Romans 12:1 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.

As believers in Christ Jesus, we are now separated from the world unto God. We are now to live our lives unto the one who created us. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that after we’re saved, “we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The Apostle Paul addresses how each member of the Body should conduct themselves in their daily walk with the Lord.

Paul is beseeching us or calling us to come alongside him and with other members of the Body “by the mercies of God” to present our bodies as living sacrifices unto God. Why is he calling us to do this? It is because it is our reasonable (or logical) service to God.

God has done so much for us that it is only logical that we would want to serve Him. What has God done for us?

• He has revealed His righteousness to us apart from the law, so that all those who simply believe in His Son’s finished work on the cross can receive justification unto eternal life (Rom. 3:21-28; 4:5)
• Since we have been justified by faith, we now also have peace with God through Christ (Rom. 5:1)
• We now have “access by faith into this grace in which we stand (Rom. 5:2).”
• As believers, we are baptized into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. This is done by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 6:1-5; Col. 2:11,12)
• We are no longer under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14)
• There is no condemnation to those who are in Him (Rom. 8:1, 35-39)
• God has concluded us all in unbelief, both Jew and Gentile, that He might have mercy upon us all (Rom. 11:32)
• this list could go on forever…

For all that God has done for us, it is only reasonable or logical that we should now serve Him. We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable (or well-pleasing) to Him.

Romans 6:10-11 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

How do we do present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, and acceptable to God? By being “transformed by the renewing of your mind (12:2).”

Romans 12:2 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.

God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect. On the other hand, the world and how it operates is the exact opposite. The world is bad, not well-pleasing to God, and not perfect. The world wants us to follow and be like them. The world wants us to “tolerate” everybody else, but they won’t tolerate us and the one true God. They think that they are good. They think that man can earn salvation through their own works, and bring peace to the earth through their own efforts. Only the Prince of Peace can bring true peace to the earth, and He will someday.

We are not to be conformed, but transformed. How? By the renewing of our mind. We do that by studying the Word of God, rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15). We are told to put on the new man. Colossians 3:10 says that we have already put on the new man. The difference is between positional and practical sanctification. Positionally, we are already seated in Christ in the heavenlies. Practically, we are instructed to apply what we have in Christ by faith as we walk in the Lord in our daily lives.

Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

We are to put off our old man, or old nature, or old Adam and put on the new man. As members of the new man (Body of Christ), we are created in righteousness and true holiness. Therefore, we should conduct ourselves accordingly.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation [calling] wherewith ye are called.

When we walk worthy of that calling, put on the new man, renew our minds by studying God’s Word, and “walk by faith, not by sight,” verse two of Romans 12 says that we prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. We are proving that God’s way, His will, is the right way! When we actually do the things which God created us to do (12:3-15) and we present our lives as living sacrifices to Him, the result is an edified Body. As we serve Christ as His ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20), setting ourselves apart from the world, our own personal testimony can be used of God to bring the message of salvation to lost sinners, so that they too can believe the gospel and partake of the same Body. It also helps with the edification of existing members to help them grow and mature in Christ.

We are all members of one Body (12:4,5), but have a different function within that Body. Some are given the gift of prophecy (can be foretelling which is predicting the future, but can also be forthtelling which is simply proclaiming something (no one today can predict the future, because the Word of God is complete now (Col. 1:25)), some the gift of ministry, the gift of teaching, the gift of exhortation, the gift of giving, the gift of leadership, and some are given the gift of mercy. We are to each use our gifts to help other members in the Body. We are to edify one another.

• Our love for one another should be without dissimulation or hypocrisy (12:9)
• We should be kindly affectionate to each other with brotherly love (12:10)
• Not slothful in business or lagging in diligence (12:11). This is especially applicable to teachers of God’s Word.
• We should rejoice in hope, patient in tribulation, be instant in prayer (12:12)
• We should distribute to the needs of others and given to hospitality
• And Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them. God will repay for any wrongdoing done to you (12:17-21).

So, in conclusion, we may live in this world, but we are not of this world (John 8:23). Therefore, present your own body as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable unto God so that He can use you to edify the church, which is His Body (Eph. 1:22,23) and use you to preach the cross to those who still have not yet believed.

2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.