Daily Grace At Jesus` Feet

January 26, 2010

Living Sacrifices! Or Dead Sacrifices!

“Offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” – Romans 12:1

Apostle Paul is appealing to our will and he calls us to make a choice about the way we live and serve our Living and Loving God. Paul urges us in Romans 12:1: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Leading a life of “living sacrifice” is radical, reasonable, and a logical reciprocation of a Christian for Salvation. It is nothing but a positive response of a Christian to the mercies of God received. When Paul urges us “to offer” or “to present,” it means to lay down our lives before God and yielding ourselves at the feet of God. This clearly means “giving yourself’” and “completely obedient” to Him. In simple terms, “present totally your bodies….a total submission." Apostle Paul appeals us to present our “bodies” and sees “body” as our entire being. All other components like, flesh, mind, heart, spirit, and soul are encapsulated in our “body.” When “body” presented, the whole being is presented and submitted to God. To present your bodies mean submitting “you” and it is not your "work" and "wallet" alone. One can do all the “works” without committing one’s self. Apostle Paul, tells the “why, how and what” of the "offering our lives" to God.

Paul clearly explained “the mercies of God” in his letters to Romans from chapters 1- 11. A quote by Harrison says, “Whereas the heathen are prone to sacrifice in order to obtain mercy, biblical faith teaches that the divine mercy provides the basis of sacrifice as the fitting response.” God gave us great things in our lives, He “Forgave" us from all our Sins, He declared us “Righteous,” He “adopted” us in to His family, He gave us a comforter and a counselor, “Holy Spirit” as a gift, and He gave us the “hope of Eternity.” Therefore, as you have received these blessings, it is your part to “offer your bodies” as a living sacrifice. The “offering our bodies” is to glorify God and he means to engage our lives in the duties of worship, personal devotion, and being committed to our particular calling, and also willing to take sufferings on ourselves for God. It is to sacrificially present our living cells and it is to take pains and bear and live with it if God calls us to do so without complaining and grumbling. It is to deny an unlawful pleasure to please our bodies when comes on our way. Since we are bought out by a price, we are to honor our God through our lives. We read in 2 Corinthians 6:20: “you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” It is to give our time, talent, and treasure and keep burning our lives for God as a living sacrifice. It is to bear and endure hardships when we are mistreated for the sake of Christ.

Betty Stamb and John Stamb were murdered in 1938 by the communist in China. When Betty had the opportunity to deny Christ and leave the country to escape from the death row, she and her husband did not take the offer. They both were beheaded. Betty Stamb wrote a last note: “My life, my love, my friends take second place in my life. Take me, seal me with your Holy Spirit, workout your plans for my life. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

Old Testament (First Covenant) talks about the sacrifices of unwilling animals (Leviticus 1:10). For specific sin, a specific animal was killed and sacrificed. But the New Testament (Second Covenant) calls us to sacrifice our own lives yet as a living sacrifice. We are the temple, priest, and sacrifice in the new covenant. It is surrendering to God’s will even if it hurts our lives to the core for God’s sake. We read in Hebrews 10:8-9:  "First, Christ said, `You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them' (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, `Look, I have come to do your will.' He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.” Apostle Paul got it correctly when he said: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20)."

A pioneer missionary David Livingstone to African continent wrote, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life--these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us.”

Frederick William III (1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 1797 to 1840. During his reign, he found himself in trouble. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances. He couldn't disappoint his people, and to capitulate to the enemy was unthinkable. After careful reflection, he decided to ask the women of Prussia to bring their jewelry of gold and silver to be melted down for their country. For each ornament received, he determined to exchange a decoration of bronze or iron as a symbol of his gratitude. Each decoration would be inscribed, "I gave gold for iron, 18l3." The response was overwhelming. Even more important, these women prized their gifts from the king more highly than their former jewelry. The reason, of course, is clear. The decorations were proof that they had sacrificed for their king. Indeed, it became unfashionable to wear jewelry, and thus was established the Order of the Iron Cross. Members wore no ornaments except a cross of iron for all to see. When Christians come to their King, they too exchange the flourishes of their former life for a cross (Credit: Lynn Jost).

God gave his Son Jesus Christ as a living sacrifice who paid a price for you on Calvary, crucified, dead, buried and resurrected on the third day so he can buy you a free salvation by paying a costly price. Salvation for you is free but it cost Jesus Christ’s life. Are you willing to offer your life as a “living sacrifice”? “No matter how people treat me, no matter how much l lose, no matter how much shame and humiliation, I have to bear, I will stand for a God in my daily walk with Him presenting myself as a living sacrifice,” Will this be your response today? God will greatly honor you as He is greatly honored through your living sacrifice.

"Living God" desires “Living Sacrifice” Not “Dead Sacrifice”!

Prayer: Father I commit my life in to your hands and want to present you myself as a living sacrifice. Help me to bear the pains and lead me for your glory. In Jesus Name….Amen!

May you have a Great Day!