a living sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2

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.² 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.

I don’t know why it never occurred to me before, but the other morning at Men’s BASIC I for the first time only began to ponder the faith of Isaac in reflecting upon this admonition from the Apostle Paul.

Isaac voluntarily laid down his life on the altar expecting, in his faith, to survive the ordeal.

You and I now, in view of God’s mercies to us in providing a “ram in the thickets” in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, are charged to lay down our lives so that we may be raised to life like Jesus.

Hebrews 11:17-19

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son,¹⁸ of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.”¹⁹ He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

The point of dying to your self is living to God.

Many cut themselves off from pleasures in order to climb a ladder back to God.

Many cut themselves off from pleasures for their own purposes.

But our dying is not, in itself, of any value to us, others or God.

Only in putting off the old man IN ORDER TO put on the new man in Christ is their life.

A living sacrifice.

One who is dead to self.

One who is alive to God.

Romans 6:11

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.