Al Robertson

In Romans chapter 12, he says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

So this is a different kind of sacrifice.

Solomon's sacrifice in the foreign gods, when God's calling us to actually present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which turns out to be your spiritual act of worship.

Don't be conformed.

to this world, don't let your affections for the world trump what God has given you.

He says, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing, this is what Solomon asked for, that you may discern, there's the discernment, that you may discern what is the will of God.

What is good and acceptable and perfect?

And Solomon, he fails this in the end because he drifted.

He had mission drift, and he allowed his affections for the world and for women and for whatever power.

He allowed his affections for that to shift, and he ends up, instead of offering his body as a living sacrifice, well, one, he loses his discernment.

He loses it.

He loses his discernment to be able to distinguish what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

And after he loses his discernment because he's not tending to his affections, this guy ends up building a high place and making sacrifices to foreign gods.

And you say, well, can that happen to me?

Yeah, that can happen to all of us.

And I think when you get to the book of James, what James is trying to say here in the whole book is like, this is not like you received this thing one time and now you're good.

Go do whatever you want to do.

He's actually saying that faith...

is going to logically and irrevocably be connected to what you do.

Because if you actually believe that what God's revelation of what is good, pleasing and perfect, if you actually believe this is the way, then you're going to do the things that it requires not to earn anything.