The Living Sacrifice

Now that the discourse of the fate of Israel is over, Paul turns from chapter 12 on wards to practical Christianity – giving out guidelines for living as redeemed people in a fallen world.

Unless there is a close relationship between the faith (belief) laid out in the first 11 chapters and the conduct of Christian life, all these would be just preaching and will have little practical relevance. Christian ethics has to emerge from Christian theology. The new life in the righteousness one got from Christ, which justified a believer before God, requires a power derived from the Holy Spirit. We have to let the Spirit of God to take control of our inward spirit.

If in Chapters 1-11, Paul described “What has God done for us,” in Chapter 12-15 he lays down “What we are to do to glorify God here on earth.”

Verses one and two of chapter 12 are most important to Christian life. Verse 0ne says, “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God,’ which is a spiritual act of worship.

Animal sacrifice was practiced in Old Testament times (OT). The officiating priest will kill the animal, a goat or a lamb or a bull, brought as an offering by the Israelite, cut it into pieces, wash it, and place it on the altar, to offer it as a sacrifice, the aroma of that act of worship being a sweet smelling to God. Leviticus 1:5-9.

However, even in OT times God made it clear that “to obey is better than sacrifice.” This was pointed out to the disobedient Saul by the priest Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:22. In Psalm 40:6-8, David prophetically speaks saying “sacrifice and offering you did not desire…burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require; but what is required is a heart “to do Your will, O my God.”

Amos warns Israel in Amos 5:21-24, that God had made it clear through him that He despised their religious feasts and will not accept their burnt offerings and grain offerings, but what He wants is “let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.”

So it is not that God is pleased with or demands animal sacrifices, but He wants a willing and obedient heart in us.

Paul is seeking here that we offer ourselves and our bodies as ‘living sacrifice.’ We are not to be killed and offered as sacrifices, but while still alive, we need to offer our lives, our bodies – the physical vehicle of our lives as sacrifice to God.

What does this mean? What does this require of us?

We need to daily lay aside our own desires and follow Him; we are to be ‘holy and pleading to God;’ we do what is pleasing to God – that is, being obedient to all that Christ taught us. Mt.28:20. Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” In 1 John 5:3, it is written, “This is love for God: to obey His command.”  

According to Paul, the real worship of God is the self-dedication of Christians to Him. Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthian 6:9. “We are the temple of the living God,” says Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:16. And God’s Spirit lives in us. God’s temple is sacred and if we are the temple as in 2 Corinthians 3:16-17, we need to keep ourselves pure and shun sexual immoralities and other such sins.

We are bought with a price and we need to honor God with our bodies as well, by keeping them pure and undefiled. Not just the body, but the body, soul and our spirits have to be kept clean for the service of God.

How do we do this?

All the tasks that we do every day with our bodies, the thoughts that we think in our everyday life, the ideas, thoughts and dreams that we feed our minds every day through observation and reading, all have to be holy and dedicated to God. The ordinary works that we do every day at home, at school, office, company, and elsewhere, are to be offered as an act of worship to God.  If so we need to be clean and pure in all these things every day, every minute of the day.

Verse two says we are ‘not to conform any longer to the pattern of the world,’ but we are to ‘be transformed by the renewal of our mind.’ As believing Christians we are not to conform to the world and its patterns – behaviors, customs, traditions–the human pride, unforgiving heart, selfishness, stubbornness, arrogance – and all such corrupting influences. We are not to match our activities to the dominant spirit of the world.

Then how do we live in this world? Won’t we be seen as unfit to live in this world?

What comes to my mind is Jesus teaching his disciples, Matthew 10:16, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” We need to be prudent and not gullible; ‘do not cheat and do not get cheated,’ may have to be our motto.

Then how should we be?

We have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Our whole thinking, inward personality has to be changed, metamorphosed like a caterpillar, emerging as a full-grown and beautiful butterfly.

We are to be transformed by the Spirit of God, who resides in us, so that from a self-centered life we go onto a Christ-centered life.

Is that easy? How do we achieve it? Is it automatic?

Not really. Nothing could be automatic as we have our won thinking power, our individuality and will. Only with our cooperation this transformation could be brought about. To achieve it, mind has to be renewed by a continual occupation with Christ.

Start the work with Him in mind, finish it for His glory; when mind is free with nothing to do, occupy it with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs as Paul recommends in Ephesians 5: 19. This is what Brother Lawrence calls as “Being in the Presence of God.” This later developed into what we call as “Breath-prayer.”

We need to occupy our thoughts with thoughts of God at all times and do things for His glory. Then we will know, what His perfect, good and pleasing will is for our lives. Once our wills are aligned to His will, our life will sail through smoothly, with the Holy Spirit filling our billows and carrying us through the storms of life safe and secure.

Ah, who said Christian life is easy? Not at all, but with his help we can do all things, even transforming our lives by renewing our minds.

God be blessed.