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Just A Thought: Worship

July 7, 2019 0 comments

Posted in: Just a Thought

"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. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."   - Romans 12:1-2

Every aspect of our lives is part of our worship. Here in Romans Paul says:  “I appeal to you… by the mercies of God . . .” That is, I appeal to you on the basis of what has gone before in the first 11 chapters of this letter. The life of worship is built on something. It doesn’t come out of nowhere. It has roots. And those roots are the “the mercies of God." God has been merciful to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Build your lives on this mercy. Sink your roots in this mercy. And your new life will flow with mercy. Romans 12 oozes with mercy. “Show mercy with cheerfulness… Let love be genuine… Give to the saints... Bless those who persecute you… Weep with those who weep… Associate with the lowly… Repay no one evil for evil… Never avenge yourselves… If your enemy is hungry feed him.”  Build your lives on mercy and become merciful.

But Paul makes an insightful comment in verse 1 - Before Paul describes our new life in Christ as merciful, he describes it as worshipful. Before its merciful to people, it’s worshipful toward God.  “by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Before we give ourselves away in mercy to others, we give ourselves away in worship to God.

Listen to Paul’s testimony of desire: First, “It is my eager expectation and hope that… Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:20)  Second, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

In other words, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Show the worth of Christ by the way you use your body.

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