Living Sacrifices: Bodies, Minds and Wills.
Please read Joshua 3: 1-17, Mark 3: 31-34 and Romans 12: 1-2, and then pray; Speak Lord, for your servants are listening. Amen.
The prayer which we have on our screen (below) reminds us of our important starting point in Romans 12 last week. We focused on the significant fact that practical Christian living and serving should all be based upon our personal and precious knowledge of God’s mercies – and especially His mercy to us through the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read this prayer from the Fflad-y Brenin community in Wales, taking special note of the phrase in italics which are the first words of Romans 12:
Almighty God, in view of your great mercy,
We lay our lives down as a morning sacrifice to you.
Choosing to die to self,
we ask you to pour your mighty resurrection power through us,
that Jesus may be revealed
and your kingdom come in power,
changing us and redeeming the world. Amen.
Everything we seek to do as Christians, in our homes, neighbourhoods, places of work, schools, the wider national community, and in our church fellowships – we do as a grateful and humble response to all that God has done for us through His Son and by His Spirit. Our living and service are simply offered as grateful thank-offerings to God. Our Christian obedience and service are a response to God’s tremendous mercy. In view of God’s mercy writes Paul.
The apostle Peter famously puts it like this is his first letter;
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2: 9-10)
As I shared from Psalm 116 in our Call to Worship earlier;
How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift-up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfil my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. (Psalm 116: 12-14)
If God’s mercy to us is why we live the Christian life, the next question and challenge to face is how do we live it. We have thought about the “why,” now we must consider the “how.” This is where the rest of Paul’s urgent message expands in those critical opening two verses. HOW are we to go about living for the glory of God, Father, Son, and Spirit? Here’s Paul’s answer. We make a commitment to an offering of worship.
Therefore, I urge you brothers (and sisters) in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual ACT OF WORSHIP.
You will notice immediately that there is much within this verse that clearly speaks the language of worship. We are called to respond to God’s mercies through worship – in fact – an act of worship.
But this is not an act of worship in a place of worship on a Sunday morning, this is the greatest act of worship – the total offering and consecration of ourselves to God – body, mind and will. One of my biggest frustrations is when people refer to Christian worship and only have in mind gatherings with other Christians to pray, sing and listen to God’s word. Some even minimise worship to singing songs and perhaps sharing prayer. The bible is clear about the fact that worship involves the whole person – all their actions – all the time, every moment of each day. The true offering of worship concerns the offering of everything we are and everything we do – the entirety of our lives. Sunday gatherings with other believers are only a part of that – an important part, but only a part.
You and I and all Christian people who have received the mercies of God are urged here by the apostle to offer everything – all that we are in worship. Everything. This reminds me of Jesus’s radical call to all who would follow him; In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. (See Luke 14: 25-33) This is why the offering in an act of Sunday worship is so important. The offering is not just about having the opportunity to put some money on to the offering plate. It is about the opportunity, the weekly opportunity, to offer everything to God. Within the total liturgy, the offering has a vital place. It is the time when we pray from the bottom of our hearts; Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee. Take my moments and my days – let them flow in ceaseless praise. The offering is the important moment in an act of worship when respond to the biblical call from Joshua and the prophets and the apostles and Jesus himself to – Consecrate yourselves – so that the Lord may do amazing things among you tomorrow – and the days that follow – your days at work and your days at home – and in all the ways you seek to serve the Lord and live to His honour.
Have you ever really given thought to the important place of the offering in our worship services? And all that we offer, we offer together as the people who have received mercy upon mercy. In view of God’s mercy. Now – to emphasise how total and radical this offering is – Paul mentions three incredibly important things. He writes about the need to offer bodies, minds, and wills. This is what we must consider now as we seek to understand HOW we respond to God’s amazing mercy in Jesus. Today I want you to be drawn towards thinking about your own body, mind and will. We must begin with the body, because that is where the apostle begins. I urge you, in view of God’s mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing (acceptable) to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.
