The Sacrifice of Obedience – Paul's Ponderings

"A consistent theme that runs through the pages of Scripture is the theme of sacrifice. This is especially obvious in the Old Testament since the Jewish religion depended on the sacrificial system for covenant restoration. The sacrifice that was offered in faith would restore a person or the entire nation to the covenant they had with God.

In the New Testament the focus of sacrifice shifts to Jesus. When Christians talk about sacrifice we are usually talking about the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross so we can be saved. Since we are saved by Jesus’ sacrifice we often over look the sacrifice that we are to make when we follow Jesus.

What sacrifices am I making to follow Jesus?

That is an important question to ponder. Since many of us live in the United States, it is fairly easy to “follow” Jesus. There isn’t much of a cost to being a Christian. We have been spared from harsh physical persecution and we have been blessed with enough money that it isn’t much of a sacrifice to give to support the ministries of our church families."


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Be a Living Sacrifice

{Romans 12:1-2; ESV}

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

What has made the American church ineffective in her mission? Is it not the reality that we have allowed ourselves to be conformed to the world? I am not going to point my finger at anyone else, all I have to do is to look at my own life. A life that I have wasted pursuing movies, video games, sports, and politics. In many areas my life has looked just like any other person of my generation. It is so easy to get sucked into the culture in which we live.

We defend getting sucked into the culture by claiming freedom; “I am free to do this! After all it isn’t a sin.” That maybe true, but I recall the apostle Paul writing something about things being permissible but not being beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23). Just because we are allowed to do something doesn’t mean that we should. What is the benefit of the hundred of hours we have devoted to entertainment? In that time have we served another person or grown in our knowledge and understanding of God? The question we need to ask more often is: What is the benefit of this__________ (activity, possession, entertainment)? Pursue those things that benefit your faith and reject those things that become a distraction. Otherwise we will find ourselves constantly conforming to the ways of the world.

If we take a look at what Paul wrote in Romans 12 we notice something very important. What should jump off the page to us is that sacrifice, offering myself to God as a living sacrifice in response to His mercy and grace, is what helps us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world and instead to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. The reason American Christians are being conformed to the culture, being made in the likeness of the world, is because we have refused to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. If we cannot sacrifice we cannot be transformed; the two go together.

I wonder if the reason we aren’t sacrificing is because God’s mercy and grace mean so little to us? After all Paul says it is because of God’s mercies that we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices. I think many of us want God to save us from our sins so we can pursue the life that we want to live, and we give little or no thought to the life God created us to live. The comfortable life I want to create for myself is more important to me than the faithful, and at times difficult, life God created me to live.

If we are thankful for the grace and mercy of God then that will be reflected in the way we live. Be a living sacrifice, don’t conform to the world, and be transformed into the new person God is creating you to be.

Trust Jesus to Lead the Way

One of my favorite stories in the Gospels is the story of the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30). The reason I like the story is because I believe as American Christians we can identify with the Rich Young Ruler. We may not consider ourselves rich in this country, but we are very rich compared to rest of the world. The greatest stumbling block for us, just as it was for the Rich Young Man, is materialism (measuring the worth and purpose of our lives by the things we have or desire to have).

The Rich Young Man comes to Jesus with a question. The question is: "How can I have eternal life?"  What the Young Man is asking Jesus is how he can be part of God's eternal kingdom.  Jesus responds to the question by explaining to the Young Man that he needed to keep the commandments. In reply the Young Man tells Jesus that he has kept the commandments.  Notice Jesus doesn't challenge him on this point, rather he gives him one more thing to do: sell his possessions and give the money to the poor.  Remember Jesus hung all the commandments on two commands: love God and love your neighbor.  What the Young Man reveals by holding on to his wealth is that he really didn't keep the commandments, he participated in a religion, but true love eluded him.

The Young Man was torn between two desires. He desired the lifestyle that his money gave him, but he also desired to be part of God's Kingdom. The Young Man chose the immediate desire of an easy life rather than the long term desire of following Jesus and being part of the Kingdom Jesus was establishing. The Young Man went away sad because he knew his desire to be part of God's Kingdom would not be met.

I wonder if the Young Man was still alive in 70 AD. Did he witness the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans? Did he experience hunger that no amount of money could fill? Was he one of the rich people who had their bellies slit open as they tried to sneak out of Jerusalem with their riches in their stomach? Did he see the futility of trusting in his wealth and wonder how life would have been different if he had followed Jesus? Whether or not he was doesn't really matter, because his choice led him down the path of the temporary which leads to an ever increasing desire of the things of this world. The sadness he experienced when he left Jesus was the same sadness that had him seeking Jesus. His life was missing something, but he wasn't willing to give up what he knew so he could accept what Jesus had to offer.  He wasn't willing to do what was necessary to fulfill the craving of his soul.

What about you? Is there something in your life that you are hanging on to even though you know there is more to life? Are you having trouble giving up something, even though it is getting in the way of your relationship with Jesus?  Is there something in your life that you have learned to rely on to bring comfort and fulfillment to your life and yet pushes Jesus out? Until we are willing to trust Jesus more than we trust ourselves, or anything else in our lives, we will continue to be frustrated with the direction of our lives.

Following Jesus requires us to live with courage. The first courageous step that we often must take is to give up those things we have trusted to bring us happiness, pleasure, and meaning. It is a scary thing to give up what we comfortable with in order to venture into the unknown.  I want to suggest that we will never know the life God has for us until we do exactly that, trusting Jesus to lead the way to life.

