A LIVING SACRIFICE
Scotie W Selman
Dearly beloved, it is not my intent to go through all of these verses in detail. I read the whole portion to get the context. We have been helped during our time together as to the subject of faithfulness, and how precious it is to be reminded of, and begin with, the wonderful thought of God's faithfulness. God's faithfulness is something that we can rely upon. There is no failure with God, and there is no lack with God. We can be encouraged together, and I would desire for each one here to have a fresh sense of God's desire, and His love and His interest in you. Romans is very individual in character, and so much of what I desire to share with the brethren is of an individual character; it is God's desire that He would touch your heart afresh, that there would be something developed within you that might result in your blessing and your enjoyment of divine things, and ultimately that there might be an increase for His heart. There is no greater privilege, and there is nothing more precious than to be in the conscious reality of the knowledge that God is pleased and that His heart has been satisfied. There is no greater occupation than to be found in the gain and the good of such a wonderful opportunity, such a wonderful privilege.
I have been thinking about what we have had before us as to God's faithfulness, the faithfulness of Christ, and the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit; and in the last reading especially, the way in which there is to be seen in the saints the faithfulness that corresponds with divine faithfulness. It is to be of the same character; the faithfulness of God and of Christ and the Holy Spirit is to be seen in the saints, and it is to come out in the saints. It is to be witnessed; there is to be a testimony to God's faithfulness in the saints, and we can be encouraged in this journey as to that kind of faithfulness and the reality of it.
I was affected by this particular portion a while back in a way that I never had been before. I know it is a well-known verse and is often quoted, but it touched my heart in a way that it never has before. Paul says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice”. One of the things that touched my heart is the way that the feelings of the apostle Paul come out in his appeal. He says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren”. It is not merely that he was requesting or making known what they should do. His feelings for the saints came out in the way that he appealed to them to present their bodies a living sacrifice. You can see that there was a sense of urgency and fervency in the way that he appealed to them. You can see his love for the saints coming out. This was not something that he was presenting in a legal sort of way, or as a rule that was to be followed. He had in his mind and heart the good of the saints; he knew that if they presented themselves, committed themselves in this way, there would be great gain and blessing for them, and there would be gain and blessing for God. How wonderful therefore it is to see his feelings coming out. This kind of feeling, concern, interest, and yearning should be amongst us, so that anything that we do and anything that we take up in relation to one another should be characterised by this kind of sincere love and desire as was seen in Paul. What was it that caused this sort of feeling in Paul's heart? It was his love for the saints in Rome. He did not, as far as I know, know the saints there. There were a few that he knew of, he had heard of them, but yet he still loved them, and his desire was for them that they would be established in the glad tidings.
Paul is writing to believers, and his desire is that they would be established in the glad tidings concerning God's Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, chap 1: 1-4. His desire was that they would come to the gain of that simple introduction, that they might know Jesus Christ, God's Son, and that they might know him as Lord. They would own His authority, and would gain the benefit of being found in subjection and dependence. He goes through Romans, and he takes nothing for granted. He makes no assumptions because of his love for them, and his desire that they would be established. He says in chapter 15, that they might have “all joy and peace in believing, so that ye should abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”, v 13. That was ultimately his desire, his purpose in writing to them. It is a wonderful thing that he expresses. And so he goes through Romans very carefully and methodically. He makes no assumptions; he leaves no stone unturned; step by step, he walks them through the glad tidings, because he wants them truly to be in the gain of them.
