Romans 12:1-2 - Much Obliged
- Chad Werkhoven
- 31 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Discipleship is an all-in, transformative experience.
Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)
12Â I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Â Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Canons of Dordt
Point 5 - Perseverance of the Saints
Article 12 & 13 - The Lifestyle Assurance Brings
This assurance of perseverance, however,
so far from making true believers proud and carnally self-assured,
is rather the true root of
humility,
of childlike respect,
of genuine godliness,
of endurance in every conflict,
of fervent prayers,
of steadfastness
in crossbearing
and in confessing the truth,
and of well-founded joy in God.
Reflecting on this benefit provides an incentive to
a serious and continual practice of thanksgiving and good works,
as is evident from the testimonies of Scripture and the examples of the saints.
Summary
Today's passage actually begins three and a half chapters earlier in the 12th verse of Romans 8, where Paul wrote Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation. The NIV ends that phrase with a dash, which is sort of a way of indicating that Paul will come back to this thought. But before explaining what the obligation is, Paul first explains that you're no longer obligated to Sarx - that is, your old sinful nature.
As can be the case with Paul, one tangent leads to another, and those tangents lead to even more. It's not that what he writes in the passages that follow are beside the point or unimportant; quite the opposite! Romans 8-11 contain some of the Bible's most valuable theology!
But it's not until here, the beginning of chapter 12, that Paul finally gets back to the thought he had begun long before and unpacks exactly what Christians saved by grace are obligated to: you must offer your body as a living sacrifice. Christianity is not just a spiritual religion. You're not just offering your heart or even your head. Discipleship is an all-in experience.
Paul not only describes this sacrifice quantitatively - it includes your whole body/self - but he also specifies it qualitatively: it must be holy and acceptable to God. The Canons help explain what this holiness includes: humility, respect, godliness, endurance, fervent praying and steadfastness.
 Dig Deeper Â
Certainly this isn't the first time the Bible commands God's people to live lives that are holy and acceptable to God. In fact, a good case can be made that holiness is one of the Bible's key themes, both in the Old and New Testaments. But the question remains: how does one do this? After all, the Old Testament catalogs failure after failure as it tells the story of people who'd also experienced God's mercy, yet who never attained the holiness He demands.
Paul begins the answer to this question negatively. He first tells you what not to do: Do not be conformed. Notice the passive tense of the verb. As a reminder for those who haven't thought much about verb tenses lately, a passive tense verb is used to indicate when something is done to you. What this means is that if you do nothing, you will be conformed to this world. You'll be like play-dough that takes the form of whatever shape it's extruded through.
So your shape will change no matter what. If you do nothing, you'll be conformed. To prevent this, you must submit yourself to another passive process: you must be transformed. But this transformation isn't forced upon you by the world. It takes place primarily between your ears: it comes through the renewal of your mind!
The Christian life is one of continual repentance, a word that literally means to think differently. This new thinking pattern rejects the world's conformity to sin and instead discerns the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. In other words, it clings to Christ. And that is holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose holy will is good, acceptable and perfect;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you'll live repentantly: rejecting the world's conformity and instead be transformed by the renewal of your mind;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Revelation 6
