“A worshiper who draws near to the Bible”
Therefore, brothers and sisters, because God’s mercy is so great, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to discern what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
The passage tells us that our dedication is the worship God accepts.
In fact, dedication is required not only in Christianity but in many religions. Have you seen the KBS documentary “The Tea Horse Road,” part 2, “The Pilgrimage”? A family of five pulls a cart and walks about 2,100 km over seven months from Sichuan, China, to Tibet, risking death to make a pilgrimage. They do not merely walk; after every five steps, they perform full prostration—bowing down so that their two knees, both elbows, and forehead touch the ground. Upon completing the pilgrimage and reaching Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, where Buddha’s relics are kept, they perform 100,000 prostrations—2,000 daily for fifty days.
Every Muslim who is able is obligated to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. They pray five times a day facing Mecca and fast for twenty-seven days during Ramadan annually.
Of course, Christians also visit holy sites, pray, fast, and worship like adherents of other religions. So, what distinguishes Christian dedication from that of other religions?
(Today’s passage answers this question): “Therefore, brothers and sisters, because God’s mercy is so great, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” (12:1) The difference lies in the motive. Dedication arises from the great mercy God has already shown us—not to earn future mercy or approval from God. It is dedication out of gratitude for God’s mercy already given.
David Platt, an American pastor appointed president of the Southern Baptist Mission Board in his 30s, once visited a famous Buddhist temple in Indonesia. There, in a conversation with Buddhist and Islamic leaders, they agreed that although religions differ in form, their essence is the same. When asked his thoughts, Platt said, “I hear you say that God (or the ultimate truth you seek) is at the mountain peak, and whether you take one path or another, ultimately we all reach the same summit.” They smiled and said, “Yes, you understand us well.”
I ask: What if the God at the mountain peak actually came down to find us where we are? What if God did not wait for humans to find the path but came to us? They paused and replied, “That sounds good.” So he introduced them to Jesus.
Yes, as Christians, we do not dedicate ourselves to meet God at the mountain top. The Bible says all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. No one can reach the summit by their own moral or religious efforts. Because we cannot go to God, God came to us. This is God’s grace, mercy, and the gospel.
Right before today’s passage, Romans 11:35 quotes Isaiah: “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” No one gives to God first and therefore no one earns repayment. It is not that we give first and then God gives salvation and mercy, but that God first gave himself to us—even his only Son—without holding back.
Therefore, the passage begins with “Therefore...” connecting Romans 1–11 with chapter 12. “Because God’s mercy is so great” summarizes chapters 1–11. Dedication is commanded as a response to the great mercy God has already shown. Dedication is loving God because we first received God’s love. The Greek uses “mercies” in plural, referring to the many mercies given throughout salvation: eternal gifts that cannot be earned or bought in this world, such as
A. New relationship: forgiveness, reconciliation, peace with God, restored fellowship, the indwelling Spirit, union with Christ, membership in the church body
B. New nature: new life, rebirth, eternal life, receiving and sealing by the Spirit
C. New identity: children of God, citizens of God’s kingdom, justified saints, transferred to Christ’s kingdom, belonging to Christ, seated with Christ in heaven, chosen in Christ
D. New promise: promise of resurrection, eternal inheritance, freedom from sin and death
Because Jesus died for our sins, those who have received such forgiveness no longer need to offer spotless animals as sacrifices. Instead, we live lives pleasing to God as worship in gratitude.
What does it mean to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God? The Message Bible says: “Offer your daily life—sleeping, eating, working, playing—as a sacrifice to God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) We offer all areas of life—home, church, work, school, society—as a living sacrifice pleasing to God.
How can we offer worship as life, our bodies as a holy living sacrifice? The next verse answers: “Do not conform to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so you may discern God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
To worship God, we must not follow the world.
God commanded Abraham to leave his country because if he stayed, he could not serve God according to God’s way. God sent Moses to free Israel from Egypt, and the repeated message to Pharaoh was “Let my people go to worship me.” Only after leaving Egypt and receiving the law, tabernacle, and priesthood, could Israel worship God properly. The church is the same. The Greek word ekklesia means “called out ones,” set apart from the world. God gave us His word to live a life of worship in truth. We must leave the world’s thinking, values, and theology behind and worship God according to His truth.
Unfortunately, Israel failed as worshipers. Though they offered sacrifices, God did not accept their worship.
Isaiah 1:11-15 says:
“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? … I am weary of your burnt offerings… I do not delight in your animal sacrifices. When you come to appear before me, who asked this of you? … Bring no more futile offerings; incense is an abomination to me… I cannot endure your assemblies… Your hands are full of blood. Though you pray, I will not listen.”
God pleads, “Stop such worship.” Why did Israel fail? Because they disobeyed God’s commands not to follow the customs of Egypt or Canaan and worshiped while following pagan customs.
God’s people following worldly customs is idolatry. One cannot live a worship life pleasing to God while serving worldly values and idols. But don’t Christians also live like the world? Korean High school students are rarely in church. Even elders think getting children into good universities is more important than faith.
Today, with media and internet, it’s easy to be addicted to worldly pleasures—videos, dramas, games, social media, sports, movies. It becomes harder to focus on God. Many read little Bible, pray briefly, but spend hours on media. So Christians often resemble the world, measuring blessing by money, success, popularity, appearance, health, and status. By those standards, apostles failed. If we live by worldly values, can we worship God?
How can we avoid conforming to the world? After “Do not conform to this world,” the opposite is “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Renewing the mind is the only way to avoid the world.
Our minds change when filled and governed by God’s Word. Unfortunately, many fail to study God’s Word. Many forget sermons, don’t remember titles, and don’t feel the need to remember sermons. Ignoring God’s Word is ignoring God. How can we renew our minds and discern God’s will if we ignore His Word?
After worship, spiritual battle begins over what we fill our minds with. The Bible says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2) How? By drawing near to the Bible. If we draw near to the Bible, we distance from the world and sin; if we draw near to the world, we distance from the Bible.
Here is a practical suggestion: Many want to get closer to the Bible but give up because it’s difficult and uninspiring. I encourage reviewing the Sunday sermon weekly via YouTube, summarizing, recording, remembering, and making it your own. Sermon manuscripts and summaries are now widely available online. Though it’s easy to be caught by the world, we live in an age where God’s Word is more accessible than ever.
Only when our thoughts are renewed by God’s Word can we distance ourselves from worldly customs, discern God’s good will, and live dedicated worship pleasing to God.
To summarize:
Christian worship is a thankful response to God’s grace already received, not a means to earn grace.
Christian worship includes all life areas, not just Sunday service.
Christian worship requires the continual transformation of our minds by God’s Word in order to please Him,
so that, without conforming to this world, we may discern His will and offer our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him.
May we continually renew our minds through God’s Word, discern His good will, and live to please Him in Jesus’ name.