When Paul urges the Roman Christians (and us) to offer our bodies – he really does mean our bodies – our physical bodies with all their amazing component parts. The mind and the soul are housed within the amazing bodies God has miraculously designed for the purpose of living, walking, and working in this physical world of wonder, beauty, and danger. God wants our bodies to be given over to Him for the purpose of his glory and honour. When we become Christians, we become temples of the Holy Spirit; the dwelling place of God himself! In the challenging chapter of 1 Corinthians 6, Paul writes these words: Do you not know (realise) that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (Jesus’s blood) Therefore honour God with your body. There is no other possible way of looking at this. Christians, those who have been bought by Christ, those who have tasted God’s abundant mercy, must realise that their bodies are now God’s property and filled with the holy presence of the Holy Spirit. Paul says the same in Romans – that all believers have the Spirit living in them! (Romans 8:9)
Our bodies should be precious to us. They are precious to God. We must seek to take care of them as we aim to eat, drink and exercise well. We must also offer them to God to bring Him glory and honour and praise. Honour God with your body. This means that we are to offer our hands and feet to God. Our eyes and ears to God. Our tongues to God. All our limbs. All our bodily senses. All parts of our bodies are to be offered as what Paul earlier refers to as instruments of righteousness. (Romans 6: 11-14) Do you offer to God your body so that it might be an instrument of worship and righteousness? This is our calling. Joshua called the people of Israel to consecrate their bodies to God as they prepared to cross the Jordon and finally enter the promised land. It is particularly important that we offer our hands to God, for his use and glory, The human hand with its fingers is a most wonderful and remarkable instrument. Think of what human beings can do with their hands. Intricate craftwork; delicate surgery; sculpture; artwork; design; writing; lifting; building; making music; tender loving, caring, and healing, and so much more. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love. (Frances Ridley Havergal)
And how important it is to offer our tongues to God – so that our words are used to bless and encourage others. James in his NT letter describes the tongue as “a small part” of the body but one which possesses great power to build up or tear down, power to release love or hate, power to comfort or to crush, power to bless or to curse, power to praise or blaspheme God’s holy name. (James 3: 1-12) Which will it be for you friends? Do you dedicate your tongue, your speech, your language to God? Is this a part of your body you regularly offer to God and ask for help and guidance and control it is use – within the home, within your workplace, within all your daily conversations and interactions? To quote Havergal again; Take my lips and let them be, filled with messages from thee.
The importance of our bodies is shown by Jesus’s presence in this world – his incarnation, ministry, and resurrection. His incarnation: The Word became flesh and lived among us. (John 1:14) His healing ministry: The way the Lord restored broken and disfigured bodies through his merciful healing touch of power. His resurrection: It was a physical resurrection – a bodily resurrection and Paul goes to massive lengths to emphasise this in 1 Corinthians 15. The body matters to God – the one he has given you, which is as the Psalmist says, “was fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)
This teaching and this call from the apostle Paul go against the teaching of the world. Paul teaches that we are not be conformed to the pattern of this world. Now, as Christians, the teaching of God matters to us, not the ideologies of the godless world. In Paul’s time the Greeks and Romans stressed the importance of the soul, the real you, the inner you. The body was there to house the soul, but the body could be used however one wanted. It was not that relevant.
Today the big emphasis is on bodily autonomy. My body! I am the master of it! I do with it what I like, what I want to do! The horrifically high abortion rates are down to bodily autonomy. My body is what counts, not the one inside me. It is the woman’s choice/right to abort because it is her body. It is the same with euthanasia which is in the news right now. My body, and I will end my life when I choose to. It is my choice. It is the same with sexual expression and permissiveness. My body. My choice, even if that leads to STD’s or physical and mental harm – it is my body. Bodily autonomy is also why there is such an obsession with covering bodies in tattoos. But bodily autonomy is taken apart by this gospel of God! You are not your own any more. You were bought at a price! Therefore, honour God with your body – which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6: 9-20) Therefore, I urge brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices…
But Paul does not stop at the offering of the physical body – he moves immediately on to the mind and the way we think. Our mind is also to be surrendered to the reign of God. Paul writes; Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Transformation not only comes as we offer our physical bodies, but as we allow God to change our minds and our whole way of thinking. The Greek word here for transform is the same one used of the transfiguration of Jesus. The transformation is radical. The light of God’s Word and Spirit get to work upon the way we think and then operate as people in this world.
Paul has already taught that before we were changed by the grace and mercy of God, our minds were darkened and they were hostile to God. Our minds, because of the fall, were “set against” God, set against his ways, his word, and his will. Our thinking was God-less. Our minds would not submit to God’s word which is life and health and peace. (Read Romans 8: 5-8) Let me put it this way. Before you were a Christian, how often did you think about God, his glory, his will, and his claim upon your life? But now, everything is changed because of God’s mercy and the receiving of Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You are now, because of your new heart and your new life in Christ, undergoing a radical process of transformation within your mind. You think differently to the way you once did. You mind is now attuned to God’s Spirit who has come to live inside you. You begin to think differently about the world, creation, your place in it, your responsibilities to God and neighbour, your call to love and holiness, your desire to live for God and his glory and his kingdom of righteousness.
Two things combine to bring about this transformation of the mind, this transformation of thinking. The Word of God and the Spirit of God. These were not important before. Now they are crucially important. The Word and the Spirit begin their purifying work within your heart and your mind. They combine brilliantly and strategically with the aim of making you like Jesus. They sharpen the conscience which has been dulled by the influence and propaganda of the world, and you begin to walk not with the world, but with the Word and the Spirit. And so, you start the think differently about almost everything.
