Scripture Readings: Romans 12:1-8 & Matthew 16:13-20
In the Old Testament, there were a multitude of different sacrifices with different requirements and different meanings. In the Old Testament, there were sacrifices for sin as well as sacrifices of gratitude and praise. Some were about making vows or dedications. Worship has always been accompanied by sacrifice, but the form of sacrifice has changed under the new covenant.
Christ has fulfilled the sacrifice for sin once for all, and there is nothing that the believer can add to that sacrifice. But living sacrifices of gratitude and praise are the appropriate, reasonable, and spiritual sacrifices to be made by those who live by the mercy of God.
These sacrifices are the act of worship of the believer today. The root of worship is to serve. God was served in the Old Testament by sacrifices of property owned by the believer, but He is served in the New Testament by the sacrifice of the believer himself or herself. Paul does not tell believers to make a sacrifice, but to be a sacrifice. The call to offer oneself as “living sacrifice” not only tells us about what spiritual worship is; it gives us an understanding of what a church is or what it means to be a church.
Paul has mentioned the mercy of God thirteen times in Romans. In view of God’s mercy, Paul says, it is only reasonable that you offer yourselves to God. In Romans 12, Paul urges us to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God and says that such sacrifice is the right way to worship God. The Apostle Paul follows his call to offer yourselves as living sacrifices with his call to not be conformed to this world. We can be transformed by the renewing of our minds according to the mind of Jesus, the way of Jesus.
It is duty rather than command here. We are called to do duty for both grace and gratitude. In this text, offering oneself to God is both reasonable and spiritual. But Paul is also drawing a contrast here between the physical sacrifices of the Old Testament and the spiritual sacrifice of the New Testament. The spiritual act of worship which Paul is encouraging is one that springs from the inner person which is related to the mind.
Jesus says that God desires mercy, not sacrifice, but today’s text invites us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. The proper response to God’s mercy is sacrificing myself in order to pursue his will. Sacrificing oneself to God is accomplished by applying a renewed mind to the pursuit of the will of God. May we discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
The sacrifice we are to offer is our bodies, which recalls Paul’s words from Romans 6: “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin but rather offer yourselves to God as instruments of righteousness.” In God’s mercy, our bodies are to become living sacrifices as we worship the one who redeemed us by his mercy. A living sacrifice is so precious, but it seems to be so little when we remember the great sacrifice from Jesus who died for us.
As members of Christ, we are very relational and communal. A sacrificial believer will discover his or her place in the body of Christ and seek to build it into a unified body. Each will accomplish the part of the church’s task that people have been gifted to accomplish. All Christians do not have the same function in the body of Christ, and it is only in Christ that diversity finds expression in unity. “So, in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”. (v.5)
The good, pleasing, and perfect will of God for the church is unity based on the contributions of its diverse members. Paul presents a sampling of the different ways members of the body of Christ are gifted for service and ministry in the church. Just as Paul was gifted as an apostle, so every member is gifted in some way to serve and build up the body of Christ.
Gifts originate in grace, which means they are freely bestowed according to the good pleasure of the giver, the Holy Spirit. Grace filled gifts are manifestations of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit not only gives the gifts just as he determines but also empowers their use for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7-11).
Due to abuses of the gifts, unfortunately, the instruments given to manifest and encourage the unity of the body of Christ have been used to divide it in many cases. However, in Romans, Paul’s point is to meet needs in the body of Christ and to build up the body in preparation for the accomplishment of its God-given mission.
As in Romans 12, we have different gifts, according to the grace given us. As in 1 Corinthians 12, “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be”. Paul’s use of “living sacrifice” does not imply a sacrifice for sin, but a sacrifice for service. As a living sacrifice, may we become more like Jesus and be God’s instruments to build up the beautiful Christian communities together.
Becoming more like Christ and less like the world is a process of renewing the mind. Every Christian has been gifted by God for service in the church and communities. Becoming more like Jesus is not just some words, but also active movements. In our lives, love for friends and enemies can be the evidence of a living sacrifice. Because God has overcome the evil in us by love, we are to overcome the evil in others by love.
Every act of obedience to and worship of God can be seen as part of the offering of the body. For instance, Peter says that believers are to offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” (1 Pet. 2:5); we are to offer “a sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15); and we are “to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Heb. 13:16). Just as the components of the human body go together to comprise “the body,” so a multitude of daily sacrifices in worship and work comprise the “body” that is a living sacrifice to God.
Living sacrifice is also about loving action for God and others. What evidence can be found in our lives of an unwillingness to be a living sacrifice? What disciplines or practices do we pursue daily that will renew our mind in accordance with God’s will? To what acquaintance, friend or enemy, do we need to show more love? By what specific prayer or action this week can we express or demonstrate love to others who are family, relatives, friends, neighbours, even enemies.
In Romans 12, prophecy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and showing mercy are listed as spiritual gifts. The lists indicate some of the ways the Holy Spirit manifests the grace of God in the church. As living sacrifices, may we respond to God’s mercy beautifully. Moving from sacrifice to a healthy body of Christ will be achieved by doing what God has gifted us to do. To do this, may we renew our mind in accordance with God’s will and His words.
Thanks be to God! Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)