Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will.

If we look at the whole chapter of Romans 12 we find out that the sacrifice that we are to offer up is ourselves, our own bodies and our own souls for the renewing of the mind that we maybe empowered to work out the nature of Jesus Christ to a dying world. We can see in many of the scriptures that a lot of people take it for granted that they are already walking clean before the Lord and they want to then go immediately into ministry without dealing with themselves. They then consider that they are ministers of the gospel but they have never cleaned themselves up.

We see that in most tabernacles they had a place called the holy of holies. It was the high priests job to go into that place and pour the blood upon the mercy seat for the forgiveness of sins for the transgressions of Israel. He had to have bells at the bottom of his garment and a rope around his foot because if he hadn't prepared his own life before he went into offer amends for the people of Israel the glory would kill him and hence he had to be pulled out with the rope that was tied around his foot because no one else could go into that place.

Christ cleans up our spirit but it is our responsibility to clean up our flesh and our soul. It is our responsibility to separate ourselves for ministry and to become ministers of the gospel. So often we to become ministers or we become priests to offer up sacrifices and we have to do that with clean hands and a pure heart.
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