“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you PRESENT your bodies a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable to God, because this is truly the way TO WORSHIP HIM. And do not CONFORM to this world, but be TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING of your mind, that YOU MAY PROVE what is that GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT will of God.” (Rom. 12:1-2)
We are to present ourselves, “living, holy and acceptable” why? The Lord says “As obedient children, do not CONFORM to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so BE HOLY in ALL you do; for it is written: “BE HOLY, because I AM HOLY.” (1 Pet. 1:13-16) Living, holy and acceptable is an act of true worship!
By nature we are sinners so God miraculously “transforms” us into sin forgiven Christians. Then we can PROVE OURSELVES by doing God’s will.
THREE WAYS OF EXPRESSING GOD’S WILL:
- GOOD: Don’t just have a mystical experience and call yourself a Christian. Ask: What is good? And DO IT. That is the Christian way of walking in the will of God.
- ACCEPTABLE: However, that may sound risky. It sounds moralistic. That is, lots of “moral” people try to do what’s “good,” but are not Christian. So Paul goes further and adds “acceptable.” He means “ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.”
- PERFECT: Paul is defining the “good” as good in RELATION TO GOD. “By euareston (acceptable) he underlines the fact that the goodness which is in question is not just “goodness” but a goodness determined by the REVELATION of GOD’S WILL, a matter of obedience to God’s commandments.” When Paul says that we should be transformed so that we can do the will of God, he means the PERFECT REVEALED will of God and its proper applications to our lives.
-Bill Stockham