Worship: Offer Your Bodies as Living Sacrifices

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1-2

What is our perfect service and spiritual worship to God? Our body, is to be offered as our living sacrifice for his good service.

Notice what the verse in Romans does and doesn't say.

If we are in Christ (a born again person), our bodies are holy and pleasing to God already. We are to keep God's mercy in view (forgiveness and life), and to recognize the fact that this is true regardless of what we do or don't do, and regardless of how we feel or don't feel, and regardless of what others say or don't say about us.

We are to submit (offer and present) our bodies as a living sacrifice in service to him. Our bodies are in effect not our own. Because in Christ we are holy and pleasing to God always, we are to accept this fact by faith that we are a walking, living, perfect, and a pleasing new creation and representative of God, Jesus Christ, alive, living in us, because of God's mercy, and not by anything we have done ourselves. The verse doesn't say to go get yourself holy. The verse doesn't say to make yourself pleasing to God. Many folks get this completely wrong idea and think they have to be more holy, more righteous, and be more of a do-gooder in the energy of the flesh before God.

Because God has been merciful to sinners, with forgiveness of sins for the whole world, for all time, and has given salvation of eternal life to the believing saints, he has made us perfect for all time, and hence, we are pleasing and holy because of who Jesus is. God, now wants to baptise your life, into eternal life, the moment in time when a hearer of the Word, becomes a believer of the Word, through faith in Jesus Christ.

Think about this for a moment. Jesus is alive, living in the believer, wanting to use the believer's body for reaching out to others. Wow, that is not only freeing, but it is with a thankful heart to say, "not my will, but your will be done." It is not having the believer go out and try to do more service for God. It is not the believer having to pray more to get God to do something for them. It is God working in and through the believer to do his will, and his good work.

Opportunities abound in life for worship service. Not the kind of service that is demanding, or the kind of service that says I have to witness. But, the kind of service out of the thankful heart for what God, Jesus, has done for us, and continues to do in us, from the day we became a born again believer, and then throughout eternity. Once we understand that it is not us, but Christ Jesus alive living in us, and working through us, comforting those that need comforting, helping those that are in distress, sharing the good news of the gospel, that God was in Christ Jesus, not counting your sins against you and now wants to give a person eternal life, is spiritually liberating for the soul.

Maybe he wants you to share a simple word. Maybe your spiritual act of worship is your testimony, or comforting the coworker that is facing a life threatening situation with a loved one or even about themselves. Maybe the worship opportunity presents itself just to lend an ear, give a hug, share a lunch, cry with tears of sorrow and tears of joy. Worship maybe planting the seed of the gospel, or watering the seed, or being used by God to bring forth fruit. Maybe your worship is helping out friends or neighbors that have just gone through a terrible crisis in their lives, and they need help coping with their heavy hearts and the trials and tribulations of life. Other times, God may want to use a person to share truth with those around them.

Remember, if you are in Christ, God is alive, living in you, and wants to use you, for his perfect will. Service is in his hands. My body is in his hands. Results are in his hands. I am but the messenger's vehicle, and not I, but Christ alive, living in me.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

Do you want to be used by God today to do his good and perfect will? Then, in light of God's mercy, get out of the way, stop putting up roadblocks, offer your body, and live by faith and let him do it in and through you.

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