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. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12.1-2 (NKJV)
I look at this word “reasonable” in this context and I wonder how reasonable it is to request such a thing. If you read this passage carefully it cannot be lost to you what is being requested here. Actually the word being translated as urge, appeal, or beseech is parakaleō” (par-ak-al-eh’-o), or to implore. We are being called upon to lay the whole of our lives, our bodies, our interests, our desires, our motives, our loves, not only as a dead sacrifice, as one who might be martyred for Christ, no not only that, but as one who becomes a “living” sacrifice.
We are being asked to trade our interests for His interests, our desires for His desires, our motives for His motives, our loves for His loves, our plans for His plans, indeed the very rights we hold sold dearly, the right to pursue life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we are being asked to lay down our rights for our cross (Matt 16:24)
It’s also interesting to note that the Greek word being translated as reasonable or spiritual is logikos (log-ik-os’), you guessed it, logical! Now you may be like me in saying, what is logical, or even reason- able, about becoming a “live victim,” (living sacri- fice) for Christ? What is in view here is the idea of animal sacrifice as was done in the prior covenant. This is commonly known as the “sin offering” and is important enough to repeat here:
What I first noticed about this passage the first time I read it was how completely the bull was disposed of. Every piece of that bull was accounted for, from his hide to his entrails. This is how complete our sacrifice is to be. We are not to keep one ounce of ourselves when we sacrifice our old self. For as Rom 6:6 proclaims, “we know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” (ESV) We are not to become shells of our former selves, we are called upon to lie that former self on the altar, burn it, and never pick it up again!
He shall bring the bull to the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and kill the bull before the LORD. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it to the tabernacle of meeting. The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD,in front of the veil of the sanctuary. And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of meeting; and he shall pour the remaining blood of the bull at the base of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. He shall take from it all the fat of the bull as the sin offering. The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat which is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove, as it was taken from the bull of the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn them on the altar of the burnt offering. But the bull’s hide and all its flesh, with its head and legs, its entrails and offal— the whole bull he shall carry outside the camp to a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn it on wood with fire; where the ashes are poured out it shall be burned.
Leviticus 4:4-12 (NKJV)
Numbers 15:30 paints the final picture of this bloody offering and brings us full circle back to Romans 12: 1&2. We see that the total annihilation of the animal was not enough, we see that it must have been accompanied by something else, namely repen- tance or contrition. The idea being that the person who offered the sacrifice flippantly, with no regard, presumptuously has wasted the penitent sacrifice. His guilt shall remain, and he shall be cut off from the people. This not only protected the sanctity of life for the bull, as God is not one to waste a life He so carefully created, but also kept the people humble, reverent, and fearful. It is safe to say that anyone who participated in this bloody spectacle could not possibly have underestimated the seriousness of sin.
We see the same type of imagery used in 1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (NKJV)
Our body is the temple (where the sacrificing is done), and the Holy Spirit is within (which only comes from God), we were bought with a price (the precious blood of Christ), and therefore we are not our own!
Thus we now see that Paul is imploring us by the very mercies of God to be a living sacrifice, sacred and blamelessly well pleasing to God, which is our reasonable, logical, and spiritual duty! If this sounds like a tall order to you, then I’ve accomplished my goal with this opening chapter, however I would be doing a disservice to the text by stopping here. This is just the beginning, go back and read verse 2 again of Romans Chapter 12 now that you understand the context of verse 1.
When I read verse 2 I cannot help but think of Paul himself, who not only wrote this verse, but also lived it. Can you think of anyone else who even comes close to the 180 degree turn that we see in Paul’s life.
A city of Tarsus, no obscure city (Acts 21:39), and a Roman citizen by birth (Acts 22:28), and tutored by Gamaliel, a most respected teacher of the law (Acts 5:34), Paul was decidedly Roman. Yet being given the Jewish name Saul, circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and in law a Pharisee (Phil 3:4-5), schooled by the great Gamaliel at one of the two great schools of Jewish legal interpretation, Paul could also claim Jewish descent. This dual citizenship as it were worked in Paul’s favor and awarded him great influence.
This influence found an outlet on the tiny sect of an infant church that called themselves Christians. It was inconceivable to Paul that anyone could hold up a mere man as Lord and Messiah, especially one who had suffered a death cursed by Jewish Law.
“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.
