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)
We want to know the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. But there are some prerequisites. The apostle Paul began Romans 12:1 with four important words: “I beseech you therefore. . . .”
Whenever we read the word “therefore” in the Bible, we should find out what it is there for. Whenever we find that word in Scripture, it is drawing upon what has been previously said. It is, in a sense, a concluding statement: So therefore, in light of what I have just said, here is what you need to know. . . .
Paul was drawing on what He had been saying in the previous 11 chapters of Romans. And that message is that we are all sinners separated from a holy God. But God loves us and had mercy on us. And despite our sin, He has forgiven us. So Paul was essentially saying, “Therefore, in light of all of this, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
The word “sacrifice” tends to remind us of the Old Testament offerings that were dead. If a sacrifice were alive, I think it would have a tendency to squirm off the altar.
In the same way, sometimes we give something to God, only to take it back later. Have you ever done that? I have. I have prayed about things and committed them to God. And then, only a short time later, I start worrying about them again.
The Bible tells us that we are to present our bodies to God—and that means everything. So it includes our minds as well. It means that we need to fill our minds with God’s truth and not the twisted worldview of our culture. It means we need to think about godly things more.
Summary sentence: Have you presented yourself as a living sacrifice to God today?
