A Living Sacrifice for God, or True Dedication

“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).

What is a living sacrifice? Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome that they should, through the mercy (redeeming love) of God, be willing to present to Him their bodies as a living sacrifice. Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe in his commentary on Romans calls this Paul’s “therefore” of dedication, being totally committed to God. God does not want nor need a dead sacrifice; He wants our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” The spiritual era of offering a lamb or dove for a sacrifice is past; Christ Himself gave His own body as our sacrifice for sin. Now God wants us in total surrender, a living, moving, active, thinking, responsible person, holy (pure and sacred, sanctified), one that can be acceptable to God. This is our “reasonable service” to Him and carries the idea of spiritual worship. Every day, therefore, should find us in service to God, yielded to Him, praising Him, serving Him. Before we turned to the Lord in faith and received His forgiveness, we gave little thought to being holy and acceptable to God. But, in our new relationship with God, our body becomes His temple; He indwells us: “For to me, to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from Godm, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in you body and in your spirit, which are God's.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20). The use of the strong verb “present” carries with it the idea of committing once and for all—as in a marriage ceremony the bride and groom promise to commit themselves from that day forth to each other, so the Christian pledges himself to God.

Then Paul turns in his teaching on the “therefore of dedication” to two more strong verbs. “Donot be conformed to this world.” To be “conformed to” the world is to take on the identity, shape and characteristics of the world; to be no different than those who have worldly ways. To be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” is to undergo a complete change, a metamorphosis. The same Greek word was used for “transfigure” when the disciples Peter, James and John were on the mountain with Jesus and He was changed, transformed, before them and became illuminated with a heavenly glow. Our minds are renewed through Bible study and prayer. An excellent way to begin each day is in the transforming power of God’s presence. Yield to Him and dedicate your body, mind and spirit to Him for His use during that day. In that way, the world cannot put it into its misshapen mold. Yes, you have already yielded that once-for-all time to Him. But just as we need physical food daily to nourish our bodies and sustain good health, so we need a daily transformation of body, mind and will to God’s purposes and plans. Pray to undergo daily this transforming experience.

Seek Holiness

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” –I Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV). “I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, 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 resisting you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” –Romans 12:1-2 (ESV).

Holiness is defined in Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament (2006, p. 337) as “the essential nature of that which belongs to the sphere of the sacred and is distinct from the common or profane.” In Leviticus 10:10 this strong admonition was given to the people of God: “You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.” Ever it has been that humankind has had difficulty distinguishing between the holy and the common, the sacred and the profane. In Ezekiel we read about the priests who “do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths; so that I am profanced among them.” A system of ritual holiness with much washing and cleansing in certain ways was established in an effort to approach the worship of Almighty God in holiness. Jesus denounced such outward show of holiness: “You make clean the outside...and within are full of extortion and excess.” (Matthew 23:24).

“So glorify God in your body” Paul wrote pleadingly in I Corinthians 6:19. Our spiritual worship demands holiness as we seek God. In most of our churches and in private and individual worship today, to approach God in holiness becomes an individual responsibility. We are beset by many temptations to be profane, worldly, unholy. At one time we might have been shocked at the scenes on television or even in real life that are far removed from the sacred and holy. But with exposure and conformity, we become “like the rest,” untroubled by the profane and unholy.

Therefore, it takes concentration, confession and effort on each individual’s part to come before holy God with “clean hands and a clean heart.” In Isaiah 6, when that great prophet of old encountered God, he saw God high and lifted up and himself as unclean and unworthy. If we can come to that position of non-conformity to the world and its sinfulness, we can begin to think of the majesty, glory and holiness of God. Paul spoke of this deliberate action on our part as “renewal of mind” (Romans 12:2).

“Where, except in the present, can the Eternal be met?” the great apologist C. S. Lewis asked.

We as children of God are given the sacred privilege of approaching Him in the present, of praying to Him here and now, of praising and adoring Him, morning, noon and night. May we learn to cast off the profane and come before Him with humility and awe of His majesty. Seeking our own holiness has no secret formula for success except as we recognize His holiness.

Our holiness is from God Himself. But recognition of our acceptance by Him and the image of God in which we are made is the beginning of our holiness and our desire to declare: “Holy, holy holy ! Lord God Almighty!” Thus are our mind and our spirit renewed and refreshed in Him.