A Life Placed on the Altar

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The Apostle Paul links worship to our posture rather than to a place. All that we are, mind, body, emotions, all of us is to be offered to the Lord. Under the old covenant, animal sacrifices were slain, but new covenant worshipers offer themselves as living sacrifices. This means every ambition, appetite, and arrangement is handed over to Christ. Our culture urges self-protection and self-promotion. The Holy Spirit and the Scriptures He inspired call us to self-surrender. This transformation begins in the mind, where the gospel uproots lies. Lies such as, happiness is found in sin, that holiness is optional, or to follow your heart and nothing else. In place of falsehoods, truth is to be planted and cultivated. Truth such Christ’s preeminence, and the superiority and freedom of obedience to the Word.  

A renewed mind proves, actually tests and approves, that God’s will is “good, acceptable, and perfect.” We discover by experience that nothing offered to God is ultimately lost and nothing withheld is finally kept. The Lord Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. Let us wholly place our lives on His altar. May the Lord renew our minds by His Word, through the Spirit, so that we may love what Christ loves and hate what He hates.  

Offer your whole self to God today. True worship is a transformed life.