Romans 12:1-2

Scripture Verse

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We are now in the second section of Romans, which is the practical application of all we have learned before. I am glad I was given these verses because I have always had trouble holding all the theological parts of Paul’s dense sentences together. Sometimes it is easier for me to learn backwards, from seeing the application in practice.

In the first part, which I have reread to get this far, Paul shows us the terrible state of the world and our souls, and then how salvation came through God’s grace, in Christ’s death and resurrection. I look forward to reading all your meditations and enlarging my knowledge.

In Romans 6:11 it says ‘…count yourselves dead in sin, but alive in Christ…offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life.’ In Rom 8:2 ‘…because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life, set me free from the law of sin and death…’  God wants us to have life, full and overflowing. Paul’s great verses ending the previous chapter remind us of the source this great gift has come from: ’…the depth of the riches of wisdom and knowledge of God.’  He has given us new life and has treated us with great mercy. We can just hear Paul shouting in gratitude and joy-

‘THEREFORE, I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.’ (Rom 12;1). This is a repetition of Rom 11:2, and underlines offering our entirety, body and soul, as a living act of worship, because we are, each one of us, created by God for his glory and saved by Christ’s death and resurrection! This dedication leads on to v 2: ‘do not conform to this world’. This is a constantly ongoing task, in our era, (though every era had its peculiar difficulties), when the media spread lies and produce a narcissistic zeitgeist, hype, political correctness, shallow judgements, and at the same time immense indifference. In such a surrounding culture it so important to focus on Jesus’ life and God’s mercy, to live, with good consciences, and have our minds renewed from above, not below.

The following verse is very helpful in practical terms. ’Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.’   We, as Christ’s followers, can still think and learn as we relate to God, if we stay in our relationship with him. We do not need to give up our inner identity as much as dedicate and offer it to be used in the right, fulfilling way to God’s glory.

To conclude: offering our complete being to God and not conforming to the world are the two key concepts which will show us how to live our Christian life.