Understanding How to Be A Living and Holy Sacrifice – Acceptable to God

Today, the holy spirit allowed me to get a divine revelation behind the verses in Romans 12. I have read and recited parts of the chapter many times. I even cleaved on to certain parts as guidelines for my life.

However, today, I want to share with you the simple way in which God opened my understanding, further, of this chapter on the dos and dont’s for our Christian life.

Romans Chapter 12

Let’s take a look at Romans 12, which gives a clear guideline on how to live ‘a holy and acceptable’ life unto God. Here is the KJV version.

1 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.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Chapter 1 – In the Beginning

Writers understand that the first sentence in a chapter should be a summary statement of what the entire paragraph is about.

This quickly came to my mind when I read the first verse and asked, “But Lord, how do I become a living and holy sacrifice for you – which is acceptable?”

And, do you mean that not all the things that we do and are holy, are not acceptable?

Before I started overthinking what was in front of me, I choose to pull for my NLT version. Once, I read that, it was clearer and the spirit said, simply look at this as a dos and dont’s list.

Romans 12 NLT Version:

I will now use the NLT version, to give you some insight, because it is very clear and easier to understand the true meaning in the text.

1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.d

4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function,

5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.

7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.

8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

10 Love each other with genuine affection,e and take delight in honoring each other.

11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.

18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.

20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Oftentimes we read the scriptures without understanding and without the Holy Spirit to guide us and reveal the deeper meaning.

Yes, some things are easily understood, but when you are reading scores of verses, sometimes they can disappear, even though they are right in front of your eyes.

But, when you have the help of The Teacher, He will focus your spirit and mind on those things which will provide a clearer understanding and edify both your mind and spirit.

I pulled the list below, to make things more evident. I pray it is useful to you.

The Dos and Don’ts For Your Christian Life

As the scriptures say, “This is truly the way to worship him.” and live a life that is acceptable unto God.

The Dos

If God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.
If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.
If it is giving, give generously.
If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.
If you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.
When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.
Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with each other.
Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.
Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.

And Don’ts

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.
Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people.
Don’t think you know it all!
Never pay back evil with more evil.
Never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

And there you have it! A list of 25 ways for how you can live a holy christian life – which is acceptable to God.

Be Encouraged

We all need a list like the one above sometimes, to help keep us on track in our Christian Life.

Having a Do’s and Dont’s list for your Christian life will help you to focus more easily on what you should and should not do. Sure, we have the Tem Commandments. But, the list above can clarify those items which might fall in a gray area for you.

Be blessed.

*****

About the writer:
Denise N. Fyffe is a published author of over 40 fiction and non-fiction books. She is also a trainer and also mentors aspiring writers towards achieving their goals.

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