Getting Job-ed
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. Romans 12:1 ESV
I want us to unpack a little bit of what Paul said in Romans 12:1-2 (verse 2 will be in the next part) and the implications this has for our lives. Folks who have grown up in church have heard this verse a few times, but what does Paul mean by ‘living sacrifice?’ There’s so much theology packed in this verse, but let’s dive in.
‘Therefore’
Paul’s use of ‘therefore’ here is a connecting word. I urge you to go back and read Romans 9-11. There, you will see this picture that Paul unpacks of God’s incredible sovereignty and His choosing to save a people for Himself. A people that absolutely do not deserve it. God chooses a people for Himself by His grace alone for His glory (Ephesians 1:3-14).
Paul ends this discourse on God’s Sovereignty in a song of praise to God:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33-36 ESV
It has to be understood that when Paul sets off in Romans 12 and uses the term ‘therefore’, he is connecting this concept of praise to God’s followers as being a ‘living sacrifice.’ What Paul is saying here is that because of God’s amazing, incomprehensible mercy and grace of choosing a people for Himself, our only response is to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. The Christian life is marked by us being a sacrifice to the sovereign King that chose us.
‘Sacrifice’
The Christian life is a life marked by love: Love for God and love for people. These are the most important commands that Jesus says wraps up the Old Testament as a whole (Matthew 22:36-40). Paul also says, “ So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV). This ‘sacrifice’ is out of our total devotion, love, and loyalty to this King that rescued us and who calls us to love others, including our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).
‘Holy’
The term ‘holy’ here can also begin to lose its weight if you’ve been around Christianity for a while. In Scripture, holy and holiness are terms that mean ‘to be set apart.’ For instance, when we talk about God’s holiness, it’s His set apart-ness from everything else (as we see in the attributes of God).
So when Paul is saying that we are to be a living sacrifice that is ‘holy’, we are to be a people that are set apart from the world. A people that are marked by their love for one another (John 13:35). A people that have been rescued from absolute destruction by a sovereign, merciful King should only have one result— to be set apart, to look different from the rest of the world. Does that mean physically different like legalistically only wearing dresses and not wearing bracelets? Not necessarily, because cultural concepts like these change throughout the world and throughout history (most Christians aren’t wearing robes today even though that’s the attire Jesus would have worn). The Christian life will be a life that is an act of worship, an act of sacrifice. Not begrudging, it’s a life of worship.
Because of the mercies of a Sovereign King, our only rightful response will be a life of sacrifice, a life that is set apart from the culture and what society says is good. It’s a life that submits to the King, a life that has a concept of definitive truth that guides that life.
These verses have such amazing truth and weight to them, chew on them today and what it means for you.
-Austin
