Today’s Scripture: Romans 6:13

“Present yourselves to God.”

How did the apostle Paul approach the subject of commitment and discipline? Paul’s letter to the Romans is the foundation for the Bible’s teaching on salvation; in it, the teaching of justification by faith in Jesus Christ alone is set forth most cogently and completely. However, Paul wrote the letter to people who were already believers. He referred to them as those “who are loved by God and called to be saints.” He thanked God that their “faith is proclaimed in all the world,” and he longed “that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Romans 1:7-8,12). Clearly he was writing to believers.

He wrote to help them understand more fully the salvation they already possessed. He spent eleven chapters going through the Gospel, showing that salvation is entirely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, then dealing with various questions his teaching on the grace of God would raise.

Then he asked for their response: a total commitment of themselves to God. He urged them, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (12:1).

Paul made a strong appeal. Charles B. Williams’ translation interprets the phrase “offer your bodies” as “make a decisive dedication [footnote: once-for-all offer] of your bodies.” The phrase “living sacrifice” connotes the idea of a “perpetual sacrifice never to be neglected or recalled” and a “constant dedication.” So Paul called for a decisive, once-for-all dedication that is to be constantly reaffirmed and kindled afresh. You cannot ask for any higher level of commitment than that.

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