I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1
I have never been in either the temple or the tabernacle of the Old Testament, although I have seen a few models of each. Some people have visited replicas of the tabernacle, such as the one in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If we could go back in time and enter the tabernacle as it functioned in the wilderness, we would be overwhelmed as we arrived by the huge brazen altar and the sacrifice being consumed by its fire. The sacrifice would be an animal that had been presented to God, carefully examined for acceptability, slain, and placed on the altar. The apostle Paul undoubtedly had this ancient picture in mind as he penned today’s text. Because the offering on that altar is a picture of the offering of each child of God who is obedient to our Lord.
When we consider a lamb that was offered in tabernacle days, we realize that such an animal on the altar was a holy sacrifice. A few days before, if we were to see the creature frisking with other lambs in the pasture, we would not be able to refer to it as holy. What made the difference? It was the fact that the lamb had been presented to God. This is the same in the life of a believer. Christians have been given a holy position before God as part of our salvation. Christians can have a holy condition before God as we present ourselves to Him. A holy life is the result of surrendering ourselves to His will. A life devoted to desires contrary to God’s will could never be holy.
Just as a lamb that was offered in the tabernacle would be deemed acceptable only after careful examination, so we must care4fully examine ourselves to make sure we are acceptable. The tabernacle sacrifices were required to be free of deformities, injuries, illnesses, and any other flaws that would mar them. As Christians, we also need to make sure that our sacrifice is free from sinful habits, immorality, dishonesty, and anything else that would be a poor testimony for our Lord. An acceptable sacrifice is a life that displays Christlike characteristics.
One of the great differences between the tabernacle sacrifice and the sacrifice of a believer is that the lambs were dead while we are living sacrifices. But the difference is not as great as it appears. Consider a lamb taken into the tabernacle, offered, examined, and then slain. Such a sacrifice would never be able to return to its mother and its pasture. Everything of the past would be gone, with no possibility of a return. So too with Christians who have offered ourselves to God. Although still living, we reckon ourselves dead to the world, as our baptism signifies, and nothing of the past is important anymore.
As we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, we receive spiritual blessings here and rich rewards in the glory. That is why such an offering is a reasonable service. -Jim MacIntosh