11/1 A "Living" Sacrifice?

Romans 12:1,2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

This verse was an entirely new doctrine for the Jews and Gentiles alike, in Paul’s day. Imagine, a living sacrifice! It was unheard of! Everyone knew that you could not sacrifice a live animal, and even worse, how could you sacrifice yourself, and live? Furthermore, what is this about our “reasonable service”? God is not asking anything unreasonable, but the bare minimum here; He is not even asking us to go the extra mile! Now look at verse two: Be “transformed” by what? The renewing of our minds? How can this be? One can easily imagine the confusion that these words stirred among the people, but oh the depth of his message! Folks, we need to get it in our heads before we can get it in our hearts. Let’s look closely at Paul’s message:

First there is a presentation to God; we are to present ourselves before Him for inspection, as the sons of God did in Job 1:6 and 2:1.

Then there is a condition by which we present ourselves; that is “Holy” which is acceptable to God.

The third thing is that there is a duty involved on our part; it is only reasonable that we should do this. Now, the means by which we accomplish this task? By not conforming to this world, nor submitting to their wiles and schemes. Then, too, by allowing our minds to be transformed into something better, something different; this is accomplished through the Holy Spirit, and walking with God, and through His Word. In other words, we need to get close to Him, to allow our lives to glorify God, the purpose for which we were made (Isa. 43:10). In so doing, we will prove God’s will in our lives.