Christians cannot be self-indulgent, as getting for ourselves is contrary to the way of God, which is the way of love, of give, and of outgoing concern. Selfishness in any form distorts the essence of Christianity, undermining the sacrifices and the freely given grace of God that sustain it. As Paul teaches in Romans 12:1, we are called to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. Most of us are not required to die as martyrs, but we must sacrifice ourselves while living by maintaining holiness and acceptability before Him. This daily life as members of the Family of God involves intensive sacrifice, making the Christian life hard. Our frequent sacrifices often center on the conflict between the ways of this world and the way of God, requiring us to give up worldly desires that draw us back or to sacrifice aspects of ourselves to meet the high standards God has set for His people. Sacrifice is the key to overcoming sin and making progress toward the Kingdom of God, despite the internal resistance we feel to letting go of harmful things like anger, offense, gossip, lies, hatred, pride, and greed, which our human natures cling to as part of who we are.

The concept of a living sacrifice is central to our relationship with God. It is through our daily sacrifices of obedience, prayer, praise, and mindshare that we respond to God's ultimate sacrifice, receiving His presence and enabling Spirit. These daily acts of sacrifice are how God helps us overcome our self-focused carnal nature, transforming it into a God-focused and others-focused nature. Little by little, with each sacrifice to Him, we gradually put to death our carnal nature, becoming more like God. Sacrifice is the means by which God creates us into His image. Our sacrifices must encompass both devotion to God and service to man. Sacrifices in devotion to God, akin to burnt offerings, are unacceptable without the corresponding sacrifices in service to man, akin to grain offerings. These daily sacrifices to each other include controlling our mind, bridling our tongue, giving of our time and resources, forbearance, forgiving wrongdoing, and sacrificing our egos to maintain peace. When we walk in God's Spirit of unmerited sacrifice each day, we are gradually putting our self-focused carnal spirit to death, becoming more God-focused and others-focused. Sacrifice, by definition, requires a cost—the giving up of something valuable for a greater benefit. It demands a denial of what we want, a loss of something we value, or a suffering we would rather avoid. Our carnal mind resists sacrifice, especially unmerited sacrifice, due to the fear of losing self-esteem. Yet, we must reframe sacrifice as an investment, focusing on the spiritual outcome and the lasting dividends of eternal life. Through our imperfections and mistakes, we create opportunities to learn how to give unmerited sacrifice, mirroring the way of God, who gives unmerited sacrifice as Jesus Christ did for us. We are being built up as a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. With each daily sacrifice of devotion to God through service to Him, and through each daily sacrifice of devotion to God through unmerited service to man, we are being transformed into the fullness of Jesus Christ. Sacrifice is not just one thing; it is everything, reflecting the greatest investment God and Jesus Christ made before the foundation of the world to cover the sins of all mankind for all time.

God's purpose for us, as revealed in His Word, calls us to strive to live as Christ did, becoming a living sacrifice in our daily lives. This concept of a living sacrifice parallels Christ's own life, where He offered Himself completely to God, not just in His death, but in the way He lived every moment. As we obey God's instructions and resist the pull of human nature, we sacrifice ourselves to His purpose, mirroring the daily spiritual sacrifice that continues from the Old Covenant into our lives today. This living sacrifice is reflected in the burnt offering described in Leviticus, which represents total devotion to God, a sweet savor to Him, indicating no sin but rather a voluntary and wholehearted surrender. Christ, in living His life as a perfect example, gave Himself as a gift to the Father, a life wholly devoted from beginning to end. We, too, are called to make a gift of ourselves to God, identifying with the offering by surrendering every aspect of our lives—our thoughts, emotions, actions, and strength—to His will. Paul's words remind us of this parallel, showing that as Christ was crucified, we are to die daily to our flesh, making choices to give up selfish desires and grow in spiritual character. This process of becoming a living sacrifice requires our active participation, as we cannot passively conform to God's image but must choose to follow Christ's example. By striving to live as He lived, with total devotion and voluntary surrender, we fulfill God's purpose to be sculpted into His holy and righteous character.

Sacrifice is the core of what God desires from us each day. From the beginning, God has instructed mankind on the requirements for proper sacrifice. Jesus Christ's sacrifice was foreordained before the foundation of the world, serving as both substitutional and representative. His substitutional sacrifice, a once-for-all perfect offering, opens the door to our relationship with God, allowing God the Father and God the Son to dwell with us through Their enabling Spirit. Representatively, Jesus Christ's living sacrifices on earth exemplify the daily offerings we must make through our own living sacrifices. Our daily sacrifices to God involve whole burnt offerings of our mind, time, repentance, obedience, prayer, study, and praise, through which we put to death our carnal nature. This allows God to dwell with us and bring His Spirit, enabling us to perform daily sacrifices in service to others through grain offerings. These grain offerings occur when we sacrifice our egos, put others first, and create peace. Only when these sacrifices are done together, with the proper attitude, can we achieve perfect communion with God and fellow man, as represented by the peace offering. Sacrifice requires the action of giving up something valuable for a greater benefit, involving denial, loss, or suffering we might prefer to avoid. All the fruit of God's Spirit stems from humble sacrifice. We are called to serve one another through sacrifice, which is the bond of perfection, enabling us to become at one with God by responding to His initial sacrifice for us. Through daily sacrifices, we overcome our selfish carnal nature to become like God, offering sacrifices to each other in service and devotion.

I beseech you with all my heart to present yourselves as living sacrifices, driven by the boundless mercies of God. These mercies, vast and undeserved, encompass every blessing, every act of forgiveness, every strength and revelation He has poured upon us. Because of all that He has done, we owe Him our very beings, urged to offer ourselves wholly in response to His grace. In the backdrop of old covenant practices, where dead sacrifices of animals were offered without lasting effect, we now stand under a new way through Jesus Christ. Unlike those lifeless offerings, we are called to be living sacrifices, useful and continuous, a sweet savor to God, presented often as part of our daily walk. This sacrifice demands the totality of our being. It is not merely our physical bodies, but our entire selves—mind, spirit, and will—that we must offer. Every aspect, from head to toe, must be given completely to God, reflecting a full surrender of who we are. Our living sacrifice must also meet the qualifications of being holy and acceptable to God. Holiness means being set apart, dedicated, and pure, unblemished in our offering. It must align with His will and standards, ensuring that what we present is pleasing to Him, not merely what we deem fitting. Finally, understand that presenting ourselves as living sacrifices is the essence of true worship. It is our reasonable service, a logical and spiritual response to all that God has done. This service, rendered as He commands, is righteous activity that honors Him, aligning with His prescribed way rather than our own notions of worship.