A Living Sacrifice

by Evan Stewart, August 21, 2005

“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.”
-Romans 12:1(NAS)

Introduction
The text that we will examine is a verse that is known by many Christians. This one verse and much of this chapter of Romans is quoted by many ministers and Christian teachers alike. So, if you have been a Christian for many years you have more than likely heard this verse used by a speaker and if you are new to the Body of Christ you have more than likely heard this verse before. This verse’s popularity is due to the fact that this verse contains a central and foundational truth for the life of a Christian. For this reason, I would to break this verse apart and examine it phrase by phrase so that we may understand exactly what it is that God is telling us through the words of Paul.

Dissection of the verse

Therefore I urge you
Paul begins the twelfth chapter of Romans by calling his audience to the attention of the first eleven chapters of his epistle. He writes at length about what can be considered the definition of Christianity. Before this verse he mainly focuses on the explanation of salvation and the gospel of Christ. Once here, he begins to address the Roman believers with the application of all that he has stated previously. Therefore I urge you literally means ‘I now call this to your attention because of everything that I have previously explained’. What is it that Paul previously explained? We must know this before the full meaning of this verse and the remaining chapter can be understood.

Paul writes eleven chapters explaining the grace and mercy of God that He has shown to us who believe and to the world. The beginning of this epistle details our initial condition before God. We are told by the very words of God that we have willfully turned away from Him who created us and that we now stand condemned to die for the trespasses committed. Paul is clear from the beginning of chapter one through chapter twelve that God made Himself known to all men, that we chose to indulge in the desires of our flesh and forsake His Lordship, that He gave us over to our desires as a result of our disobedience, and that nothing can save us from His coming wrath except that of the shed blood of His Son.

In brief Romans 1:19, 20 read “that which is known about God is evident within them (man); for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse”. He continues in verse twenty-one that “for even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened”. Basically Paul states that man is to blame for his current state. Yes, God is sovereign, and Paul covers this in chapter nine, and He is in control of everything and He remains in complete and total control even when we disobey and turn from Him in order to serve ourselves as gods, but He makes it undeniably clear that He made and continues to make Himself known to man and yet all of us have turned away from Him. The sentence of death placed on us due to our violation of God’s perfect law and will is a result of our own actions and rebellion, not God’s.

To further explain and elaborate on the initial depravity of man, Paul continues in chapter two that “all who have sinned without the Law (that is the Gentile) will perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law (that is the Jew) will be judged by the Law” and we know from Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Chapter three verses ten through twelve boldly state man’s initial position before God, “there is none righteous, not even one; there in none who understands, there is none who seeks God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one”.

Paul does not stop with the depravity of man, however, he continues to profess that although we are vile and evil apart from God, God has chosen to offer His amazing grace to the world. Chapter three beginning is verse twenty-one reads, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe”. Salvation is through faith in Christ and salvation is made possible only by the grace of God. We can never earn salvation through our own efforts but God must come to us in order for us to receive salvation and He comes to us because He loves us, not because we are deserving. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Ro. 5:6).

After the grace of God is upon us, Paul stresses that we have been made alive through Christ and we are no longer held captive by sin. Therefore, being freed from sin we are called by God to live a life in opposition to sin. Romans 6:15 states “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!”. Once you are saved your soul is eternally held captive by God. We have been made free in Christ but we are not to use our freedom to indulge in sin (Gal. 5:13). Though we are free from the bondage of sin, we still we struggle with the sin that remains in our mortal flesh. According to Romans 7:19, 20 Paul writes that “the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me”.

Even though sin wars within us, we have been set free by the shed blood of Christ and through the Spirit of God we find the ability to forsake sin. We do nothing in and of ourselves to overcome sin but we can and must take hold of the Spirit and allow Him to enable us to overcome sin (Ro. 8:12, 13).

