Holiness Requires Your All
By Pastor David Kuntz

To be a Christian implies that you are to be like Christ – holy!  And if you are going to strive to be holy like Jesus it will require your all!  The text that best illustrates this truth is Romans 12:1-2. Paul says “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”   In this text we discover 4 elements of presenting ourselves holy to God. 

The first element is Holiness in Soul.  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God”  (vs. 1a).  This verse assumes that a believer has already entered the first stage of holiness.  That stage is the courageous act of giving your soul to the Lord.  In order for anyone to become holy, the soul has to be given to God.  And the only way this spiritual transformation can take place is by salvation.  Salvation can only take place when you admit you have sinned against God Almighty and believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose again the third day.  Because of this soul saving mercy, you must surrender your all!

The second element is Holiness in Body.  Paul says “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service”  (vs. 1b).  This stage of holiness is referred to as the act of consecrating oneself to God.  It is not a body of sin that we are presenting to the Lord as a living sacrifice.  Instead, it is a body that is alive from the dead that the believer is to present.  As Christians, we surrender our body as a living sacrifice to God. This means that we must make every effort to be holy & pleasing to God.  Paul tells us that this is our reasonable service.  Do you realize that our greatest problem is not what we do?  Our greatest problem is the way we think!  In order to transform what we do, we must transform the way we think.

The third element is Holiness in Mind.  Paul says “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (vs. 2a).  Because of the mercies of God, we must present a holy mind to the Lord.  We are living in a day when the world is competing to control our minds.  Billboards, commercials, entertainment, government & society all want our minds!  So Paul says, “Do not allow the world to squeeze your mind into its mould!”  The way to be transformed within is by renewing your mind with Scripture.

The fourth element is Holiness in Will.  Paul says “that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God” (vs. 2b).  A surrendered soul, body & mind will only lead to a surrendered iron will!  When a believer has his mind transformed, he will want God’s will, not his will.  As the transformation takes place, you’ll be equipped to make sound decisions.  You will be able to prove what the good, acceptable, & perfect will of God is.  The supreme act of the believer’s worship is surrender of the will!  But the heart of worship is all about surrendering your whole self to God!  Everyday you wake up you must bind your soul, body, mind, and will to the altar.  Will you make it a priority to pursue holiness with your all this year?