In Romans 12: 1, Paul says, "Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Paul's exhortation to the believers in Rome was to sacrifice himself to God, not as a sacrifice on the altar, like the Mosaic law when he demanded the sacrifice of animals, but as a living sacrifice. The dictionary defines sacrifice as "something consecrated and offered to God." As believers, how can we consecrate ourselves and offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice?

Under the old covenant, God accepted animal sacrifices. However, these were just a typology of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Because of their final sacrifice on the cross and which was once and for all, the sacrifices of the old testament became obsolete and have no effect (Hebrews 9: 11-12). For those who are in Christ by virtue of saving faith, the only acceptable worship is to offer oneself fully to the Lord. Under the control of God, the body of the believer who has not yet been redeemed can and should be surrendered to him as an instrument of justice (Romans 6: 12-13; 8: 11-13). In view of Jesus' final sacrifice for us, this is only "reasonable".

In a practical sense what would a living sacrifice look like? The next verse (Romans 12: 2) helps us understand. We are a living sacrifice for God by not conforming ourselves to this world. The world is defined for us in 1 John 2: 15-16 as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastfulness of life. Everything the world has to offer can be reduced to these three things. The desires of the flesh include everything that appeals to our appetites and includes the excessive desires of food, drink, sex, and anything else that satisfies physical needs. The desires of the eyes includes mainly materialism, the greed of what we see that we do not have and the envy of those who have what we want. The pride of life is defined by any ambition for that which makes us feel enlarged and puts us on the throne of our own lives.

How can believers NOT conform to the world? Being "transformed by renewing our minds". We do this mainly through the power of God's word to transform us. We need to listen (Romans 10:17), read (Revelation 1: 3), study (Acts 17:11), memorize (Psalm 119: 9-11) and meditate (Psalm 1: 2-3) the scriptures. The word of God, ministered in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, is the only power on earth that can transform us from worldliness to true spirituality. In reality, it is all we need to be "... perfect, fully prepared for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:17). The result is that we will be "... able to prove what is the will of God, pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12: 2). The will of God for every believer is that they be a living sacrifice for Jesus Christ.

Obedience to God is more important than any sacrifice, that is why every day we must renew our dedication to God, leaving aside our desires and following him with all our heart. To be a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to Him, requires that we place all our energies and resources in their hands, trusting in their direction.

Let God transform our lives to honor and obey Him. To recognize all that he has done for us through his Son, Jesus Christ, must lead us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice and it is an act of rational worship. When it says "alive", it means that we are now living people for God in Christ Jesus. Our life must then be an act of constant adoration.

This surrender implies sacrifice, which leads us to renounce the desires of the world and of the flesh; to live in the spiritual realm to which we have been transferred through the death of Christ. Although we are living in the world, we no longer belong to this world. We should not offer sacrifices to God as the Jews did in the Old Testament; but we must offer all that we are as a "living sacrifice" every day to the Lord.

The Apostle Peter invites us to build ourselves as a spiritual house, as a holy priesthood. 1 Peter 2: 5 "You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." We are the temple of God, inhabited by the Holy Spirit; Our sacrifices are now spiritual, we have been endowed with spiritual gifts to serve others, to pray and intercede, to praise and worship God as an answer to all his mercies for us.