Living Sacrifice

Introduction

Everyone has those passages of scripture that serve as the support pillars upon which we build our lives. Passages that define what we believe Christianity is about or what God has called us to do. Romans 12:1-2 is one such passage in my life. Paul has just written in the last 12 chapters the most comprehensive explanation of the Gospel in Scripture. He has explained in great detail God’s holiness - that he is perfect in every way, and that man has fallen short of that perfection - that is we have all sinned. Due to this sin we all deserve hell to be eternally separated from God in hell. Yet God in his love and mercy came to earth as Jesus and lived a holy and perfect life without sin then died on the cross so that our sins would be paid for thus redeeming us from our sinful lives. He is then buried in a tomb for 3 days when he resurrects himself showing he has power over life and death and he promises us that he will resurrect us and we will live forever in heaven with him if we will confess- admit our sin, believe that Jesus died for our sins and was raised up on the 3rd day, and accept Jesus as our Lord our master. Having explained all of this to the Roman Church in chapters 1-11 Paul then in chapter 12 begins to explain how the Christian should live because of the wondrous gift of salvation.

Paul’s Plea to be a living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1 ESV

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.

I appeal- beg plead urge

mercies of God -the last 11 chapters about God’s salvation

living Sacrifice - in the days of old sacrifices were killed to appease God - call the loan officer up and ask for another deferment or extension of the loan

Now you are to live to please God - It is an act of joy in response to God’s mercy

gain salvation not to be able to get away with doing wrong but rather gain salvation that we might be able to choose to do what is right

The question for the Christian is not what must I do today to make God happy with me or to prevent him being angry but rather what can I do to bring God pleasure because of what he did for me.

Imagine two guys overseas in the marines and somebody yells sniper, suddenly one leaps infront of the other and is shot and killed. The survivor then goes home and tells the new widow her husband is dead and that he died to save him. Before he leaves he tells her if you need anything you just call me and ill take care of it. The next morning he is over at her house mowing the yard and trimming the bushes and trees. A few days later he shows up with some lumber and finishes the treehouse in the backyard that his friend was building for the kids. A couple weeks later he tunes up the car. All without being asked and whenever she mentions you dont have to do that. He simply responds ma’am your husband died for me its the least I can do.

what kind of sacrifice

holy and pleasing to God

What is right and good and perfect do these things

what kinds of things does god tell us to do

love God love your neighbor cool glass of water take care of widows/orphans give to the poor and hungry etc.

This is your spiritual act of worship - the rational or reasonable response to God’s mercy is to be a living sacrifice and this is what true worship is. Worship is not a period of the service or an act of singing and praising God but rather true worship is living holy lives that we might bring pleasure to God

This verse completely changed my outlook on the Christian life and what God wants from me as a Christian. We have watered down the christian life to a list of hopeful oneday maybes in the sweet by and by. But God has given us the Holy Spirit, God himself to live inside us to mold us in the image of Christ. God’s desire is that we so reflect the nature of Christ that people see not us but Christ. That the world knows Christ because they have seen us. This is the outcome of being a living Sacrifice. Yet all to often we settle for being a cheap imitation of Christ. I’d be a better person but you know we all sin and fall short, I’d tell more people about salvation but i might offend them, I’d love to help the poor but they might spend money on drugs so i better not. Then we wonder why we have little effect on the world and it ridicules and minimalises the church. To be a living sacrifice we must be clear images of Christ.

Be transformed in Christ

Romans 12:2 ESV

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.

Do not be molded to the worlds pattern

the media, politicians, employers, society all want us to fall into line with their way of thinking.

you can have your religious beliefs as long as they don’t interfere with productivity, or impose morality on others, or interfere with what we want to do etc

if your beliefs don't really change the way you live their fine but if your gonna be different then that is unacceptable or in today's lingo intolerant and narrow-minded and we will have to accuse you of a hate crime and bigotry

But God says do not let them shape you and mold you but rather be transformed - like a caterpillar into a butterfly by the renewing of your mind.

be completely and irreversibly changed to look like Christ.

We accomplish this through the renewing of our mind.

we read and study the word both in private and together with likeminded believers so they might challenge us and provoke us to deeper study

we pray and talk with God build a relationship with him and seek to know his heart

we meditate on the things of God - listening to Christian radio/ sermons we think about scripture during the day/ read devotial over lunch

We seek to maintain focus on God throughout our day, everything we do is for him.

As you are faithful in these things the Holy Spirit then renews our mind and changes it into the mind of Christ.

This word renewal is important

Paul didnt use the word repair to fix that which is broken

He didnt say restore to bring back to the original state

rather he used a word that means to make new or to recreate

My Grandpa has an old pickup rusting away in his yard for longer than ive been alive. Now i could buy that truck and have it repaired - that is do whatever it takes to get it running. Or I could spend more money and have it restored by finding and using original parts to get it running and looking like it was when it came of the line, but even if i stripped it to the frame and restored everything it still would be sitting on an old frame. God as he renews our minds recreates it in his image giving us a completely new mind made in the image of Christ it is no longer a Lee model but a Christ model mind. Completely transformed. Thus by submitting to the guidance of the Holy Spirit we become living sacrifices and are completely transformed with renewed minds to be living images of Christ that the world might see Christ, repent and be saved.

This my friends is what I desire God to do in my life, your life and the lives of this community. But it requires that each one of become living sacrifices to God. Will you join me in this journey to seek God’s transformational change in our lives that we might be the light to call others to such a change in theirs?