Sacrifice

Context

This morning we find ourselves in the book of Romans, we are only going to cover two verses this morning. One thing I want us to grasp before we start is the do we truly realize that what we call our Bible is how God speaks to us. It is not just words on a page, it is the God of heaven and earth speaking to us. After last weeks message, I had this worrisome feeling, you know that feeling you get when you there is something you should have finished but you can’t quiet remember what. Well for me that feeling was a feeling of unfinished business. I want to make sure we completely grasp the aspects of our Faith and God’s provision, and how we put that into practice. Well remember the key verse from last weeks text out of Matthew “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” well today we are going to take that a bit further, so here we are in Romans. The book of Romans is rich with theology, and up to this point Paul has been highlighting what God has given to believers. With the start of chapter 12 he moves to what should believers be giving to God. There must be a solid theological foundation, otherwise it is little more than advice about how to deal with a religious community, and if God had not done what he did for us, there would be no compelling reason why we should now do what he says. You might be asking well what does that have to do with faith and God’s provision because those are both from Him, but if we do not do our part, if we are lazy and do not follow His commands where will our faith be. Paul is starting to teach the practical application for a life that is lived our of response to what God has done for the believer, a life focused on the kingdom and His righteousness. We are going to read the text and then dig into each verse one section at a time.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

As we get ready to dive into these verse we see the first verse is an appeal, but in reality it is a command, and then the second verse is how we are to carry out that command.

Romans 12:1 (ESV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God,

We are only looking at the first part of verse one here. It needs to be understood that Paul is talking about brothers and sister in Christ here. The Greek word that is translated appeal or urge carries the basic meaning of coming along side in order to help or give aid. This is a gentle command to Paul’s fellow Christians, and us as well. You probably have gotten tired of hearing me say this but here we go with the “therefore” well in this case Paul is referring to the entire letter prior to this sentence. Remember he has been telling the believers in Rome what all God has done for them, He has brought salvation through one man, Christ, showing His care and provision for them. These are some of the mercies of God, showing His love and grace through the sacrifice of His son.

John 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Our faith and our living sacrifice is rooted in the theological foundations of His Word, remember there are two parts to His word, 1 the Bible, and 2 the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s more than just knowing the Bible, sure that is part of it, but it is about a relationship with the true Word, a relationship with Christ.

Romans 12:1 (ESV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

In order for one to present themselves as a living sacrifice, they must first have a relationship with God, and the first part of our sacrifice is presenting our souls. As believers this is the first element of our living sacrifice, and without that there can be no sacrifice at all. This is understood that when believers give their lives to Christ they have given their souls to Him. Next Paul calls for believers to give their bodies as a living sacrifice. Our bodies are where are sinful flesh still dwells, and tempts and lures us to sin. We need to keep in mind the dualistic philosophy that was very prominent during this time. They believed that the soul was inherently good and the body was inherently evil. This train of though lead to all sorts of immorality. Every part of us, every part is created for God’s glory. We should be willing to present ourselves back to the One Who created us. Because our bodies are not yet completely redeemed we must give them over to the Lord continually.

Romans 12:1 (ESV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Paul urges us by the mercies of God’s grace that we give our body, however imperfect, but useful bodies to God as a living sacrifice. Remember the word holy means set apart, we are set apart for His purposes, not to be apart of this world. The only thing acceptable to God is holiness. (Which can only be achieved through Christ) Paul uses the language of the Old Testament ritual offerings in the Tabernacle. However these sacrifices are no longer required and have no effect anymore. Why?

Hebrews 9:11–12 NASB95

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Sacrifices of dead animals are no longer acceptable to God. Because the Lamb of God was sacrificed in their place. Now those who are redeemed offer themselves, all they are and all they have as living sacrifices. The only acceptable worship to God under the New Covenant is by offering oneself to God. We now offer ourselves not to pay the price for our sins, but to as obedient servants offering what we have to our Master, to be used as He needs.

Romans 12:1 (NKJV)

1 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.

The only means of true worship that we have is to offer ourselves to our LORD, as a holy living sacrifice. We are set apart for a special purpose. Now at this point Paul is not speaking about only spiritual sacrifice. I used the NKJV on this one because of the use of the word “reasonable”. It is reasonable to give ourselves to God in light of all the things God has done for us, it is only reasonable to give oneself as a living sacrifice. It is like the Casting Crown song “Who am I” “Not because of who I am, But because of what you've done, Not because of what I've done, But because of who you are” It is because who God is and what He has done that we offer ourselves in reasonable service as living sacrifices. “He is Lord of all or not Lord at all”

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We have offered our bodies, now Paul commands us to also offer our minds. We see in verse one a specific act, offering ourselves to God, now in verse two we see ongoing activities that carry out the intention of the living sacrifice. We are not to mascaraed as the world, or let ourselves be squeezed into the worlds mold. The word that Paul uses here for “word” is better rendered as “age”, referring to the sinful age that we live in.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Transformed, like the metamorphosis of a butterfly we are changed.

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

This verse further drives the point home about our transformation, and how it is accomplished.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We are to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. How is this accomplished as we saw from 2 Corinthians it is by the Holy Spirit. How does the Holy Spirit renew our minds, through the Word. Like the old saying goes when you put God in you get God out, when you put garbage in you get garbage out. Our minds are transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit illuminating the truth of God’s word in our minds, coming alongside of us helping us understand, and apply what we learn.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

An implied element of presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices is surrendering our will to Him. Allowing the Spirit through His Word to conform our wills to the will of God. When our minds are transformed our thinking ability, moral reasoning, and spiritual understanding are able to properly assess everything, and to accept only that which conforms to the will of God. The word “acceptable” is also borrowed by Paul from the sacrificial system of Old Testament, acceptable is morally and spiritually spotless without blemish. The word “perfect” carries the meaning of completeness, being everything that it should be.

Sacrifice

A transformed mind produces a transformed will, by which we become eager, and able with the help of the Holy Spirit to lay aside our own plans, as Jesus did in the garden, and trusting and accepting God’s plan, and provision. This is where this comes into play, with what we talked about last week. It is through the transformation of our minds, and by presenting ourselves to God that we can truly put our faith and trust in His will for our lives. Relying on His provision and His plan.

Charles Blondin French dare devil, crossing Niagara falls (1100 feet)

Blondin announced subsequent crossings, promising that each would be more daring than the last. On July 15, with President Millard Fillmore in attendance, Blondin walked backward to Canada and returned to the U.S. pushing a wheelbarrow. Two weeks later, he somersaulted and back flipped his way across, occasionally pausing to dangle from the cable by one hand. Shortly after that he made another crossing, and, after a brief rest, appeared on the Canadian end of the cable with Harry Colcord clinging to his back. Blondin gave his manager the following instructions: “Look up, Harry.… you are no longer Colcord, you are Blondin. Until I clear this place be a part of me, mind, body, and soul. If I sway, sway with me. Do not attempt to do any balancing yourself. If you do we will both go to our death.”

It is about surrender, we must turn our lives completely over to Him. I no longer live Christ lives in me. Where He walks I walk, where He wants me to go I go. It is not my life but His.