Living Sacrifices: Surrendering to God's Will

 

Summary

In Romans 12:1-8, Paul urges believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, a concept that is both paradoxical and profound. This call to be a living sacrifice is not about atoning for sin, as Christ's sacrifice has already accomplished that. Instead, it is an offering of gratitude and praise, a continual and conscious act of surrender to God. Unlike the old sacrifices that were bloody and final, a living sacrifice is ongoing, requiring daily, moment-by-moment dedication to God.

To live as a living sacrifice means to put to death the idea that we have the right to live as we choose. It involves surrendering our autonomy and trusting God's wisdom and love, even when it feels like a death to our desires. This surrender leads to true life, as we align ourselves with God's will and purpose. The story of a young woman who dedicated her life to missionary service illustrates this point. She realized that true freedom and fulfillment came not from holding onto her plans but from releasing them to God.

Being a living sacrifice affects every aspect of our lives. It requires us to think through the implications of the gospel in all areas, including our work, relationships, and personal conduct. It also transforms our self-image, as we find our identity not in our achievements but in God's love and grace. This transformation empowers us to serve others, using our unique gifts to minister and build up the body of Christ.

The power to live this way comes from a new motive, a joyous pull from within, inspired by the mercies of God. Unlike external forces of fear or obligation, this inner joy compels us to live a life of service and sacrifice. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of voluntary submission, offering Himself as a sacrifice out of love for us. In response, we are called to take our hands off our lives and offer ourselves to Him, trusting in His infinite wisdom and goodness.

Key Takeaways:

- Living Sacrifice Defined: A living sacrifice is a continual offering of oneself to God, not for atonement but as an act of gratitude and praise. It requires daily surrender and trust in God's wisdom and love, leading to true life and freedom. [05:49]

- Surrendering Autonomy: To live as a living sacrifice, we must relinquish the right to live as we choose, trusting that God knows best. This surrender, though it feels like a death, leads to a fuller, more abundant life. [08:54]

- Transformation of Life: Being a living sacrifice affects every area of life, requiring us to apply the gospel's implications in all we do. It transforms our self-image and empowers us to serve others with our unique gifts. [19:29]

- Inner Joy as Motivation: The power to live as a living sacrifice comes from an inner joy inspired by God's mercies. This joy compels us to live a life of service and sacrifice, unlike external forces of fear or obligation. [30:55]

- Christ's Example of Sacrifice: Jesus Christ's voluntary sacrifice is the ultimate example for us. In response to His love, we are called to take our hands off our lives and offer ourselves to Him, trusting in His infinite wisdom and goodness. [34:20]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:13] - Scripture Reading: Romans 12:1-8
- [01:59] - The Church We Aspire to Be
- [02:54] - Understanding "Therefore" in Romans
- [04:26] - Essence of the Christian Life
- [05:49] - Living Sacrifice Explained
- [08:29] - Surrendering Autonomy
- [11:22] - Story of a Young Missionary
- [14:19] - Taking Hands Off Your Life
- [19:01] - Aspects of a Living Sacrifice
- [23:26] - Transforming the Inner Self
- [25:23] - Serving with Our Gifts
- [28:45] - Power for Living a Good Life
- [31:26] - Joyous Pull from Within
- [34:20] - Christ's Example of Sacrifice
- [36:47] - Closing Prayer

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Romans 12:1-8

Observation Questions:
1. What does Paul mean by urging believers to offer their bodies as "living sacrifices"? How is this concept both similar to and different from the old sacrifices? [05:49]
2. How does Paul describe the transformation that should occur in believers' lives according to Romans 12:2? What is the role of the mind in this transformation? [00:31]
3. In what ways does Paul suggest that believers should use their different gifts within the body of Christ? [01:24]