Are you in the gain of the glad tidings? As a believer, are you in the gain of the glad tidings? That is what God intends. God's desire for you is not only that you would come into the gain of what you have been saved from, but what you have been saved for. That is where the fulness of blessing is always to be experienced. Often we are satisfied with the knowledge of what we have been saved from, which is a blessing, and it is wonderful; it is precious. But how much more precious, and how much more blessing there is to be experienced, if we get over to God's side, because that is really what it is. This is God's side of the gospel. This is what God desires for Himself, what you have been saved for; and that is what Paul desired for them. So he walks them through that. He takes up the wonderful truth that they have been justified and saved in Christ, by His death and resurrection, and by faith in Him. He covers all of these wonderful subjects in Romans. But it is not merely taking them up in view of salvation from, but what they have been saved to. We need to be firmly established in these wonderful, essential truths that are presented in Romans, and to look at them from God's perspective, what God has in mind for us to enter into. I think that we get help when we do that. We often say, of course, that we speak to the young persons, but this is for us all, young and old. I will be very transparent to the young persons here: this verse has laid on to me at my age in a way that it never has before, and it has been very exercising to me. I desire to share that and trust that others might get a benefit of that, that your heart might be touched as much.
One of the things that I would truly desire for us each one is that when we leave this time together, as a result of what our brother has brought before us as to the faithfulness of God and the faithfulness of Christ and the Spirit, and all that has come in, and all that we have shared, there would be a deepening exercise in desire to commit oneself to the things of God and what is for Christ. And also that there would be a deepening, commitment, and devotion to one another, to God's people, those who are so precious to Christ.
So Paul comes to chapter 11 and he speaks about mercy. He says, “For as indeed ye also once have not believed in God, but now have been objects of mercy through the unbelief of these; so these also have now not believed in your mercy, in order that they also may be objects of mercy. For God hath shut up together all in unbelief, in order that he might shew mercy to all. O depth of riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable his judgments, and untraceable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor? or who has first given to him, and it shall be rendered to him? For of him, and through him, and for him are all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen”, v 30-36. It is interesting to me that when the apostle Paul, in writing this epistle, and covering a vast array of essential truths, comes to this wonderful subject of mercy, he gives the sense that this affects his heart so deeply, he has such an appreciation of the mercy of God that has been shown, that is available, that his heart wells forth unrestrainedly in praise and worship and adoration to the very One who has made that mercy possible. Now, that is the basis on which he appeals to those in Rome. And it is the basis that God would appeal to you, His compassion, His mercy, His longing. “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God”, and we have the thought of mercy in this. There is also the thought of longing, the longing of God's heart. And so that is the basis on which he appeals to them, his heart having been so deeply affected, and touched in a very real way inwardly, it causes him to break out and praise and worship.
When you think of the mercy of God, and the mercy that has been shown to you, does it affect your heart in this way? Does it cause you to break out in responsive praise and worship and thankfulness and adoration? It should. I cannot answer that question for you but I think that it is of the utmost importance that you ask yourself, what effect does this have? What effect does this have on my heart? You see the effect that it had on Paul's heart, and I believe that it had such a deep effect upon him that this is what led him to make this appeal to the dear saints of God: “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice”.
So what is meant by that, “a living sacrifice”? Well, firstly it is living; it is a continuous, ongoing thing. It really is our manner of living; it is our way of life. It shows that I am governed by the love and grace and mercy of God in the way that I live, in the way that I carry myself. It is what I occupy my mind with, what I pursue; my heart's pursuits, my longings; all are characterised and governed by all these wonderful things. Everything starts with the mercy of God, and I appreciate the mercy God has shown to me; that appreciation has developed over time. And then there becomes an exercise in one's heart to present oneself as a living sacrifice to God. It is a continuous, ongoing matter, and so I would ask the question, do you have the desire in the heart to hold yourself in this way? It is a privilege; it is an honour. And you have the opportunity now to do so. But that opportunity will come to a close: now is the time to commit yourself in these ways. I can assure you, there is not one older brother or sister here that would tell you to put it off; I am sure that every older brother and sister here would tell you that they wish they had committed themselves early in their lives; I know that I can tell you that. And so that opportunity is here for you today, to commit yourself in that way, a living sacrifice, as a practical demonstration of the love and goodness of God, what He has worked in you, His work in you, coming out in a very real and genuine way that can be witnessed and demonstrated. Well, how wonderful that is.
