A Living SacrificeSample

“You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.” (Romans 13:11 ESV)

Do we understand that time is short? One of my former pastors, in teaching a series on Revelation, talked about Jesus’ second coming. He said something like this, “I know that we don’t know the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, but I can tell you confidently that everyone in this room is going to meet Jesus in the next 100 years.” It was humorous, yet so true. Whether Jesus comes down in a cataclysmic world-ending moment or whether we take our last breath and meet Him, we are about to meet Jesus face to face.

For those who are mere believers in Christ and not followers, this is bad news, perhaps. Many believers are living their lives as if they belong to this world. To those, Paul says, “Wake up!” We were saved by Jesus’ death and sacrifice, not just to give us access to Heaven, but to be free to live a heavenly life now. Hear what Jesus said about this: "Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Luke 17:20-21 ESV

Or consider the words of John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, who also came to earth in a miraculous way, being born to a barren, elderly mother. He said,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2 ESV)And John quoted Isaiah 40:3: “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”

Paul understood all of this, and he is picking up where John left off, basically saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He also told the Corinthian church,“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

A living sacrifice understands these things, for he lives like he is already dead.