“I appeal to you therefore brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. That by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
– Romans 12:1–2
Romans 12:1–2 form a very significant, even transition point, in Romans. As for 11 chapters, Paul has talked about the beauty of the gospel, given one of the most glorious pictures of the gospel in all the Bible. So then, after all of that, over 11 chapters, Paul says, “Therefore, brothers, I appeal to you in light of the mercies of God, in the Gospel. What a picture of mercy he’s just painted. We were enemies of God, God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins, to endure the judgment we deserve as a propitiation, a sacrifice for us, that turns away God’s wrath from us that we might become friends of God, that we might be reconciled to God through faith, not through work, but through trusting in His grace, His freely given grace, we now have new life in Christ.
Lord help us not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In light of your mercy, may we worship you.
We’re saved from death. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. His mercy is unfathomable, like 11 chapters of that. Then Romans 12:1–2. Therefore, by the mercies of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is your spiritual worship in light of the gospel, in light of the mercies of God, lay your life down. Lay your life down before Him in worship. It just makes sense, doesn’t it?
To lay your life down before God and say, “Oh God, by your grace, now as your friend, as your child, you as my father, make me holy. Make my life pleasing to you and help me to live differently. Not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of my mind that I might know your will, what’s good and acceptable and perfect and walk in it, like new life, by the gospel, new life in Christ. Help me to live it.”
A Romans 12:1–2 Prayer
So, I just want to pray these verses over you, almost word for word. As I pray this over you, over my own life, that we would just soak in this beautiful picture that Romans is painting in light of the mercies of God. God, I pray for my own life and for every single person as we’re praying together right now. That by your mercy, by your grace and the gospel, you would receive our bodies today as a living sacrifice, like we lay our lives down on the altar before you right now. We are yours. Make us holy, we pray. Make us acceptable to you. And make us righteous, make us pleasing to you.
We offer you not just our songs. We offer you our lives as our worship, and we pray, change us. Don’t let us be conformed to this world. Please transform us by the renewal of our minds, by the renewal of our minds according to your word, your ways, your truth, your grace, your wisdom. Please transform us to become like Jesus. We pray that you would transform us in such a way that we might discern your will. That we might know how to walk faithfully with you today in a way that is good and acceptable and perfect.
Oh God, please may it be so. May Romans 12:1–2 be a description of our lives. By your mercy, offering ourselves to you, pure, holy, acceptable, transformed, not conforming to this world. Walking in your good, acceptable, and perfect will. May it be so. We pray, in Jesus name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
