BILL’S BLOG ENTRY #65

From “Discipleship and Discipline” by William H. Hicks, copyright March, 2005:

““In Romans 12: 9 – 21, Paul describes further The Disciples’ Balancing Act. Paul speaks to a disciple’s internal orientation, how he/she manages himself, his own spirit, his inner man and, manifestly, his relationship to God; his relationship to others in the body of Christ, and even to those who are outside the body of Christ. Disciples are herein first urged “to present your bodies to God as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship”. Here the Scriptures confirm what God said in the first four of the Ten Commandments: our first order priority is our relationship to God. But wait! ‘Living’ sacrifice? How can this be? Sacrifices by definition are dead. If we disciples are to be sacrifices, should we “deliver our bodies to be burned” to honor God? And how does a “sacrifice” live? This is a spiritual paradox that does not make sense in the natural. However, it is the essence of truth and speaks clearly to what is really true worship.””

About THE DISCIPLE

William H. “Bill” Hicks is a graduate of Wesleyan University, BA, Religion, 1971 who also holds a Masters in Public Health Degree (MPH) from the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health (1973). Bill also has studied at the Dallas Theological Seminary. He grew up in Harlem, New York City, USA during the 1950s and 1960s, graduating from high school before attending Mount Hermon Preparatory School and undergraduate school in Connecticut. He has spent most of his professional life in the public health arena, while being constantly in ministry. He received his license to preach the Gospel at Oklahoma City, OK in 1971. He has written extensively on Christian topics. He enjoys life in Chattanooga, TN with former District Public Defender Ardena Garth Hicks, his wife of 30 years. They have two daughters, Rachel (BA, University of Memphis magna cum laude, 2014) and Sarah (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, Global Scholar, University of Tulsa, 2017).

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