My Testimony with Romans 12:1

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The Word of God is deep calling to deep.

You can read a verse daily for 50 years, and every time you read it, the Spirit reveals something new. I’m a test case of this depth found in the Bible, as evidenced by a single verse.

In February of 1972, Romans 12:1 was the second verse of Scripture that I memorized. That’s a 54-year history with one verse. I’ve reviewed this verse thousands of times, with my understanding of it growing and changing through the years.

Below are notes of my testimony with Romans 12:1:

Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (NASB1995).

When I first became a believer — having claimed Jesus as my Savior in the fifth grade and then quickly forsaking my faith because of peer pressure — I was determined that I would not again walk away from God.

In my “works from fear” motive of spiritual development (a viewpoint often seen in new believers who’ve recently escaped from deep patterns of sin), there was no better verse for me to memorize and pattern my life after than Romans 12:1. I needed to hear often the words “urge” and “sacrifice.” This was my reasoning for memorizing that verse.

In the beginning, with the word “urge,” I had the image of my third-grade teacher shaking her finger at me while saying to never do “that” again (which she did often), and as the vestiges of my former hippie lifestyle peeled off through sanctification, I did need some convicting finger-pointing from the Spirit.

But one day, while studying Greek, I found that the English word “urge” derives from the Greek word “paraclete,” the same word Jesus used for the Holy Spirit. The word means “come alongside” or “place your arm around another for encouragement.” I don’t like to hug people, but the word “paraclete” has this tonal quality.

Wow! My previous rigid interpretation of Romans 12 as a “buckle up and sacrifice yourself” passage was replaced by a realization of a relationship in which the Spirit puts His arms around me and walks me through temptation. That led me to a greater understanding of mercy. 

As Paul writes, “By the mercies of God present yourself a living and holy sacrifice.” As theologians have said, “Grace gives you what you don’t deserve, and mercy withholds what you do deserve.” As we learn to sacrifice our old selves for the new self, like children who often stumble, we need a compassionate Father to bandage the wounds and encourage us to try again. 

My previous image of “urge” as spiritual growth by fearful works became a compassionate embrace of encouragement. 

With this new understanding of mercy, I love to review from memory the final words of Romans 12:1, “… a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual form of worship.” “Living” and “sacrifice” are opposites, oxymorons, and impossible without the mercies of God, in which the death or sacrifice of our former self becomes a born-again and renewed life in the Spirit.

Death to life — this is how we worship God. But only by God’s mercy.