The Book of Romans ~ Lesson Twenty-Five

"Out With The Old ~ In With The New"

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
 
Do you understand what Paul means when he pleads with the reader "to give your bodies to God"? I've always known that we're supposed to give Him our heart, but I've never heard emphasis placed on giving this earthly body to Him as well. "Let them be a living and holy sacrifice ~ the kind He will find acceptable." 

The Greek word for "living" is "zao"which means, "to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead)." This means to live the new life Jesus gives us when we submit to Him. Our old life is dead and our new life has begun. We are to give not only our souls and minds, but the bodies we are housed in on this earth as well.

Romans 6:10-12 (NLT) When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
   Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

The Greek word for "sacrifice" is "thusia" and is part of worship. To worship God completely, sacrifice must be part of it. When you worship God in church or in your quiet time we must sacrifice all of who we are to Him. Did you know that sacrifice is part of worship?

In the Old Testament, there were blood and bloodless sacrifices given to reconcile man to God. It was an act of worship. If done as God commanded, the sacrifice was pleasing to God. It is often said like this, "an aroma pleasing to God." The same holds true when it comes to our giving our bodies to God as a "living sacrifice." Only giving part of ourselves is not sacrifice and therefore not true worship. We must lay our whole lives down on His altar, fully worshiping Him with our lives.

For our lives to be pleasing to God they must be holy. The Greek word for "holy" is "hagios" and means, "to be separated from the ordinary or common usage; set apart." To be a living sacrifice to God, our lives should be completely used for Him and His purposes. This is true worship; to set our lives in front of Him to use as He sees fit.

1 Peter 1:13-15 (Message) So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, "I am holy; you be holy."

Living sacrifices, holy to God, (set apart), are to be ones that are actively giving of themselves daily to the service of God. They are not lives lived idly. We are to be ready to serve Him in each and every second we live in these human bodies. This is life lived as "living sacrifices" to God. Our lives are worship when we give our hearts, minds AND bodies to Him.

When we live our lives as "set-apart" for God, we stop using the same pattern we used to live our lives by. I'm a knitter and I use a pattern to make something. If I were to knit a hat, I would use a hat pattern that would fit my head or the head of the person I was making it for. Suppose I found an old pattern that someone made for me as a child. I really liked that hat so I decide to make it again. When I am done, the hat doesn't fit like I remember it fitting. The reason is simply. The pattern fit me when I was smaller. Now, I am bigger and need a different pattern. The same holds true for me spiritually. Before I gave my life to Jesus, I lived my life a certain way, following a pattern that fit who I was. After I came to Jesus and called Him the Leader of my life, He gave me a new pattern to live by. My old life doesn't fit me anymore.

Romans 12:2 says this, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Life as a believer is different from life as a non-believer. We are transformed into something totally new, totally different. We remember our old way of doing things, but God calls us to leave that behind and by faith live this new life that is perfect and pleases Him. Our old lives cannot please God because they are inadequate and ill-fitting.

Do you want to truly worship God? I do. Let's stop using the pattern that fit our old lives and begin to live according to God's new pattern for us in Christ Jesus. It fits like a glove and we will know how to "test and approve" what God's will is. His will is "pleasing and perfect." We can't ask for better because God's gives us His best. We give true worship when we give our lives back to Him as living sacrifices. Our lives are not ours any longer. We belong to Him.

1 John 2:15-17 (NLT) Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.