Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 WEB

In his letter to the Romans, Paul encourages believers to set their bodies and minds aside as a living sacrifice to God. This first verse is specific to the human body. He follows this verse with a reference to the intellect saying in Romans 12:2, “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. WEB”

In other words, Paul directs the faithful to submit their minds and bodies to the Spirit of God. The apostle describes how to live faithful lives in the service of God. As repentant Christians, we are still flawed and frail humans and sometimes prone to sin. However, given the forgiveness of sin, it is our reasonable service to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord.

As Alive from The Dead

But what does it mean to be a living sacrifice? Paul addresses this earlier in the letter in Romans chapter six. The entire chapter deals with the believer dying to sin and participating in the resurrection of Christ as being dead to sin.

Concerning this notion, Paul says in Romans 6:12-13, “Therefore don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. WEB”

To sum up, the faithful in Christ die to sin and come alive to the righteousness of Jesus Christ through the grace and mercy of God. It is nothing we have done, but rather it is our obligation to live lives that are free from sin, honoring the forgiveness received through the blood of Jesus on the cross.

Yesterday’s Devotional: Wisdom from God