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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading covering Romans 12:1 wherein we explore what it means to live wholly unto God.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Paul carried much personal authority with the early church, but he does not appeal to that authority here. Instead he takes them to the mercies of God. He says in essence, “Stand upon this mercy” or “with such mercy in mind, do this.” The mercy that he here appeals to them by is a fresh concept within the context of this verse. The Gentile church has been reminded of how, by no merit of their own, they have been grafted into the family of God. Paul, as he penned his letter to them has just been overcome by the majesty and mystery of the Lord from whom all things come, through whom all things exist, and to whom all things belong. Indeed then, any appeal by any fallen, limited human being that might be made must come by way of an appeal to God’s mercy. Paul is undoubtedly rightly humbled even in his powerful exultation over who God is, and we should follow suit.
But what is his specific appeal? He urges his readers to be the only type of people that they possibly could be given the picture that he has just painted of his Lord. Be living sacrifices unto Him; this must follow for all those who want to live according to God’s will. We are to give ourselves continually to His service, surrendering all that we are in order to have our every motion controlled by His Spirit. Dying daily is how we must live. Holiness is furthermore called for as we recognize that we belong to Him alone; blemished intruders are not allowed where acceptance from Him is the criteria for entry into His presence. But again, it must be remembered at this point that we obtain such a position because of God’s mercy; without His mercy and grace applied to us through Christ we could not be counted holy in His sight and so would never be accepted by Him! Paul, under the Spirit’s direction, is urging a spiritual worship, our only reasonable service, as an agreement between our wills and God’s sovereign grace. “What else could you possibly think of doing or even want to do?” he asks his readers. To be sure, those who are truly saved will bear fruit according to this reality and yet this obedience is learned through these kinds of urgings. The great mysteries associated with the first eleven chapters of Romans do not cease in chapter twelve. The take home point: We are called to live unto our merciful God alone, abandoning all that would hinder our fellowship with Him and embracing everything that might build us up in Him! Come to Him today asking for His eyes for your life that you might live with new gladness and purpose as the sacrifice He desires.
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One Response to “Romans 12:1–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation”
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