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February 8 - Romans 11-12
Romans chapter 11 concludes the doctrinal section of Romans and chapter 12 opens up the practical section of the letter. I mention this because doctrine leads to devotion. What we know and truly believe will determine how we worship and how we live our lives day-by-day.
Romans 12 begins with one of the most powerful exhortations in the Bible. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
When Paul calls believers to be a living sacrifice, he is drawing from the Old Testament sacrificial system. Unlike sacrifices made under the old covenant, a “living sacrifice” is not something placed on an altar once and forgotten; it is a daily, continual offering of the whole life to God in response to His grace and mercy.
To be a living sacrifice is to be totally surrendered to the will of God for your life. Our body represents the totality of our existence. It includes what we do, where we go, and how we spend our time and money. Christianity is not merely internal belief; it is embodied obedience. As an act of worship, we lay every part of our life on God’s altar.
I love how Romans 12:1 reads in the Message Bible: “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” Notice, it’s not just our Sunday life that is offered - EVERY PART OF OUR LIFE IS PUT ON THE ALTAR!
Romans 12:1 destroys the idea that life can be separated into “Christian” and “secular” compartments. Here’s how I have preached this through the years: “Being a Christian is not just what I do at church on Sunday; it’s who I am every day of the week.” It’s who I am! I’m a Christian at home, at work, when I go out on Friday night, when I vote, and yes, I’m a Christian when I go to church on Sunday. Bottom line, there is no such thing as a private Christian life and a separate public life. You are either a Christian or not. Worship is not confined to a place: it is expressed through daily obedience to Christ and His Word.
Paul calls such a commitment to Christ “reasonable service.” In other words, “it only makes sense.” If Jesus give His whole body for us on the cross of Calvary, then it’s only fitting that we give our whole life back to Him (2 Corinthians 5:15).
In short, Romans 12:1 teaches that Christ does not just want part of your life, He wants all of it. Every area of life belongs on the altar as a “living sacrifice.” When we come in full surrender, that’s when we truly experience the freedom and power that God intends.
Jesus never hid these terms from His followers. He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).