"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." The Apostle Paul uses the language of Old Testament sacrifices to explain metaphorically the new life of Christians. When Paul says to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, he means the whole person--both body and soul. In contrast to the dead animal sacrifices of the past, you should present yourself as a living sacrifice because you are alive from the dead and experience new life with Christ. Neither will you be put to death as Old Testament animal sacrifices were because of the sacrifice of Christ that fulfilled those dead animal sacrifices. While Old Testament worship focused on offering animal sacrifices in the temple, Paul says that offering one's whole life to God is your spiritual worship. So if you are a living sacrifice, you should be holy, not conformed to this world but transformed to spiritual service by the renewing of your mind (vs. 2). Your whole life should be lived as a sacrifice to God, albeit, a living sacrifice walking around performing service to God.
