Embracing A Life Of Sacrifice? (Part 3)

If you haven’t read the first and second articles on the subject of sacrifice please do so before reading this article.  Each article builds on the foundational concept of the true meaning of God’s sacrifice and the importance of how we often neglect or fulfill God’s intended purpose. Scripture explains the purpose and right application of sacrifice, if we read scripture with the help of the Holy Spirit. Without his help we often go off the rails in our understanding what God is after what the sacrifice Christ did for whole world.

Part One – I talked about the movie “Saving Private Ryan” and his challenge to live a life worthy of the sacrifice so many men made to get him home during WWII.  I talked about how God died for all, including the ungodly, enemies and sinners.  I wrote about how I was a rebel who had not surrendered to the love of God in Christ Jesus. Thankfully, people who lived for Christ like Stephen in the Book of Acts, demonstrated Jesus to me and that’s what got me to consider the claims and the sacrifice of Christ. That’s the whole reason behind the great commission in Matthews 28:19……To go into the whole world and make disciples of Christ. That, if indeed Christ died for me, I should also lay down my life for God and the gospel.

Part Two -I talked about how, for many Christians, the subject of sacrifice is a “Fuzzy Idea” and most can’t explain it’s basics. Even Nicodemus, in John 3, missed the understanding he was meant to acquire from studying the scriptures……that we can’t possibly live as we were designed by God without being “Spiritually” born again.  Praying a simple prayer at church doesn’t make us right with God unless we embrace the purpose of the sacrifice of Christ.  Paul said it best when he declared that if we were “IN” Christ we were reconciled to God and therefore everything in our life becomes “Brand New”.

So, let me list just a few scriptures that illustrate God’s desire and intent of sacrifice from the Old Testament and New Testament perspective. It is the Old Testament that lays the foundation for understanding the New Testament and the gospel….the good news.  Christ’s sacrifice is based on the Old Testament sacrifice so much of modern preaching is leaving out the Old Testament foundation and thus we have a sacrifice without a calling.

Genesis 3:8-10     Rebellion Makes Us Afraid & We Hide                                                                                                                                                            

Toward evening they heard the LORD God walking about in the garden, so they hid themselves among the trees. The LORD God called to Adam, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

Genesis 3:21         Adam & Eve Saw That Animals Life Was Taken For His Sin                                                                                                                                                               

And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

Satan’s consuming desire is to separate us from a living relationship with God and to keep us separated forever. Before the law of Moses was given, the Old Testament saints all understood that they needed to present a sacrifice to God when approaching Him. Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all practiced bringing a sacrifice when approaching the Lord.  Job offered sacrifices for his kids to seek God’s best for them lest their own sin would separate them from God’s power and kindness.

Numbers 18:29        Israel Were Instructed to Give Their Best                                                  

 ‘Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the LORD, from all the best of them, the sacred part from them.’ 

Since the time of Adam man has understood that although they could not undo their mistakes they could offer a “Substitute” sacrifice for their sin. This translated into offering things of value that God had prescribed to “atone” for their sin. This was not a “payment” but an offering of good faith that represented regret for sins committed and the desire to be once again be in harmony with God.

Hebrews 9:22      The Whole sacrificial System Was Made To Show The Cost of Sin                                                                                                                                                                

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

David finds himself sinning and asks God to forgive him and the nation of Israel. The prophet Gad came to him and told him to make an altar of sacrifice to the Lord to atone for his sin at a certain place. Coming to the threshing floor of Araunah he asks him to buy his land to make the offering. The man offered to give him the land and see what David said.

2 Samuel 24:24-25       David’s Conviction of Never offering “Cheap” Sacrifice                                                                                                                                             

However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. [25] David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the LORD was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.

God’s requirement was always to bring the best for a sacrificial offering. When Jesus was sent, the same applies.

Hebrews 9:27-28    Jesus Became The Ultimate Sacrifice For Sin                                                                                                                                                                 

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

The point of sacrifice, whether of Old Testament or New Testament, was to deal with rebellion and sin in order to bring us close to God and His ways. The prophet Micah said it best by boiling down to just three things God is after.

Micah 6:8     Three Expectations God Has of Us                                                                                                                                                                                

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

I know I have rushed through this subject quickly and much more detail could have written. My point is to bring to light the missing element so many are embracing when accepting Jesus Christ as our sacrifice. Just because we don’t pay for our forgiveness doesn’t mean God expects nothing more from us. Cheap grace is no grace at all. The apostle Paul put the matter of sacrifice squarely in  front of us and defined our appropriate response for God’s forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

Romans 12:1-2      We Should Live Sacrifically                                                                                                                                                    

 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Questions:

Have you gotten to a place where you take God’s sacrifice for granted?  Humble yourself before God. ( 1 Peter 5:6)

Are there things in your life God is calling you to sacrifice for others? (Ps 20:3)

May the Lord help us not to become consumed with this world but to seek His kingdom first.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Pastor Dale