(5:1,2) "Therefore" means, "because you are children of God, be like (imitate) your Father". This does not say that we are to imitate Christ. Rather, we are to imitate the Father, who made it His purpose to reveal (manifest) His Son. So, too, are we to live in such a manner that Christ, who lives in us, is revealed to the world around us. "Live" is compared here as an equal to "gave Himself up". In other words, living "a life of love" is tantamount to giving yourself up as an "offering and sacrifice to God". Now, that is precisely what Paul told those believers in Rome--"Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable spiritual service".

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Old Testament