Romans 12:1-2: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The first two verses of Romans 12 are at the foundation of faithful Christian living.
The words “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God” are a plea to consider what has been explained in the first eleven chapters of Romans: man’s rejection of God, and God’s plan to redeem mankind through His Son.
As the Holy Spirit pleaded with the Romans (and pleads with us) to consider these “mercies of God,” He offers the only appropriate response: our reasonable service.
The word translated reasonable (logikos) refers to the rationalizing or logical process that goes on in the mind of man. If we reason according to the wisdom of the world, we may come up with a number of excuses for not obeying God. If we reason according to the mercies of God, the only appropriate response will be to give ourselves as a “living sacrifice” to Him.
Presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice means to “put off” the old man of sin and submit fully to God’s Will.
Just as Paul said “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20), so should all say if we understand God’s mercies and respond by putting away our sin to live for Christ.
Presenting our bodies a living sacrifice will result in being “holy, acceptable unto God.” Being holy involves being set apart from the sinfulness of the world in order to bring glory to God.
Such is needful in order to be acceptable to the One to whom we present ourselves. Notice 1 Peter 1:15-16: But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Holiness implies not being conformed to the world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds.
The Greek word for transformed (metamorphoo) is related to the English word metamorphosis. Like a caterpillar changes into a cocoon and then into a butterfly, those who present themselves as a living sacrifice to God must go through a spiritual metamorphosis. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
To be an acceptable living sacrifice, we must surrender ourselves completely to God, which begins with a renewing of the mind. By transforming in this way, we can prove, or discern, “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
The remainder of Romans 12 expands on how to live a holy life that is acceptable to God. Such a life begins by understanding God’s mercy and responding by offering our lives to Him. This is our reasonable service.
– Michael Hickox