Deu 21:22-23 (ESV)
It is well chronicled how Paul publicly associated with those who stoned Stephen (Acts 8:3, Acts 9:1,2), and even watched their coats as they hurled stones at the first martyr (Acts 7:58). By Paul’s own words his intent was to suffer the church and lay it to waste (Gal 1:13)! Is it even conceivable that God could use such a man? This man was utterly bent on the destruction of God’s church.
Most of us have heard the story of God’s super- natural imposition on the life of Paul. His letters, along with the four gospels, awakened the masses and formed the foundation of the Christian move- ment. More than anyone else Paul preached of the supremacy of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. For this revelation Paul humbled himself as a bondslave of Christ (Gal 1:10, Phil 1:1) and uttered these immortal words...
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteous- ness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrec- tion and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Php 3:7-11 (NASB)
Paul laid down his own interests, his own life, his body, his interests, his desires, his motives, his loves, his earthly possessions, indeed everything he held dear and picked up his cross and followed Christ no matter where that led him. Paul did so to the point that he became a slave to Christ, and brought up others, including Timothy, to become the same (Phil 1:1).
As we become less and less conformed to this world we will find that fewer things hold us to this world. For I fear that many of us are still like the young man mentioned in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Beginning in Mark 10:17 we see one running with zeal towards the Lord, intensely seeking that which is right and good. He had come to the right Man, at the right place, and at the appointed time. Everything was weighted in his favor. He was a Jew, he had kept the commandments, he had obviously heard the message of Jesus, wholeheartedly agreed, and now humbled himself by kneeling before the Christ. This was an easy convert; surely the Lord would bring this man with him.
As we read in Mark 10:21 however, the man was conformed to this world, and therefore could not be transformed by the renewing of his mind. For his mind was fixed on earthly things, not because he treasured them, or thought about them constantly, or because his walk was not disciplined enough, for this man was righteous and by all accounts perfect, for he had kept the law from his youth. No, this man had possessions, therefore he was conformed to this world. It has been said that one’s actions speak louder than one’s words, and Jesus was quick to put this man to the test.
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
Mark 10:21 (NKJV)
Note, that Jesus says he loved him, and in love asked him to do the one thing he could not do. We do not know why, perhaps he had a family at home and could not bear the thought of them being homeless. Perhaps he had many good reasons for his actions, but God doesn’t require that which is good, he required that which is best. It was in the best interest of this man to sell whatever he had, and follow God incar- nate. Before God could transform his mind, He first had to strip him of earthly possessions. He had to take away all that the man held dear, so that with a clean slate God could begin the work of transformation.
Do you have earthly possessions? Do you find yourself with way more than your needs dictate? Do you find yourself being pulled away from the Lord’s work to tend your possessions? Are you reluctant to serve God in any capacity because your work, your home, your vehicles, your toys require your constant attention? So often we will make excuses and say, “well God has called me to be a good steward hasn’t he?” But some of us need to really look to Christ, lay all before Him, ask Him to inspect all that is in our lives, and peel away that which is not pleasing to Him. We say that we don’t treasure this or that, we say that we would willingly give up everything to follow him, but the very fact that we still possess them seems to indicate something else. Our actions of buying that new car, new house, boat, or electronic device speak louder than our pitiful groaning of self-depreciation. We have become conformed to this world and your neighbors cannot tell a difference in your life on the outside from theirs. Do we really believe that wearing that Christian t-shirt or tie, going to church on Sunday mornings, and reading 5 minute devotions are enough? It seems that God has called us to more.
To illustrate this point, let me share with you a story. ‘A wealthy man was moving into a new house, and his next-door neighbor happened to be a Quaker. The Quakers, as you know, believe in simplicity and plainness of life. The Quaker neighbor watched as the movers carted in numerous pieces of furniture, a great deal of clothing, and many decorative pieces. Then he walked over to his wealthy new neighbor and said in his quaint Quaker way, “Neighbor, if thee hath need of anything, please come to me and I will tell thee how to get along without it.”(1) Jesus would have agreed with that advice, for He said one day, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses.”’
As Oswald Chambers writes, “Our Lord never places anyone’s personal holiness above everything else when He calls a disciple. Jesus’ primary consideration is my absolute annihilation of my right to myself and my identification with Him, which means having a relationship with Him in which there are no other relationships...This look of Jesus will require breaking your heart away forever from allegiance to any other person or thing...This look of Jesus transforms, penetrates, and captivates...From Jesus Christ’s perspective, oneness with Him, with nothing between, is the only good thing...I must humble myself until I am merely a living person. I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus.”(2)
Jesus annihilates all that holds us back, and then transforms our minds to His will. It is not our will or calling that would draw us from the comfortable confines of our homes to the mission fields. It is not our will that we would spend more time and money planning for our next mission trip than we do on our next vacation. It is not our will that would have us sell our timeshare in Orlando for a tent in Mexico or Belize. It is simply the calling and transforming of our Lord and Savior that brings about such radical change.
