What does it mean to offer your body as a living sacrifice?

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)”

We seek God’s kingdom and righteousness:

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)”

Don’t believe those who say you can be righteous without doing what is right. Don’t believe those who say you can do what’s right by self-effort. Doing what is right is a sign of righteousness, because all righteousness does what’s right. Christ in you does what’s right, but you don’t have the ability in your natural carnal self. You do what’s right only by Christ’s power working in you.

“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. (1 John 3:7)”

Do what God is telling you to do by the power of His grace. Be led by the Spirit and faith will come leading to grace that has the power to do what’s right as you yield yourself to His grace.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22)”

God gives the gift of righteousness through faith. Faith comes by hearing. Faith gives us access into God’s grace. God’s grace does the righteousness through us as we yield ourselves to it.

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. (Romans 3:22)”

God just keeps pounding this point home in Scripture. Righteousness and goodness aren’t things we can somehow conjure up within ourselves. They come as gifts from God based on faith which gives us access to God’s grace, and God’s grace does God’s works through us. Faith comes when we listen to God’s leading. The Greek word is rhema. It means a statement or utterance. It means the leading, teaching, or correcting voice of God. That’s where faith comes from:

“And be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3:9)”

Ask God to answer these questions:

What does it mean to offer your body as a living sacrifice?
What does it mean to be transformed by the renewing of your mind?
How do you know God’s will?
What does it mean to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness?
How do you listen to God’s voice and follow it?

Bonus questions:

How do you receive the gift of righteousness?
What is the pattern of the world?
Who renews your mind?
What’s the importance of doing what God is leading you to do?
How does faith give you access to God’s grace?
What role does yielding to God’s grace play in your righteousness?
Why can’t you conjure up righteousness yourself?

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How does being conformed to the image of Christ happen?

We are made righteous through Jesus:

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We are in the process of being transformed and conformed to the likeness of Christ:

“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29)

“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

God is forming the life of Christ in us and replacing our sinful nature:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

When we yield to the Spirit we overcome the flesh:

“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13)

Righteousness comes through faith in Jesus:

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.” (Romans 3:22)

Righteousness comes through faith, not our own works:

“And be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” (Philippians 3:9)

We offer ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness and living sacrifices and being transformed to do God’s will:

“Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness.” (Romans 6:13)

Ask God to answer these questions.

What does it mean for you to be righteous through Jesus?
What does it mean for you to be conformed to the likeness of Christ?
How does God work in you to transform you?
What does it mean for you to live by faith in Jesus?
How will you overcome your fallen fleshly nature?

Bonus questions:

What does it mean for you to offer yourself to God?
How does righteousness come through faith?
How does being conformed to the image of Christ happen?
What does Philippians 1:6 mean when it says God will complete the good work He began in you?
How can you truly live by faith in the Son of God?
What does it mean to overcome the flesh by yielding to the Spirit, as described in Romans 8:13?
How can you put to death the misdeeds of the body and choose to live according to the Spirit?
How does righteousness come through faith in Jesus?
How does the transformation described in Romans 6:13 connect to offering yourself as a living sacrifice?

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How does the Holy Spirit transform you?

Some people think they can be good on their own by their own efforts. Some people think they can never be good. Neither of those is true. And yet, you can do what’s right when God does His work through you. You must do two things. You must pay attention to His leading. You must yield to His Spirit. Then, He will do His acts of love through you. Not only that, but He will add His goodness to you. He will transform you. That’s true. Let me explain.

Righteousness is goodness. It’s doing what’s right and not doing what’s wrong. Your transformation starts with understanding that God gives you goodness as a free gift through His grace, and grace is unlocked in you by faith. Goodness is sometimes called righteousness. The Apostle Paul affirms, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Righteousness is being right and good. “let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous” (1 John 3:7). And yet, you cannot be righteous by self-effort because you don’t have righteousness in you. Just as knowledge must come from Christ, so righteousness must come from Christ. When you trust Jesus as your Savior, God sees you as righteous. That’s because Jesus paid the debt of your sin through His death and resurrection (Romans 5:17). God’s gift of righteousness goes way beyond forgiving your debt. God also wants to eliminate your rebellious sinful nature. That’s why you must yield to the Holy Spirit and ask God to soften your heart so you can fully take hold of His gift of righteousness. This gift of righteousness causes spiritual growth, transforming you into the image and likeness of Christ. As you grow, the Holy Spirit forms Christ in you more fully, while your rebellious fleshly nature has less effect on you.

