A Living Sacrifice

Today I am commenting on Romans 12:1-3, which says,

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God--what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Paul taught us in the Book of Romans that God has reached down into our lives and has done something remarkable for us.  He has caused us to become righteous in our position before Him through our faith in the work of Christ.

This is called “imputed righteousness,” and it is given to us by the grace and mercy of God through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. We are made righteous, not by anything we do, but by what was done for us, what was done on our behalf on the first Easter Sunday. We are greatly blessed by this, because if we received what we really deserved it would be eternal punishment in Hell. Instead we have received abundant life in the here and now and in the hereafter.

Our response should be to become “A Living Sacrifice.”  The problem is, as one of my seminary professors used to say, that living sacrifices tend to crawl off the alter.  Let us look today at how we can be better living sacrifices.

First, We Must Present Our Bodies To God: 

Today, more than ever, we are conscious of our bodies: slim is in, plump is out! We work out, watch our cholesterol, try to eat right and exercise equipment and gym memberships are best-sellers.

Unfortunately, like all human endeavors, things can get out of balance. We have seen numerous scandals concerning performance enhancing drugs in almost all sports and popular “health” habits like tanning can cause melanoma. Dieting can become anorexia nervosa and liposuction can result in deadly infections. Some clothes makers have begun cutting clothes more generously so buyers can feel better about themselves fitting into “smaller sizes.”

So, what is the proper response? Commit our bodies to God and use them to glorify Him and not ourselves. 

When new owners buy out a business, they often invest significant sums of money in rebranding it to show it is different than before and has new owners. The same should be true of people; their outward lives should reflect to whom they belong.  For Christians, of course, that is God and our bodies, and our lifestyle must honor Him

We Must Present our Minds to God:

What we believe is important because all events are filtered through what we believe. This is demonstrated with a common parlor trick: When shown two lines and told one is longer than the other, people “see” a difference in the lines. Our minds are powerful, and they can play tricks on us, and how we believe the world works affects all our thoughts.

How do people view God in the world today?

Some say there is no God (atheism & secularism).

Some believe in many gods (new age, animism, & polytheism).

Some believe in one impersonal god (deism).

We, of course, believe in one personal, powerful God: Our God!

We need to renew our mind-set in the information-saturated age in which we live. All kinds of ideas, and all kinds of “facts” flood into our lives daily from the news media, social media, entertainment, and other sources, both digital and analogue. We must learn to discern truth from fiction.

God gave us a wonderful brain, and we must use it! As one commentator on this passage noted, Paul talks about the renewal, not the removal, of our minds! 

We need to: read the Bible, pray, worship, attend Bible study, read Christian books, as well as reflect on the ideas present to us as we talk with others about them. We need to stretch ourselves and our minds. As the slogan of the United Negro College Fund goes, “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” This is equally true for Christians today.

We Must Present our Wills to God:

There are three basic areas of our lives: the physical, the mental and emotional, and the spirit and will. As 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

To be a complete sacrifice, all areas of our lives must be presented to God, including, and especially, our wills. 

If someone offered to give you a car, and said to you, “This car is beautiful, and the body is spotless. It has the best GPS system and best in-car entertainment system available. It has all-digital controls which you can change at the touch of a button. It is a great car, but, oh, by the way, it has no motor.” Would you be interested in it? Even as a gift, would it be useful to you?

If we don’t bow our knee and surrender our will to our Father, we are just like that car which is complete except for the motor. Knowing right from wrong is not enough; we must obey Him! We must be willing to do and think the right thing!

In addition, obedience in the wrong spirit is not enough either! 

I know a fellow who, back in the 1970’s was something of a hippie. He dressed the part, from his long hair down to wearing sandals on his feet, but at the same time he was an excellent mathematician. He went to college and graduated with a degree in mathematics and became a business executive. A friend from school saw him one day and said, “I never thought I’d see you wearing a suit and tie!” The fellow replied, “Yes, but inside I am still wearing sandals!”

Let me say, that I included that story not to criticize someone who has to dress for business but not enjoy it. It is a different thing with God, however.

Like a saddle-broke horse, we must allow our stubborn wills to be broken for the Lord! We must have the same internal attitude of obedience and submission as we do an external appearance of obedience and submission. Our lives must be congruent in private as well as in public; in our hearts as well as in our actions.

Conclusion:

As we consider the redeeming work of Christ on our behalf on the cross, let us commit ourselves to be living sacrifices for Him.  Let us present our bodies, our minds, and our wills to Him today! May He be sovereign over all components of our lives, all of the time!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt