Read Romans 6:5-14, 12:1-21

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.” – Romans 12:1a MSB

A child of Christian missionaries, Peter Furler is a guy who co-founded a band in his parents’ garage in Australia in 1985. They called themselves Newsboys. They eventually sold their instruments so they could buy airline tickets to come to the USA – and few people had heard of them and they were broke when they got here.

Then they started writing and singing Christian songs about sincere love of others. Their first tour was titled “Counter the Culture.” Their songs are about placing your body before God through worship (Romans 12:1 – IT IS YOU), being dead to sin (6: 5-7 – GOING PUBLIC) and being rescued by God (v. 7:24) – RESCUED). 

Place your body before God and live in the instructions of Romans 12. Offering your body to God as a living sacrifice may sound extreme. Why would anyone want to do it?

But that is exactly what Paul calls us to do in verse 12:1. Paul shows us practical ways of living as Christians in a mixed-up culture and our need to commit ourselves totally to God as a living sacrifice. The chapter promotes the two great commandments: to love God with our entire being and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Romans 12:10-21 offers examples of ways we can love other people sincerely and therefore offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God and His will (v 2). Chapters 12 and 13 of Romans parallel the teachings of Jesus. These teachings are the basic foundation of a living sacrifice.

Have you made your life a living sacrifice by honoring Jesus in your everyday, ordinary life?

Place your body before God as an offering with the following teachings from Romans 12:

The process of being transformed in how you think. Focus on Jesus! (v 1 and 2).

Be honest in self-evaluation – avoid an attitude of superiority or arrogance.

Be teachable. (v 3).

Sincere love (inside and outside the church) – Show love first in what you say and what you do. – Romans 12:9-13; Phil 2:3; John 16:33.

Bless and rejoice – If you are a Christian, you have been rescued by Jesus (1 Thess 1:10). When things go wrong, rest if you must, but don’t quit! – Romans 12:14-15.

Make friends with nobodies. Do not be the great somebody. Discover beauty in everyone. – Romans 12:17-20; 1 Peter 3:9; Prov 25:22.

Overcome evil with good – Romans 12:21; Gal 5:22; 1 Cor 13:4.

Can you place your body before God in every area of your life?

Tom Weckesser

Newsboys – Rescue (Live)