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 KJV
There is a plea that goes out to all who profess allegiance to the King of Kings. For all who claim to know this God, there is a code of conduct that is laid down, and there is really no room for discussion or compromise on the terms and conditions of the code. You either take the code and run with it, or you reject the code outright and do your own thing. There is no middle ground here, because this is a choice between two extremes. You are either with God or against him. You cannot have one leg in with him and one leg out with the world. That is the hypocrisy that the world seeks to pursue and perpetuate, but which really does not hold water when it comes to God.
This is the essence of God's mercy. Mercy creates a bridge between a holy God and sinful man, making it possible for that sinful man to approach the Holy God. It is both a good thing, as well as a 'bad' thing, as it is mercy that creates the path but also lays out the consequences if I reject the path. It is not a wonder then that Paul is pleading with his audience here not to take the mercy of God for granted. Mercy demands a particular course of action; it does not leave you without a clear idea of what it demands of you. It does not leave it to your instincts or your own desires; mercy makes very clear what God's perfect will is, supplies the grace required to help you know and recognise this will, and then supplies the strength required to follow this will.
Of course, this plea is addressed to those referred to as brethren, people washed in the blood of the lamb, bought with his precious blood and sealed for the day of redemption. It is not for everyone, as hard as this may sound, but it is for all who hav come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. People want the benefits, but do not want to pay the price. With God, you just can't play both sides. The crowd is out there, with its own desires and pursuits, but for brethren, the pleasure of the crowd holds no attraction. Am I a part of the people in the crowd of those referred to as brethren?
What is the expectation of God for those who are brethren: present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. It is a service I must do by myself, of my own freewill, and not under compulsion. It is a present to God, not to any man, so the view of men do not count here. If I am offering a present to God, why should I be bothered if a man like myself does not like what I do or how I do it? Can any mortal man influence God's judgment of my life? It is called a sacrifice, which is an irony on its own, as a sacrifice is not supposed to be living. It is a sacrifice because it is expected to be dead to its own will and desires, and at the mercy and pleasure of the one to whom it has been offered. That is the picture of submission, where a man knows who he is, who he belongs to and who he serves. When a man has sorted these out, he is free of men's expectations or opinions.
I note the meaning and effect of the sacrifice I am asked to make. It has to be holy and acceptable to God. It does not matter how you convince yourself that your motive and intention are honest; they just have to align with God's nature, which is holiness, for what you offer to be acceptable to God. I can do all the gymnastics and drama, yet God does not reckon with what I do, because he is not first interested in what I do, but who I am. That is why the presentation of my life is the actual service to God, not what men see me use my life for. Men will judge me based on what they see; God judges me based on what he knows about me. Unfortunately, we live for the positive approval of men, forgetting that in the final analysis, men's views are always changing, based on what they want from you or how they want you to perform, but God's view is based on his truth, which does not change in line with the weather.
Today, it is a plea based on God's mercy. One day, it will be the basis of God's final judgment of the world. Here, Paul is beseeching men to get their priorities right, because these are the ingredients of a life that God can dwell in and use for his glory. Today, it is a plea; tomorrow, it will be judgment. Today, there is a choice of response; tomorrow, the choice made will be the basis of either eternal life or eternal damnation. I will not be able to blame God then for the consequences of the decision I make today. Let me not focus on pleasing men, or doing things that only man approves or applauds, but on what God approves. At the end of it all, only God's view counts, his judgment is final, and eternal life is worth whatever sacrifice I am asked to make now. His time of favour is here.
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