What is a living sacrifice?
Answer: In Romans 12:1, Paul says, “I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.”
Paul’s admonition to the believers in Rome was to sacrifice themselves to God, not as a sacrifice on the altar, as the Mosaic Law required the sacrifice of animals, but as a living sacrifice. The dictionary defines sacrifice as “anything consecrated and offered to God.” As believers, how do we consecrate and offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice?
Under the Old Covenant, God accepted the sacrifices of animals. But these were just a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Because of His ultimate, once-for-all-time sacrifice on the cross, the Old Testament sacrifices became obsolete and are no longer of any effect (Hebrews 9:11-12). For those who are in Christ by virtue of saving faith, the only acceptable worship is to offer ourselves completely to the Lord. Under God’s control, the believer’s yet-unredeemed body can and must be yielded to Him as an instrument of righteousness (Romans 6:12-13; 8:11-13). In view of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus for us, this is only “reasonable.”
What does a living sacrifice look like in the practical sense? The following verse (Romans 12:2) helps us to understand. We are a living sacrifice for God by not being conformed 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 pride of life. All that the world has to offer can be reduced to these three things.
The lust of the flesh includes everything that appeals to our appetites and involves excessive desires for food, drink, sex, and anything else that satisfies physical needs. Lust of the eyes mostly involves materialism, coveting whatever we see that we don’t have and envying those who have what we want. The pride of life is defined by any ambition for that which puffs us up and puts us on the throne of our own lives.
How can believers NOT be conformed to the world? By being “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” We do this primarily through the power of God’s Word to transform us. We need to hear (Romans 10:17), read (Revelation 1:3), study (Acts 17:11), memorize (Psalm 119:9-11), and meditate on (Psalm 1:2-3) Scripture.
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 fact, it is all we need to be made “complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, NKJV). The result is that we will be “able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2b).
It is the will of God for every believer to be a living sacrifice for Jesus Christ.
Why Study Gods Word
Since the Bible is God's Word, studying it is a way to know God better. Through His words we come to know not only the nature and attributes of God, but we also come to understand His plan for each of us. In a larger sense, we also come to know God's plan in history, His sovereignty, His providence, His love and more. There is only so much we can learn about God apart from the Bible. But with it we can know God better.
Studying the Bible also helps us avoid theological error. The Bible tells us, "Watch your life and doctrine closely" (1 Timothy 4:16 NIV), adding that we "must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1 NIV). If the Bible is our authority for faith and life, then the inspired words it contains will help us to avoid error. In a pluralistic world with many religious and non-religious ideas competing for attention, studying the Bible provides us with a firm foundation in God's truth rather than the errors of the world. Knowing the Bible also helps us respond to error and answer questions that skeptics and others may have about it.
Read The Bible Online
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Biblica exists to provide the Bible in contemporary translations and formats so that more people around the world will have the opportunity to be transformed by Jesus Christ. Getting the words right means being true to the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic of the Bible. But it also means being true to the reader — capturing the Bible’s original meaning in natural, everyday English.
That’s what sets the NIV Bible apart. It doesn’t sacrifice precision for clarity or the other way around. It delivers both, all in a Bible translation you’ll love to read.Read Now / The Bible: Genesis 1
The Warrior's Prayer
Dr. Jeremiah has written a prayer based on Ephesians 6
Heavenly Father, Your warriors prepare for battle. Today we claim victory over Satan by putting on the whole armor of God.
We put on the Girdle of Truth! May we stand firm in the truth of Your Word so we will not be a victim of Satan's lies.
We put on the Breastplate of Righteousness! May it guard our hearts from evil so we will remain pure and holy, protected under the blood of Jesus Christ.
We put on the Shoes of Peace! May we stand firm in the Good News of the Gospel so Your peace will shine through us and be a light to all we encounter.
We take the Shield of Faith! May we be ready for Satan's fiery darts of doubt, denial, and deceit so we will not be vulnerable to spiritual defeat.
We put on the Helmet of Salvation! May we keep our minds focused on You so Satan will not have a stronghold on our thoughts.
We take the Sword of the Spirit! May the two-edged sword of Your Word be ready in our hands so we can expose the tempting words of Satan.
By faith your warriors have put on the whole armor of God! We are prepared to live this day in spiritual victory! Amen!!