THE DEDICATION OF THE BODY
Rom. 12:1
Morning Meditation 10/7/2012
Verse 1 says, “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.”
There are three important “therefores” in which this epistle is divided. The first is the “therefore” of salvation (Rom. 5:1), the second, the “therefore” of sanctification, and the third, the “therefore” of service. This is our present “therefore.” To serve the Lord there is two fundamental conditions to Christian service. The first is outward (the body) the second is inward (the mind). In today’s meditation we will look at the first. This is the dedication of the body. First, we see,
THE APPEAL
Paul appeals in the words “I beseech you therefore, brethren . . .” This is not an appeal to the unsaved as a condition to salvation. It is not an appeal to Paul’s Jewish brethren though this is the way the word “brethren” is used at times. This is addressed to “brethren” in the same spiritual family.
The words “I beseech” translate “parakaleo” and means, “to call to one's side, call for, to summon.” It is the present tense which means, “I am continually appealing to you to present your bodies . . .” In other words, this is not a one time appeal. Sometimes we have to hear someone making an appeal to us over and over again before it finally breaks through. The plea does not go away so we finally yield. I know pastors who are constantly appealing to their people to attend church regularly, to read their Bibles regularly, to pray regularly. You wonder why they don’t give up because the attendance in church on Sunday and Wednesday evening seems to remain unattended. However, the faithful preacher must continue in the continuous present to appeal. He will one day stand before the Lord and so will those who hear him. Amen. Paul says, “I call on you, I beg you.”
This is a strong appeal. It reaches back in this epistle to all that has been said thus far with the word “therefore.” “Therefore,” because we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1), and “therefore” because we are sanctified by the sacrifice of Christ so that we are removed completely from the sphere of condemnation, we are to “therefore” present our bodies a living sacrifice. Next notice,
THE MOTIVATION
Paul uses the words “by the mercies of God.” The word “by” translates “dia” and means “through.” The word “mercies” translates “oiktirmos”and means, “compassion, pity, mercy, i.e., bowels in which compassion resides, a heart of compassion, emotions, longings, manifestations of pity.” The words “of God” identify the source of this compassion, pity, and mercy. God’s compassion in this verse is especially seen in the context of three steps. First, Paul has told us in chapters one through three that both Jews and Gentiles are sinners so that it can be said, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). Jesus died for those who are described as completely out of the reach of salvation so far as the law is concerned (Rom. 3:19-20). God gave His Son to die for those described so that faith alone makes salvation possible for all (Rom. 3:30; 4:5; 5:1). Then He sanctified those whom He saved and secured them so that they could never again be separated from His love (Rom. 8). That is the “mercies of God” to which Paul appeals for the presentation of the body. Then next we see,
THE CHOICE
The appeal here is to choose. The words “that ye present your bodies” is asking them to act. The words “ye present” translates “paristemi” and means, “to place beside or near.” It is an aorist tense verb form and means to do it in an act of dedication. It should be a once-for-all act. It is like Paul is telling them to get off the fence. Dedicate your bodies to the Lord so that you are not having to decide each time you are confronted with a situation if it is right or wrong. If you dedicate the body to the Lord, if there is even a question about it, it is wrong. The Christian life is a life of choices. We need the Bible to help us know the right choices. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us in the right choices. We need a well trained conscience to coach us through the right choices. But this is one choice that needs to be made once for all.
This is a choice that involves our bodies. You will notice this is a plural word. He is not talking to the church collectively, i.e., as an institution. He is speaking to each professing Christian in the local church in Rome. So this is a choice that each one has to make for himself. Salvation fixes destiny but we must trust the Lord a step at a time in our Christian walk. God is concerned with our bodies. There seems to be a general attitude that if you are saved by grace that it does not make God much difference what you do with the body. It makes a big difference. When the Lord saved us He purchased the body as well as the spirit. 1 Cor. 6:19-20 says, “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.” We are told in verse 19 that our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Ghost.” The temple is the dwelling place of God. This is His temple by right of purchase: “For ye are bought with a price.” If you have problems with the body still having the old sin nature and belonging to God at the same time, join the crowd. There are some things we do not understand and cannot explain to our complete satisfaction. But when God says, “You body is mine by right of purchase, and I live in it,” there is only one thing for us to say, “Yes Sir.”
What the believer does with his body, he is doing with God’s body. That should take care of what we put in it (strong drink), do with it (no fornication), dress it (modesty), take it (places of amusement that is questionable). Those are negative things but they are applicable. Then there are positive things such as church attendance, witness, prayer in public places (bowing your head and asking God’s blessing on a meal in public), etc. Then next we notice,
THE SACRIFICE
Paul speaks of “a living sacrifice.” This means that the choice that we make to present ourselves is a sacrificial act. The word “sacrifice” translates “thusia” and is from a word that means, “to slay or kill.” This is what the Jew did when he brought his sacrifice to the altar at the temple. He dedicated this offering to the Lord and then killed it. Its life was taken. It could not breathe anymore, it could not eat anymore, it could not choose anymore. All those things ended in its death. But we are not to give ourselves a dead sacrifice. We cannot die a substitutionary death, i.e., one that will pay for our sins or the sins of another. Only Jesus could do that. But we can live dead to the things that displease God. It will be a sacrifice. There will be things we want to do but we will have to apply the truth of the “living sacrifice” to that situation and go on without complaint. Then next we see,
THE SERVICE
First, it must be a service acceptable to God. This is what Paul says. One cannot offer just anything to God. Some thought they could even in Paul’s day. This is the reason he deals with it in 1 Cor. 3:11-15 where he speaks of two different types of building materials. One will burn the other will not. What burns is the wood, hay, and stubble. This represents the service offered to God that is unacceptable. I won’t go into the things that are unacceptable except to say that according to our text what we present to God must be “holy.” The word “holy” translates “hagios” and means “pure” and is the root word that is translated “saint” which means, “one set apart for special use and is not to be defiled for use of other things.” Belshazzar took the gold and silver vessels that had been dedicated for use in the Temple in Jerusalem and defiled them by using them to drink strong drink. This was the night the judgment of God fell on this wicked king of Babylon and this was part of the reason for it (See Daniel 5).
For the believer to remain holy in service he will experience the following. First, there is the “presentation of the body” in a once-for-all act. Second, there is the struggle to maintain this attitude. We have three enemies that will constantly challenge our commitment: the world, the flesh and the devil. We must continually apply the truth of our once-for-all dedication to every situation that arises. It is not making the decision again. It is simply applying it to any situation that is contrary to the original decision. Third, there is the continual cleansing. We must not allow sin to build up in our lives. Because we have an old sin nature, we will sin. It is not that we have to, but we will. The way the believer stays holy is by the constant cleansing of the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:6-9). You can’t be more holy than the blood of Christ makes you. Victory in the christian life is not NEVER SINNING, it is staying up to date with dealing with our sins and short comings at the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). Fourth, the life that pleases Him is the life that constantly applies these principles and lives by faith in the reality of His presence.
It is called a “reasonable service.” The word “reasonable” translates “logikos” and means, “agreeable to reason, following reason.” We get our word “logical” from this word. It is only reasonable or logical that we serve Him in the manner spoken of here.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
