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.
— Romans 12:1
Those without Christ in the heart sacrifice themselves to the world. One preacher said “sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” The world’s sacrifice is UNREASONABLE.
“For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”
– 1 Peter 4:3-5
Yesterday we saw how the Christian’s sacrifice to God is REASONABLE because it gives us victory over sin and will give us no shame. Today, we look at the greatest reason why it is reasonable to sacrifice our lives to Him – We Belong to Him!
We Belong To Him
“Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”
– Romans 6:18-22
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
– 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
If you are a child of God, saved and bought by the blood, YOU BELONG TO HIM. The Lord of all the universe came to earth to sacrifice His precious life for us. He purchased our salvation. Every child of God has been bought with a price. We are now God’s slaves. There is nothing negative about this at all! A slave of God has a far richer inheritance than any earthly king ever had. As God’s slave, we have NEVER been forced to do anything. The Master walked into the slave market and saw us. He sold ALL that He had and purchased us while we were standing on the slave block as if we were a precious pearl (Matthew 13:45-46). The Master has expectations for us slaves. He has an inheritance for every slave regardless of what we do with our lives. He’s given us the freedom to live the way we want though every choice we make has its consequences. Regardless of how we live, He is still our Lord. There are blessings in living in complete submission to our Master, but our Master may chasten us when we step out of His will. The fact still stands that our Master purchased us when we were worth nothing. When we were dead in trespasses and sins – when we were unlovable – when we were incurable – our Lord loved us, cured us, and quickened (put life into) us! We now belong to Him. It is reasonable to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God because WE BELONG TO HIM!
If you look at how the Old Testament sacrifices were offered, you will find that the sacrifices were bound to the altar. Cords would bind the sacrifice to the altar so the sacrifice would not run off or slip off. Is there anything binding you to the altar? Our fleshly nature does not want to be bound to the altar! Our sinful bodies do not want to make any commitments! Dear friend, it takes sacrificing your will to the Lord. “Lord, bind me to your altar! Lord, I sacrifice my every desire, my every thought, my every craving, my every action, my every word. Lord, remove from my life anything unpleasing to you! Take from me anything causing me to slip off your merciful altar!”
I’ve heard people say, “when it comes down to it, I would DIE for Christ!” But I wonder how many are willing to LIVE for Christ.
Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Why is it reasonable?
Because we belong to him.
Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow’r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;
Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.
Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me
His precious blood He gave to redeem,
Now I belong to Him;
Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.