“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.”
– Romans 12:1-12

            In 1991 as a 12-year old boy, I gave my life to Jesus. I came to the realization that I was lost in my sin and bound for hell. Through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I responded in faith and accepted Jesus as my Savior. I was in the 6^th grade attending a very large public middle school. When I got saved, I was so excited that I wanted to be the best Christian ever. I did everything I could. I read my Bible every day. I volunteered for everything at church. I became a very bold witness at school. I shared the gospel and passed out tracts. I was on fire! Yes, I did receive some flack at school and was made fun of by some. However, the fact that I made the basketball team in 6^th grade out of well over 100 guys trying out, did give me some level of popularity that deterred some of the attacks for my bold witness. In those early years as a Christian, it was all about doing. I believed that in order for God to be pleased with me, I had to be busy for Him. I thought that the life of a Christian was do, do, do, and go, go, go. Eventually, I realized that this was not what God intended. I was so busy doing that I missed out on being. I learned this from Romans 12:1-2.

            I beseech you. To ‘beseech’ is to ‘beg’ or ‘implore.’ Paul is writing to the church at Rome under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. With its placement in the Bible, it should also be noted that these verses apply to us today as well. Paul is demanding an audience. He is saying, “Listen to me. This is important. You need to understand this. Pay attention to what I am about to tell you.” The Word of God demands both a listening ear and a response. It is best not to ignore God’s Word. If you desire the best for your life, it is best that you listen.

            Therefore. Anytime you see the word ‘therefore’ in the Bible, you need to look to see what it is ‘there for.’ Paul is referring to all that he spoke of in the letter up to this point. The book of Romans is divided into two sections. Chapters 1-11 is the doctrinal section, whereas, chapters 12-16 is the practical sections. Chapters 1-11is all about knowing the Gospel, whereas, chapters 12-16 is all about living the Gospel. Paul is saying, now that you know and understand and believe the Gospel (therefore), this is how you are to live.

            Brethren. It is clear that Paul is writing to believers. He addresses them as ‘brethren.’ What we learn from Romans 12:1-2 specifically applies to believers in Christ.

            By the mercies of God. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. We deserve hell. We deserve separation from God. We deserve to be lost in our sins forever. But, God in His mercy, gave us a way of salvation. He gave us the Gospel. Therefore, because of God’s great mercy, this then is how we are to live.

            That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. This is where Paul gets down to business. This is the meat of his message. To ‘present our bodies’ is to present our whole selves to the Lord. Jesus said that the greatest command is to, ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and might.’ With everything that is about us. With every fiber of our being. We are to love God. To present our bodies as a living sacrifice, it is to give our whole self to the Lord. This is what I missed in my early years as a Christian. God is not concerned with all the things I do for Him. All He wants is me. He wants my whole heart, totally and completely dedicated to Him. So many Christians miss this point and as a result, they miss out on God’s best for their life. Does God have all of you? Have you surrendered all to Him? Your career? Your future? Your health? Your family? Your finances? God does not just want part of you. He wants all of you. He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He doesn’t want your religion. He wants you. Does He have you?

            Holy. To be holy is to be set apart unto the Lord. There are two aspects of the Biblical doctrine of separation. One, is to be separated from the world. The other, is to be separated unto God. It is imperative that we understand that we do not belong to ourselves. As the scripture says, “I am crucified with Christ, therefore, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” When you gave your life to Jesus, you died to yourself. You no longer belong to yourself, you belong to Jesus. You are set apart. People talk a lot today about their ‘rights’. People say they have a ‘right’ to be themselves and to do what they want to do and make their own decisions. The truth is, if you are a true believer in Christ, you have no rights. You don’t belong to you. You belong to Jesus. You have no right to live how you want to live and do what you want to do. As a Christian, your entire life is to be wrapped up in Jesus. This is what it means to be holy. I am set apart. I belong to Jesus. Therefore, I am to give my whole self to the Lord, separated unto Him.

            Acceptable unto God. It is this kind of Christian life that is acceptable to God. Giving our whole self to the Lord, holy, separated unto Him. We are acceptable to God when we give our whole self to Him and live solely for Him and His glory. I don’t know about you, but I want to be acceptable to God. I want him to be pleased with me. I want my life to bring Him joy. This is realized not when I do things for Him, but when I give Him me.

            Which is your reasonable service. In other versions this reads, “which is your spiritual act of worship.’ I prefer the King James rendering of, “which is your reasonable service.” Paul says, (therefore) because of the Gospel that you know and believe, your reasonable service is to give yourself completely and wholly to the Lord. After all that Jesus has done for you and with the mercy that God has given you, the least you can do is to give Him your whole self. It’s the only thing to do. It’s your reasonable service.

            And be not conformed to this world. Paul takes us a little deeper by warning us not to be conformed to the world. We cannot give our whole self to the Lord while being conformed to the world. How easily we are conformed to the world! We see a commercial and we think to ourselves, ‘I’ve got to have that.’ I got to have that new car. I got to have that hamburger right not. I got to have those shoes. I got to dress that way. Then, we take it even further. We become accepting of the things the world accepts. We do not call sin for what it is. We tend to sugar-coat things. The problem is that over the years, we have lowered our standards. We think that as long as we are one step above the world then we are okay. Yet, as the world lowers its standards we lower ours. We still think we are okay because our standards are still one step above the world. However, the standard we are to live by is God’s Word. The standard of God’s Word has never changed. Therefore, as time goes on we should be less and less like the world not more like it. Don’t get sucked in to the world’s way of thinking. Don’t listen to the lies of the world. You cannot be a living sacrifice unto the Lord if you are conformed to the world.

            But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. Paul says that it is better to be transformed than to be conformed. It is better to be a new person than to be like everybody else. As Christians, we are to be transformed and not conformed. We are to be changed to be more like Jesus. Such transformation comes by renewing the mind. The mind is renewed by not filling the mind with the things of the world, but rather, with the Word of God. It is often said that the ‘nature you feed is the nature that succeeds.’ If you feed (conform) on the things of the world, your old sinful nature will succeed. However, if you feed your new nature (transformed), your new nature that is present to God as a living sacrifice, will succeed. Therefore, the Christian life is all about disciplining oneself to feed on God’s Word so that I am transformed and not conformed. It is when I am transforming that I am able to present my whole self to the Lord as a holy living sacrifice that is acceptable to the Lord.

            That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. All of this that we learn from Romans 12:1-2 is so that we may prove the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. God’s will for us is perfect. His way is always the best way. Therefore, to prove or to realize (experience) God’s best for us, we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, not conformed to the world, but transformed by the renewing of the mind through the Word of God.

            One of the greatest discoveries of the Christian life is when we discover that God is not concerned with our doing, but rather, our being. God wants you. He wants all of you, your whole self. You can give Him your whole self as you are transformed and not conformed. As you are transformed, you will experience God’s best for you. This is the Christian life.