Therefore, because of what has been explained Paul urges us to comply with what he now explains. We have sinned, we have turned from God, we are deserving of death and not life, yet God has sent His Son to die for us not due to our merit but due to His love for us. We walked away from God and God has invited us to come back to Him, but our reception of this amazing gift requires us to submit to His Lordship and die to ourselves (Ro. 10:9-10).

by the mercies of God
The mercy of God refers to the summation of all that Paul has previously written. Again what must be understood here is that Paul urges us to adhere to what he now writes because of what God has done for us. We are to be motivated to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice by the mercy and grace of God that He has poured on us who are undeserving. For no other reason are we to live holy lives. We do not live holy lives in order to be seen as righteous in the eyes of men, we do not live holy lives so that we might consider our own selves righteous, but we are to live holy lives because God has offered His Son as a blood sacrifice so that we may have life. We serve and obey God because of who He is and what He has done for us.

present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God
This is the heart of the message. This is the heart of this whole epistle. The first eleven chapters do of course hold more truth and knowledge than just this one concept, but everything prior to this verse is more of a preface for this verse and the remaining instructions. Everything explained before this verse is used by Paul to elaborate the indispensability and importance of this one simple command and everything explained afterwards is elaboration of this command. He has written in detail about the mercies of God and now he reaches the point of application. Again, because of who God is and everything that He has done for us who believe, we are to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice. This one command is in actuality the heart and message of the entire Word of God. Christ says in Matthew 22:37, 38 that “‘you shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all you soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment”. The purpose of every man and woman, boy and girl, is to submit to the will of the Father in Heaven. Not all men will do so, of course, but we were created to worship God and we who believe were bought at the highest price so that we may do just that; worship God with all our heart, and our soul, and our mind. We have been saved by grace so that we may offer our bodies a living and holy sacrifice. It must be known and remembered that Christ did not shed His blood for us and the Father did not draw us to Him so that we may be happy. God’s primary purpose for salvation is not our individual happiness. Happiness is a product of salvation and it is one of the many products of salvation, but it is not the goal of salvation. God has chosen to save us so that we may be as He intended us to be which is His children and servants in His kingdom. Again, happiness is a product of salvation but be assured that Christ did not die with the sole motivation to make you happy. As a matter of fact, happiness is usually absent when we offer our bodies to God because happiness is an emotion that is created by good or comfortable circumstances and sacrifice can be and usually is painful. If some sort of pain or discomfort is not felt, then a sacrifice has probably not been made. The very definition of the term ‘sacrifice’ makes this known, “forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim”. To offer our bodies as a living sacrifice must involve pain and difficulty otherwise we would not need God’s help in doing so.

Furthermore, the sacrifice made is living, the sacrifice made is of our lives. God has and will continue to call us to forsake certain objects in our lives and we are expected and required to obey Him. We easily become emotionally or spiritually attached to sin and pain usually will accompany the detachment of certain sins because we are truly putting to death something that is a part of us.

The question that now must be addressed concerns the ‘how’ or ‘what’ of living sacrifice. How do we offer our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice? What in our lives must we sacrifice in order to be holy in the sight of God? The easy and general answer is, “you must sacrifice and forsake anything and everything that God deems unholy or tainted with sin”. The more difficult and detailed answer deals with the specifics of what is to be sacrificed. This is something that I cannot answer for anyone else but myself. All of us struggle with different temptations and vices and so I could say to one person, “Rid our life of alcohol”, but this advice would only be useful for an individual who struggles with drunkenness or the temptation of alcohol. To the person whom is not tempted by alcohol this information is mere fact and not sound and applicable advice. Therefore, I must offer the simple and quick answer of “forsake anything and everything that God deems tainted by sin or unholy”.

