Living Sacrifices

Our Bodies a living sacrifice:


“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” ~Romans 12:1-2.

These are some powerful verses that we must not take lightly or Passover without a thought. It is crucial to be certain we understand the word of God, not just read it over. For once we fully understand it; we are then able to fully live it.

In verse one Paul says “I beseech you”, “beseech” literally means to beg. Then he goes on further and says “brethren”, referring to brothers and sisters in Christ. So he starts out making it clear to whom he is speaking (us) the believers. Then he goes on to say why. “By the mercies of God.” Romans Chapters one to eleven tells us of all the mercies of God. Romans chapter twelve is basically a summary. So of all those glorious mercies shown to us (in chapters one to eleven) Paul makes it clear to us that it is our “reasonable service” to present our bodies as living sacrifices. After all the mercies performed to us by God, it is (and should be) a reflex for the believer to do so. So Paul is basically shaking us saying “wake up! Look at all the mercies God has shown you! It’s your reasonable service to present yourselves as living sacrifices!”

So when we do present our bodies as living sacrifices, then what? Should we get a gold star from God? Certainly not! It is our “reasonable service”, it is expected, and it should be a reflex. Paul is begging us to wake up and realize these truths.

How are we to present our bodies as living sacrifices? “Holy, acceptable to God.” Back in that culture when they were to make (animal) sacrifices, they took the spotless animal. So when we daily bring our bodies as living sacrifices, they are to be acceptable to God. We are not to insult Him by bringing ourselves daily unclean and unacceptable. Look back with me to that culture. One would have to make themselves presentable in order to see the king. In the same manner we are to be presentable when we come before the King of kings.

What is a living sacrifice? It is literally a sacrifice that is living. God is no longer commanding dead animal sacrifices; He is commanding real alive humans. What we find in verse two helps us to further understand this, “and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In our world today even the church is being conformed to the ways of the world. Just to be clear-when we say “the world” it means the system. We are not to be conformed into this evil system. The issue is, the church does its best to conform to the evil ways of the system. The church continues to accept the ways of the world. For instance, the church now accepts homosexuality; divorce… the list goes on. By accepting these things they justify their sin-they try to at least. By forming their own views and saying God loves homosexuals, they are insulting God saying that God loves sin. But if God is a righteous God, and loves righteousness, He cannot love sin, He hates sin. And that is something our culture seems to be forgetting. These are only examples, there are far more that it would take far too long to name. The church today is far too often conforming to the image of this world, when they should be conforming to the image of God. When we become Christians God transforms us. Salvation is a turning point from being “conformed” by this world, and a daily walk in the direction of being “transformed” by God.

What areas need to be transformed? Every area, every inch, but for the sake of time I will only name a few; Mind, body, and soul. “By the renewing of your mind.” Did you know the sins of the mind are just as serious, if not worse, then those performed outwardly? In God’s eyes sin is sin, in any way shape or form. The sins of the mind are what we often take lightly; we must realize the danger in them is quite great. Our thought life must be Christ centered as well. We must maintain a pure mind. Body. We are to present our “bodies” as living sacrifices. The body is what operates the soul. In everything we use our bodies for; they are to bring honor and glory to God. One area could be dress. What we put on our bodies must honor God, not the body itself. Dress is not the only area; I have only used it as an example. Soul. As I stated above, the body is what operates the soul, so who you are on the inside will be shown on the outside.

Now, will any of this be easy? Absolutely not, but Christianity is not meant to be easy. Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices will be difficult. “God is the LORD, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the alter” ~Psalm 118:27

Its interesting how much alike this passage is to Romans 12:1-2. It starts out by saying what God has done for us; “God is the LORD, and He has given us light.” Then it goes right into the command “Bind the sacrifice with cords.” Scripture often repeats itself to continually remind us of its importance. Another thing out of this picture is struggle. Picture that for just a moment. An animal struggling for survival, they had to bind it down. The lust of the flesh, the sins of the mind, will struggle for survival, but we must fight back with every breath in us and bind them to the alter.

We are to daily present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, for of all the mercies God has shown us, it is our reasonable service.

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