We are still in process, as most of you will remember, of considering the first two verses in the 12th chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that he present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service,

and be not conform to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Now, here in these two verses, as we've already seen, the apostle gives us what is in many ways,

I suppose, the most remarkable summary that is to be found anywhere

in the New Testament of the Christian teaching or doctrine concerning sanctification.

This is a great theme, of course, in the New Testament, a theme that is applicable only to Christian

people, to believers. Sanctification

there's nothing to say to those who are not Christians, but it is a very vital doctrine

for Christians. It means, of course, the kind of life we are to live because we are Christians.

And here the apostle introduces it all in just two verses.

We've considered the inducements of the motives which he puts before us as he calls upon us to do this.

It is in the light of all we've been learning in this great epistle.

It is because of God's mercies to us.

And now we are considering what we actually have to do in practice.

And the first thing we saw was we present our bodies,

a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable and to God, which is our intelligent, mental, reasonable

service to God.

And then having told us that the apostle then comes down to greater detail, if you like,

or he puts it in a slightly different way

by putting it now in terms of how we are actually to live.

...