The first part of Romans chapter 12 is one of those passages that you hear a lot. “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices” and “in Christ we who are many form one body” are phrases that get used often in everything from sermons to worship songs. I’ve even seen them on t-shirts and social media posts. It is such a pivotal chapter, that we often forget where it is in the context of Romans as a whole.
Romans has this reputation of being one of the most theological books in the Bible. And that reputation is WELL DESERVED. Basically, in the first 11 chapters Paul has been systematically laying out a complete theology for understanding what it means to be a Christian. This reputation for being so theological has caused some people to wonder why Paul includes these practical chapters toward the end.
Romans 12:1-2 – 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—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What we can sometimes fail to remember is that ALL theology is practical. And all Christian practice IS theological. You can’t have one without the other. The Good News of Jesus Christ is meant to transform a person’s life. Unless we start to LIVE OUT our theology, the Gospel hasn’t accomplished its purpose.
We offer ourselves as living sacrifices, and that is how we worship God. Here is where a little bit of first century context might be helpful. When we think of the word “sacrifice” we often think of giving up something or going without something. But when the first century person thought of the word “sacrifice” they equated it with the word “worship.” In the ancient world, ritual sacrifice at a temple WAS how you worshipped your God – Jews and Gentiles alike. The temple in Jerusalem AND countless temples all over the Roman Empire were constantly busy with people coming to sacrifice something AS THEIR ACT OF WORSHIP.
As you might expect, many Gentiles practiced a cheap version of worship. They reasoned that if all we have to do is offer this animal at an alter once a year (or however often), then we’re golden. We’re straight with the gods. I can live the rest of my life however I want. Israel, by the way, wasn’t immune to this kind of thinking either. The Old Testament prophets spoke against this again and again.
For a better example, look no further than when Jesus himself calls out the Pharisees for being white-washed tombs. Pretty sacrifices on the outside, but no genuine worship on the inside. That’s why Paul follows his word about offering yourselves as sacrifices with a caution to not conform to the pattern of the world, but instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
No, the sacrifice that we offer at the alter – our worship to God – is an INFORMED sacrifice. I’ve written before about how Paul saw the world as being caught between two ages. When we accept Christ as Lord and seek to follow him, we have switched our allegiance from the “present age” and instead seek to live in “the age to come.” And so our sacrifice is a living one. Literally. We sacrifice the right to live however we want to and instead live in ways that honor God. We align ourselves with “the age to come,” but “the present age” is still all around us.
Some might feel that it is enough to simply “live a good life.” Try not to sin, study your Bible, pray regularly, show up on Sunday morning… you know. Doing the things. But if we stop there, then I’m not sure that’s really an informed sacrifice. We need to ask ourselves, “What does God really desire from our worship?” I think it is what He has always desired.
Think about Abraham. When God chose Abraham and told him to leave his family, leave his homeland, and set off on this adventure, what is the reason that He gives Abraham. Do you remember? Genesis 12: “I will make you into a great nation… I will bless you… and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God desires that His people are a blessing to the whole earth. That’s what He has always wanted humans to be. Isaiah echoes this as well when the Servant of the Lord (that is, Jesus) isn’t just going to restore the people of Israel, he is going to “be a light for the Gentiles, that salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” God chose the people of Israel so that the rest of the world could see and be drawn to Him.
As Christians, our purpose is the same. Jesus commands us to “go into all the world” preaching the Gospel and making disciples. You can’t just BE CHRISTIAN. You have to also “DO CHRISTIAN.” Theology and practice go together. They are two parts of the same thing. Or, as James will write, “faith without works is dead.”
Romans 12:3-8 – For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
So in the first two verses, Paul says we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices – and that those should be “informed” sacrifices. Realizing that BEING Christians inherently involves DOING Christian things. And then he rolls right into this analogy of being part of a body. Lots of people get wound up exploring this analogy. How does this body part fit in with that body part? Does the thing that I think I’m good at fit into the body of Christ and if so, how and where? Is this body part working well with that body part? Is this body really working together as a whole unit? OK. Those are good discussions and someone needs to be looking at that. Sure.
But I want to step back and make sure we don’t lose sight of Paul’s main point here. It is NO accident that he follows his words about living sacrifice and renewing your mind with the body analogy. If we are going to BE CHRISTIANS and DO CHRISTIANITY, then the proper place for that is WITHIN THE BODY. It is in the community of Christ that we become most effective. It is by serving the world around us TOGETHER AS A CHURCH that outsiders are best drawn to a life in Christ.
When we work together as a body, we get to take advantage of each other’s strengths. Paul lists a few of them in these verses – prophesying, teaching, serving, encouraging, giving, leading, showing mercy. I don’t think Paul means to limit the list to just these seven. There are lots of ways that you can plug in and become part of the body of Christ. Figuring out what that means for you is part of being “informed” with your sacrifice.
Besides, working as part of a group is just better. Think of it in terms of movies and TV shows. These days, super hero movies often feature groups of main characters: Guardians of the Galaxy, Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Justice League. Or go back in time a bit to my day: Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Original Transformers, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings. Or look at it in the Anime genre: Frieren, Delicious in Dungeon, Kpop Demon Hunters, One Piece, My Hero Academia, …and the list goes on. I love a good Superman movie, but the group of heroes is just so much more relatable. No one person can do it all. They have to rely on each other to overcome whatever challenges they face. It’s a similar dynamic as you and I become part of the body of Christ.
Being part of the body is also where we grow as Christians. “As Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” That’s actually in Proverbs, which is part of Israel’s heritage. But it is equally true in the body of Christ. My gifts can be used to reach non-Christians, but they can also be used to build up the body through mentoring or teaching, or even just encouraging other Christians. Your gifts can do the same for me. It is when we are in each other’s lives that we can have this effect on each other. It’s when we are in each other’s lives that we are attached to the body. And it is when we are attached to the body that we receive the spiritual nourishment needed to live and grow in our faith.
This was proven in a negative way in the COVID pandemic. Suddenly, we all stayed home and watched Sunday morning on our TVs. Sure, we still got a sermon and we still heard communion thoughts. Most of us sang along when the songs were played on the screen. But as necessary as these changes were for the physical health in our city, they were devastating for the spiritual health of our community. I’ve known quite a few people who quit watching during the pandemic and haven’t returned now that things are back to normal. Being members one to another is vitally important in our life as Christians.
So, BE Christians, DOING Christianity, as part of the BODY of Christ. That is what Paul is saying in this passage.
~ Clay
Fowlers in Japan 