It involves sacrifice. I feel compelled to emphasise that, because we live in a day that is influenced and characterised and driven by convenience and comfort. And the result is that we shun anything that requires any sort of effort or disruption in our lives, or sacrifice. May we not miss out on the privilege and opportunity of presenting our bodies, our lives, as a living sacrifice to God and to His people because of convenience and comfort. I know that if we take things up on the basis of convenience, first of all, we are going to miss out on true blessing. I also know that taking things up on the basis of convenience and comfort will always result in compromise. May we be preserved from it and may we be encouraged to see this as being a privilege and an honour, to commit ourselves as a living sacrifice.
Now, we get help as we go through this particular portion where Paul says that the sacrifice is holy, it is acceptable to God, and it is your intelligent service. And that helps us as to what characterises the service; it is holy; it is pure. So we would think about our motives - not to get over occupied with motives, but I do think that motive is a good indicator as to the reality of God's work in persons. We can use them to gauge where we are, the Spirit of God can do that. I would encourage a person taking up service to be really before the Lord in that way. What is my motive? It is what I am taking up, how I am taking up, and why. What is the motive? Mr Paul Johnson always used to refer to taking soundings. It is good to take soundings, to be transparent. It is good to be honest with yourself, and the Spirit of God will help you.
We are not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of the mind. That is another very helpful point in this appeal because we are not to be conformed to this world. We are not to think about service, or take up this living sacrifice, in the way that the world takes things up. We are not to be conformed to the world. You may be outwardly separate from the world and still conformed to the world. You may outwardly be separate, but you may still think the way the world thinks; you may still be motivated by what motivates the world. These are good questions to ask yourself. Am I motivated by what motivates the world? Am I driven by what drives the world? Am I conformed to the world? Or have I been transformed by the renewing of the mind? Paul speaks in Romans 7 about serving “in newness of spirit”, v 6. I think the two go together. It is a new way of thinking, and that new way of thinking is on the basis of self-denial, setting aside of my will, and considering for the will of the Lord. A young brother recently in the preaching spoke of taking up your cross. It is the principle of self-denial, taking up your cross. Now that is a conscious effort and exercise; it is a conscious decision to take up one's cross, to deny oneself, to occupy oneself, mind, and heart with what is for God. Paul says it is that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
I will just briefly refer to a few things. One thing that is interesting is the emphasis on the members of the body: presenting one's body a living sacrifice is practically worked out in the body. And so that is one of the exercises that I think is so important for us, each one, to have an understanding of the body. Paul talks about how God has dealt to each a measure of faith. He goes on to talk about different gifts, about how we are many members, but not all members have the same office. “Thus we, being many, are one body in Christ”. How wonderful it is to be members of this, and all members one of one another. And so these members are supporting one another, helping one another. Is that something that is on your heart daily when you consider your brother or sister, that you are considering for them, that you pray for them, your heart longs for the best for them? That is being members of one another. These members of the body support one another; they help one another. And so we are going to encourage one another in that way. Paul says that something is dealt to everyone that is among you. He says one is “not to have high thoughts above what he should think; but to think so as to be wise, as God has dealt to each a measure of faith”. The question was asked in the reading whether faith can be measured. Well, here you have in this scripture that to each has been given a measure of faith. How wonderful that is, that each has this measure of faith. The point is not how much I have, or how much you have; the fact is that we have been given a measure of faith.