Nevertheless, if I cannot tell you what is unholy or sinful then who can? The Spirit of God of course! Christ promises us God the Spirit by saying “but when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). Ask God to humble your heart and reveal the sins that infect your life. Seek earnestly God through prayer and He will show you what is unholy in your life. Be aware, however, because of the world in which we live you may be surprised by many things that God finds as unholy or tainted with sin. We will be called to give up things that have been in our lives for years and some that are recent additions. Some music may have to be thrown out, certain programs may have to be turned off, and various relationships may have to cease. In addition, due to the brilliant tactics of the Enemy there may be things presented before you by God’s Spirit as sinful that will shock you because they have been packaged as if they were good. Music that is accepted by the culture and by the majority of the Christian community may be deemed sinful, programs watched by the majority and well loved among the masses may be labeled unholy, activities that are fun and entertaining may be classified as evil, and friendships or relationships may be announced as dangerous and deadly. When God says let go or put down we are called and expected to adhere to His command without question or protest. We can, however, question whether or not something is truly sinful when it is presented as sinful for we must never forget that the Enemy masquerades as an angel of light (2 Co. 11:14) and can present the good as evil. When in doubt ask God for clarification, but when divine clarification is given we must learn not to question any longer. When God commands we are expected to obey. A living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God is a sacrifice that He defines and desires. We cannot define what is holy and acceptable because on our own we do not know and can never know what is holy and acceptable. We are fallen beings and only God can instruct us on what is good and holy. God defines the rules for holy living and our responsibility is to adhere to these definitions. The road is difficult and the path is narrow and when you truly begin to sacrifice your life unto God you will have to throw out many things that the world deems good and true and you will face persecution from those outside of the Spirit and even those who are in the Spirit but who are not walking closely with the Spirit. But we are not to pay attention to those who view the wisdom of God as foolishness. Scripture declares that the foolishness of God, if He were to be foolish, is wiser than man (1 Co. 1:25).

which is your spiritual service of worship
Another question of ‘why’ is answered with the words which is your spiritual service of worship. To repeat, we are to offer our bodies a living and holy sacrifice because of the mercies of God and we are also to do this because this is our service of worship, but here God offers a secondary motivation.

The translation of the Greek as ‘spiritual service’ can be somewhat misleading. This translation is by no means incorrect but may be slightly improper in regards to the modern English language. The Greek word logikos is translated as spiritual and it literally means ‘pertaining to speech or speaking; pertaining to the reason or logic’. Within the context of the passage the use of the word ‘spiritual’ is correct because Paul is referring to the acts of our spirit in regards to obedience and thus what he writes is pertaining to reason in regards to our spirit. However, since the word ‘spiritual’ is associated with so much mysticism and mystery in our culture, a clearer rendering of this section of the text is ‘which is your reasonable service’. The King James Version of the Bible translates accordingly.

Since we have been saved by grace, since God has given a second chance to His creatures who in absolutely no way deserve a second chance, sound reason dictates that we offer our lives to Him. The Great Rescuer has indeed rescued our souls from the eternal and fiery death and therefore we should feel indebted to Him. Now I do not mean to imply that we are actually indebted to God because we can never repay Him for what He has done. Nonetheless, He has paid the greatest price, the blood of His Son, to buy us from the bondage of sin and again I stress that our reasonable duty to Him is unconditional surrender. Nothing else will or can every suffice! We are wretched and we have been given the opportunity to be saved by grace and the all knowing God has declared and promised that He will forget all of our trespasses when we fall on our knees in front of the cross. To rebel against our Great Lover is the highest form of unreason. To truly consider the sin which we hesitate to give up on a continual basis should fill us with shame because He did not hesitate for one moment to give up all that He is. Thankfully though, God loves us and God will always be faithful even when we are faithless (2 Tim. 2:13), but sound and true reason will force us to admit that to obey is the least that we can do for a God whom has done the most.

Conclusion
Christian this is your calling, this is your charge from God, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual and reasonable service of worship. He has saved us for this purpose and this is the task that He expects us to work out for the rest of our Earthly lives and He has given each of us His Spirit so that we may carry out His calling.

God also expects this from anyone who has yet to believe in and submit to the King eternal. The difference is that the person who does not know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior cannot possibly complete this task and calling because they do not house God the Spirit within. If you fall into this category then you now know the direction and path that your life should be heading, but you can never begin to follow this path or walk in this direction, for you are incapable of every reaching it on your own. Today you can join those who have been made alive through Christ because God offers His grace and forgiveness to you. No matter where you are, no matter what you have done, the forgiveness of God is available for you and it requires that you forsake the life you now live and to submit to the Lordship of Christ. You have not and cannot receive grace by your own desire, you can only receive it when God calls you to Him, but if He is calling you today then respond to His great love. Simply and sincerely turn to Him via a personal and intimate prayer with Him, admit that you are a sinner and worthy of death, confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ, God the Son and the Son of God, is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved (Rom. 10:9-10).