We were reminded in the weekend message that we will sacrifice anything to attain what we treasure most. For example, if you treasure financial wealth, you will sacrifice family time, relationships, and more in order to achieve your goal. If you treasure the approval of people, you will sacrifice your own opinions and conscience in order to achieve the approval of people around you. The same is true when it comes to our faith. If we treasure Christ and His kingdom over anything else, we will sacrifice anything in order to follow and honor Him with our lives.
The apostle Paul calls Christ followers to a life of sacrifice for the sake of Christ in Romans 12. In this passage of Scripture, he wrote, "Brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him" (verse 1). Can you sense the urgency in Paul's writing? He did not just tell readers to live lives marked by sacrifice. He pleaded with them to live lives marked by sacrifice. The two words that Paul used to describe the sacrifices in Romans 12 are "living" and "holy." By calling us to be living sacrifices, Paul instructs us to sacrifice to God through the way we live our lives. With every step we take and every word we say, we are to live for Him, not ourselves. The word "holy" has been defined by many as "set apart." Specifically, it means to be set apart from the rest of the world. It means living for Christ and His kingdom instead of the things of this world. "This," Paul writes, "is truly the way to worship Him" (verse 1). Next, Paul taught what it looks like to live as "living" sacrifices, saying, "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think" (verse 2). We are called to sacrifice our lives by thinking differently than the rest of the world and refusing to live like the rest of the world. This is how we worship Him.
Is God the treasure of your life? If so, will you live a life marked by sacrifice? Will you let go of the things of this world and your own agenda and live for Him and Him alone? When you live this way, your worship will be pleasing to your God, whom you love so much.
Think about your life for a moment. Are there any sacrifices that you know you must make in order to fully follow Christ? Maybe there is a sin you need to let go of. Perhaps you need to stop spending time with someone who is influencing you to live in a way that does not honor Christ. Maybe you need to sacrifice your comfort and share your faith with the people around you who do not have a relationship with Christ. Whatever step you need to take, commit to taking that step of sacrifice today in order to follow Him fully.
1And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.
6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.
20 Instead,
“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”
21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.
