A Life of Sacrifice

By Lewis Willis

Sacrifice (thusia) denotes the act of offering, as well as that which is offered (Vine, 313). Christians are not only told that offering is a requirement in their lives, they are even told what to offer. This aspect of the Christian Life will be explored in this article.

The Bible describes religion throughout the ages. A prominent theme in the religion of each dispensation is sacrifice, as we read in the Scriptures of altars, a priesthood, and sacrifices. In the Garden of Eden we are introduced to sacrifice in the sad story of Cain and Abel. The writer of Hebrews, speaking of that time, said: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh” (Heb. 11:4). This tragic incident is one of the first to which children are exposed in their spiritual education. Certainly we all recognize that God had required this sacrifice, otherwise it could not have been offered “by faith.” Faith comes by hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17). Abel was obedient to the word of God spoken to him, and he offered an accept- able sacrifice.

Ten generations later, we read of Noah’s exit from the ark following the flood. The Bible tells us: “And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar” (Gen. 8:20). Noah’s gratitude for the deliverance of his family from the deadly flood was expressed in the form of sacrifices.

Altars of the Mosaic age were stained with the blood of thousands of animals. The temple was dedicated with a host of sacrifices: “And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God” (2 Chron. 7:5). This was the sacrifice for a single occasion! Sacrifices were made throughout the Mosaic dispensation.

We of the Christian age are not surprised, therefore, to learn that we must also offer sacrifice unto God. Paul commanded: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sac- rifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2). In the Book of Hebrews we read: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Heb. 13:15). Peter adds, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

The Sacrifice of the Body

The sacrifice of the Christian Life exceeds the sacrifices of other ages. We are to offer our bodies in sacrifice. One might ask, however, how or why would God require such a sacrifice? Paul answers that question in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Through the price of our redemption, God laid a preeminent claim to our bodies and spirits. We belong to him; we must do as he requires; and he said to present your bodies as living sacrifices to him (Rom. 12:1). To the Christian, this is all the explanation needed to bring forth the sacrifice of the body and spirit unto God.

The sacrifices of the Christian are both spiritual and reasonable (as translated in the KJV). God’s sacrifice in our redemption was his only begotten Son (Rom. 5:8). We do not offer ourselves on a cross or an altar, as physical, bodily sacrifices. Our sacrifices are spiritual in nature. Nothing could be more reasonable for one who has been redeemed at the high cost of the very blood of God’s Son! Hence, there is no argument offered; no hesitancy present; and no resentment over the requirement to offer our bodies as living sacrifices unto God who has been so gracious to us!

Living Sacrifices

 

Many people are willing to offer their dead or nearly dead bodies unto the Lord. In old age, nearing the end of life, they are ready to turn to the Lord. But not while they are young! They want to “sow their wild oats” in their youth. There is no time to serve God as these individuals get established in a career, build their dream homes, and travel at their leisure. But when age begins to creep up on them, when irritating and debilitating diseases begin to announce the end of youth and even life itself, their hearts begin to turn to God. We are thankful to God that they came home to him. However, God wants the sacrifice of youth! He wants the strength and vigor of our early years, as well as the pain and confinement of age. We must offer our bodies —  our lives — to him whom we serve. The great apostle said, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom. 6:13, 16).

Christian, have you given yourself in sacrifice to God? Have you turned your life over to him? Do you serve him first, or must his service be fitted in after you have done everything else you want to do? We must, and we can, make a choice to yield to God. Sin does not control us unless we allow it; unless we give ourselves over to it. God said his people are not to sin (1 John 2:1)! Our sacrifice is to be so complete that we walk away from sin and into a righteous, reasonable service and worship to God who loved us so much that he gave Jesus to die for us! And this says nothing at all about what God continues to do for us daily in giving us “life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25).

Conclusion

Sacrifice is an attitude, a spirit of abject and total surrender to the will of God. When the attitude is present, the service required will be freely rendered. Another article will address the service of the Christian Life. However, absent the sacrifices of our bodies to God, we will never find the time to render the service God requires. Let every child of God examine himself for the presence of a life of sacrifice!

A Life Of Love

By Keith Storment

What is “this thing called love”? Our society bandies about the word “love” with careless abandon. We hear people speak of loving their dogs, their cars, their husbands or wives, and last night’s meal. Folks fall in love, make love, then fall out of love. Did the Bible writers have this in mind when they stressed the importance of love in our lives as Christians? A current song gets very close to the Bible definition of love when it states: “Love isn’t some- thing we’re in — it’s something that we do . . .”

True Love Is Active Goodwill

To arrive at this definition for Bible love, we need only look at love as the Bible writers use the word. The love that God possessed was not a gushy “butterflies in the stomach” emotion. Rather, God’s great love compelled him to act decisively for our salvation (John 3:16).

The love which God has shown us teaches us how to love each other (1 John 4:10-11). As with the love of God, our love is not to be a mushy sentimentalism expressed in flowery words, but an active force in our day-to-day dealings with others (1 John 3:18). Love would move us literally to give our life on behalf of another (v. 16). On a daily basis, love should compel us to put self on the shelf and open ourselves to the physical and spiritual needs of others (v. 17).

So, looking at both human and divine love, we see that love is not an emotion we fall into and out of. Rather, love makes a conscious decision to do what is best for others without regard for their worthiness or our personal cost. True love, biblical love, sees the needs of others and acts to meet those needs, if at all possible. As another popular song states, “Love doesn’t count the cost.”

Who Should We Love?

