Extreme Christianity III


Extreme Christianity III

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.

— Rom 12:1

I have read this passage many times, in fact it is one that I have memorized but the context has alluded me to a great degree.  Most commentators divide the book with this verse as the beginning of the second part of the letter, which may be true but the word therefore means that the beginning of the book predicated this verse.  Why would we present ourselves as living sacrifices? Because of all the reasons listed by the apostle in the first 11 chapters.  What it is in those chapters?  The greatest dissertation about on justification by faith in Christ.

Just go and read it out loud to your self it is wonderful…

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe….we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…

It is this that drives the therefore of 12:1.  Can any of us say we have presented our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord?  I doubt it.  What would it be like if we would strive in every area of our life to bring Glory to the Lord and his Gospel?  If we lived this life not as our own but purely as God’s what could we accomplish.

I have heard it said that the Christian life is one of moderation but I am starting do doubt that.  I believe it may be intended to be an extreme one, one of extreme love and sacrifice.  I just don’t like what that looks like and how to do it.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.