The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 (NIV): “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.”

How would this verse have been understood by its original recipients? The book of Romans was addressed to the Christians in Rome, both Jews and gentiles. These Christians were living in what was a very pagan and immoral society. Let’s look at some individual phrases:

• “in view of God’s mercy”: Paul had spent much of the book of Romans up to this point in arguing that “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22-23). And then he explained that “all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). In other words, Paul was explaining how God saves us Christians through faith in Jesus even though we are sinners.

• “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice”: Paul was saying that our response to God’s mercy should be to sacrifice ourselves for God. Both Jews and gentiles knew about sacrifices. In both Judaism and Roman religions, animals were sacrificed in worship. The animal would be killed and then burned on an altar as a way to gain the favor of God (or the pagan gods). People who had witnessed such grisly sacrifices would be reluctant to be sacrificed themselves. It was not a pleasant thought.

• “living sacrifice”: This might have been confusing to Paul’s readers. They knew about lethal sacrifices but what are living sacrifices? In one sense, the usual form of sacrifice would be easier because the Roman Christians would only have to do it once. Being a living sacrifice would mean giving up their lives, their wants and desires, every day to follow Jesus. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Being a living sacrifice means to live for God rather than for ourselves and to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). For the early Christians, it also meant facing the real possibility of being killed for their faith. This was very clear to the apostle Paul, who said he had been “exposed to death again and again” (2 Corinthians 11:23-26). He said, “I face death every day” (1 Corinthians 15:31); “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-11); “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life” (2 Corinthians 2:14-16); and “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena” (1 Corinthians 4:9). Essentially, the early Christians were dead men walking.

• “holy and pleasing to God”: Not all sacrifices in the Old Testament were acceptable to God. For instance, God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice (Genesis 4:3-5). The Law given to Moses required that any animal offered as a sacrifice had to be perfect, without any defect: “Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted” (Leviticus 22:17-25). This Old Testament law was a prophecy of Jesus being the perfect sacrifice for our sins: “You were redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19). As Christians, we are told to model our lives on God and Jesus: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The Old Testament prophets denounced the Israelites for their sin, particularly their attitude that they could go on sinning and it wouldn’t matter as long as they presented sacrifices. God’s answer through the prophet Jeremiah was, “What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me” (Jeremiah 6:20). The psalmist described the kind of living sacrifice that God would accept: “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17).

• “this is your true and proper worship”: The word for “true and proper” is logikos. This has also been translated as “reasonable” and “rational” and “logical” and “spiritual,” which suggests that there is no simple or literal translation. Logikos is related to logos, which means “word,” which the apostle John used as a name for Jesus (John 1:1). The word for “worship” is latreia, which means “service”; this does not denote a religious ceremony or ritual or gathering, but rather it means to serve like an obedient slave. Paul said that we Christians should present our bodies as a living sacrifice. The word for “bodies” (soma) is the same word that Jesus used when He said that He was sacrificing His body for us (Matthew 26:26). It is clear that this passage is not talking about spiritual worship, in the sense of singing praise songs or saying good things about God. What is meant is that we are to serve God with our whole being, in daily life. We are to serve the Word (Jesus), serve as Jesus served, committing our whole lives to serving God and living as He commands us to.