Romans 12:1-8 “Living Sacrifices”
INTRODUCTION
Paul is a man who stands in awe of God. He is amazed at God’s steadfast love, overwhelming grace, and unconditional forgiveness. In his introductory treatise to the Romans—a testament of what he believes—he has taken eleven chapters to describe and celebrate the love and grace of God. Paul’s reasons for celebrating are extensive: The just shall live be faith, At the right time, while we were still sinners Christ died for us, Those who have been baptized have been baptized into Christ death and life; God delivers us even when we are wretched people who do not understand ourselves or our actions, and God will never forsake his people.
Now, in chapter twelve, Paul exhorts his readers to respond to God’s love and grace in a specific manner. Paul’s words are challenging and at the same time life transforming.
LIVING SACRIFICES
Paul was writing to people who were well acquainted with the sacrificial system. Whether as Jews, participants in the mystery religions, or good Roman citizens, animal sacrifices were common everyday occurrences. Sacrifices were demonstrations of a person’s devotion to a particular God or religious belief. They were acts of love.
Paul is the first one to call for living sacrifices. He does not intend his readers to sacrifice living animals. Paul calls for a sacrifice of one’s life. This is an ongoing sacrifice. It is based, in part, upon the Jewish understanding of worship.
Christians have corrupted the understanding of worship. We have relegated it to an hour or more on Sunday morning. Christian worship involves singing hymns and songs, reading Scripture, listening to a sermon, giving an offering, and celebrating communion. This wasn’t the original understanding of worship. For the Jews, worship was what they did in their daily lives. Their work was an expression of worship, as was their family roles, leisure activities (if they had any), there service to others and their actions in the community. People worshipped six days a week and rested on the seventh—celebrating the fact that the world didn’t depend solely on them and that God was capable of caring for them even if they rested for a day.
Notice that Paul does not encourage his readers to attend worship services more often, increase one’s financial support of the congregation, serve on a committee, or pray and study the Bible for a longer period of time every day.
Paul is calling his readers to respond to God’s love and grace by their daily words and actions. Work is transformed from a way to make money to a way to serve God and our friends and neighbors. Relationships are opportunities to celebrate God’s love and grace together and to encourage each other in our faith. Serving is a way to share the blessings God has poured into our lives. When we allow our lives to be lifted out of the mundane, they become holy and living sacrifices.
Paul’s words go far beyond the common understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Paul is writing about something more than a religion of convenience, comfort, and a life without cost. Followers of Jesus Christ are to be living sacrifices. Our offering is ourselves—our time, talents and treasures. Nothing is to be held back—certainly God has not held anything back in his relationship with us.
TRANSFORMED NOT CONFORMED
Paul realizes that it is all too easy for Christians to be conformed to the thoughts and ideas of the world around them. He calls his readers to be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit rather than molded into the image of the world. With the messages and images of the world all around us 24/7 this is difficult to do. It doesn’t come automatically.
Though we want to be individuals, there are powerful forces at work within us to cause us to conform. We want to be a part of the group. We want to stand out in the crowd, but we find ourselves dressing like all of our peers.
• We are conformed to the world when we find ourselves attempting to keep up with the Jones. We are conformed when we begin to believe that one more piece of technology, new car, piece of clothing, or look or shape will make us happy and whole.
• We are conformed to the world when we listen to the news reports about the stock market and find ourselves fearful. Or find ourselves angry from reading the newspaper, or listening to the television or radio. Perhaps it is even worse if we look around the world and simply don’t care. Fear, anger, and callous complacency are not products of God’s kingdom.
• We are conformed to the world when we rationalize the common wisdom that we don’t need to forgive others and that there is a limit to our love. Or, when we convince ourselves that we are in, while others are out.
The Holy Spirit moves within our lives to transform us into people who have the image of their creator in their lives. It is the Holy Spirit who transforms us by the renewal of our minds so that our values become those of our Lord and King. We are transformed so that we love the unlovable, and forgive the unforgiveable. We are transformed when forgiven and free we live to love and serve God, by loving and serving others.
BE OURSELVES
Paul calls upon his readers to use their own, unique, specific talents and abilities to serve God and humankind. We don’t need to be like anyone else. We don’t need to sing like Justin Bieber, Josh Groban, or Jackie Evancho. We don’t need to follow the steps of Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, or the men and women who sacrificed their lives trying to save others on 9/11.
We are not called to be like everyone else. We are called to discover our personal gifts and talents and to use those gifts and talents to the best of our ability in whatever situations we find ourselves.
We are part of the body of Christ. We are not called to do everything. We are called to do that for which we are gifted.
It is freeing to receive the good news and to walk in its reality that we do not need to be anyone else but who we are.
CONCLUSION
Paul wasn’t the only one to experience God’s grace. In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah recalls experiencing God’s glory while he was worshipping in the temple. Isaiah saw the Lord along with his angels. He was overcome with awe. After his experience, Isaiah tells that the Lord had a task that to accomplish and wondered who he might send. Isaiah responded, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.” May this be our response to God’s call, having been recipients of God’s abundant love and grace.
Amen