Daily Thought: No Exception Clauses

"And Jesus never left open the option of selective commitment.  There are no exception clauses.  You don't  get to say, 'I follow Jesus—but when it comes to this area of my life, I do things my way.' If you call yourself a Christian, by definition you are committing to following Christ with every area of your life.  It doesn't mean you will follow perfectly, but you can't say, 'I'm a Christian' and then refuse to follow Christ when it comes to certain people or places or practices." ~ Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan, pp. 146-47

Sunday Quote: Only Broken People Worship

"It comes down to this: God's best is available only to those who sacrifice, or are willing to sacrifice, the merely good.  If we are satisfied with good health, responsible children, enjoyable marriages, close friendships, interesting jobs, and successful ministries, we will never hunger for God's best.  We will never worship.  I've come to believe that only broken people truly worship.  Unbroken people—happy folks who enjoy their blessings more than the Blesser—say thanks to God the way a shopper thanks a clerk." ~ Larry Crabb, Shattered Dreams, p. 57

Don't Be Conformed

{Romans 12:1-2; ESV}

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

What has made the American church ineffective in her mission? Is it not the reality that we have allowed ourselves to be conformed to the world? I am not going to point my finger at anyone else, all I have to do is to look at my own life. A life that I have wasted pursuing movies, video games, sports, and politics. In many areas my life looked just like any other person of my generation. It is so easy to get sucked into the culture.

We defend getting sucked into the culture by claiming freedom; “I am free to do this, it isn’t a sin.” That maybe true, but I recall the apostle Paul writing something about things being permissible but not being beneficial (1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23). Just because we are allowed to do something doesn’t mean that we should. What after all is the benefit of the hundred of hours we have devoted to entertainment? Have we served another person? Have we grown in our knowledge and understanding of God? The question we need to ask more often is: What is the benefit of this__________ (activity, possession, entertainment)? Pursue those things that benefit your faith and reject those things that become a distraction. Otherwise we will find ourselves constantly conforming to the ways of the world.

If we take a look at what Paul wrote in Romans 12 we notice something very important. What we should notice is that sacrifice, offering myself to God as a living sacrifice in response to His mercy and grace, precedes not being conformed and being transformed. The reason American Christians are being conformed to the culture, being made in the likeness of the world, is because we have refused to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. If we cannot sacrifice we cannot be transformed; the two go together.

Here is the scary part. The reason we aren’t sacrificing is because God’s mercy and grace mean so little to us. We want God to save us from our sins so we can pursue the life that we want to live, and we give little or no thought to the life God created us to live. The comfortable life I want to create for myself is more important than the life God wants to give me as I live a faithful life.

If we are thankful for the grace and mercy of God then it needs to be reflected in the way we live. Be a living sacrifice. Don’t conform to the world. And be transformed into the new person God is creating you to be.

The Action of Love

The Heart of All Things: Part 3

Jesus came to give us life. The apostle John records this promise of Jesus; The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10; ISV). The promise of Jesus is that we find life, true life, in Him. This life is made real in our lives when we love. We live the life God created us to life when we follow the example of Jesus rather than the example of Cain. The example of Cain, imitating his hatred for his brother, leads to death. The example of Jesus, imitating His sacrificial love for the least important, leads to life. When we love God, by loving our neighbors, true life becomes a part of our lives.

2. The second element of love we have to understand is the action of love:

16 This is how we have come to know love: Christ gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers. 17 Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God remain in him? 18 Little children, we must stop loving in word and in tongue, but instead love in action and in truth. 19 And this is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be able to establish our hearts in his presence. 20 If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything. (1 John 3:16-20; ISV)

John began this section by giving us a negative example of what love is. We are not to follow the example Cain, instead we are to follow the example of Jesus Christ.

What is the example of Jesus when it comes to love? It is the fact that He laid down His life for us. This is the greatest example of love: the laying down of life so others can live. That is what Jesus did.

It seems that John understands that not all of us will be asked to do the supreme action of love (the giving of our physical lives). So John provides us with an example to help us understand how self-sacrifice can be real in our every day lives: we give what we have to help those in need. It is giving to help provide life for others. Jesus certainly did this. There were times when He was tired but when the crowds sought Him out He stayed and taught and healed the sick. The early Christians did this by continuing to preach the Good News of God’s Love and Jesus’ death and resurrection in the face of persecution.

We do this when we give money above and beyond our tithe to help a person with expenses. We do this when we miss a business appointment to spend a few hours with a friend who needs to talk. We do this when we stop and pick up an acquaintance and bring them to worship on Sunday morning.

Love, according to John, is not just about what we say, but it is about what we do. We can say we love people, but if we don’t show love to people, then that shows the world that God’s truth is not part of our lives. There are a lot of people who say they love people, who give to humanitarian causes, but are terrible and hateful to their family. Love isn’t about giving money, but how we treat individuals.

This brings us to a difficult part of the text. What does it mean that our hearts condemn us? Sometimes Satan, trying to disguise himself as the Holy Spirit, will attempt to deceive us with our conscious. He will remind us of the times we were not loving to people or how we might have missed an opportunity to love someone. One of the truths John wants us to know is that our hearts, our conscious, isn’t always right. We need to remember God’s promise to forgive our past sins and our current commitment to love people. Those two things will show us that God accepts us, and He is the ultimate judge of our lives.

What is the action of love? The action of love is self-sacrifice, giving away things that are important to us so that we can improve the quality of life for someone else.

• Point to Ponder: Love is not just about what we say, but it is about what we do.
• Passage to Remember: 1 John 3:16-20
• Question to Consider: How is the love you feel in your heart made real in your life?