Young Adults' Group

A Living Sacrifice

by Pastor Mark
September 29, 2016

A call to present ourselves

Last Saturday, we were challenged to respond by offering a sacrifice of praise and to do good works as a sacrifice to the Lord. (Heb 13) It is interesting to see how both worship and doing good works can be offered as a sacrifice.

The Apostle Paul wrote about the concept of a sacrifice in relation to our whole life, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom 12:1) He gave a call for us to be a living sacrifice.

Paul used an inferential particle “oun” which means “therefore”. He was inferring to all that had been written in the previous chapters concerning the Lord’s salvation plan. He exhorted the brethren to respond for they had been greatly blessed with faith and salvation. There was also the blessing of the mercies of God. It is by the mercies of God that this call was made to present ourselves as a living sacrifice.

Presenting our bodies a living sacrifice

We should present our bodies as an offering. The word “parastesai”, which means “to place beside or to present”, is written as a present infinitive. There is a sense of purpose in presenting ourselves. We should purposefully seek to offer our whole life as a sacrifice. Everything that we do should be presented as part of our worship to the Lord.

The concept of the sacrifice was an Old Testament one. It is related to the offering of animal sacrifice (thusia). Animals were specially brought to the temple to be offered. These animals had to be unblemished before they could be offered as a sacrifice.

Paul used the same concept of the sacrifice to apply to believers. As a sacrifice, we are meant to be “holy” and “acceptable” before God. It matters how we live our life. We want to walk in the holiness of God. Our life should be pleasing to Him.

A sacrifice is usually dead. It is killed and burned at the altar. But as for us, we are to be a living sacrifice. Let us be challenged to be spiritually alive…so that our life may be offered to the Lord as a living sacrifice.

Only regarded as our reasonable service

“which is your reasonable service.” (Rom 12:1)

The word “service” in Greek is “latreia” which means “service in the context of worship”. This is a reference to the service of the priest who seeks to minister in the context of worship in the temple. It is the kind of service that is given for the offering the animal sacrifices. Offering ourselves as a living sacrifice should be as our “latreia” to the Lord.

The word “reasonable” in Greek is “logikos” which means “logic, reason and being rational”. The offer of ourselves as a living sacrifice is seen as service that is “logical, of reason and rational”. It is not something that should be regarded as unreasonable or irrational. It is within reasonable thinking and we should seek to do so….even though it may require sacrifice on our part. Let us be challenged to respond to the Lord’s wonderful plan of salvation. Let us be challenged to offer ourselves wholly as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to the Lord as our reasonable “latreia”.

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