Many church going people have the attitude – “What can God do for me? Or how can I use God to get what I want?” Instead, the question of the righteous should begin with – “What is the will of God for me?” There are many Scriptures to tell us how to think and live faithfully before God. God’s Word says that those who are born from above will desire to please Him (2 Cor. 5:9). The first thing stated by Saul, who became Paul, after he was encountered and changed of God on the road to Damascus was, “What shall I do Lord?” (Acts 22:10). The point is that once there is a true saving encounter with Christ, there should be a humbling response leading to a mind of disposal into His hands. What God wills for us is our sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3), or our becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ. A key verse for a rich summary of what it means to follow God’s will is found in Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” These two verses contain infinite instructional depth. We will seek to glean their broad intent.

This admonition of Paul follows upon his instructional foundation of God’s great salvation explained in the first 11 chapters of Romans. In these two verses we can connect our justification by grace with all the explanations, commands, and verses directing our actions for living as those who belong to Christ. Here, Paul gives us “the what, the why, and the how” of God’s will in being a Christian. Based on what God has done by grace through faith to justify His elect, he says, “Therefore,” and uses the pressing words, “I urge you.” What does he press upon us? He says for us to, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice.” The Christian life is never a passive kind of living after true conversion. We were born naturally slaves of Satan, but have been transferred to Christ and must become His love slaves.

He says, “Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God.” This is what we must do. This command connects grace and behavior. It answers misguided ideas.  Some people teach grace as a means of licentious living. They think that being saved by grace means a person has the freedom and right to continue to live the same as their old self. They believe a life of accepting Christ is such that a person can have the world of sin and also heaven. Paul says no, you must present your body as a living sacrifice. Others say that grace is inadequate, and therefore a person must earn their salvation by prescribed standards of religion. This is also wrong. Paul is directing the new person to worship God with the person’s life. This verse is the hinge and foundation for all understanding of Christian living and God’s process of sanctification. It involves a transformed life of personal sacrifice to God. Christ becomes the person’s Lord, and as Paul would say, his “all” (Col. 3:11). This means every thought, action, and decision is built upon Christ. Just as a lamb was sacrificed on the altar, giving their life, so are we to die to self, and give our all to Christ while living. This is the “what” of our sanctification.

He also explains the “why” of this urged command. He says, “Which is your spiritual service of worship.” It is not in order to earn God’s favor, but to flow naturally exhibiting new thinking because of the change in masters. It is a life of worship continually expressing the deepest gratitude in submission to His sovereignty. Put another way “How could we live carelessly in light of what God has done and who we have become, or how could we glory in a form of doctrine that does not affect our lives? Christianity is not a detached theory; it lays hold of the person. The idea of a living sacrifice connects our justification by grace with the examples and commands of Scripture. We having become new creations (2 Cor. 5:17) and are on our journey toward our glorification. We are not our own but have been bought with an infinite price (1 Cor. 6:20). The incredible reality of becoming sons of God makes Paul’s command upon every Christian the only reasonable approach, which is here called, “Our spiritual service of worship.”

Finally, he gives us the important how. He says, “And do not be conformed to this world.” The spirit of the world is opposed to Christ. The word world here means our original, natural, fallen state with its desires and vain judgments. The Christian must not conform to the thinking, and habits of those spiritually blind and deceived. We must not find hope or pleasure in the vanity of the world. We are instead, “to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This renewing is only possible through continuous proper appreciation and correct study of God’s Word (John 17:7). Turn from the world’s view and attitude, and cultivate a spirit attached to God. Use all available means of receiving His truth. Make the thirst for this change the foremost desire of your heart. Christianity must reign in our soul; and this will be our mark of testimony to those around us – love for God, for His truth, and by faith living it out day by day. Being a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God is the highest privilege conceivable and should be the incessant goal of every Christian.