Have you ever been in the midst of a conversation and a point is made causing you step back and think, “Huh, I never thought of it that way”? In reading through Romans 12:1, a favorite verse, I had one of those “huh” moments. I have always looked at this passage and applied it to me personally, a guide as to how I should live my life and it certainly is just that, however it also has a corporate application to the church that is of utmost importance. Are we, as a church, living out the mandate found in this passage?
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. (ESV)
Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. (AMP)
Paul is using legal terminology here, saying, “I appeal”, to followers of Jesus, to give evidence that can stand up in God’s court. It brings to mind the phrase, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” What type of evidence are we as a church presenting to the world that would convict us? What kind of evidence are we displaying before God that would bring honor and glory to Him?
God’s mercies is translated in the Greek, compassion or pity. “3628 /oiktirmós (“visceral compassions”) is used of the deep feelings God has for all of us, and powerfully shows and shares in those following Him.” How deep is God’s compassion for humanity? It is as deep as the cross, death, and the grave. This compassion toward those who love and follow Him, His ransomed children, is of a depth that I personally don’t think we can completely fathom here on earth. Paul prays in Ephesians 3:14-21:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
God’s compassion for the body of Christ is profound. In light of this, our response should be a reflection of this mercy. How are we, as a church doing in presenting our body as a living sacrifice? What does that look like? What does that mean? The word present means “to place beside, to present, stand by, appear”. It is an action that we can take because through Christ’s sacrifice, we are no longer dead but alive. The term living is from the Greek “záō – to live, experience God’s gift of life” and when we believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are new creations, no longer dead in our sin, but alive in Him.
Because we are now alive in Christ, we are able to present our lives as a sacrifice to God. This term sacrifice is “thysía – properly, an offering (sacrifice); an official sacrifice prescribed by God; hence an offering the Lord accepts because offered on His terms”, is something that God has made possible. We can do nothing to make ourselves acceptable to God, He has done it all, and thus when we present our lives to Him, in this prescribed manner, because He has made us acceptable. We have come to Him on His terms, through Jesus, and have life eternal through Him.
We are only holy and well-pleasing because we have been made such by the blood of Jesus. As a church, how are we doing at being holy? Holy means: hágios – properly, different (unlike), other (“otherness”), holy; for the believer, “likeness of nature with the Lord” because “different from the world.” Do we look different than the world? Is the body of Christ today showing the world “the likeness of the nature of the Lord”? We are well-pleasing because we stand clothed in Christ’s righteousness, but how are we living this out so that the world can see a unique difference in us and become curious as to why we are different. How are we being salt and light in the world today? How are we being the fragrance of Christ to a lost world?
But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
Lastly, Paul says this action of presenting ourselves to God as a living sacrifice is the rational, logical, and intelligent “service rendered to God, perhaps simply: worship”. We, as the body of Christ, give our service to God in response to what He has done for us. It is an act of love, a way in which we bring glory to God as well as how we present evidence to the world of His profound sacrifice and love for humanity.
The message in this verse is relevant both on a personal level and a corporate level. Each of us should be daily presenting ourselves to God in this manner, yet as a body of believers, we should be reflecting how we can be doing this in unison, reaching the world for Christ, and serving God to His glory, because of all He has done for us.