Notice that righteousness is a gift God gives you. It’s not a gift you give God:

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Romans 5:17)”

Ask God to answer these questions:

What does it mean that righteousness is a gift from God?
How do you receive the gift of righteousness?
How can you yield to the Holy Spirit?
How does God help you do what’s right?
Why can’t you be good on your own?

Bonus questions:

How does the Holy Spirit transform you?
What does it mean to be like Jesus?
What’s the difference between trying to be good on your own versus having God work through you to do what’s right?
What role does faith play in unlocking God’s grace and goodness in your life?
How does Jesus’ death and resurrection relate to the righteousness you receive from God?
What does it mean to eliminate your rebellious sinful nature?
How does the Holy Spirit form Christ in you as you grow in righteousness?
What does it mean that righteousness is a gift from God and not something you give to God?

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What does it mean to be redeemed from lawlessness?

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)”

The enemy of your soul will try to condemn you. He will try to get you to consider yourself condemned, lost, drifting, and unable to fulfil what God has for you. Those are all lies. Listen to the King of kings. If you have received Jesus, the Creator of the Universe lives in you. If you haven’t received Him, then receive Him now. Tell Him you receive Him and want to follow Him. Listen to Him. Yield yourself completely to Him. As you do, you will see your walk progress from glory to glory to be like Jesus.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

The enemy of your soul will call you back into the yoke of slavery to sin. Sin is habit forming and progressive, but so is righteousness. It’s always your choice. Will you choose to be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, or will you follow what your fleshly nature pulls you toward?

“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14

“Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.” Titus 2:14

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Hebrews 2:14-15

Ask God to answer these questions:

What does it mean that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus?
How does the enemy try to condemn you?
What does it mean to be free in Christ?
What does it mean to live to righteousness?
What is the kingdom of God?
Why is the kingdom of God important?

Bonus questions:

What does it mean to be redeemed from lawlessness?
How did Jesus defeat death and the devil?
How can you recognize and resist the lies of the enemy when he tries to condemn you?
What about when he tries to condemn other Christians?
What are some specific lies the enemy might try to make you believe?
What does it mean to yield yourself completely to God?
What does it mean to progress from glory to glory to be like Jesus?

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What does it mean for you to be dead to sin?

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

That’s how Christ purchased our freedom. It was painful beyond description, but it was the only way.

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’” (John 8:34-36 )

The sinful nature will not remain in the house of our bodies forever, but Christ will remain forever. You are not who you were. You are the ministry, which is Christ in you. That’s your identity. He will remain forever. You will be transformed. The slavery will be eliminated completely. You won’t always have your flesh trying to draw you away from God. This transformation happens as you yield to God’s grace working in you and grace is through faith, and faith comes by hearing God’s leading.

“We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7)

When the Bible tells you to reckon yourself dead to sin, the word “reckon” is an accounting term. Wake up and smell the coffee. Deal with the reality. You are dead to sin. Don’t pay any attention to the insane ramblings of your natural mind. Listen only to Christ.

Ask God to answer these questions:

What does it mean that your old self was crucified with Christ?
What does it mean for you to be dead to sin?
Why should you listen to Christ instead of your own mind?
How does Christ’s death purchase your freedom?
What does this concept of freedom mean in the context of Christ’s sacrifice? In other words, what were you freed from?

Bonus questions:

How does sin enslave you?
How does Christ’s death break your bondage to sin?
What does it mean to be a slave to sin?
What does it mean that the sinful nature will not be permanent and will no longer remain in your body?
You are your ministry, which is Christ in you. What does it mean to have Christ as your identity?
How does yielding to God’s grace lead to transformation?

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Those who refuse to come to Christ refuse because they want to do what they want to do.

God doesn’t want you to ever disconnect from Him. He wants to flow through you constantly in knowledge, wisdom, and love.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest His deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that His deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:14-21).

Those who refuse to come to Christ refuse because they want to do what they want to do. Someone may protest and say, “My deeds are not evil. I do what’s right.” Jesus ran into religious people who said the same thing. In Romans 14:23, when Paul was writing about food offered to idols, he mentioned a universal truth. He said that whatever is not of faith is sin. Put that together with what you already know about faith and how faith is completed in grace doing God’s works through you. Anything that God didn’t tell you to do and do through you is sin. Sin is stepping off the Path. The Path is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Word the Father speaks and He authors and finishes the work of God’s faith in you.

Learn to stand in God’s presence and hear His voice. Then teach others to do the same.

Ask God to answer these questions:

– What does it mean for you to never disconnect from God?
– What does it mean for you to have eternal life?
– Why did God send His Son (His Word) into the world?
– What happens to people who don’t believe in Jesus?
– Why do some people love darkness instead of light?

Bonus questions:

– What does it mean for you to do what God tells you to do?
– What does Paul mean when he says, “whatever is not of faith is sin”?
– How can you experience God’s flow of knowledge, wisdom, and love in your daily life and stay connected to God?
– How does your belief affect the process of your salvation?
– How does your belief affect your relationship with God?
– What is the light that has come into the world?
– What does it mean to practice evil and to hate the light?

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Jesus broke the power of the devil through His death

In Colossians 1:13-14 through Jesus, we are delivered from darkness: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus frees us by redeeming us from sin and transferring us into His kingdom. Forgiveness has two parts. God pardons us. He also sends the sin away.

In Titus 2:14 Jesus gave Himself to free us from all wickedness: “Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.” Christ’s death cleanses us from sin and enables us to live for good.

Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us Jesus broke the power of the devil through His death: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” Jesus frees us from the power of sin and the fear of death by defeating Satan.

Romans 5:8-9 shows how we are justified and saved from God’s wrath through Christ: “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.” Jesus’ death saves us from the punishment that sin brings, freeing us from sin’s ultimate consequence and delivering us from Satan’s slavery.

Ask God to answer these questions:

– What does it mean that Jesus delivered you from darkness?
– What is redemption and how does Jesus redeem you?
– What does forgiveness mean?
– Why did Jesus give Himself to free you from wickedness?
– How does Jesus’ death cleanse you from sin?

Bonus questions:

– What does it mean that Jesus broke the power of the devil?
– How does Jesus save you from the wrath of God?
– What does it mean that you are delivered from the domain of darkness?
– What is the difference between God pardoning you and sending your sin away?
– What does it mean for Jesus to redeem you from all lawlessness?
– How does Christ’s sacrifice purify you from sin and empower you to live righteously?
– How did Jesus break the power of the devil through His death?
– What is the relationship between the fear of death and lifelong slavery?

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Set free from the law of sin and death through the Holy Spirit

In Romans 6:6-7 Paul teaches how Christ’s death breaks the power of sin: “We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” When we believe in Jesus, we die to our old sinful self, and that breaks sin’s control over us.

In Romans 8:1-2 Jesus sets us free from the law of sin and death through the Holy Spirit: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” This might be hard to understand. Sin still lives in our unredeemed bodies, our fleshly nature. And a portion of our minds are still conformed to the fleshly nature. However, we are dead to the flesh, and the flesh is dead to us. It may draw us into sin from time to time, and we confess that to the Father. He forgives us. But it is sin in us doing the sin. It’s not us. We have already died to that sin. The fleshly nature is currently here, but it’s fading away with each obedience to Christ. We focus on Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We are in Christ. Christ is being formed in us more fully with each obedience to the Holy Spirit. In Christ, we are no longer condemned for sin, and the Spirit is empowering us to live free from sin and the consequences of sin. Put another way, the Christ in us doesn’t sin. Before we were born again, everything we did was in rebellion against God. Everything we called “righteousness” was just self-righteousness. Now, the Holy Spirit leads us and does God’s works through us, which is the only true righteousness. If we try to depend on ourselves, we get back into self-righteousness, which is useless. If we stand in God’s presence, listening to His voice, and yielding to His Spirit to the point that the Holy Spirit says God’s words and does God’s acts through us, we make headway in the spirit and our transformation into the image and the likeness of Christ.