Interpretation Questions:
1. What does it mean to "put to death the idea that you have the right to live as you choose," and how does this relate to being a living sacrifice? [08:29]
2. How does the story of the young missionary illustrate the concept of taking one's hands off their life and trusting God's plan? What does this teach about true freedom and fulfillment? [14:19]
3. How does the inner joy inspired by God's mercies serve as a motivation for living a life of service and sacrifice, as opposed to external forces like fear or obligation? [30:55]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you struggled to surrender your autonomy to God. What steps can you take to trust in His wisdom and love more fully in your current situation? [08:54]
2. Consider the unique gifts you have been given. How can you use these gifts to serve others and build up the body of Christ in your community? [25:23]
3. Identify an area of your life where you have been conforming to the patterns of this world. What practical changes can you make to renew your mind and align with God's will? [20:41]
4. Think about a decision you are currently facing. How can you apply the principle of being a living sacrifice to this decision, and what might it look like to take your hands off your life in this context? [14:19]
5. Reflect on the inner joy that comes from understanding God's mercies. How can you cultivate this joy in your daily life, and how might it change the way you approach service and sacrifice? [31:26]
6. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of voluntary submission. How can His example inspire you to take your hands off your life and trust in God's plan, even when it seems difficult? [34:20]
7. How can you encourage others in your small group or community to live as living sacrifices, and what role can you play in supporting them on this journey? [27:51]

Devotional

Day 1: Living Sacrifice as a Daily Offering
Living as a living sacrifice is a profound call to offer oneself continually to God, not for atonement but as an act of gratitude and praise. This concept requires believers to surrender their autonomy and trust in God's wisdom and love, leading to a fuller, more abundant life. Unlike the old sacrifices that were final, a living sacrifice is ongoing, demanding daily, moment-by-moment dedication to God. This surrender, though it feels like a death to personal desires, aligns believers with God's will and purpose, bringing true freedom and fulfillment. [05:49]

Romans 6:13 (ESV): "Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you find yourself holding back from surrendering to God? What would it look like to offer this area to Him today?


Day 2: Surrendering Autonomy for True Freedom
To live as a living sacrifice, believers must relinquish the right to live as they choose, trusting that God knows best. This surrender, though it feels like a death to personal desires, leads to a fuller, more abundant life. The story of a young woman who dedicated her life to missionary service illustrates this point. She discovered that true freedom and fulfillment came not from holding onto her plans but from releasing them to God. By trusting in God's wisdom and love, believers can experience a life that is richer and more meaningful than they could have imagined. [08:54]

Galatians 2:20 (ESV): "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Reflection: Think of a personal plan or desire you are holding onto tightly. How can you begin to release it to God and trust in His plan for you?


Day 3: Transformation Through the Gospel
Being a living sacrifice affects every aspect of life, requiring believers to apply the gospel's implications in all they do. This transformation changes their self-image, as they find their identity not in their achievements but in God's love and grace. It empowers them to serve others, using their unique gifts to minister and build up the body of Christ. By aligning their lives with the gospel, believers can experience a profound transformation that impacts their work, relationships, and personal conduct. [19:29]

Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV): "To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Reflection: In what ways can you apply the gospel's implications to your work or relationships today? How can this lead to a transformation in your life?


Day 4: Inner Joy as the Motivation for Sacrifice
The power to live as a living sacrifice comes from an inner joy inspired by God's mercies. This joy compels believers to live a life of service and sacrifice, unlike external forces of fear or obligation. By focusing on the mercies of God, believers can find a joyous pull from within that motivates them to offer themselves to God continually. This inner joy is a powerful force that enables believers to live a life that is pleasing to God and beneficial to others. [30:55]

Psalm 51:12 (ESV): "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."

Reflection: Reflect on a recent experience where you felt God's joy in your life. How can this joy motivate you to serve others today?


Day 5: Following Christ's Example of Sacrifice
Jesus Christ's voluntary sacrifice is the ultimate example for believers. In response to His love, they are called to take their hands off their lives and offer themselves to Him, trusting in His infinite wisdom and goodness. By following Christ's example, believers can experience a life that is marked by love, service, and sacrifice. This call to sacrifice is not a burden but a joyous response to the love and grace that Christ has shown. [34:20]

1 John 3:16 (ESV): "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."

Reflection: How can you follow Christ's example of sacrifice in your daily life? What specific actions can you take to serve others in love today?

