Verses 1 and 2 of chapter 12 deal with the Christian's most important relationship, his or her relationship to God. These verses are both parallel to the sections to follow that deal with the Christian's conduct, and they introduce them. Our relationship to God is foundational and governs all our other conduct. Paul had already called for the Christian to present himself or herself to God (6:13-19). Now he repeated that duty as the Christian's most imperative obligation. He had also spoken of false worship and corrupted minds (1:25, 28). This exhortation ties into these two former passages especially.
12:1 "Therefore"draws a conclusion from all that Paul had presented so far, not just chapters 9-11. This is clear from what he proceeded to say. The charge rises out of humankind's universal condemnation by God (3:20), the justification that God has freely provided (5:1), and the assurance of acceptance that the believing sinner can have (8:1). Because of all this, it is only reasonable to present our lives to God as living sacrifices (12:1). In particular the exhortation to present ourselves to God in 6:13-19 is in view.
Exhortation now replaces instruction. Urging (Gr. parakaleo) lies between commanding and beseeching. It is "one of the tenderest expressions in all the Bible."350Probably Paul did not command his readers because the attitude with which one presents himself or herself to God is crucial. The apostle did not want his readers to comply because he had commanded them to do so, but because they wanted to because of what God had done for them. Therefore he made his appeal as strong as possible without commanding. He had previously commanded this conduct (6:13).
". . . I BESEECH YOU -- What an astonishing word to come from God! From a God against whom we had sinned, and under whose judgment we were! What a word to us, believers,--a race of sinners so lately at enmity with God,--'I beseech you!'"351
The phrase "the mercies of God,"(NASB) refers to all that Paul revealed in this epistle that God has done for the believer. Paul used the singular "mercy"in the Greek text evidently because of his recent exposition of God's mercy in 11:30-32. Mercy denotes the quality in God that led Him to deliver us from our sin and misery. It contrasts with grace. Mercy expresses deliverance from condemnation that we deserve and grace the bestowal of blessings that we do not deserve. Paul called us to sacrifice ourselves to God because He has been merciful to us. In pagan religions of Paul's day the worshippers typically first offered sacrifices to secure the mercy of the gods. That is unnecessary in Christianity because God has taken the initiative.
Hebrew thought viewed the body as the representation of the whole person. Paul was urging the presentation of the whole person, not just the outer shell (cf. 6:13).352However, the body does stand in antithesis to the mind in verse 2 so the physical body does seem to be what Paul was stressing particularly.353Jewish priests needed to present themselves without blemish as sacrifices to God before they could serve Him (cf. Mal. 1:8-13). The same is true in Christianity. The believer priest's whole life needs giving over to the Lord (cf. Lev. 1). We need to separate our lives from sin to God. This is the essence of holiness (cf. 6:19). This kind of sacrifice is acceptable to God and pleases Him. Some scholars claim that the tense of the verb "present"or "offer"(aorist in Greek) presupposes a decisive offering made once-for-all.354Others say that the aorist tense does not carry the once-for-all meaning and that Paul simply meant that we should make this offering, without implying how often.355In view of the nature of the commitment that Paul called for it seems that we should make it decisively as often as we desire. What the Christian needs to present is a life for service to God. In Israel the whole burnt offering, which represented the entire person of the offerer (Lev. 1), burned up completely on the altar. The offerer could not reclaim it because it belonged to God. Paul implied that this should also characterize the Christian's self-sacrifice.
"Spiritual service of worship"(NASB) or "reasonable service"(AV) means that the sacrifice should be thoughtful and deliberate. The animals in Jewish sacrifices could not offer themselves this way because they were animals. There are many ways in which we can worship God, but this is the most fundamental and important way. This service of worship should precede all other service of worship or else worship and service are superficial. Two notable examples of this decisive dedication of self are Isaac (Gen. 22) and our Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:38).
12:2 Verse 1 deals with making the commitment and verse 2 with maintaining it.
"The first verse calls for an explicit act; the second commands a resultant lifelong process. These verses are a call for an act of presentation and the resultant duty of transformation."356
Both activities are important. The present tense in the Greek text of verse 2 indicates our continuing responsibility in contrast to the aorist tense in verse 1 that stresses a decisive act. The "world"(Gr. aion) is the spirit of our age that seeks to exclude God from life (1 John 2:15). The world seeks to "squeeze you into its own mold."357The Christian should be continually renewing his or her mind by returning mentally to the decision to dedicate self to God and by reaffirming that decision. This continual rededication to God will result in the transformation of the Christian into Christ's image (8:29; cf. Mark 9:2-3). A daily rededication is none too often.
"This re-programming of the mind does not take place overnight but is a lifelong process by which our way of thinking is to resemble more and more the way God wants us to think."358
The Holy Spirit is the unidentified transformer that Paul set in contrast to the world (8:9-11; cf. 2 Cor. 3:18; 6:17-18; 7:1; Col. 3:9-10; 1 Thess. 5:23; Titus 3:5). "Prove"or "test and approve"involves evaluating and choosing to practice what is the will of God instead of what the world recommends (cf. Eph. 5:8-10). We clarify what God's will for us is by rededicating ourselves to God often. God's will sometimes becomes blurred when our commitment to Him wavers (cf. Eph. 5:8-10). Notice that total commitment to the lordship of Jesus Christ is a prerequisite for experiencing God's will.
Dedication results in discernment that leads to delight in God's will. The initial dedication and the subsequent reaffirmation both please God (vv. 1-2, "acceptable"or "pleasing"; cf. Phil. 4:18; Heb. 13:16). "Good"means essentially good. "Acceptable"means pleasing to God. "Perfect"means it cannot get any better.
Romans 12:1-2 are extremely important verses for Christians. They express our most important responsibility to God, namely submitting completely to His lordship over our lives.359Christians should make this commitment as close to the moment of their justification as possible. However notice that Paul addressed his appeal to believers, not the unsaved. Dedication to God is a response to the mercy of God that we receive in salvation. It is not a condition for receiving that mercy. It isa voluntary commitment that every Christian shouldmake out of love for the Savior, but it is not one that every Christian willmake. It is possible to be a Christian without ever making this commitment since it is voluntary.
"To require from the unsaved a dedication to His lordship for their salvation is to make imperative what is only voluntary for believers (Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 3:15)."360
