SACRIFICE

SACRIFICE

Passage: Hebrews 10: 1 – 10 (ASV)

“1 For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer continually, make perfect them that draw nigh. 2 Else would they not have ceased to be offered? because the worshipers, having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance made of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, But a body didst thou prepare for me; 6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure: 7 Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of the book it is written of me) To do thy will, O God. 8 Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law), 9 then hath he said, Lo, I am come to do thy will. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”.

Memory Verse: Ephesians 5:2 (NKJV)

“And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”.

To sacrifice means to make an offering, offer something or to give up something precious for the use or benefit of another. Throughout Scriptures, sacrifice are seen from the era of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.

During the time of Moses, God gave clear instructions and specification on how various sacrifices were to be offered. The central ideas these various sacrifices carried were;

·       Consecration: to make the people Holy before God.

·       Expiation: for the people to show regret of their sins.

·       Propitiation: to please God.

In this study, much will be focused on Jesus’ sacrifice, the sacrifice of a disciple, God’s value for sacrifice and place of love in sacrifice.

Jesus’ Sacrifice

“By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”. (Hebrews 10:10 ASV).

All sacrifices in the Old Testament were shadows which pointed to the reality and good things that happened in the New Testament, thus, CHRIST JESUS.

In the Old Testament, when man sinned, he was held captive and imprisoned by sin, thus, sin became his nature; came under God’s wrath and face eternal damnation (Ephesian 2:3).

The problem of sin had to be dealt with and it was only through sacrifice, thus the shedding of blood. Therefore the Blood of Christ Jesus was more powerful and efficacious in dealing with the problem of sin entirely and also led to the appeasing of God’s wrath. This only happened when Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all men (1 Timothy 2:6). Jesus’ offering of Himself was God’s Will and by doing that Will, we believers have been sanctified, thus, made holy. In effect, what the Old Testament sacrifices that were offered yearly could not do, Jesus Christ did in sacrificing Himself.

The Disciple’s Sacrifice

“Peter said to Him, We have left everything to follow you”. (Mark 10: 28 NIV).

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”. (Luke 14: 26 – 27 NIV).

To take up the cross meant to carry one’s cross to the place of crucifixion. Many Galileans had been killed that way by the Romans. Jesus’ audience was well aware of what it meant to carry one’s own cross. When the Romans led a criminal to the crucifixion site, the criminal was forced to carry the cross on which he would be die. This showed the criminal’s submission to Rome and warned observes that they better submit too. Jesus made this statement to get the disciples and crowd to think through their enthusiasm for Him. He encouraged those who wanted to be His disciples to submit totally. With this word, He also painted a clear picture and a challenging description of the Christian life. Being His disciple means putting aside all selfish desires,, forsaking all, shouldering one’s cross every day and following Him.

This is simple but yet very demanding. For the original twelve, this meant literal suffering and death. For today believers, it means understanding that we belong to Him and that we live to serve His purposes.

The sacrifice expected of a disciple of Jesus is that of leaving everything or giving up everything. This is not to say the disciple does not live his family or not work hard to acquire material possession but what it means that he preferred Jesus above things being his family, possessions or even their own life.

This implies that, if at any point in time, following Jesus demands that the disciple abandons all that he has including both relations and possessions, he is willing to do so. That is the kind of sacrifice that we as believers are to make.  We must walk with the mindset that all we have was given by God and we must be willing to give them up anything He demands us to do so. In essence, we must prioritize the services of God above all things.

God’s value for sacrifice

Sacrifice is one act that moves God so much, however, not just any sacrifices moves God but one that is offered in obedience to His command. This is seen in the case of some great men of Old such as Noah (Genesis 8:20 – 21), Abraham (Genesis 22: 1 – 18) and David (2 Samuel 24: 10 – 25).

It can be seen that though God is sovereign and would have done what He intended to do anyway, at certain times, He chose to do them after sacrifices were offered to Him. The people who sacrifice in obedience creates the right atmosphere to receive from God. When many people hear the word sacrifice, it normally conveys the idea of losing something, but one thing we must understand is that sacrifice to God is not a loss but rather a gain and anytime we sacrifice to God be it ourselves or our substance, the reward is very great.

Also, a personal willingness to offer a sacrifice to God is highly cherished by God. These have been times in the Bible when people have given what they have unto God for the furtherance of His course. An example, is the church of Thessalonica as Paul made mention in Philippians 4, where the church gave all they could for the welfare of the servant of the Lord, hence His (God’s) course. Another is when the disciple gave up all they had to follow the master. These sacrifice were not explicitly an act of obedience to God but out of a self-will mainly proceeding from an expression of faith and love towards God. This really pleases God and attracts a great deal of blessings.

The place of Love in sacrifice

“And walk in love, as Christ also loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”. (Ephesians 5:2 NKJV).

In the Old Testament, sacrifices that were offered by people whose heart were not right with God was not acceptable in the sight of God and this is confirmed also in the New Testament. In the sacrificing to God, not only is the sacrifice important, but the deposition of the heart giving in the sacrifice is also important. The best deposition of the heart in offering sacrifices is love and God will no wide reject a sacrifice made out of love.

All that believers do now is supposed to be governed by love. We can give up some things for God without love and in the same way we can even give up our bodies to be burnt for our brethren without love (1 Corinthians 13:1). That however, should not be the case. Love should be the basis for all our actions.

From our verse above, it can be seen that, Christ first loved us and gave Himself to God for us. We must also follow this pattern – “Love first and then give ourselves”. Sacrifice is a vital aspect of the Christian walk. Christians sacrifice is not that of expiation or propitiation but a sacrifice of consecration. We are to agree with the hymnist and say that,

“Take my life and let it be, Consecrated Lord to Thee, Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise”.

#The_Grace_Factor

#Prayer_Factory

#Redefining_The_Church