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.
— Romans 12:1, ESV

Liturgy is making a comeback in the Protestant world.  The formal, structured, ordered way of conducting a worship service has always been part and parcel of the Roman Catholic faith.  Other “high” church traditions, like our sisters the Anglicans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and most Methodists, worship liturgically as well.  But somewhere in the last century liturgy got lost in the culture of most Baptist, charismatic, non-denominational, and other “low” churches.  

Since the latter churches became the fastest growing during this period, many falsely assumed it was because of the loss of the liturgy.  Religious populists preferred the seeming spontaneity of a long, rock-driven music set followed by positive inspirational message loosely based on Scripture, and even more loose on demands for real repentance and costly faith.  I think the tea leaves have been grossly misread.

What we are beginning to see now in our church in particular and the church at large is something I have been predicting for the past twenty years.  Genuine Christian people are growing tired of silly church led by leaders in skinny jeans majoring on soliciting emotions rather than serious biblical content and historical connection.  People are yearning for seriousness, gravity, mystery, and, yes, even a little liturgy.  Therefore, the next wave of effective and growing churches will be Anglican, conservative Presbyterian, Reformed Baptist, and other congregations who employ liturgy and convey an actual belief in the Scriptures and historic creeds used in their worship services.  

The Apostle Paul could not be more pleased.  This is part and parcel of what he begged for in Romans 12:1.  But there is also a whole.  For the whole of the Christian life is a liturgy.

Worship is a Liturgy

Since “worship” is the last word, I cannot help but make some application up front as to how this verse should instruct our conduct on Sunday mornings when we gather for public worship.  Public worship is a primary part of the Christian life, and we should submit the whole of it to the word of God.  Romans 12:1 is a definitive word.

We should note the way different translations render the last two words of the Greek text.  “Spiritual worship” says the ESV, “reasonable service” says the KJV, “true and proper worship” reads the meandering NIV, and “spiritual service of worship” accords the normally hyper-accurate NASB.  Why no one chose the most literal translation available boggles my mind a bit, but if they had it would read “logical liturgy,” from the Greek words “logikos” (“logical” or “rational”) and “latreia” (“worship,” or “worship service,” or when passed from Greek to Latin to English is literally “liturgy”).  The spiritual, reasonable, true and proper, service of public worship should be a logical liturgy!  

Let’s work the verse backwards to make this make sense.  Public “worship” should be logical, rational, sensible, not superficial, emotional, silly.  It should promote that which is “spiritual,” “holy,” and “acceptable to God.”  In other words, it should be driven by the regulative principles of the word of God, not the entertaining whims of popular culture.  It should involve the whole of the congregation, a group of “living sacrifice(s),” not just players on a stage.  It should reflect “the mercies of God,” a God-centered, Christ-centered, gospel-centered focus on the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Public worship is for Christians, “brothers,” though the lost in the world should be invited into the church to witness it.  This kind of serious, spiritual, scriptural public worship is the thing for which the Apostle Paul, and God in His word, makes the “appeal” (parakaleo, is the verbal form of paraklātos; this is the Holy Spirit’s teaching to holy people about holy worship).  

Every church in the world should measure her public worship by the word of God in Romans 12:1.  However, this word from God in Romans 12:1 is not meant to merely regulate an hour or so of our lives on Sunday morning.  This verse summons up all the whole of the doctrinal truths of Romans 1-11 and brings them to bear on the whole life of the true follower of Christ.  The whole of life, the Christian life, is to be a liturgy.

Life is a Liturgy

Now let’s run the verse forward and let it run through the entirety of our Christian lives.

In this verse, God makes an “appeal.”  In word and by Spirit, God comes alongside us to call us to ongoing action as “brothers” and sisters, true Christians who are members of the family of God.  We are called to constantly be someone and do something, namely worshipers engaged in worship, a lifelong liturgy of devotion to the Lord.

The call goes out to all who have experienced “the mercies of God.”  “Mercies” is a complex, rare word in Scripture, appearing in the New Testament only five times and always as a reflection of God.  It is loving compassion resulting in redemptive action.  It is what the Lord Jesus Christ did for the elect upon the cross of Calvary.

Hearkening back (“therefore”) to Romans 1-11, “the mercies of God” led Jesus to sacrifice His life so we may be justified by faith.  The “mercies of God” send the Holy Spirit to regenerate our hearts and sanctify us by the Spirit and the word.  “The mercies of God” when received by grace through faith guarantees us a glorified position with God, now and forever.  So if you have experienced God’s mercy, justification and sanctification and the guarantee of glorification, you are to be someone and do something, a worshiper engaged in a lifelong liturgy of devotion to the Lord.

Such faith and devotion makes you a worshiper who is literally a “living sacrifice.”  Worship is essentially responding to God.  How do we respond to Christ’s dying sacrifice on the cross that won our justification, sanctification, and glorification?  By being a living sacrifice for Him!  How do we live for Him, on Sundays and every day?

We live for God by governing our actions and attitudes by that which is “holy and acceptable to God.”  What is holy to God is defined in the holy Bible, the word of God.  What is acceptable to God is sound interpretation and solid application of His word to your life.  This is why you need a Bible, and you need to read it.  This is why you need a biblical church, and you need to belong to it.  This is why you are called to live a liturgical life.

At the end of the day, you want to be sure your life is engaged in “spiritual worship,” literally a logical liturgy.  It does not have to be overly formal but it has to be completely “spiritual.”  And it has to be “worship,” all of it, all the time, tuned to the rhymes and rhythms of God’s Spirit and God’s word, cultivated by your participation in God’s church.  This is the liturgical life!

As I was preparing this sermon, I received a notification that Jimmy Carter’s funeral was about to begin.  Since he was the only U.S. President ever elected from the great state of Georgia, and a native of South Georgia to boot, I decided to watch the beginning of the service.  I was quickly riveted and remained tuned in for its entirety.  

The funeral was breathtakingly beautiful.  It was formal, serious.  It was filled with Holy Scripture, with multiple readings, reflections, and a wonderful sermon from Andrew Young, another great man from South Georgia.  The music was mostly high church, yet it touched my emotions on a high level.  The whole of the service made me think, reflect, appreciate, love, even cry.  There was no rock band, even though Jimmy liked southern rock and was personal friends with the Allman Brothers.  None of the speakers were dressed in skinny jeans.  It was serious, it had gravitas, it celebrated the mysterious.  It was a liturgy, reflective of the Almighty, just like the former President’s life.  

We need more liturgy in our worship.  We need more liturgy in our lives.  For the Christian life is a liturgy, a life of worship and service to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.