Today we begin worship with:
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.
Having laid the foundations of the Gospel for 11 chapters, the Book of Romans reaches this pinnacle verse, where Paul asks them to become a living sacrifice. Our redemption complete and the price paid, this is a bloodless sacrifice that is "spiritual" (logikos) worship. You should hear in that word "logic" for it is a worship that starts first with our mind.
One must use that mind to discern (dokimazō) the will of God. This is a great translation! We are not searching around discovering it, we are looking at our next action and putting it through three tests:
- Is what we are about to do something that is for another's good (agathos)?
- Would they find it acceptable (euarestos)?
- Are we doing it with complete integrity (teleios)?
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