“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.” Romans 12:1 ASV
Though God is a Sovereign or Supreme Ruler, under this present dispensation of grace, God is not compelling anyone to love, obey, worship, or serve Him or surrender and submit to His authority.
However, at the end of this dispensation of grace, God will completely crush and subdue every rebellion against His authority, and every knee will bow to God (Rom. 14:11, 1 Cor. 15:24).
As a Loving Father, God does not want any of His children to love, obey, worship, or serve Him impulsively, forcefully, or grudgingly. The Scripture prohibits and warns against serving God grudgingly or reluctantly, without joy and gladness of heart (Deut. 28:47-48). Under the Old Covenant, serving God grudgingly or half-heartedly always attracts a curse. Jeremiah proclaims, “Let him be cursed who does the Lord’s work half-heartedly…” (Jer. 48:10 BBE).
When God commanded Moses to build Him a Sanctuary in the wilderness so that He may dwell among the children of Israel, God expressly instructed Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.” (Exo. 25:2 NKJV).
God’s emphasis is on bringing your offering willingly with a cheerful heart. Unfortunately, the focus of greedy and carnal servants of God today is mainly on bringing your rich, fat, or robust offerings to them regardless of your disposition.
Salvation is purely the gift of God. It is not the wages of your good works. You can never love, obey, worship, or serve God well enough to earn, merit, or deserve God’s love, acceptance, favor, or blessing.
Paul clearly states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9 NKJV).
You can never be justified before God by your good works or performance. Faith in your self-righteousness, good performance, or religious works cannot secure a loving, intimate, and eternal relationship with God. You can be justified and saved only by faith in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ.
Paul testifies, “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Gal. 2:16 NKJV).
While it is true that salvation is God’s gift, good works are good evidence or fruit of salvation. We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ and His finished work, not by faith in ourselves or our works; however, saving faith is never alone.
The Scripture testifies that faith without good works is dead, useless, or unprofitable. “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. (Jam. 2:17 NKJV). “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (Jam. 2:26 NKJV).
Therefore, it is contradictory to claim to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ, with no desire for good works or bearing the fruit of good works. The new creation in Christ is created for good works. It is the nature of the new creation to do good works—to love, obey, worship, and serve God.
It is contradictory to say you are a new creation and not be zealous for good works! Paul reveals that Jesus Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:14 NKJV).
The born-again believers are created in Christ for good works. Paul writes, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10 NKJV).
Paul also writes, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” (Tit. 3:8 NKJV).
“And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.” (Tit. 3:14 NKJV).
Beloved, having become justified and regenerated by faith in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ, you are expected to gladly seek to love, obey, worship, and serve the Lord Jesus and become zealous for good works. The Scripture refers to that as your “spiritual or reasonable service.”
Paul writes, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.” (Rom. 12:1 ASV).
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1 NKJV).
Having been redeemed from the slavery of Sin and Satan by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, it is your spiritual and reasonable service to present, devote, or offer yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ as a living sacrifice.
Any believer in Christ who continues to live for himself is a carnal, unreasonable, insensible, or unintelligent person. The early Disciples of Christ cheerfully and wholeheartedly devoted themselves and their resources to Christ and His Kingdom because they could reason well (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
Friend, your love, obedience, worship, or service to the Lord Jesus should no longer be a mere religious obligation or duty but rather a loving, grateful, or thankful response to the Lord Jesus for His pure, selfless, and unconditional love demonstrated towards you by willingly offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice for your sins on the cross (John 10:17-18, 1 John 4:9-10).
Discover the fundamental nature of spiritual or reasonable service in the second part of this piece!
Prayer:
Today, I consecrate my whole life willingly, cheerfully, wholeheartedly, and continually to my Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus’ name. Amen.