What does it mean to be A Living Sacrifice

Presenting Our Bodies A Living Sacrifice

 

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world.............--Romans 12:1-2

 

The eternal salvation of those who are willing to obey the Lord is one of those exceedingly precious promises from God (Hebrew 5:8-9). We should be impressed with the love of God for  that makes it possible for us to be called children of God (1 John 3:1-2;  Romans 5:8-9; Colossians 1:9-14). As children of God we have placed ourselves under an obligation to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to serve him diligently (Mark 12:30; Romans 12:11).

 

Without a doubt, I for one, believe that this obligation will not be kept, yea cannot be kept if we are unwilling to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God (Matt. 6:33; Gal. 2:20) If we are going to be acceptable to God, we must be willing to make a rock solid commitment to Him (2 Tim. 2:15; James 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 16:13-14; Matt. 6:19-21; Col. 3:1-2; Heb. 12:1-3). He must have full possession of our life (1 Cor. 6:19-20). His word must fill our hearts, mold our thoughts and guide our lives every step of the way through this life.

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In presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice we refuse to conform our lives according to the ways of this world (1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4).  The devil is ever present throwing temptations at us to say, think or do that which is sinful (1 Peter 5:8-9).  We must constantly fight the good fight of faith as we seek to lay hold on eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12-16). We need to be constantly examining every aspect of our lives to make sure that we are holding fast to that which is good and right in the sight of God (2 Cor. 13:5)

 

Physically our outward man, that which can be seen, heard and felt. becomes tired, weary, exhausted and decays but as a child of God we do not give up because the inner man which cannot be seen is renewed with strength, courage, patience, peace and hope (2 Cor. 4:16-18; Philippians 4:4-9; Romans 15:13; Titus 2:11-15).) that lifts us up, puts a smile on our face and a little bounce in our step. And that, my friends, I am convinced is what happens when we humbly offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to our God.

 

Charles Hicks