Romans 12:1-2
Bible verses · Also called: Romans 12:1–2, Romans 12:1-2, Present your bodies a living sacrifice, Living sacrifice, Spiritual worship, Reasonable service, Be not conformed to this world
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1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
An exhortation stating that presenting one's body as "a living sacrifice, holy" is "spiritual worship" (KJV: "reasonable service"), and urging believers not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. The passage opens the practical section of Romans and is a key text linking worship with the Christian life.
Context
In Romans 1–11, Paul sets out the content of the gospel: sin and justification, life in the Spirit, and the salvation of Israel and the Gentiles. Beginning with chapter 12, he turns to the life that befits that gospel. The words "therefore" and "by the mercies of God" signal that the preceding eleven chapters serve as the foundation for what follows. The passage is followed by teaching on service according to spiritual gifts (vv. 3–8) and on the practice of love (vv. 9–21).
Interpretation
- The whole of life as worship: In this reading, believers are to present a living body—that is, the whole of their everyday lives—unlike the Old Testament sacrifices, in which the offering was slain. This reading is cited as grounds for not confining worship to the order of service inside a church building.
- Translating "spiritual worship": The Greek logikē latreia is rendered variously as "spiritual worship," "proper worship," or "reasonable service" (KJV). Because logikē can also mean "reasonable" or "befitting the word," some read the phrase as the fitting response of those who have received God's mercy.
- A process of transformation: "Be ye transformed" in verse 2 is a continuous passive and is read as describing the process of sanctification, in which the Holy Spirit renews the mind and gradually changes the believer. The Wesleyan tradition connects this with the pursuit of entire sanctification, while the Reformed tradition connects it with lifelong progressive sanctification.
Questions of Application
Emphases differ on whether presenting the "body" refers to bodily disciplines such as fasting and self-control or to the whole person. Churches also apply "be not conformed to this world" differently, some taking it as a call to keep their distance from culture as a whole and others as a call to live differently within the world.
In the Korean Church
The passage is frequently used as the theme text for dedication services, ordination and installation services, and retreats, and expressions such as "living sacrifice" also appear in the lyrics of worship songs.
Related Passages
- Romans 6:13
- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
- 1 Peter 2:5
- Hebrews 13:15-16
See also 6
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