“A 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 KJV
In the first 11 chapters of Romans, Paul explained the Gospel of God! He explained how the whole world was guilty before God and how man, through Jesus, could be reconciled to God. The theme of Romans is the Gospel of God, more specifically; the righteousness that is from God. This “righteousness from God” is first the righteousness that God Himself possesses and manifests in all His actions; and second, it is the righteousness that God gives to human beings by grace through faith. This involves an imputed righteous standing before God (justification) and an imparted righteous practice and a progressively transformed lifestyle. The latter due to the regenerating and indwelling Holy Spirit of God (regeneration and sanctification).
This imputation of the righteousness of God is the basis for Paul’s exhortatory statement that begins Chapter 12. Listen to what he said! He said: “I beseech you therefore.” “I urge you therefore.” “I appeal to you therefore.” I had an Old Testament Professor in school, who always told us: “Whenever you are reading the Bible and you see the word, ‘therefore,’ you ought to stop and see what it is there for!” Well, this “therefore” forms the connection between what Paul was about to say in Chapter 12 with what he had already said in chapters 1-11! And so, he stated that his appeal was based on the mercies of God that he had expounded upon in chapters 1-11. Paul’s appeal could be worded like this in our modern-day
vernacular: “Brothers, I urge you therefore, based on what God has already done, this is what you ought to do!” The basis of your dedication ought to be the mercies of God!
I find it quite interesting that Paul made this appeal based upon the mercies of God as opposed to it being based upon the grace of God. There is a difference between God’s grace and God’s mercy. God’s grace is His divine unmerited favor. God’s grace is His giving us what we don’t deserve. Whereas, God’s mercy is His pity and compassion. God’s mercy is not giving us what we do deserve! There are a whole lot of folks who complain that God is not fair! But, I am glad that God is not fair! I don’t want the Lord to be fair with me! You see, if God was fair; He’d give me what I deserve! I deserve to die and go to a burning Hell! But thank God for His mercy! His mercy allowed Him to look beyond my fault and see my need! Thank God for his mercy! And so, Paul said that his appeal was based upon the mercies of God! Now, based upon what God has done for you, this is what you ought to do in response!
My brothers and sisters, you need to know today that it is always God who is the first cause! It is always God who makes the first move! If you have been truly saved; it was not because you “found” the Lord, but rather it was because He came to where you were and found you! Yes! That’s how salvation works! If you and I are to be saved, we must respond by faith to what God has already done through Christ Jesus! And so, Paul said, “I appeal to you, my brothers, based upon the mercies that God has already extended. Note, that the word “mercies” is plural God wasn’t and isn’t just merciful once, but He was and is consistently and constantly merciful! Oh! Has the Lord been consistently and constantly merciful to you? Oh! I could have been dead; sleeping in my grave, but the Lord was consistently and constantly merciful!
Hence, Paul said to the church at Rome; “Based upon the mercies of God that I have just explain to you, this should be your response: Present your bodies as a living sacrifice!” Now, first of all, this presentation should be a once and for all presentation! There should be a point and time in your life when you make up your mind that you are going to make this presentation. Paul was not talking about an on now and an off later situation! The Greek word used in the text is a technical term for offering a sacrifice. Now, once you offer a sacrifice, you can’t take it back! Even in the pagan religions, once the offering was laid upon the altar, it was the sole possession of the gods! It could not be retracted! The offering is not of one’s possessions or cattle as was the custom in the Old Testament, but rather Paul said to, “Present your bodies!” In this text, the use of the term “bodies” is not to be understood as making a differentiation between the material and the immaterial part of man. No! Its use is to be understood as the author’s way of saying that we are to present our total selves as a living sacrifice! Not just in parts, but wholly and completely! I can remember when people used to get up and testify that they were so glad that God was a part of their lives. But, my brothers and sisters, the Lord has never desired to be just a part of our lives! Nowhere is it even implied in scripture that He is willing to settle for just being a part! With Him, it is all or nothing! The Psalmist asked the question in Psalms 116: 12: “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?” (KJV). The old folks used to sing back home: “How much do I owe Him?” Well, we owe Him everything! And it’s about time we come to realize that we cannot bribe God with money! Some people think that if they just pay the tithe or consistently give a good offering that they have fulfilled their obligation to God. But you need to understand today that God is not really after the money! He doesn’t need it! The Psalmist says, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Ps. 24:1 KJV) No! He’s not really after the money; He’s wants you! He knows the value we place upon money, for the Bible says; where a man’s treasure is, his heart will be there also! Therefore, one of the sure signs of one’s spiritual devotion or the lack thereof is the manner in which one handles finances in regard to God, the church and the kingdom! A true Christian not only has a sanctified soul; he has a sanctified pocketbook also! In fact, he understands that there is no part of his life that is off-limits to the Master! That’s what Paul meant in saying, “Present your bodies!” He meant that we are to present ourselves totally to God!
Yes! We are to present ourselves, once and for all, completely as a “living sacrifice!” Now, those two words, living sacrifice, compose in English what is called an oxymoron! An oxymoron is a combination of two seemingly contradictory or incongruous words, such as a “deafening silence.” In our text, we have the combination of a living sacrifice! Sacrifices in the Old Testament were dead animals! But here, Paul said that we were to present our bodies as a “living sacrifice!” What that means is that we are to live our lives, giving up or sacrificing what we want or desire for what God wants and requires of us! It means that we must die to “self” in order to be alive unto God! It means that we are to live our lives echoing the words of Jesus; “Not my will, but let Thy will be done!” This is what Jesus was talking about when he said; “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 16:24-25 KJV)
I think that the reason so many Christians have a problem with this concept of total dedication is because of a failure to understand that we don’t belong to ourselves! The Bible says, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I Cor. 6: 19-20 KJV) Yes, we have been bought with a price, that price being the precious blood of God’s own Son! Many Christians fail to understand that not only were they saved “from” sin, but they were saved “unto” God! “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (Romans 6: 18-22 KJV) No! We were not saved unto ourselves, but rather we were saved unto God! We don’t have the right to do our own thing! We don’t belong to ourselves; we belong to God!
Now, Paul’s description of this “living sacrifice” was that, first of all it was to be holy! That word, “holy” does not mean “sinless” but rather, “set apart!” When we present our bodies (our total selves) as living sacrifices unto God, it means that we are to be exclusively His! We are to serve no purpose other than His purpose! You see, the bottom line is that if, in our lives, God cannot be God and God all by Himself, then He will not be God at all! He is a jealous God, for I heard Him saying to the Israelites; “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none other gods before me.” (Deut. 5: 6-7 KJV) He absolutely refuses to share our affections and devotion!
Paul said that this presentation of our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God should not only be regarded as holy, but also as being “acceptable” unto God! The Greek word that is translated as “acceptable” also means “well-pleasing.” When we present ourselves totally to God in a sacrificial manner, it is pleasing to God! Now, by implication, this is also to suggest that if we don’t or refuse to do this, we are displeasing to God!
Well, Paul ends this by saying that this is your reasonable service! In other words, this is not an unreasonable imposition by the Lord! He’s not requiring anything that is beyond reason! Based on what He has already done (His mercies) it’s only logical that we should live totally for Him! He gave us His best and He asks for our best in return! He’s not requiring too much of us! For this is our reasonable service! Oh! All to Jesus I surrender! Lord, I give myself to Thee! Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessings fall on me! I surrender all! I surrender all! All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all!
