Therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living

sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and

perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

In this powerful passage Paul lays out the keys to effective Christian living through the process of what

Scripture calls “sanctification”.

First, note that sanctification is predicated on salvation. The phrase “by the mercies of God” implies

that everything said afterwards is dependent upon God’s merciful act of salvation by the blood of Christ.

As Christians, we often get this point mixed up and feel our righteous living in some way brings the

mercy of God. This leads to a works-based salvation and goes against everything Paul has argued up to

this point in Romans.

Secondly, sanctification is proclaimed by sacrificial living. God calls us to live differently – living lives

“holy (set apart) and pleasing to God”. The word translated “true” is from the Greek word “logikos”

from which we get the word “logical”. This is basically telling us that living out our lives in a manner that

is pleasing to the Lord is the natural (logical) response to the great mercy He has shown to us – the same

idea Paul brings forward in 1 Corinthians 6:20: For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God

with your body. We don’t live differently to be saved; rather we live differently because we are saved!

Lastly, sanctification is powered by a renewed mind. Paul draws a stark contrast between the mindset

of the world and the one we should have as believers. This change of mindset can only be accomplished

through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit and the moment-by-moment surrender of our

minds to the things of God - like studying Scripture, praying, and lovingly utilizing our spiritual gifts for

building others up. This is the process of sanctification, which is referred to often in Scripture (for

example, Colossians 3:9-10, Romans 6:6 and Hebrews 12:1).

Reflecting on this passage, ask yourself a few key questions. Have you truly accepted God's merciful gift

of salvation? If not, now is the time! Are you living to earn your salvation, or to worship and honor God

who has shown you mercy? Finally, is your mind being conformed to the world or being transformed by

the renewing power of God's Spirit through investing your time into understanding His Word and living

it out through exhibiting the Fruit of the Spirit?

By Paky Kramer

Paky leads APM Paving and has been at IBC since he was 9 years old. He and his wife, Traci, have been

married for 25 years and have two children, Caroline and Carver. He currently leads a Sunday morning

Bible study at Immanuel Tates Creek.