ROMANS Study Guide

where two reasons for sacrifice in the Old Testament (1) one for

reconciling man to God (2) the other for celebrating that

reconciliation. Paul’s concept here is the latter… a presentation

to God of appreciation and praise for what God has done. Paul

is saying that we should offer our bodies to God to do his will

and pleasure. This is true worship or service that makes sense

in the Light of what God has done.

b. This worship …offers to God:

1) A Living sacrifice …a continuously yielded and surrendered life

available to God (this reaches back to Rom.6:16- 18…the idea

of continually presenting ourselves to God)

2) A Holy Sacrifice … meaning one set aside for God…clean and

not common (not like the world) … but like God.

3) A Pleasing (acceptable) sacrifice to God… this should always

be our main motive behind all service to God.

A Battle for our Minds

Paul begins with a call to the Church get ready to participate in the conversion of not just the gentiles

but the Jews also. This means committed sacrificial living and spiritually renewed minds. The world

wants to trap us into its way of thinking and living and we must refuse to let this happen.

3. Paul reviews the idea in Romans 12:2 in which we must continually seek

to renew our minds - to fill our hearts with God’s word and ways and be

surrendered to the Holy Spirits leading. He uses two commands to stress

the importance of what he is saying “do not be conformed” and “be

transformed.” Paul is using intense language in these first verses of

chapter twelve.

a. We must not be “conformed” (be squeezed into the mold or pattern)