Romans: Living Sacrifice

Introduction
Last week, we looked at Romans 10 and saw how Paul demonstrated that Israel’s story is one of great zeal for God, yet a zeal that was not grounded in knowledge. From the return from the exile in Babylon to the Maccabean revolt, their passion for the law defined them, but it also blinded many from seeing Christ as the fulfillment of that law. Paul reminds us that zeal alone cannot make one righteous, for righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus, not through works of the law.

Though Israel stumbled, God’s plan did not fail. Through their unbelief, the gospel has gone out to the Gentiles, and through the Gentiles, God will one day bring Israel back. In the end, both Jew and Gentile are shut up under disobedience so that God may show mercy to all (Rom. 11:32). This great mystery leads Paul to a hymn of praise for God’s unsearchable wisdom, and then to a call in Romans 12 for believers to respond by offering their lives as living sacrifices, transformed and renewed in Christ.

Romans 11:28–36

Paul summarizes his teaching in verse 28: through their failure to respond to God’s righteousness in Christ, Israel has rejected the gospel. Thus, they are “enemies” with respect to the good news. Yet they remain “beloved” for the sake of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the paradox: Israel is simultaneously under God’s wrath and yet still an object of His covenant love.

God’s promises and love cannot be withdrawn from Israel because He is a God who keeps His word. The Abrahamic covenant was not conditional but rooted in God’s faithfulness. His blessing upon Israel cannot be withdrawn. This means that God is not finished with His people. Though the details remain hidden, His plan includes bringing Israel to salvation in Christ. As Paul insists, “God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.” (v. 29). God still has a purpose for Israel, not because they have remained faithful to Him, but because He is faithful.

Having unfolded this difficult teaching, Paul breaks out in a doxology in verses 33–36. For eleven chapters, he has explained the gospel: how God makes sinners right with Himself, how Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification, how believers are united with Christ in His death and resurrection, how life in the Spirit replaces life under the law, and how God will bring both Jew and Gentile into His new redeemed community. Before turning to the practical implications, Paul pauses in awe-filled worship.

These closing verses draw on Old Testament language but express Paul’s wonder at God’s wisdom and knowledge. God’s judgments are “unsearchable,” His ways “unfathomable.” Humanity cannot fully fathom His mind or trace His purposes. Paul’s rhetorical questions underscore this truth:

• “For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?” (v. 34).
• “Who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?” (v. 35).
  
  

The answer is obvious: no one. We are not God’s advisers; He is ours. He owes us nothing; we owe Him everything. We depend on Him for wisdom, redemption, and life itself.

Paul concludes with a sweeping affirmation of God’s sovereignty:
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (v. 36).

John Stott captures the force of this conclusion:
“This is why human pride is so offensive. Pride is behaving as if we were God Almighty, strutting round the earth as if we owned the place, repudiating our due dependence on God, pretending instead that all things depend on us, and thus arrogating to ourselves the glory which belongs to God alone.”¹

Everything exists for God’s glory and by His power. The only fitting response is humble worship.
 
Romans 12
With chapter 12, Paul shifts from doctrine to exhortation, from explaining the gospel to urging believers to live it out. Chapters 1–11 establish a theological foundation; chapters 12–15 press the practical implications. Paul knows that right doctrine must lead to right living. Faith in the gospel must manifest itself in daily obedience, service, and holiness.

Romans 12:1 - 2

Romans 12:1–2 is one of the most well-known passages in the letter, and for good reason. It captures the essence of Christian response to God’s grace. Paul begins by linking all he has said thus far to what follows: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God…” (12:1).

The appeal is grounded in God’s mercy. The NLT translates: “because of what God has done for you.” In other words, everything Paul has taught about justification, adoption, sanctification, and God’s plan for Jew and Gentile can be summarized as the mercy of God. Now the question is: how should believers respond?

A Living Sacrifice
Paul calls believers to present their bodies as “a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.” (12:1). The imagery is drawn from Israel’s sacrificial system, but with a radical transformation. Instead of offering animals on an altar, Christians offer themselves—mind, body, and spirit—as a continual act of devotion.

This offering does not obligate God to bless us, nor does it repay Him for salvation. Rather, it is the fitting response to mercy received. To be a “living sacrifice” means to be wholly at God’s disposal, willing to obey in every area of life and to thank Him in every circumstance. Worship, then, is not confined to a temple or a Sunday service; it is the daily surrender of life to God.
​
True worship is not merely about words sung or prayers spoken, but about a posture of obedience. God does not want our leftovers; He wants our whole being. When we place our ambitions, desires, and plans on the altar of obedience, we, in turn, worship Him.

