“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Romans 12:1 NASB2020
living sacrifice. it means a sustainable sacrifice. a life long sacrifice.
the closest old testament example of this is the animal sacrifices that were offered. Hebrews 10 details this.
now that Jesus is the Lamb that never dies, that sacrifice is perpetual, never expiring, always presenting those in its presence as blameless.
“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the form of those things itself, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, make those who approach perfect.”
Hebrews 10:1 NASB2020
so it’s the Life of Christ, in you, that you offer God. that is the only acceptable sacrifice.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Galatians 2:20 NASB2020
with out Jesus being your daily covering, you risk God seeing your life. that is what you will be judged by. how much of you God sees, vs how much of His Son
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB2020