Among
the first Bible verses I remember memorizing was Romans 12:1. I’ll give it to you here in the New
King James Version because I’m pretty sure that’s what I memorized it in back
in the day. (These days my memorized verses tend to come out as a mash-up of
several versions.)
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.
There’s
a lot packed into this short verse.
I’ll isolate just two that relate to this week’s message in Ezra 5-6…the
matter of what it means to be a “living sacrifice” and to what “reasonable
service” refers.
First,
what does it mean to be a “living sacrifice”? I remember hearing somewhere a
somewhat trite, but nonetheless attention grabbing, comment that the problem
with a “living sacrifice” is that it keeps crawling off of the altar. Funny. And thought provoking. The intention of the author in using
this illustration is to let us know that our lives have been once for all time offered
to God as a sacrifice. There’s no going back. Think about it, once a sacrifice
is offered you can’t really un-offer it. [Reader Discretion Advisory] Once the
animal’s throat has been slit, blood drained and carcass burned, there’s really
no opportunity to reverse the decision.
Having
said that, we understand that it is merely an illustration and the reality is
that, while we may have offered ourselves as living sacrifices, we do struggle
along the way with the implications of being a sacrifice. That’s the
understanding I have of the “crawling off the altar” part. This sacrifice is
different because it is living and I am a volitional being…I make choices and
sometimes those choices are not consistent with what God would have me be and
do. But I’m actively seeking to be
on the altar. I am growing in my ability to live out each day in sacrificial
service to the Lord.
That’s
where the second phrase comes in. The NKJV says “reasonable service” but the
newer translations including the ESV go with “your spiritual worship.” This act of giving ourselves as a
sacrifice is an act of ongoing worship to God. The point is simple. Worship is not a matter of once a week
corporate gatherings but of continual service to the Lord in everything that I
do. The whole of my week is a worship service. Later in Romans 12, in fact, we
read instructions about spiritual gifts—the abilities that God’s Holy Spirit
empowers for us to serve one another in the church and to make an impact in the
world among those who do not believe. Worship is, in this case, not about the singing and the
preaching and the offering of prayers and money, but about serving one another
in love. So
in giving my life as a “living sacrifice” I become a worshipper, and as such I
am offering continual “spiritual worship” to the Lord in all I do and
everything I am.
And
as we approach Ezra 5-6 this Sunday, we will see the Jewish people living this
out. They are worshipping God by obeying the preaching they heard to get back
to work on the Temple. The actual act of construction…of cutting stones and
fitting them together and laying beams and crafting the artwork and such is an
act of worship. They understood this. We need to get it too. And so, “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.”
The
message title is, “Let it be done with all diligence”: Attributing worth to God
in all my work.” The precise passage is Ezra 5:1-6:12. I’m looking forward to looking at it
with you.
See
you Sunday,
Todd