Romans 12 (Pt-1 of 2)

Life on the altar

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognise what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2 MSG

In continuing from the previous Chapters(Romans 10,11) where Paul described how God went for us; a people that were enemies, and purchased us by His blood, redeeming us unto Himself, Paul says the only thing that makes sense for us is to:

1. Take everyday life and place before God as an offering: eating, going to work, sleeping, walking around. If we were to think about an offering upon an altar, it is up to the one to whom the offering is made to either accept or reject the offering. With this consciousness, I do even the littlest things so I am accepted before God.
2. Paul insists that we shouldn’t become so well-adjusted to the culture in which we live, without even thinking whether a practice (normalised by the culture) would be acceptable to God or not. He insists that we shouldn’t fit into the Culture. That we should instead fix our attention on God (to the point that everyday life becomes pleasing and acceptable to God).
3. He says fixing our eyes on God will do something transformative in us. It will change us from inside out.
4. Paul says, by so-doing, we’d become able to prove for ourselves what the will of God is. He goes on to mention; good, acceptable and perfect will of God. As if to say; that even in God’s will, there are things which are ok, there are those which are acceptable, then there’s the perfect will of God.

Noteworthy:

Certain practices that are normalised by the cultures in which we find ourselves are actually seeking to make our lives altars of sacrifices to demons and unclean spirits. Notice that Paul warns us to beware of “cultures”. It is a System of this world which goes contrary to the ordinances of God. Take a few examples:

1. Burning “incense” upon the altar of your body (smoking). Burning incense is seen in many cultures as a way to tap into the spiritual realm. The difference with smoking is that it becomes your body that is the altar.
2. Drunkenness: by consumption of high amounts of Alcohol, or as the original name for it is: Al-kuhl (body-eating-spirit). Guess the altar again: your body.
3. Physical, mental or spiritual excercises to control mind and body: Notice how that this form of “spiritual worship”, again on the altar of the body has become normalised? With poses that are in exact alignment and worship of devils.

All of these spirits are seeking worship on the altar of our bodies, same body that God demands worship through. Now as a believer, we see with Paul’s guidance that even though there are things which God might accept, they may not be His perfect will and purpose for us. We are to progress in Christ, until we become “conformed” to the image of the Son of God. Until Christ is formed in us. We learned about sonship. Which says, “Father, not my Will, but yours’”. Sonship is my life on the altar of sacrifice. Sonship is surrender of my will to allow God’s perfect will.

Of a truth, if we do not surrender to God, we will worship devils. You can be sure of that!.

God help us to present our bodies as a sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him, which is the only logical thing to do, given what He has done for us.