I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Paul’s primary challenge to the Roman Christians was that they become living sacrifices to be used of the living God. Don’t Trust Your Flesh 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Satisfy your bodies in the God-designed manner and you will learn solid joy and lasting pleasure. This is why we need to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. We have to answer at the judgment day for the deeds done in the body. Paul is telling them to “Present your body to God as a living sacrifice.” To the Greeks, this was a strange idea because the spirit was the highest form, not the body. The body was the vessel that held the spirit. But we're not to be a sacrifice … The answer he gives: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice…to God.” When we hear the word “sacrifice” certainly we are to think of the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant wherein the worshipper was to bring an animal to be slain on the alter to … As a believer your spirit is one hundred percent trustworthy. Romans 12:1 - “ I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice” The motivation to present your body as a living sacrifice is not guilt, it is the gospel. “I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. I beseech you therefore by these great doctrinal revelations that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, your reasonable service. However, your flesh is NOT. In the case of Romans 12:1, which says, "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," this "something precious" is our bodies or selves. He began with a plea: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (12:1). was not to motivate you, it was to awaken you. How you use the time God has given you is, in Paul’s words, a part of your spiritual worship. WE ARE TO PRESENT OUR BODIES AS A LIVING SACRIFICE. While the two are similar, sarx is the external, physical body that was When we become born again our spirits become “new”. The body would give way, but the spirit was eternal. Your job is to find that application and then, apply it to your life. Maintain purity before marriage and faithfulness within it. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explores this topic in “Present Your Bodies,” a sermon on Romans 12:1-2. (2Corinthians 5:17) From that moment on your spirit is alive and in perfect relationship with God. My earlier questions about how much you read the Bible, pray, etc, etc. “to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable (euareston—well-pleasing) to God“ (v. 1b). God blesses your work every day, not just on Sundays. Make sure your body is the temple of the Spirit. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. There are two Greek words for body: (1) Sarx, often translated “flesh”and (2) soma. In Romans 12, as the apostle Paul counsels us on how to live the Christian life, he tells us “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God ...” Does God really want our physical bodies?