A Living Sacrifice?

“I beseech you  therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you  present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.”

-          Romans 12:1

I’ve pondered that question lately, and wondered how I can be alive and sacrifice myself at the same time? Yet God commands us as believers to do it. I must be alive, and reckon myself as dead; seems impossible.

What does the scripture have to say about these seemingly mutually opposed ideas?

Jesus said this in Matthew 16:24-25, Then Jesus said to disciples,” if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

So, what do these verses mean?

The word cross in the Greek is the word Stauros; primarily means stake or pale. Metaphorically it means the believer’s identification with Christ in that we’re separating ourselves from the passions of the world to follow Jesus. The cross was literally an instrument of torture, humiliation and death. As believers we MUST sacrifice all for the Excellency that’s in Christ Jesus even if it costs our very lives. If one is only interested in his own ambitions and dreams, then he’s not living unto God, he’s living to fill his own belly which will lead to certain death. Jesus categorically said, “What will profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Obviously nothing (Matthew 16:26). The Christian life is one of self denial.

An even more vivid description of a living sacrifice is in Romans 6:11, “Likewise reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin (emphasis added), but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The apostle Paul is commanding us by the Holy Spirit to treat our bodies as dead to sin. Why? Because Jesus nailed our sins to the Cross when he died. The scriptures tell us that when He died, we died. Now wait a second! How could we die with Christ when weren't even born yet? Paul is obviously speaking in symbolic language, not literal. Our bodies idiomatically were crucified with our Lord when He died literally. This truth we must accept by faith although this glorious revelation transcends our minds.  Paul also declares in vs. 4, 8, 11 that since we’re crucified with Christ, we also will be raised with him in newness of life. This shows our identification with the one who lovingly sacrificed his life for us. A tremendous reality!

So, since our bodies have to be reckoned as dead to sin, meaning we MUST on purpose deny our sinful desires which produce death (i.e. dead works) we have the right, and ability to serve God as we sacrificially place ourselves on the Lord’s altar daily to serve him as we carry our cross with joy.

This behavior is a concerted attitude one must commit to in order to gain victory in Christ. We have to by faith live an “Everyday death sentence kind of life” Once this mindset is ours, we understand when I die daily to myself, Jesus by the Holy Spirit looms ever so brighter and larger in my life.  I’m now totally hidden, and Jesus Christ is magnified.

John the Baptist said it well, “He must increase, and I must decrease (John 3:30).”

Paul declared this in Galatians 2:20, “I’m crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

The apostle once again is declaring that he’s living in the power of Jesus Christ by faith. He doesn’t trust himself to do this alone for he (Paul) declared in Romans 7:18, “I know in my flesh; this body of sin, dwells no good thing.” That has to be every believer’s mantra. We can not trust ourselves to do what’s right so we must rely on the power source of another, namely the Spirit of the living God to help us through. In  Galatians 2:20 we see a perfect illustration of the wonderful duality of  the living sacrifice dynamic in demonstration. Paul first off identifies spiritually that he was crucified with his Lord. He also realizes he’s now alive in Christ.

He goes on to declare that the life he lives in his body (now dead to sin because of  Christ’s sacrifice  on the cross), he lives in full confidence, trust and reliance on Christ, because of Christ’s love and sacrifice for him.

If we as believers meditate on the Spirit filled words of Paul, we too can live a life of self sacrifice. Never has life had such meaning as it has in Jesus Christ; but ironically in order for anyone to live this life faithfully, they have to die everyday of their lives in order to execute it.

Simultaneously we have to die to ourselves, and live unto God. That’s the essence of a living sacrifice. Be willing to place yourself at God’s altar and leave yourself there. Allow your life to be a sweet smelling aroma that pleases God as you do what he commands (Hebrews 11:6).

This is a strange, but true saying, our continual death (to sin), and our life to Christ both are well pleasing to God. Again, we MUST believe we were crucified with our Lord by faith so that our body of sin is dead as well. And again we MUST believe we’re alive to God by faith. The body that we must suppress is the same instrument that we by faith present to God as a living sacrifice.

The dead body of sin is also alive so that we can continually offer it to God as a living sacrifice.

I hope the reality of this is clear.

Only the power of the living God can perform this.