Call to Surrender
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).
Writing unto the believers that reside in Rome, Paul issues a call to surrender. He encourages them to come alongside him for the purpose of surrender; “that ye present.” We see the act of surrender in the word “present.” It means to exhibit, to be at hand, to bring before or to give presently. Surrender is placing something at the disposal of another. The article of surrender is to be “your bodies”; not dead, but alive, consecrated, and that which would be considered acceptable to the True and Living God.
While that is the message of surrender; what is to be the motive for surrender? The reason so few respond is for lack of a motive; why should I turn my back on the pleasures of the temporal to serve the eternal? Why should I make myself totally available unto God?
The Family of God
Within the text, Paul gives the saints three things to consider as possible motivation of answering the call to surrender; the first being the family of God. Note that Paul is not making an appeal to the foreigner, but the family; “I beseech you . . . brethren.” Paul is calling all those that know the worth associated with being a son of God; “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (I John 3:1). As son, we have open access to the Father; “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
The Favor of God
Paul encourages them to consider the favor of God, “I beseech . . . by the mercies of God.” Paul declares that it was “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). We are not only saved, but sustained by God’s mercy; “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
The Fields of God
Paul encourages them to consider the fields of God, “which is your reasonable service.” When Jesus “saw the multitudes,” the records that He “was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few” (Matthew 9:36-37). Jesus said, “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35). Will we, like Jesus, say, “I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49).
Having delivered the message of surrender, Paul gives the motive for surrender: you are a member of the family and have the glorious privilege of being a child of God. When you deserved wrath, God in His mercy sent His Son, and with Him, He has freely given you all things. His fields are large and ripe for the harvest, but few are reaping. As a son and a servant, will you make yourself available to Him? It is the proper and profitable thing to do! Are you motivated by the Family, the Favor, and the Field?
