At the beginning of Romans 12, Paul calls us into the flames of sacrificial living. That is, he calls us to be a “living sacrifice.” The image is stark and evocative, and it plays with the themes of life and death. After all, sacrifices aren’t supposed to live, are they? But, then again, someone who dies a torturous death isn’t supposed to live either, and yet that’s the fundamental claim of Christianity. Of course, Paul doesn’t stop there. He connects being a “living sacrifice” with being transformed, and it is Romans 12:9-21 where he describes, very clearly, what the transformed life looks like. Let’s dig in!