In Romans 12:1-3 the Apostle Paul presents the following challenges:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."
Did you notice the "therefore" and "by the mercies of God" in the beginning of verse one? Without an awareness of the grace of God made available to us through Christ Jesus (Romans 3 - 11) and without the availability of His "mercies" to receive and apply the challenges from His Word, we are incapable of offering ourselves as a "living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God." As the Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write in verse three above and elsewhere (Galatians 2:20; 5:1-16; Colossians 2:6-7), we must draw upon the Lord's grace and keep trusting in Him for the ability to apply His Word in our life.
The transformation into the likeness of Christ Jesus comes about as we renew our minds with the truth of His Word (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). And our minds are especially renewed as we keep before us the wondrous love and grace seen in our Lord Jesus Christ. By His grace our Lord Jesus will enable us to apply the challenges from His Word for His glory as we keep on walking with Him by faith.
So may we keep on laying down our life as a sacrifice to the Lord that is set apart to Him, drawing upon His grace and mercy to do so. (The word construction--especially the verb forms of the Greek text in 12:1--indicates that this is something we may resume every time we realize we have stopped laying down our life like God calls us to do.) Like the branches that produce grapes draw upon the vine for the needed nutrients to produce fruit, may our life produce spiritual fruit that is acceptable to the Lord Jesus as we draw upon His strength (John 15:1-13; cf. Philippians 4:13).
