Obedience
to Christ
“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"
(Romans 12:1).
This is one of the clearest
and most forceful verses in the Bible regarding our personal duty to God. You
and I are to surrender ourselves to God. We are to give ourselves to the Lord
by an act of the will. Paul taught the Corinthians that the body is for the
Lord. But notice the gentle and tender urging of this great apostle. Because of
his great position in the work of Christ, he could have demanded. But his word
to the believers was: "I beseech you." Paul knew that people are more
easily led, than driven.
You remember in the Old
Testament, the offering was presented by the person who was seeking the
blessing of God. He transferred to God all his right and title to the thing
offered on the altar. Peter gives us some insight into the New Testament
application of all this: "You and I as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5).
We are the temple of God:
"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in
you, whom ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a
price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”
(I Corinthians 6:19, 20). We are priests unto God.
In the Revelation through
St. John, God spoke these words: "And from Jesus Christ, who is the
faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the
kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his
own blood, (6) and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to
him be glory and dominion forever and ever" (Revelation 1:5, 6).
We are the sacrifice. A
living sacrifice, a free‑will offering as we yield ourselves unto God, as
those who are alive from the dead and our members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
Paul further calls for a
sacrifice that is holy. You and I must so order our lives that day by day we
give to God a life that pleases Him. We must not yield our members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin and uncleanness. He had told them
earlier that although in the past they had yielded their members as servants to
uncleanness and iniquity, even so now they were to yield their members as
servants of righteousness unto holiness. With the same zeal that they had
yielded themselves to sin and self in the past, even so now they were to wholeheartedly
yield themselves unto God.
This is a much needed word
today. Our eyes and ears are exposed to a constant barrage of sin and
corruption from the entertainment world. Let us guard our lives that we may present
to God a holy sacrifice day by day. In that way we will have the confidence
that through the mercy of God our sacrifice will be acceptable to the Almighty,
Righteous and Holy God. This is the reasonable and spiritual service that God
calls upon us to give. May God give us grace to follow His call.
This vital Bible verse is
just one of 60 carefully selected scriptures that are contained in the
Navigators Scripture Memory course. If you want to
memorize Scripture, but aren't sure what to memorize or how to get started,
this is exactly what you need. The Topical Memory System includes memory verse cards in four different Bible versions -
NIV, KJV, NASB, NKJV. Topics include all of the basics of the Christ-centered
Spirit-filled life, sharing your faith, and growing on to maturity in your walk
with God. May God bless you as you fill your life with His Word.
© Copyright 2002, LeRoy Eims