Audio commentary on this verse

Note 1 at Rom. 12:1: Paul was speaking to Christians. It is possible to commit your life to the Lord for the purpose of salvation, and yet not be yielded to the Lord in our daily lives. It is only when we make the total sacrifice of every area of our lives that we begin to see God's perfect will manifest through our lives.

Note 2 at Rom. 12:1: Paul uses the mercies of God to encourage these Romans to give themselves totally to God. Today, most preachers use the wrath of God to try and drive men to God. There are some people who need the condemnation of the law to make them aware of their need for a Savior, but as a whole, we could "draw more flies with honey than with vinegar." It's the goodness of God that leads men to repentance (Rom. 2:4).

Note 3 at Rom. 12:1: Notice that we are the ones who have to make this presentation of our bodies to the Lord. He will not do it for us. Many people pray, "Lord, you do what you have to do to make me serve you." That is not a proper prayer. You cannot have someone lay hands on you to impart this commitment to you. You cannot just rebuke the flesh and expect it to disappear. You have to give your bodies to God as a living sacrifice daily (see note 4 at this verse, below).

Note 4 at Rom. 12:1: This sounds like a contradiction of terms. How can we be a living sacrifice when sacrifices are always dead? This is speaking of the fact that offering ourselves to God is not just a one-time deal. We have to die to our own desires daily. This has to be a living, on going commitment to the Lord.

The Apollo spacecraft traveled to the moon, but it was not just as simple as blasting off and landing on the moon. There were course corrections made every ten minutes or so for the entire trip. And then, they only landed a few feet inside the targeted landing area of 500 miles. Yet the missions were a success.

Likewise, there has to be a starting place for this decision to be a living sacrifice. We have to blast off or start our journey sometime. But we don't ever "arrive" in this life. We just leave and start toward the goal (Phil. 3:12-13). We may be making course corrections every ten minutes for the rest of our lives.

You see, living sacrifices have a tendency to keep crawling off the altar. Every minute of every day, we have to reaffirm this decision to be totally separated unto God. This is what Paul is referring to by the term "living sacrifice."

Note 5 at Rom. 12:1: Many Christians think that living a totally consecrated life to God is something that only preachers or a few lay people do. They see it as "extra" and not "normal" Christianity. However, Paul says this level of commitment is our reasonable service. Jesus died for each one of us. Each one of us ought to live for Him.