentary, “As we present our bodies a living sacrifice, God makes our life holy by burning away impurities.”
Paul ends this powerful verse by saying that our living sacrifice is “true and proper worship.” In the ancient Greek, the word for “true and proper” (or reasonable) is λογικός (logikos), which can also be translated as “of the word”. Our “true and proper worship” is a life lived according to God’s Word.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer is taken from Knowing Jesus:
Lord, take my life and let it be consecrated to You. Take my life my Lord, I pour my life out as a living sacrifice to You. Praise Your holy name for the amazing gift of salvation that You have given to me, by grace through faith. You alone are worthy of my love and praise forever and ever. In Jesus' name, AMEN.