Living Sacrifice, Part 2

06 Aug

Our frequent participation in the remembrance of our Lord’s broken body and shed blood for us, called the Lord’s Supper or Communion, constitutes our congregational monument to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. However, the living sacrifice described in Romans 12:1-5 involves our personal commitment to habitual and continuous worship of God demonstrated by the way we think and live. Each verse presents a different aspect of our daily lives permeated by God: Personal Holiness, Personal Purity, Personal Humility, Personal Collaborative Approach, and Personal Perspective of Unity in Christ. And each is an intentional choice we make with every breath.

1. Personal Holiness

Verse one exhorts us to personal holiness as our reasonable service to God: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

The writers of the Psalms knew the importance of knowing God’s Word to the accomplishment of this when he wrote,

“Thy word have I hid in my heart that I not sin against Thee” (Ps. 119:11).
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105).
“I wait for the Lord. My soul doth wait and in His word do I hope” (Ps. 130:5).

Knowledge of what the Bible says is crucial to the calling we have been given to focus our lives on God’s agenda. That agenda was planted in each of us upon our commitment by faith to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Paul wrote about this in terms of newness of life and purpose because of salvation: “But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), has raised us up together, and has made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that, in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:4-10).

2. Personal Purity

Verse two goes on to clarify our calling to holiness through personal purity: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.” Because we are set apart by God, our daily life choices, attitudes, and relationships need to reflect the righteousness that was bestowed on us by Christ himself (Eph. 4:24).

As Christians, do we no longer sin, then? Since we are redeemed souls living in unredeemed bodies (Gal.5:17), we continue to contend with the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 Pet. 2:16). Since New Testament warnings about sin are so numerous, it is an understatement that the world continues to have a strong draw even for the born-again believer. 1 John 2:15 points out the irreconcilability of worldly choices with God’s plan for his children: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” In salvation we have the power of the Holy Spirit to refuse to sin, but a person who continues unrepentant in a persistently impure and immoral lifestyle demonstrates that he or she is not truly born again.

But God in His mercy “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9) if we repent and confess our sins. Lessons of God’s mercy are given in the Old Testament every time God’s chosen people turned their backs on Him. Psalm 94:12-14 describes His covenant relationship with an erring people: “Blessed is the man whom you chasten, O LORD, and teach him out of your law that you may give him rest from the days of adversity…For the LORD will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance. But judgment shall return unto righteousness and all the upright in heart shall follow it.” Our salvation is the New Testament, i.e. the New Covenant. God is faithful and He keeps His promises. Couched in terms of our appropriate response, Hebrews 13:5 gives His promise of fidelity: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you’, so that we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me’.”

Be encouraged. God hasn’t left us to figure this out all by ourselves. The Bible is full of instruction for holiness and purity. Here are just two of the many passages for your enlightenment on the subject:

Psalm 139:23-24. “Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”
1 Peter 5:8. “Be sober and be vigilant because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfastly in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

Stayed tuned for part three on the topic of Romans 12:1-5 next week.