Sacrifice and Transformation

September 13

“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.

Paul makes some very clear points in these verses—first, Christians are to be living sacrifices; second, it is reasonable that Christians be living sacrifices; third, to be a living sacrifice, the Christian cannot be conformed to the world; fourth, if the Christian is not to be conformed to the world, his mind must be transformed.

The implication of these points goes far beyond a mere perfunctory assent to them. Rather, performing them is our “reasonable service.” Too many of us today, as apparently in Paul’s day, consider that all that is required of us is lip service to the tenets of the Gospel. The great Apostle declared otherwise, as he proved by the way he lived his life.

Paul willingly gave up his position and the prestige it accrued to him as he stated in Philippians 3:3-10: “We who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 I was circumcised on the eighth day, I am of the people of Israel—of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, I am a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, I was persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, I was faultless.

"7 But whatever things were gain to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them as dung, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death…”

This is no mere perfunctory reiteration of the Gospel message but a totality of surrender of the entirety of his life and work to the transformation the word of the Living Christ makes in a life that is revolutionized by an encounter with the Savior. And this is what Paul says each of us must have.

If we have accepted Jesus but our lives go on as usual, if we name the name that is above all names but have required no alteration to our lifestyle, if we have joined the ranks of Sunday morning saints but live worldly lives Monday through Saturday, Paul is saying we have fallen short of the mark of a true believer, for being a true believer requires sacrifice and transformation.

Are we willing to sacrifice life’s temporal pleasures and accolades at the altar? Are we willing to be transformed by the renewing of our mind so that not only what we say and what we do will be a reflection of the Lord but our very thoughts will be His? If we believe Paul, we will agree that this is our reasonable service.