A living sacrifice
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God…
Romans 12:1 (NIV)
When I was 11 or 12, my English teacher gave our class a lesson on oxymorons, explaining that the word meant a phrase that appears to contradict itself. I still remember thinking that his first example – military intelligence – was a little hard on our armed forces. But there were others that made more sense, such as bittersweet, original copy and jumbo shrimp.
Why am I telling you this? Well, it could be argued that the phrase ‘a living sacrifice’ is a biblical oxymoron, a paradoxical statement. After all, shouldn’t a sacrifice be dead? But Paul coined the phrase as a way of getting across a message that was both completely new, and wholly remarkable to his audience.
The word ‘living’ refers not only to us Christians as inherently alive human beings. Paul also means that in Jesus we have been included in the very life of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we will remain alive in that love relationship for all eternity.
The word ‘sacrifice’ is used in an entirely new way. In the religious sacrifices of Paul’s day, an animal’s blood would be drained and the carcass cut into pieces – it was as dead as could be. The sacrifice referred to here involves a different type of dying – dying to our sin-filled selves and living sacrificially for God, and for others. Tom Wright in his book Paul for Everyone: Romans Part 2 says that ‘whereas the sacrifice is there to be killed, the Christian’s self-offering is actually all about coming alive with the new life that bursts out in unexpected ways once the evil deeds of the self are put to death.’ (p.70)
Verse one of Romans 12 finishes with: ‘—this is your true and proper worship.’ Do you see what Paul is saying here? That to be a living sacrifice is not just the way a Christian should live; it is an act of true worship. The New Testament for Everyone translation puts it slightly differently and so beautifully I would like to finish with those words:
‘Worship like this brings your mind into line with God’s.’
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you that through the sacrifice of your son Jesus Christ, we are included in the very life of God. Help us not to ‘conform to the pattern of this world’ but rather be transformed by the renewing of our minds as we offer our bodies as living sacrifices, ‘holy and pleasing’ to you. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.
Study by Peter Mill
Peter Mill is a minister in Grace Communion International and Co-Regional Pastor for Scotland, Ireland and Northern England.
Local congregation:
GCI, Edinburgh – Edinburgh has a zoom service at the moment. For details email the local congregational contact below.
Local congregational contact:
Peter Mill
Email: edinburgh@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church