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Nov 25, 2023 06:00am

All Consumed

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There are a few chapters in Scripture that make my personal ‘top ten list.’ Romans 12 is one of those.

It begins with Paul, the writer, pleading with his fellow believers to “by the mercies of God, present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” Sacrifices in the Old Testament were central to worship of Jehovah God in the and the burnt offering was the offering by which the priest turned God’s wrath away from the people. In this first verse of Romans 12, Paul is not asking us to make ourselves a sacrifice to turn away God’s wrath, because the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross accomplished this for us. Paul is calling us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice in response to the mercy God demonstrated toward us when He gave His sinless Son as the sacrifice for our sin. Because we are not capable of being sinless and righteous before God, Jesus came to earth and lived a sinless life that would qualify him to be the substitutionary sacrifice for us. 2 Corinthians 5:15 tells us that “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” We no longer live for ourselves, but for Him. He died for us so that we can live for Him.

Paul used the concept of a sacrifice intentionally so we would understand the extent to which we are to live for Jesus. If we look at Leviticus 1, we see that sacrifices were costly. The acceptable sacrifice for the burnt offering was a bull, a sheep, or a goat, turtle doves, or pigeons. All were based on what they could afford. I love this because it is just a matter of bringing the best you have, and your forgiveness and mercy were not directly correlated with how much you can bring. We must remember that the sacrifice of these animals was a sacrifice of food for them and their families. Many of us do not think this is difficult because food is plentiful, but when living off the land, it is costly and a true act of faith that God will provide for your future need.

There are several details about the burnt offering that are significant in pointing them to the sacrifice of Jesus as the coming Messiah. The sacrifice must be male, it must be without blemish, and it must be killed in order for the blood to be applied to the altar. These all point to the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

Notice also, that all that remained from the animal was cleaned and placed on the altar to be consumed by fire as a “sweet aroma to the Lord.” This brings us back to Romans 12:1, where Paul is calling believers to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, to be wholly given into God’s service and for His pleasure.
As I ponder the concept of my life being completely consumed by God’s purpose and for His pleasure, I feel saddened by the areas that I have held back from Him. The remainder of Romans 12 teaches what it looks like to live sacrificially for God. In verse 2 it begins with not living like the world lives by changing our mindset to align with God’s principles and His guidance. Verses 3-8 encourage us in the way we interact within the body of believers. We are encouraged to be humble and to not think too highly of ourselves but to value each individual as they are created, with different abilities, personalities, and functions. In verses 9-13, we are encouraged to love others without hypocrisy, abhor evil, and cling to goodness. Paul tells us to be diligent in following the Holy Spirit and serving the Lord. He encourages us to endure hardship with hope, patience, and prayer. He calls us to show empathy to others, to not repay evil with evil, and to live at peace with others as much as possible. Finally, He says do not be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good.

You have likely come to the same conclusion as I did: This encompasses our entire lives!
We are to sacrifice our own desires and allow them to be consumed so God’s Holy Spirit, working in us and through us, allows us to present our lives as a holy and acceptable act of worship. This is a sweet-smelling aroma to the God who sacrificed Himself for us.