We have considered Matthew 25, where we had a man going out of the country, and he called his men together, and delivered them talents. He gave one five, and he gave one two, and he gave one just one, v 15. In another parable, they were all given the same but here it is different. That links on with the measure of faith, because it says that he divided to each according to his particular ability; that is the sovereignty of God, the way that He distributes these talents. And so each has been given a measure of faith. It is not how much I have been given, and how much you have been given, or whether or not I have been given more than you, or you have been given more than me. It is the fact that we have been given a measure of faith, and we have a responsibility to fill that out. What is interesting is that, for each one who filled that out, the gain was equal to what they were given. That leads to the verse about not having high thoughts beyond what you should: you fill out what you have been given. You do not try to go beyond what you have been given; that is not the point. The point is that you fill out what you have been given, that you walk in the light that you have, you move in the appreciation that God has given to you in His grace, and you fill that out. Now that is so very encouraging. I think young persons should find it so helpful to consider that you have been given a measure of faith. This is not a special class of persons; this is each one: each one has been given a measure of faith. The question is, are you filling that out? Now here is what is wonderful about the one who filled out his five talents: the Lord says, “Well, good and faithful bondman, thou wast faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter into the joy of thy lord”, Matt 25: 21. He says the same thing to the one who filled out two. So again, it is not how much you have been given or how much I have been given: it is whether or not I am filling out what I have been given, whether or not I am using to its fullest extent what has been given to me.
Think of what that means to the heart of Christ. You see that here: in His glory He says, “enter into the joy of thy lord”. It is His joy in seeing persons fill out what He has provided, what He has given. It is what was given to them. What a healthy way to view this faith that has been given, this measure of faith. Just realise that it has been given to you, that it is not what you produced. It is not what you come up with; it is not according to your natural abilities. It is what has been provided to you.
Well, how can we question it? If it has been given to us of God, how can we question the use of it, and what it will produce? We can have confidence that it will produce what is according to His own mind and heart, and that there will be results. That is a precious thing to consider. We talk about these different gifts and how each one of us has been given something. I will ask it again: are you using what you have been given? That is for me as well, that is for each one of us, to truly have that honest assessment and to be before the Lord about it, to be encouraged and exercised to fill out what we have been given. It is linked with this thought of presenting your body “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God”.
I have talked about why we should be encouraged to take on this exercise. We have been impressed as to what touched Paul's heart, as to the mercy of God that was shown to him. I trust your heart has been affected by the mercy of God that has been shown to you in that wonderful sacrifice that was seen in Christ, and the way that He went that suffering way; His commitment and His devotion and where it led Him; to think of how Christ went that way for you: how He went to the cross. He laid down His life: that was for you; that is the supreme sacrifice. Think of the sacrifice from God's perspective. It says, God “has not spared his own Son, but delivered him up for us all”, Rom 8: 32. God sacrificed; He delivered up what was so infinitely precious to Him. God Himself willingly delivered Him up. And that was for you. I trust that we would be encouraged to take on this commitment, to present our bodies a living sacrifice in response to that, knowing that God's love and grace and mercy has been shown to me. It has been shown to you.
But persons might ask, well, how? How do I go about doing this? It may be young persons, perhaps through the lack of experience are not sure how. Maybe you really do not know how to start. It may be in your heart, and I trust that is true. I trust it has been something that has been weighing on you for some time, something you have been thinking about, that you have been in prayer about it, that you want to commit yourself, to devote yourself to the things of God and to God's people, but you are just not sure how. One of the first things that I would say to you is that, and it is a very simple thought, you simply make yourself available. In Isaiah 6, you have a prophet. He says, “Here am I; send me”, 8. And the Lord says, “Go”. That is an important point, that you move under His leadership, His direction. But it begins with a willingness on your side. Is there that willingness in your heart, to say, ‘Here am I; use me’? It is not to dictate the terms of your use - I want to do this, or I want to serve in this way. No, I am just available. I am here to be used in some way. I think it is so important that your availability is often determined by your occupation. That was something that came to me as I was thinking about this, and reflected even on my own life and my own experience. When I say occupation, I do not mean your work or your employment, although that could have some bearing on this. What I mean by occupation is what it is that you occupy your mind and your heart with. That will determine your availability. I can think even in my own history, the things I have occupied my mind and my heart with that have eaten up my time, and taken away from the opportunities, limited the opportunities to present oneself a living sacrifice, to be of some use in whatever way that God sees fit. One thing that I would really encourage you to think about is, what is my occupation? What is it that I occupy my mind and my time with?