Galatians 5:1 emphasizes freedom in Christ: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” This verse highlights that Jesus’ work on the cross was to grant us freedom, not only from sin but also from legalistic religious practices.

In 1 Peter 2:24 Jesus bore our sins to set us free from living in sin: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” Jesus’ sacrifice heals us spiritually and allows us to live and walk by the Spirit.

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Why did Jesus die for you?

Two things had to happen to set us free. God needed first to pardon us and take away our guilt and second to set us free to do what’s right instead of remaining slaves to the devil and always doing what’s wrong. Jesus Christ is Father God’s son, and Jesus is God. Jesus is also the Word’s the Father speaks. I don’t think anyone really understands this, but God tells us about this through the Bible, and we believe God. Jesus lowered Himself to become a human being. He lived a perfect life and never disobeyed the Father once. He was absolutely innocent and never sinned. He loved us so much that He was willing to die for us. He suffered and died on a cross to pay our debt and set us free from the devil.

Jesus did all of this so we could be friends with God. And yet, God won’t force Himself on us because that’s not His nature. We must be willing to receive Him and love Him. He calls to us, but we must answer and say, “Yes, Lord. I accept Your free gift. I accept Your love.”

In John 8:34-36 Jesus directly addresses how He sets people free from sin: “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’“ This passage explains that Jesus, as the Son of God, has the power to free people from the slavery of sin.

Ask God to answer these questions.
Why did God pardon you?
Who is Jesus Christ?
Why did Jesus have to live a perfect life without sin or rebellion against God?
Why did Jesus die for you?
How can you become a friend of God?
Bonus questions:

What does it mean to be a slave to the devil?
Why did God both pardon you and set you free from the slavery of sin?
What is the difference between you being pardoned and you being set free?
How does Jesus’ sinless life impact the power of His sacrifice?
Why did Jesus have to die on the cross to pay your debt?
What does it mean for you to be “friends with God”?
Why won’t God force Himself on you?

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EVERYTHING IS GOING ACCORDING TO THE PLAN

Some people think they can be free by being free from God and His righteousness, but freedom from God is slavery to the devil. Some people think the devil fooled God when Adam and Eve sinned. Some people think freedom from sin is impossible. None of those are true. And yet, God has a plan to set you free. Much more than that, He intends to transform you into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. That’s true. Let me explain.

The main point here is that God didn’t make a mistake when He created Adam and Eve and they fell into sin. The devil didn’t fool God. God had a plan from the beginning. He knew Adam and Eve would fall into sin. He could have stopped them in His power, but He allowed them to make that mistake in His wisdom. He wanted to bring humanity to a better place. At first, He made Adam and Eve a little lower than the angels. (Read Psalm 8:4-5) God’s plan is to make His people higher than the angels. We will rule over the angels when God is done. (1 Corinthians 6:3)

In a sense, Adam and Eve fought a battle with the devil and lost. God had set Adam over the creation to rule it. By obeying the devil, the devil ruled over Adam and over the creation. That’s why there’s so much trouble in the world now. Adam stopped being a child of God and became a child of the devil. The first thing God had to do was to make a way to bring Adam and Eve back into His family. He needed to free all people from slavery to the devil. The only way to do this was to send His Son to pay the price for our freedom.

Ask God to answer these questions:

– What does it mean to be free from God?
– Why did Adam and Eve sin?
– Did the devil trick the All-Knowing, All-Powerful God when Adam and Eve sinned?
– What is God’s plan to set you free?
– Why did God let Adam and Eve sin if He knew they would?

Bonus questions:

– What does it mean for you to be higher than the angels?
– Why did God need to send His Son to set you free?
– Think about those who want to be free from God. Why are they slaves to the devil?
– Think about being free in God and His righteousness. How does that differ from being enslaved to sin?
– If God knew Adam and Eve would fall, why didn’t God stop them from sinning?
– God plans to transform people into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. What difference does that make for you?
– How does understanding God’s plan from the beginning help you trust Him?

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