I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Truth to Learn
We are to turn over ownership of our lives to God.
Behind the Words
The word translated “urge” is parakaleō, which means “to call one alongside.” It is Paul’s polite way of giving a command, as if he’s saying, “I am calling on you to come join me.”
The word translated “present” is the Greek word, parastēmi, which means “to stand or to place beside.” This is the word that was commonly used of bringing and presenting a sacrifice before an altar and standing beside it.
“Service” is from latreia, the noun form of the verb latreuō, meaning “to worship.” Latreia refers to “service rendered as a slave, particularly divine service to God.”
Meaning Explained
Because our salvation is by grace alone, we who have received this marvelous gift should be immediately humbled at God’s feet with gratitude in our heart and a willingness to do whatever He asks of us. Paul now tells us what it is that we should do to show our gratitude to God. He says, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” This implies that the offering is a free and voluntary one. This type of sacrificial offering is at the expense of the one offering it and it is to be destroyed or, as in the case of the drink offering, poured out before God so as to no longer be useful to the one offering it. Here’s what Albert Barnes says about this offering in his Notes on the Bible:
It implies that he who offers it presents it entirely, releases all claim or right to it, and leaves it to be disposed of for the honor of God. In the case of an animal, it was slain, and the blood offered; in the case of any other offering, as the first-fruits, etc., it was set apart to the service of God; and he who offered it released all claim on it, and submitted it to God, to be disposed of at his will. This is the offering which the apostle entreats the Romans to make: to devote themselves to God, as if they had no longer any claim on themselves; to be disposed of by him; to suffer and bear all that he might appoint; and to promote his honor in any way which he might command.
We are to offer our physical bodies in this way, as a living sacrifice. We are not to be slain in God’s presence; rather we are to continue to live, but to do so recognizing that we no longer have any right of ownership to our physical lives. We are to offer our living existence to God for His use in whatever manner He chooses. If God chooses to have us suffer persecution for His sake, it is His choice and we should glorify Him in it. If He chooses that we should be in an accident and become paralyzed, it is His choice and we should glorify Him in it. We no longer have any claim whatsoever to our earthly existence because we have been offered totally to Him.
Application
Wow! That’s a tall order! Who can do this? None of us can under our own power. We need to prayerfully offer ourselves to God and seek the power of His Spirit to keep us submitted and committed to Him and Him alone.
In God's service, for His glory,
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