It is this transformation that the world is drawn to. It is this transformation that will bring much needed attention to the gospel of Christ. It is this transformation that will bring about another “Great Awakening!” For as the hymn writer as aptly said, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand…”(3)
The Greek word metamorphoō (met-am-or-fo’- o) from which we get our word metamorphose means to change into a different physical form by supernat- ural means or to change strikingly the appearance or character, or circumstances, to become transformed. (4)
For as the psalmist writes, Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (NKJV)
We see from Romans 12:2 that the transformation is necessary so that we may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. To prove is to test, approve, and discern. Oh! What a privilege it is to be able to test, approve, and discern God’s will for our life. Let us not take it lightly.
The New Living Translation puts it this way, Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 NLT)
Will you surrender your life, your desires, your possessions, your motives and ambitions on the sacred altar, take up your cross, and follow the risen Christ? You cannot do it yourself, you will need the grace of God to complete it, but God is there with all the finishing power you will need. All He needs is your will. He needs your will so he can place His will inside of you. It is painful. It will hurt. It requires sacrifice. It requires commitment. It will require your all. He wishes to bring you from the slavery of this world, into perfect submission and freedom that comes only by Him and through Him.
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”
Mark 8:34-36 (NKJV)
It is indeed hard for a discerning world to see a sacrifice, albeit a denial, when they see Christians leave their comfortable churches (where they have been served), for their comfortable restaurants (where they have been served), and then with a bellyful head home to their mansion (where they are served) here on earth. When they head over to the Christian side of town they should see an apparent difference in lifestyle. They should see a servant, a slave to their Masters work. They should see Christ in everything we say, do, and how we live. We cannot say we truly follow Him unless our lives, our homes, our possessions, our desires, our ambitions, our loves, and our deepest longings are distinguishable from the world. To do otherwise is to do more than leave a bad example; it is to trample afoot the gospel that our Lord and Savior died to give!
____________________________________________________
As a young man Judson W. Van De Venter was at a crossroads that would determine the rest of his life. Born on a farm in Monroe County Michigan in 1855, Judson grew up interested in art and music.
He converted to Christ at age 17. He graduated from college and became an art teacher and later supervisor for the high school in Sharon, Pennsylvania. While singing in the choir in his local Methodist Episcopal Church he found himself especially fulfilled when participating in evangelistic rallies and revivals where people received Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Friends encouraged him to leave the school system and enter full time music evangelism. For five years he wrestled and struggled with the decision. Finally relenting, Judson fell to his knees and said, “Lord, if you want me to give my full time to Thy work, I’ll do it, I surrender all to Thee.”
While engaged in meetings in East Palestine, Ohio, Judson stayed at the home of George Sebring. It was there he penned his famous work, “I Surrender All.” In the 1930’s, a student at Florida Bible Institute sat wide eyed, listening to Judson. That student, Billy Graham, later wrote, “One of the evangelists who influenced my early preaching was also a hymnist who wrote ‘I Surrender All,” the Rev. J.W. Van De Venter!”(5)
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to him I freely give,
I will ever love and trust Him,
I will ever love and trust Him,
In his presence daily live,
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me Jesus, take me NOW!
I Surrender All
I Surrender All
All to Thee my Blessed Saviour,
doulos ek Christos
Footnotes:
1. 2,000+ Bible Illustrations
2. My Utmost For His Highest; 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition © 1935 by Dodd, Mead, & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All Rights Reserved) September 28
3. My Hope is Built; The Solid Rock by Edward Mote
4. Copyright © Merriam- Webster, Incorporated
5. Then Sings My Soul; Copyright © 2003 by Robert J. Morgan
Footnotes:
1. 2,000+ Bible Illustrations
2. My Utmost For His Highest; 1992 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition © 1935 by Dodd, Mead, & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. All Rights Reserved) September 28
3. My Hope is Built; The Solid Rock by Edward Mote
4. Copyright © Merriam- Webster, Incorporated
5. Then Sings My Soul; Copyright © 2003 by Robert J. Morgan
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