I could not help but think about Mark. We often speak of Mark in the Acts. An issue arose because Paul was concerned as to Mark. He did not feel it was wise to bring along Mark at that time because he had abandoned him, chap 15: 37-39. So I use Mark as one who started out committed and was used. But then something came in - we do not know what it was. And there may be something that has come into your life that has hindered you. I do not know what that might be, just like it does not really tell us as to what the issue was with Mark. But the fact is he was not available; he abandoned Paul in the service. I think it is interesting that the word is “abandoned”. It is not that he just went away; he abandoned them. It emphasises the fact that there was real need there, that Mark was needed, and he abandoned them. That makes it a very serious matter. It is not that he just decided that he was going to fall away, or not pursue; he abandoned them. Scripture uses that word because Paul felt it deeply, that this brother was needed and he abandoned them. You are needed, brothers, sisters, young and old. There is not one person sitting in this room who is not needed. I trust that you would be encouraged to take things up along those lines, to come to that realisation in your own soul as to how much you are needed. Mark was needed, Paul felt.
I do not want to end on that, to leave Mark with negative thoughts, because we can rejoice that he was recovered. Paul specifically says, “Bring Mark” (2 Tim 4: 11); he is still needed, but now he is available; he is serviceable. Would you desire to be serviceable to the saints? It is ultimately for God; it is for Christ. But the best way that we can serve God and serve the Lord is by serving one another, caring for and serving the saints. And so Paul rejoiced in his heart when he wrote that, “Bring Mark”; ‘I need him: he is serviceable again.’ Would you desire to be serviceable? When you are it brings joy to the heart of the saints and it brings joy to the Lord. It does not say what Mark was going to do, how he was going to be used. That is not the point. It is just that he was available and serviceable. How we can rejoice in the recovery of Mark. It may be that you have been thinking about it, and praying about it, just learning about it but not sure how to commit yourself, but do not over-complicate it: make yourself available. I know this, having been young once: often we hesitate because we do not really know, we do not really know our place, do not really know what our gift is; we do not really know our part. We do not really know how we are to be used. And so we say, ‘As soon as I figure that out, I will commit myself’. That is not how this works; that is backwards, but the natural mind thinks that way. You commit yourself first. I really enjoyed a comment by Mr Stoney: he says you present yourself a living sacrifice and your gift will come, vol 1 p313. Now hopefully that encourages you to commit yourself. You want to know how to identify your gift, and what part and place you have: present your body a living sacrifice, and that will come in time. We can be encouraged in that.
Presenting our body as a living sacrifice is what is to characterise and encourage us in that service. And one of the things that is so important is affection for Christ. We talk about motive: that is to be our motive, our affection for Him. It begins with His love, His work, His goodness. I was thinking about the mighty men in 2 Samuel 23: 15-17; it lists all the men, but it does not list Joab. Joab performed mighty deeds and mighty acts, and great feats. Go through 2 Samuel and see what he accomplished. That is not the point here. The point with the mighty men was their energy of faith, and what moved them. They are referred to as the mighty men of David. I think that links on with what we have had today as to faithfulness, the energy of faith. It was the way in which they moved, the way in which they carried themselves. It was what they occupied their minds with, and what was important and precious to them. I love the example of the three that broke through the camp of the Philistines: “And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate! And the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate, and took it, and brought it to David; however he would not drink of it, but poured it out to Jehovah. And he said, Be it far from me, Jehovah, that I should do this thing! is it not the blood of the men that went at the risk of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men”.
