Living Sacrifice

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.—Romans 12:1

I have a friend who is incredibly benevolent and, since he is wealthy, he is constantly receiving request for assistance. Some of the requests are legitimate. Some of the appeals are not.

Personally, I am very careful not to visit him only when I need a favor from him. My focus often is to make a friendly visit to let him know I am interested in him and not just concerned about what he can do for me.

Consequently, if we are not careful, our relationship with God can be one directional. We can be into the getting from God, but not focused on giving to God.

Last week at our George-Greene Baptist Association Minister’s Conference, we discussed worship. Neil Wigley, Worship Pastor at Agricola Baptist, set the tone for our discussion when he stated, “Worship is giving to God.” We go to church to worship God and not to be entertained. For me, I always want to ask, “Was God pleased with me today?” The entertainment value of a worship service is of little importance.

Also, worship is not limited to a place. Worship is to be ongoing in the life of a Christian. Recorded in his Expository Dictionary, William D. Mounce defined worship as “the appropriate response of a believing heart that adores God.”

In Romans 12:1, Paul challenged the believers to present their “bodies” as a “living sacrifice.” The body represents every aspect of life, including the physical, spiritual, and intellectual. Give it all to God.

For Paul, this was the reasonable response. As it has been said, “If Jesus has died for me, the least I can do is live for Him.” British athlete C. T. Studd said, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.”

Finally, Paul closed the passage by saying presenting yourself to God is your “reasonable service.” In other words, daily surrender is your “spiritual worship.” Since Jesus was the final sacrifice for our sins, we do not have to come to God with a dead animal, but we do come with lives surrendered to Him.