Romans 12:1 AMP
[1] Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.
Identity defines expectations. The demand in the verse above is for those refereed to as brothers and sisters, which is a term used to describe people related by blood and connected to a family. The blood of Jesus is the connecting factor here; the blood of Jesus has dissolved the walls of race, and has made all of us one, as long as we lay claim to the benefits through the blood of Jesus. This is the only way the Jew and the Gentile come under the same cover of grace, and both can make a demand from the endless supplies of grace and mercy that are available through and in the blood. It has to be the start point for anyone seeking anything from God. How else do you want to come, except by the Way, Truth and Life that God has instituted?
In coming to God through the blood, it has to be noted that, just as there are benefits, so also are there expectations for all who come. Mercy has been made available to ALL men, so there is an expected response from ALL men. Due to God's mercy, I now have the grace and strength to present my body as a living sacrifice. It is a bit of a contradiction, where a sacrifice can also be living at the same time, but that is the demand as well as the expectation from all who have received the mercy of God. It is not mercy that stops you from living as you please, but mercy that enables you to live as God pleases. You do not live for your own pleasure anymore, but you now live to please God. And God does not live you alone to fend for yourself; this grace comes in and stays all the days of your life.
In the face of competing interests, the clear message in the verse above is that God will not lower His standard for anyone. The clear standard is holiness, and it is the only way God has prescribed for a man to see God. The man who will see God must approach God on His terms, not his own. In fact, If I will please God, it has to be the sacrifice that has been totally given up, no longer holding on to any personal view that is contrary to God's express desire. How can a dead sacrifice have personal opinions, contrary to the One to whom it has been offered, unless the sacrifice was not really given up willingly. This total sacrifice is my act of worship: I bow totally to His authority and lay down all that seeks to fill me with pride. What of you? God's time of favour is here.
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