Romans
Chapter 12: 1-8
Living Sacrifices
1Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3For
by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than
you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the
measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has
one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member
belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts,
according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in
proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let
him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is
encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give
generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let
him do it cheerfully.
