A Living Sacrifice (Romans 12:1)

1 January 2017
Pastor Art Brammer, Tay Street Baptist Church
http://www.taystreetbaptist.org.nz
I. The basis of the directive: the mercies of God.
We are saved by the mercies of God (Lam 3:22; Rom 6:23).
II. The elements of the directive: present your bodies [as] a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God.
A. God wants us to voluntarily offer ourselves to Him.
1. To present your bodies means to make your body
(yourself) available to God for whatever He wants.
2. The apostle Paul called himself the slave of Jesus.
B. God wants us to be a living sacrifice, not a dead one.
He wants us alive...living to serve Him (Gal 2:20).
C. God wants us to be holythat is what is acceptable to Him.
OT sacrifices were without blemish or spot.
1. When our text says to present your bodies, the verb
indicates that this is a once-for-all action. It is like the
marriage vows.
2. When you consecrate your body to Christ you are
giving Him something He can use: Rom 6:11-13.
III. The Results of the directive: reasonable service.
A. It is reasonable that you should present your bodies to Him for
you were bought at a price (1 Cor 6:19-20).
B. This leads to reasonable service.
You may not know where the will of God will lead you, but it
will always be reasonable.
In the light of eternity, serving Christ is the only reasonable
thing to do.
IV. Example: Mary & Joseph