Quotes

"Therefore now this comes after all of Romans 1:11 which is is an incomparable survey of the gospel and Christian truth. It's all about God and sin and salvation and the Holy Spirit and Paul has says therefore he says if you believe what I'm saying if you understand and believe everything I've told you about Christian truth then you will live like this and actually the whole rest of Romans is about that but especially these verses and especially verses 1 and two is a little sum it's it's an amazing remarkable classic summary in which go Paul says if you really understand the gospel you'll live like this." [00:02:56]

"Now what's a Living Sacrifice it's it's more it's weirder than it looks because the word sacrifice in Greek is actually word for killing and therefore what it's saying is make your life a living killing so it's deliberately paradoxical and uh it's true that most everybody reading this Greeks Hebrews Greeks Romans and Hebrews would all know about animal sacrifices that happen in temples all around the world and happen of course in the in the Tabernacle and Temple they would understand the idea of animal sacrifices being offered up uh being killed and offered up as sacrifices to the to God um but to call it a Living Sacrifice is deliberately paradoxical it's Paul's way of saying that the Christian Life is both like and unlike those old sacrifices it's both like and unlike." [00:05:08]

"Christian Living is unlike the old sacrifices first of all remember this the old sacrifices were bloody they they were bloody sacrifices why because they were atoning for sin uh sin needs punishment and and the sacrifices represent the fact that punishment must be du you know and and therefore bloody sacrifices were in the Old Testament they were ways of getting atonement and getting salvation and getting yourself right with God and that is absolutely not true of Christian Living you do not say I'm going to live for you Lord I'm going to live the life you want me to live and then you'll forgive me and then you'll accept me and then you'll take me to Heaven no Jesus sacrifice is a sacrifice that ends all guilt offerings and sin offering this is different see this is an offering of gratitude and of Praise." [00:06:01]

"To live the Christian Life or you're not living the Christian Life unless you put to death the idea that you have a right to live as you choose I can't believe I'm saying this in the middle of America I can't believe I'm actually pointing out to you that there's probably never been a culture in the history of the world more averse to the very essence of what it means to live a Christian Life do you hear that what it means to live a Christian Life is that you put to death the right to live life as you choose you put to death the idea that you belong to yourself you put to death the idea that you know best what should happen in your life you put that to death and you give it to to god it feels like a death to really say you know best and I just trust you you know best and here's what you say in your word and I don't like it but I'm going to do it I don't choose anymore it feels like a death but on the other side it's life that's why it's a Living Sacrifice it's a sacrifice that leads to life." [00:08:21]

"She realized that she had developed an idea of a heroic life she had developed an idea of a noble life a life she said if I could live that then I'd know that I had value I know I'm a person of worth so she had this idea of a noble heroic life and she was telling God that's the life you got to give me and she was telling God and here's how you got to get it for me and she was doing everything she could to basically put God in her debt so he'd have to do it and she began to realize I'd never take my hands off my life I was using God I wasn't serving God I was telling him what he had to do and then she says that night for the first time I took my hands off my life I said you know where I should go you know what I should do it doesn't you know best that night I took my hands off my life." [00:13:30]

"Being a Living Sacrifice affects your life in three ways first of all it affects all of your life notice how it says I urge you Brothers in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices now that's that would have been very strange to his Greek and Roman readers very strange because the Greeks and Romans thought of the body is unimportant and the spirit and soul is good and in fact Eastern religions believe that the body and the and the physical life is actually an illusion and and the purpose of contemplation is to is to transcend that and get into the realm of the spiritual now when Paul says I want you to offer your bodies as a Living Sacrifice he doesn't mean I he doesn't mean I only want your bodies I don't care about your souls fact verse three shows that's not the case inner attitudes are important but what he's saying is I don't want you to think to make your life a living sacrifice is to say it's not enough just simply to have a Christian belief or have a Christian inner peace your body is how your soul acts in the world your soul can do nothing your thoughts can do nothing your feelings can do nothing except through your body and therefore when he says I want your bodies what he really saying is I want every part of your life public and private individual and social inner and outer that's what he's saying." [00:19:20]

