Back to all lyrics
Artwork for A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-8

A Living Sacrifice

Lyrics · Romans

A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-8

Lyrics

About this song

About this song

This song belongs to the Romans collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book
Romans
Collection
Romans
Musical styles
Uncategorized
[Intro] Mercy has carried us into this room; we bring no ashes, we bring what still breathes. [Verse 1] Take these hands and the work they can do, take these feet and the roads they pursue, take this mind from the shape of the age, write Your good will on a newly turned page. [Pre-Chorus] Not higher than we ought to stand, not measuring grace by another's hand; faith gives each heart a sober place. [Chorus] Here is a living sacrifice, holy because it is given to You. Many the members, one life in Christ; make every differing gift ring true. [Verse 2] Let prophecy answer the measure of faith, let service be faithful when no one gives praise, let teachers be patient, encouragers clear, let mercy come smiling and leadership steer. [Bridge] We do not belong to ourselves alone; one body is built from flesh and bone. Renew what the world would press into form; prove what is perfect, transform, transform. [Refrain - final] Here is a living sacrifice, not on a fire, but awake in Your sight. Many the members, one life in Christ; receive all our days as worship tonight.

About the passage

Romans 12: Mercy takes bodily and social form

Romans 12 turns the mercies of the previous chapters into a bodily and social form of life. The appeal begins with a "living sacrifice," joining the offered body to a renewed mind rather than treating embodiment as something spirituality must escape. Paul then moves immediately to sober self-assessment. Different gifts belong to one body and are given for actual service, not as badges in a contest for importance. Love is likewise pulled out of abstraction and placed among honor, diligence, prayer, material need, and hospitality. The final movement addresses hostility. Sympathy, humility, refusal of retaliation, and practical care for an enemy all resist the temptation to let evil determine the shape of the response. Peace is pursued "if it be possible," acknowledging that one person cannot control another's behavior. Vengeance belongs to God, while the believer's assigned actions include food for a hungry enemy and drink for a thirsty one.

Study Romans 12 in depth