By ANGELA PALACIOUS "Therefore I urge you...in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship" Rom. 12:1 NIV. A sacrifice was an ancient solution to the problem of sin. Blood had to be shed in order to obtain forgiveness. The animals selected were definitely not willing. They were forced into this position of submission that cost them their lives. The Apostle Paul is encouraging his Roman readers to make a personal decision to offer themselves to God. God desires us to be a living sacrifice because God's Son, Jesus Christ, was the sacrifice that makes no further sacrifice necessary. He gave his life so that we could be set free to have eternal life. He redeemed us (bought us back), by his death on the cross. He who knew no sin became the sacrificial lamb. His resurrection raised us with him to the possibility of new life. What does it mean to be a living sacrifice? 1. We die daily to our selfish, self-centred approach to people and things 2. We want to be holy and to live a godly life 3. We want to be God's servant and to assist others 4. We want to use our spiritual gifts to build up the church (the Body of Christ) What does it mean to be holy? 1. It is to desire to be like Christ 2. It is to examine our attitudes and actions with a view to change 3. It is to have as our ideal the Fruit of the Spirit (love ,joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) Gal. 5:22-23 NIV. 4. It is to accept that I cannot be perfect but I can seek to be more mature spiritually, more complete, more holy. What does it mean to be pleasing to God? 1. It is to desire to do God's will 2. It is to resist the temptation by following the lead of the holy spirit. The question we each must answer for ourselves is: Do I really want to be a living sacrifice?