“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. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:1,2
The Book of Romans is written by the Apostle Paul and he brings together some of the great truths of our story and the practical applications of those truths. It is a moment of review so that we do not get lost in the flurry of everything happening. With all the activity in the Gospels and Acts we can easily find ourselves running through the story to keep up. It is exciting but in doing so we lose track of some of the important details. Key ingredients that make our story so wonderful can become less important.
That has always been the temptation of the church as they have told the story through the centuries. They have gotten so busy doing ministry and programs that they have forgotten the most important parts of the One Story.
Paul reminds us right in the first chapter that the righteous…the blessed…live by “faith”. It is not about doing more and more religious activities. It is about a trusting relationship with our Creator who made us and loves us and wants us to love Him.
He also reminds us that we have all sinned…gone our own way…stopped trusting our Father (Romans 3:23). He is clear that there are consequences to those who reject God’s love and shun His pursuit. Paul does not shy away from the warning that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Paul balances his message by reminding us of the victory we have in Jesus,
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” – Romans 8:1
On the verses we have today Paul is turning to the practical application of the first eleven chapters. He is saying “because of all of this…” or “Therefore…” here is what you should do. What should we do? We should present ourselves to God as living and holy sacrifices. In other words, turn your life over to the God who loves you…put yourself in the hands of your loving Father! And we are living and holy through the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Because of His death and forgiveness our sin has been eliminated (holy) and we no longer must die for them (living).
Why do we do this? It is the definition of worship. It is our natural response to so great a love that we have been shown! So, Paul says, don’t be like the worldly anymore, those who do not understand or reject the love of God. Instead be transformed in the way you think about everything! He goes on to say in the following verses that our relationship with God should transform how we deal with other people and how we respond in different circumstances.
In this part of our story Paul has slowed us down in order to stay true to the foundations of our story…not to keep us from doing good things…but to make sure we are doing the good things for the right reasons.
Today, use this time to center yourself in your relationship to the Lord. Remember the righteous live by faith and trust. Before you get too far into your day, let the Lord know how much you trust Him and that you are His and available for His purposes today! Then go about your day.
Stay true to the Story.