Think firstly about what this meant to David. Think about what such things mean to the heart of Christ. Think of the nearness of these men who overheard David express the longing of his heart. They were not commanded to do this; they were not instructed or directed. No; it was the feelings of David that they knew about. Naturally speaking, persons looking for this would say this was foolish, three men breaking through the camp of the Philistines; there is too much risk involved; this is too dangerous. But that is not what is to motivate us; it is the heart of Christ. It is His affection, His love, His longing. It is the feelings of Christ that is to move us. Great things can be accomplished if we move on the basis of love for Christ and what is for his heart. And so there are things that naturally seem a bit risky, a bit dangerous. We can apply this in our practical lives, the decisions that we are faced with, the tests and trials. You might know in your heart, deep down inside, that this is God's will; you might know that this is for the heart of Christ, this is what will bring His heart satisfaction and joy. Naturally speaking we might say it costs too much. May we be helped to preserve the value of love; may we truly fill our hearts with affection for Christ, and act on the basis of what is for His heart. That would help us to overcome the so-called risks and dangers, and would move us like these three men who broke through. They brought back what was for the heart of David, and you see how precious it was to him. He poured it out; it became an offering to Jehovah. How wonderful the increase is.
I want to mention affection for the saints. That is to characterise our service; it is to move our hearts in relation to what we take on as a living sacrifice. In Romans 16, it is always so affecting to consider Phœbe and the affection and consideration that she had for the saints. That is what motivated her, and that is what characterised her service. And how precious it is to look at the way Paul brings her before us: she was “a helper”. I have always been encouraged with this because, as we have already had before us, it is not just what you do, it is filling out your measure of faith with what God has given to you for whatever the time, whatever the need. She was “a helper of many”, v 2. It does not speak about any specifics as to what she exactly did, but that is one thing that is to characterise all service, to be a helper. That attitude would help us, if we simply looked at service in that way, that I am going to make myself available, I am going to move on the basis of affection for Christ. What can be a help, an encouragement to the saints? She was “a helper of many”. And Paul mentions Priscilla and Aquila as well. I think the way that Paul says that they for his life “staked their own neck; to whom not I only am thankful, but also all the assemblies”, is so encouraging, v 4. Think of the effect that they had, not only in their locality but outside their locality as well. There was something seen. It was very public; it was precious.
Now presenting oneself a living sacrifice is an individual thing. And yet you see here what I believe to be an example of the power behind a marriage in the Lord. You have two persons who have committed themselves as living sacrifices. They had shared a common bond; they shared a common exercise. And they shared a love for the Lord. And so you see this is a marriage in the Lord with common interests, common desires, and a shared exercise; you can see the effect that they had. How wonderful marriage in the Lord is. And I encourage all, especially young persons contemplating marriage, to realise the value of a marriage in the Lord, and the greatness of what a couple can affect in their own locality. I do believe our primary responsibility is in our locality. So this marriage in the Lord resulted in great things for the saints. And they were a great help; they were a great encouragement.
I will mention one other thing as to the thought of the affection that we are to have for the saints, and how this is to characterise this living sacrifice. In 1 Corinthians 16, it refers to “the house of Stephanas … and they have devoted themselves to the saints for service”, v 15. So we have the individual side of things with Phœbe; we have a marriage in the Lord, a married couple: now we have a household. I want to encourage persons to understand the advantages that a baptised household can afford, to provide to the locality in the way of supporting all of Israel. Mr Paul Johnson used to talk about taking up your baptism. You have been baptised but have you taken it up? Baptism brings before us how through His death we have been disassociated from this world, and we have been brought into association with Him. We have been placed in Christian ground; we are now found in association with Him. Have you taken that up - disassociated yourself from the world and associated yourself with Christ; and moving on the wonder and greatness of that ground of resurrection, Christian ground? How wonderful it is. You see this with the household. I believe what you have represented here was those members of that house taking up their baptism together, and the unity of the house. And there is nothing more powerful, if I can put it that way, as far as what provides encouragement and edification and service locally, than a unified household, a baptised household.
And so I would just leave that with the saints for our encouragement. I trust that we would be encouraged to present our bodies a living sacrifice. That that would be something that we would take on, young and old, that you would be encouraged to make yourself available to move on the basis of affection for Christ. And then ultimately, that that would be seen practically demonstrated in the affection that you have for the saints, and in your service, especially locally, whether it is an individual, as a married couple, or as a baptised household.
May we be encouraged for His Name’s sake.
Indianapolis
29th November 2025