The Appeal

Rom. 12:1-2

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.

First and foremost any appeal that Paul makes must be by the mercies of God. It is only through His mercy and grace that I am even saved. Without mercy and grace I would have no ground to stand before God. I would have no power to obey the commands in the word, and specifically, the commands in the rest of this chapter. Paul asks me to present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is my spiritual worship. Is this a one shot deal? No, every day when I get up, I need to present myself to God living but without a will of my own  just as a sacrifice would be, bound and unable to free itself waiting for the will of its captor. Jesus is my captor, and I desire most of all to have His will in my life. 

 The only way that I can be holy and acceptable is by having the holiness and acceptability of Christ imputed to me. I must be in Christ, through Christ, and have Christ overall. Then I can grow through the power of the Holy Spirit and present myself as a sacrifice through His grace and mercy. This is my spiritual worship. The presenting of myself as a sacrifice [a sacrifice without a will of its own] is complete submission. Spiritual worship is submission!

How does this presenting look in reality? Non-conformity to the world, When I am submitted to Christ, the world will lose its appeal. It will be revealed for what it really is: nothingness, futility, and absence of satisfaction. But by contrast submission brings the transforming of my mind. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus. His mind is infinitely better than any earthly mind could ever hope to be. Move over, Einstein! But now the part that causes me to pause: that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Testing...discerning the will of God comes through testing. If all were good, would I need help? No, likewise, testing causes me to rely on Christ even more. And in that relying, I understand His will, a will that is always good, acceptable, and perfect. It enables my mind to discern how God views this trial. It enables me to see His sovereign hand at work in my life. And all this by being that living sacrifice, the sacrifice without a will of its own totally at the hand of its captor. And in my case, my captor is Jesus Christ.  

Father,

Thank You for these rich verses this morning. What a joy to awaken each day with the brain and voice to offer myself as a living sacrifice to You. Thank You for the outworking of Your sovereign plan in my life.

In Jesus name,

Amen