Transformed, Not Conformed
Paul continues: “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person…” (12:2). The world pressures us into its mold: self-centeredness, pride, consumerism, and compromise. Paul warns against this conformity. Instead, believers are to be transformed from the inside out by the renewing of their minds. What does it mean to renew your mind?

Pastor Tim Keller explains:
“Paul is laying out a radical way of living. It requires a transformed mind to pursue it. Two patterns are held up: the pattern of the world and the pattern of God’s will. Paul tells us to recognize and reject the pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterizes the world, and to embrace God’s will for all character and life… Paul doesn’t really explain what this means (renewing of the mind) but it’s important, for it is the way in which we are to be transformed into the pattern of Christ…  We are to have our minds inflamed with the truth about Christ. (this means) not just that we think true thoughts, but that the governing influence of our mind is reoriented. In modern terminology, one’s imagination is captured by Christ. Who he is and what he did fires the imagination and controls our minds.”²

Renewal involves more than right thoughts; it is a reorientation of our entire being. Christ captures the imagination, reshaping desires, priorities, and values. Self is no longer at the center; pleasing God becomes the goal.

The outcome, Paul says, is discernment: “Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (12:2). A transformed mind enables believers to perceive and embrace God’s will, joyfully, as good and perfect.

Conclusion — Living for God’s Glory

Romans 11:28–12:2 brings us to a decisive point in Paul’s letter. After eleven chapters of rich theology, Paul pauses in worship and then calls believers to action. The logic is clear: because God is faithful, because His wisdom is unsearchable, because His mercy has been poured out in Christ, we are to respond by offering ourselves wholly to Him.

For Israel, Paul assures that God’s promises stand. For the church, Paul exhorts that God’s mercy demands a response. And for us today, the message is the same: the only reasonable act of worship is to give ourselves—body, mind, and soul—completely to the One who has given us everything.

In a culture that urges us to conform, Paul calls us to be transformed. In a world that glorifies self, Paul calls us to glorify God. The Christian life is not compartmentalized religion but a daily sacrifice, a radical reorientation of our lives around Christ.

As we leave Paul’s soaring doxology and step into his practical exhortations, we are reminded that theology and life cannot be separated. The God who saves us by grace now calls us to live for His glory.


¹ John Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 311.
² Timothy Keller, Romans 8–16 For You (The Good Book Company, 2014), 105.

Responding to the Word: Romans in Real Life

1. How does God’s unchanging faithfulness to Israel shape your confidence in His promises to you?
   God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable because His faithfulness never wavers.

• Where in your life are you tempted to doubt that God will keep His word?
  
• How can remembering His covenant faithfulness to Israel strengthen your trust in Him today?

2.     What does Paul’s doxology in Romans 11:33–36 teach us about responding to God’s wisdom?
God’s wisdom and knowledge are unfathomable, and our only right response is humble worship.

• How do you tend to react when God’s ways seem confusing or hidden?
  
• In what practical ways can you cultivate awe and humility before God’s greatness?

3.     What does it mean for you personally to offer yourself as a “living sacrifice” to God?
True worship is daily surrender—mind, body, and spirit—fully yielded to God.

• Which areas of your life are easiest for you to offer to God, and which are hardest?
  
• What would change in your daily routine if you consciously viewed every action as an act of worship?

4.     How are you tempted to conform to the world, and how does God call you to resist?
Believers must refuse the world’s mold and instead be transformed by God’s Spirit.

• Where do you feel the strongest pressure to fit into cultural values rather than God’s truth?
  
• What practices help you resist conformity and stay aligned with God’s will?

5.     What does the “renewal of your mind” look like in your daily walk with Christ?
Transformation begins when Christ reorients our thoughts, desires, and imagination toward Him.

• How is your thought life shaping your spiritual growth, either positively or negatively?
  
• What spiritual disciplines can help you pursue continual renewal of your mind?

6.     How does God’s mercy motivate you to live differently?
The Christian life is not repayment but a grateful response to God’s mercy.

• What specific mercies of God do you most need to remember right now?
  
• How can gratitude for those mercies change the way you respond to challenges this week?

7.     How can you discern God’s will more clearly in your decisions?
A transformed and renewed mind enables believers to test and embrace God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.

• What obstacles keep you from seeing God’s will clearly in certain areas of your life?
  
• How can community, prayer, and Scripture help you grow in discernment?

 
 

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