"Francis Schaefer was saying do you know if everywhere in the world Christians were known Christian business owners and employeers were known for taking less profit out so they could pay their employees a lot better that would go that would have been far better for the gospel than if you if you just take all the same amount of profit out that everybody else in the world does all the other business owners do and then you give it away to charity now maybe you say well I don't like that particular application I don't think that's fair well you may or may not I Do by the way think it's fair but that doesn't matter either the point is he's doing it he's thinking he's trying to be transformed by taking he's thinking it out in every area of your life are you doing that you may not like what he just did or you may agree or may not agree with it and you say oh that doesn't work out okay are you doing it if you're not doing it your life's not a Living Sacrifice to be a Living Sacrifice means you're thinking out this for every area of Life." [00:22:27]

"Christians have access to an absolutely Unique Kind of identity and self-image that nobody else does because the gospel says you're a sinner you deserve to be lost but you're completely loved in God because of what Jesus Christ has done and that both humbles you down to keep you from having too high of you of yourself but it lifts you up you because he loved you and he did all that for you you can never hate yourself and if you do hate yourself or if you are puffed up you haven't brought the gospel into your inner being to be a Living Sacrifice is not just a lot of people say well Christians live good lives well sure but lots of other people live good lives and therefore the essence of being a Christian isn't living a good life though a Christian is not less than that a Christian of course will live a good life it's the reason it's the power it's the inner it's it's the Living Sacrifice it's the giving up of your of your rights to self-determination and that just that transforms you from the inside out." [00:23:26]

"Every Christian has to each and also the second word is every Christians different we have different gifts to each are given different gifts what does that mean it means on the one hand there should be no unemployed Christians there should be no passive Christians there should be nobody who comes to church just to recharge your batteries in order to get out there and and kind of live life the way you want instead when you come into church you ought to be saying how can I serve how can I do these things you shouldn't come just to be served but to serve Jesus Christ did not come to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many Mark chapter 10:45 and you cannot believe you cannot be following Jesus if basically you come to church in order to be served but not to serve and what that means is is that you must not only get gospel Ministry you must learn how to give it." [00:26:20]

"Lots of people in other religions lots of people with no particular religion live very good lives they they love their neighbor they they care for the poor they keep their promises they're people of integrity and charity and generosity absolutely and the Bible gives you lots of good reasons why that's a good thing God helps people who don't even believe in him be good why can you think of what a nasty place this world would be if only Christians live good lives and I am loath to um look down on anyone's motives for for charity and if you're being charitable and you're being in you know if you're living a life of integrity and charity and generosity in some ways I don't care what your motives are for doing that I'm glad you're doing it having said that what makes Christians different is not the fact that they're the only people out there being honest and caring for the poor and keeping their promises but they have a power for doing that they have an inner power for doing that that will give them a consistency and a durability in that good life that nobody body else has access to now you know what that power is it's a new motive." [00:28:45]

"Paul says first of all I urge you brothers and that word urge is a word exort that doesn't mean command it really means urge all the commentators say it's intriguing that Paul does not say I command you he could he's an apostle and what he's asking for is something we we're obligated but he doesn't say he says I urge you and then he says in View and that word in view of God's mercies is not an intellectual word it's a heart word he says look at his mercies look at his mercies if you see his mercies then you will offer and that word offer is a very important word it means voluntarily." [00:31:26]

"Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of voluntary submission when he says in John chapter 10 no man takes my life from me I lay it down on my own accord johnan Edwards actually says that he thinks and it's speculative but I believe he's right that in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus began to experience the horror of what he was going to experience on the cross the Divine Justice the punishment that we deserve serve poured out on him he started to taste it it's almost Edward said like if Jesus hadn't even begun to taste it till he was already nailed to the cross maybe he would have said hey now that I know what this is like I never should have come here but no In The Garden of Gethsemane it's like the father is giving him a taste and he says do you still want to do this for them and he said yes why did he offer himself why did he offer himself as not a Living Sacrifice but a a destroyed sacrifice why did he do that why did he take his hands off his life out of love for you now take your hands off your life for him see he took his hands off his life and he became a dying sacrifice you take your hands off your life and you'll become a Living Sacrifice." [00:34:20]

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Transcript
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