Calling All Christians

When it comes to knowing God’s will, the best place to start is to pick up the manual. God has given us the manual on how to know His will, and it’s called the Bible.

In Romans 12 we read, “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 and acceptable and perfect will of God” (verses 1–2 NKJV).

This is called a conditional promise. The promise is that you can know what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. But the conditions are that we must do what He tells us to do first. And that is to present ourselves to Him and not be conformed to this world.

The apostle Paul began this passage with the words, “I beseech you therefore . . .” As I’ve often said, whenever you see the word therefore, find out what it’s there for. Paul was drawing on what he previously said.

From Romans 1 to 11, Paul was basically saying that we are sinners separated from God. We can’t meet God’s standards. We can’t keep the law. We can’t save ourselves. But Jesus died for us. And if we will turn from our sin and put our faith in Him and Him alone, God will forgive us. He will justify us and adopt us into His family.

So in light of this, Paul is saying, present yourself to Him. This is directed to every follower of Jesus Christ. We’re all called to glorify God with our lives, no matter what our vocation in life is. We need believers everywhere, honoring the Lord with the gifts that He has given to them.