Our gratitude for what Jesus has done for us should result in consecration (dedication) of our lives to God. Paul argues for this in one of the most powerful passages of Scripture about Christian living, Romans 12:1-2.
In Romans 1-11, the apostle explains how mankind is separated from God our Creator because of sin. It explains how each of us are condemned before God because of our sin and rebellion against Him. He goes on to help us understand that we cannot find forgiveness, have our guilt and shame removed, or be made right with God, through any good works we attempt to do ourselves. Paul then explains what Jesus accomplished for us through His life and death. He expounds on the depths of God’s sovereign grace and His mercy of God towards all who believe.
True Consecration springs from love and gratitude.
After pounding away on these truths for eleven chapters, Paul says this:
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, 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.”[1]
The Holy Spirit here urges us through Paul to take our gratitude to God for His great salvation provided for us through Jesus and respond by consecrating our lives to God. What does this consecration mean?
Consecration is a commitment to know the will of God and do it. It means repenting of known sin, learning how to please and honor God. Consecration means we must renew our minds to think less like the world and more like a child of God. We must take personal holiness seriously. The goal is to have a life increasingly acceptable to God, as an act of worship. To be consecrated is to be set apart, dedicated to God’s use.
Give your life to the Lord.
Some of us have experienced a time in our life when we first gave ourselves to the Lord. When I was a teen, I regularly heard calls to “give your life to the Lord!” I needed this emphasis, especially at that time of life. It helped me to understand that I had to determine to serve Christ. I had to intentionally follow Jesus. Later I began to understand that “giving myself to the Lord” is not merely a one-time event. I must continually renew this dedication to Christ.
Give your safety, health, and security to the Lord.
One key aspect of “present your bodies as living sacrifices” is that of consecrating our safety, security, and health to the Lord. We must lay all of these circumstances upon the altar as a sacrifice to the Lord as an application of being living sacrifices.
When an unexpected debilitating illness strikes, our financial security is shaken, or we feel vulnerable or threatened, our consecration to the Lord is challenged. When such times occur, all of us are tested, affected by these tests. Our struggle may be more intense if previously our lives have been comfortable and secure for a long time. These kinds of tests can be very hard on us emotionally and spiritually. Many (perhaps most) of us tend to idolize emotional and material comfort and security more than we realize.
I began to understand that “giving myself to the Lord” is not merely a one-time event. I must continually renew this dedication to Christ.
Give each trying circumstance to the Lord.
Our family has experienced numerous times of testing in Cambodia where we serve as missionaries:
Our young daughter fell down the wooden stairs and split her head open on the tile floor below. We were about a six-hour drive from adequate medical care–that was a test.
Our other little girl suddenly began to struggle to breathe and there seemed to be no reason why. Again, we were far from the hospital. It was easy to fear.
When our elementary aged son tested an electrical cord and it shorted, sparks flew, and he was thrown back. He lay there motionless on the floor turning blue before our eyes. This was most definitely a test.
My young wife and mother of our four small children wasted away, becoming frail and fragile. The doctors could not figure out why for many months. These times were difficult indeed.
In each of these situations (and there are plenty more not mentioned), the Lord gave healing. They all survived!
At one point, we watched our financial support commitments decrease while we were still on the field serving. That made us feel quite insecure.
Yes, the loss of good health, financial freedom, and security can be very hard indeed. We must dedicate each trying circumstance to the Lord whether we face them now or fear them ever happening in the future.
Give your feeling of security to the Lord.
Some people avoid the possibility of becoming missionaries because they don’t want to put their well-being at risk. They don’t want to submit themselves or their families to greater health challenges. Some Christian parents even discourage their children and grandchildren from ever becoming pastors or missionaries. They have heard the stories and want to shield their children from hardship.
Others won’t consider vocational ministry or missions because they don’t want to be financially dependent upon churches or individuals that might stop giving at any time. Some are unwilling to live on less and commit to a simple lifestyle.
Loss of freedom and just treatment is too much for some. They don’t want to put themselves in situations where they are more vulnerable to persecution, crime, or even physical abuse.
Unless we come to the point where we trust these things to the Lord, and dedicate ourselves to His care, we will never be available to serve in the Lord’s harvest fields. Praise the Lord that some do!
Snake bite irony
Nowhere on this planet is truly safer or riskier than another. Each person and circumstance is dependent upon God’s sovereignty. Our health, safety, and security are not guaranteed anywhere. We are not in control!
This was vividly illustrated to us on one of our home assignments. Southeast Asia is well-known for its abundance of poisonous snakes. Though we’ve seen plenty of them, and have plenty of stories to tell, none of us has ever been bitten.
When we go on home assignment back to the USA, we travel a good bit reporting to our partnering churches. One day, while driving in the mountains near the Tennessee and North Carolina border, we decided to stop and stretch our legs on the Appalachian Trail. We stopped off to take a little walk with our kids. Just a few hundred yards into that little hike, our four-year-old daughter was bitten by a baby rattlesnake. Our daughter was evacuated by helicopter to the nearest children’s hospital that had anti-venom. It was a scary time, but she healed fine. This event reminded us that true risk is determined by God. We cannot guarantee pleasant circumstances anywhere.
Understand that consecration is continual.
When missionaries depart for their field of service, they go out in faith. They depart dedicated to God, willing to face whatever comes to fulfill the Great Commission. This foundational consecration is very important, but it is not enough. Missionaries must continually dedicate themselves to God.
While some of us may have experienced a powerful crisis moment of dedication, consecration is not a once-for-all matter. We must continue to lay our lives down upon the altar in worship to Christ. We must renew our consecration to God of our health, financial security, and safety from harm when each new test comes.
Physical afflictions can take us by surprise. Suffering experienced as a direct result of persecution because of the Gospel might be easier to accept than being diagnosed with a long-term illness that we know will change and limit our lives.
Those of us who have served Christ very actively are strongly tempted to chafe at physical limitations that keep us from serving God in ways we so strongly desire to do. I have had far greater trials of soul over my battles with auto-immune limitations and how it has affected my ministry than the pain itself. We must give our physical afflictions to God.
Understand that consecration it total.
Christian living should be a steady growth in holiness, dedication to God, of every part of our lives. Part of this is offering to God our security, safety, and health as each new test comes. This is what it means to be a “living sacrifice.” Genuine consecration is total, not selective.
We must respond in faith and obedience about what God is showing us to do right now. As we trust Him with the present test of circumstance, He will give us grace to overcome. He will then show us our next steps to become increasingly “good and acceptable and perfect.” In this way we are living sacrifices.
One way we can find great encouragement on this path of consecration in worship to God is by fixing our eyes on the One who is our greatest example of consecration, the Lord Jesus Christ. We will meditate on Christ’s powerful example in the next article, Following Jesus in Consecration to the Father.
Photo in title by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV (English Standard Version).