The Romance of Romans-Part 74

Romans Chapter 12 cont'd

In the light of these magnificent mercies of God, I appeal to you dear friends to offer your entire being, including your body itself, to God as a living sacrifice. This is holy and acceptable to him and actually, living a life of worship is the only reasonable response to who he is and what he has done.

Comments:

Chapter 12 is the beginning of the "application" section of Romans. It is quite common in Paul's epistles for him to first expound on "believing rightly" and then lead his readers into "living rightly" in that light. Our core beliefs truly do affect our daily choices.

As those who have been swept up into the New Creation in Christ...a new temple/priesthood/sacrificial paradigm has been inaugurated. (The Book of Hebrews elaborates on this.) The "once and for all" sacrifice of Jesus...who decisively carried away all the guilt and shame of humanity in his death on the cross...trumped the past need for a stone temple, human priests to serve as mediators and animal sacrifices. Now each believer has become a temple of God (not made with hands), a priest of God and...on the basis of Christ's death...a "living sacrifice" to God.

Human beings, redeemed by Jesus, have been transformed into literal temples of the Holy Spirit. Our entire lives (spirit, mind and body) also have become mobile fiery altars where the very presence of God intersects with the passionate and intentional consecration of all that we are, have and do.

God goes with us into all of life and we are his agents and ambassadors. In our waking and sleeping; our work, rest and play; our public and private lives (whatever that means!); our thoughts, words, prayers and songs; our eating and drinking; our dealings and inter-personal relationships...we are living a life of worship before the Living God. ("Worship" is much more than attending gatherings to sing, pray, confess, give, read scriptures and receive instruction...as vital as those things are.) No more "dead" sacrifices are needed to take away sins...just a host of "living" sacrifices whose human lives...substantially, though not perfectly...bear and reflect the restored image of God in the midst of a broken and fallen world.