Offer Your Bodies as Living Sacrifices

  • 2012.07.03 18:03

Romans 12:1-2

 

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer 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. God planned to save man who sinned against God and according to the wages of sin, was destined to be cursed and go to hell. And He let us know about His will through His only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus became flesh and died on the cross, shedding His blood, in order to pay back the debt we owed due to our sin. Jesus came to save those who believe in Him (John 12:47~50). Only Jesus is the life and the practice of the word of God. He is the only Savior. Those who believe in Jesus as their Savior can live forever as the children of God. The devil, Satan and evil spirits rule this world which is full of sin, curses and death; and finally they take man to hell. In this world there is no righteousness, only sin. Where there is no working of Jesus’ blood, there is only sin. If the grace of Jesus is not there, there is only death and no way to be saved. Only Jesus is righteousness, life and the Savior. Whoever doesn't have Jesus in him is the enemy of God, because he has sin. Sin originates from the devil who made man commit sin. Man forgot what God had told him, and he sided with the devil, becoming the enemy of God. He deserved to perish with the devil by eating the forbidden fruit (1 John 3:8, Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10). But God knew that man’s sin would result in curses and suffering, so He gave man the flesh and blood of Jesus. God let His only Son, Jesus, be whipped and nailed to the cross, shedding His blood in order to pay for our sins. He has reconciled the broken relationship between God and man and let us become God’s children and His heirs (Hebrews 9:14, Romans 8:16~17). How can we repay him for this amazing grace? Even if we gave our lives to Him or died for Him many times over we cannot pay him back. So how can we ignore His grace or be indifferent to it? The Holy Spirit tells us through Paul to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Just as Jesus offered Himself as a living sacrifice once for all, we should do the same. We are not beings who conform to the pattern of this world and enjoy the desires of the sinful nature (Romans 8:6~8, Romans 8:12~14). Dear brothers and sisters, let us offer our lives as living sacrifices with thankful hearts, pleasing to God. This is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. Jesus saved us by His death on the cross, so we should give thanks to Him, otherwise His grace is in vain. You are sinful, worldly and impersonal. We should repent of not giving thanks to Him, because it is sin. Let us give our all before the working of Jesus' blood and his grace, and let’s be living sacrifices, pleasing to God. Let us confess that we are the ones who have met the requirement of the Lord who has saved us from sin, curses and death by His own death.

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