Take for example your new approach to the Sabbath. You now think Christianly about the Sabbath and your use of the Sabbath. Sundays without worship are unthinkable. Or your approach to your enemies and the people who dislike you? Your response now is to bless them and pray for them as Jesus did. (12:14) Or your attitude the lowly and the poor and justice for the poor? Or your attitude to the use of your body? Or your attitude to the stranger? Or your attitude to creation and creation care and stewardship of your resources? Or your attitude to your use of money. The Spirit and the Word renew your mind so it is no longer being conformed to the world’s dictates, but being conformed to Christ, the mind of Christ and the ways of His kingdom. As one hymn writer puts it; May the mind of Christ my Saviour live in me from day to day, by his love and power controlling all I do and say.
This leads us nicely on to one final crucial thing which Paul highlights in Romans 12: 1-2 – and that is the will – the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. (Read v2) After the offering of the body, and undergoing the purposeful renewing and transformation of the mind and thinking, you can then go on to grasping and understanding the will of God for your life – what God specifically wants you to do, and how God wants you to live – all of which is then spelt out throughout Romans 12 and beyond.
I think the best way to understand and approach this idea of the “good, pleasing and perfect will of God” is to consider Jesus. Jesus is the only person who has ever conformed perfectly to the will of the Father. In his life, we see a life which is lived out totally in harmony with God’s will and purpose. This is seen and taught especially in John’s gospel – where everywhere we are taught that the Father and the Son are one. There is literally one will in operation. I and the Father are one – states Jesus. Or consider this statement in John 4:34;
My food is to do the will of him who sent me to finish his work.
Jesus lived on a daily diet of doing God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will, a diet that ultimately took him to the cross to die for our sins. In the garden, the night before his death; Not my will but yours be done. And now with you and I as Christians, we are to aim, with the Holy Spirit in our bodies and the Word of God and the Spirit transforming and controlling our minds and thinking, to align our lives will the perfect will of God. We pursue the will of God with all our being and energy. We do so because we want God glorified in our bodies, minds, and spirits – in all our actions – in every aspect of our living and conduct. Paul instructs the Colossians; Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the name Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)
Two wills are aligned. Your will and the will of your heavenly Father. Just as it was with Jesus – all the way to the end of life. This is true consecration. This is true worship. Active obedience to the will of God – for the glory of God and the exalting of His love. (Eg: Gifts, Romans 12 3 f) As we pray in that amazing prayer of Jesus; Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven – in my life – through my life. Or as Jesus said to the stunned crowd within earshot of his own family. Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother and my sister and mother. (Mark 3:34) In the great hymn of consecration by Edwin Hatch, “Breathe of me breath of God” we have this prayer about “one will.”
Breathe on me breath of God, until my heart is pure, until with thee I will one will, to do and to endure.
When these things begin to fall in place – then we can really and truly set out to practically live the Christian life. What does Paul wisely stress?
- The offering of our physical bodies with all their parts to God.
- The renewal and transformation of our minds and our thinking.
- The alignment of our will to God’s good, pleasing a perfect will.
- Nonconformity with the world’s standards. Conformity to the likeness of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29)
In closing, may I say this:
Firstly, I hope that whenever the offering is taken up in an act of worship, you will never think about it the same again. You will know that this is your weekly God-given opportunity to offer your body, mind, and soul to God. This is the time in worship when “you consecrate yourselves to God” – you offer far more than money; you offer your whole heart and being. As the great Dr M Lloyd Jones once said to his massive congregation from his pulpit at Westminster Chapel in London; Christianity; entrance fee – nothing: annual subscription – everything.
Secondly, I recommend you say a prayer of offering and consecration daily and not simply in weekly worship. The prayer here is great (at the beginning of the sermon). Discipleship is about daily taking up our cross, and being aligned with God’s will for us each day that we set out to either work or play. In everything we do for the rest of our earthly lives – God’s will be done to the glory of His great name. This must be intentional – consecrate yourselves said Joshua to the people – deliberately praying and offering on your part. You must do this – for yourselves!
Thirdly and finally: if we truly offer our bodies as living sacrifices of worship, and allow our minds to be transformed and aim to align our wills to God’s, then we will begin to see what Joshua refers to as “amazing things.” Amazing things will happen during our days and our time upon this earth. God can and will do amazing miracles of grace and mercy and compassion through lives which have been totally surrendered to him in an offering of worship and obedience. His Kingdom will come down powerfully as His will is done in your life and mine. Amen!
Revd Peter J Clarkson (13.7.25)