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You know, as clear as these words are, if you have read them like I did much of my life, we will miss the point.
Now here's Paul's take, what he intends to say:
I appeal to you brothers by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Now, I just read you exactly what the words say. I must tell you, deep into my adulthood, it's not what my ears heard. What did I hear? Despite what the words say, here's what I heard:
I urge you therefore brothers, by the mercy of God, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, and then you'll be Holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship.
Is that what it says? That's not what it says, but isn't it what you often hear. You be a good living sacrifice, and then you'll be acceptable to God.
You know, the word "Holy" should have been a cue. Nothing you are going to do is going to make you Holy to God. What makes you Holy to God? It's not your performance. We know our weaknesses. We know our sin. We know our failures. So how can we possibly be Holy to God? In view of God's mercy. There was one who provided for us what we could not provide for ourselves.
--Bryan Chapell