Matthew 22 provides a good outline on whom we are to love. Asked to name the supreme law, Jesus replied with the Old Testament command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind ” (vv. 35-37). Jesus then ranked a second command along with this paramount duty: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 39). According to Jesus, human love knows three primary objects: God, our fellow man, and ourselves. We need to make certain we observe the right priority in loving each of these. Many spiritual problems arise in our lives when we place the interests of self or others ahead of pleasing God.

God: The Object of My Supreme Love

While on earth, Jesus taught that we must love him so strongly and deeply that the fondest of earthly loves becomes hatred by comparison. Otherwise we cannot be his disciples (Luke 14:26). But how can we show our love for God? After all, God does not need anything from us in the sense that he will be impoverished if we fail to provide it (Acts 17:24-25).

We demonstrate our love for God by placing the things of God supreme in our priorities. When I seek the kingdom of God (his church) and her interests first (Matt. 6:33), I am showing my love for God. When I love the word of God (Ps. 119:97), when I study, meditate, and learn from the Scriptures, when I seek opportunities to teach the gospel to others, when I am willing to defend the truth against its foes, I am evidencing the deep, supreme love I have for God. If I truly love God, I will seek to learn his will and obey that will in all things (1 John 5:2, 3).

Loving My Neighbor: The Secondary Objects of My Love

Who are my neighbors? Are they just the people who live next door to me? Are they only those people who are just like me, with whom I share a bond of common inter- ests, likes and dislikes? When a certain lawyer asked this question of Jesus, he turned the question around, and in one of his best known illustrations taught us to consider to whom we should be a neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-36). In the same way, the neighbor we are to love is anyone whose needs we are in a position to meet. Specifically, we are to love our fellow Christians. Jesus commands us to “love one another” (John 13:35). Paul strove to show the Corinthians this “more excellent way” (1 Cor. 13:30). Husbands are commanded to love their wives (Eph. 5:25), and wives should be taught to love their husbands (Tit. 2:4). Difficult as it may seem, Jesus even commands us to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44). This would be almost impossible to do if love were a warm, fuzzy feeling. We all would have a difficult time feeling warm and fuzzy about someone who has inflicted (or sought to inflict) some injury upon us. But if we understand love’s biblical meaning of active goodwill to others, then we all can strive to do good even for those who hate us (Rom. 12:19-21).

Loving Myself: The Final Object of Love

Are we really to love ourselves? Just recently in a letter to the editor of a religious publication, a man said he “found no command in the entire Bible to love myself.” He writes that to teach love of self contradicts Paul’s statement in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 that one of the marks of the last days is those who are “lovers of self.” Certainly this passage presents some difficulties to the concept of loving self, and needs to be dealt with. But first, is there no command to love self in the entire Bible? It depends on how hard one is willing to look.

If one is seeking a specific passage that explicitly says, “You shall love yourself,” I agree. To the best of my knowledge, no such passage exists. But God certainly implies that we are to love ourselves. The Lord commands us to “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt. 22:39). But if I am not to love myself at all, how am I to love my neighbor? Paul commands husbands to “love their own wives as their own bodies” (Eph. 5:28). Again, if self-love is completely forbidden, how are husbands to love their wives? The same verse goes on to say “he who loves his own wife loves himself.” So perhaps husbands ought to stop loving their wives since that’s the same as loving themselves, and we all know how bad that is!

So by implication, God does command us to love our- selves. Now, have we found a contradiction with 2 Timothy 3:2 that condemns loving self? We find one solution in the lexicons where the word “love” in 2 Timothy 3:2 is not the same word “love” used in Matthew 22. We find the best solution in the context. In verse 5, Paul uses the phrase “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” The phrase “lovers of pleasure” is identical in construction to all the other “loves” condemned in this passage. Paul now pinpoints what is wrong with each one of them. We do not sin in just loving money, self, or pleasure. We sin when we love these things more than we love God. When we take one or all of these things and make them our substitute god, we fail to observe the proper order in our love: God must rank supreme over all other loves in our lives, including the love of self.

How can I properly love self? I must not allow selfishness and greed to rule my life, but I do need to cherish and protect the life God has given me. Love demands that I sacrifice my life if faithfulness to God demands it. Love asks that I be willing to lose my life in protecting the life of another. But I certainly should not recklessly cast my life away either by suicide or by indulging in those practices that I know will endanger my health.

Love plays a critical role in the life of the Christian. The immeasurable, indescribable love of God has made it possible for us to have this wonderful life. With the thought of serving God ever foremost in our minds, we should reach out in love to those around us, seeking to meet their need for salvation through the gospel, and in all things seek to emulate Jesus in “going about doing good” (Acts 10:38).

A Life of Faith

By Lewis Willis

Defining the Christian Life is critical. We must know what God prescribed as the essence of that life, noting especially the defining features and attributes of each aspect of it. In this article we shall focus on A Life Of Faith.

Personal Faith

Stay with me for just one moment as I attempt to explain something important on this matter.

The Bible sometimes uses faith in the sense of what I believe. This is the faith of Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” One cannot deny that faith is an essential part of the Christian Life. My faith must be properly placed, but I must have faith! In Hebrews 11:1, the writer explains: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I need some basis for living my life; I need something upon which to build my life; I need a foundation. That foundation is my faith in the faith of the Lord, and this all the evidence I need to make the choices I have to make in Christ. Paul explains, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

The Faith — The Gospel

The word faith is used in another sense — to refer to the doctrine of Christ. In Galatians 2:19-20, Paul wrote: “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” How did Paul live before? He said he lived by the Law. “How do you live now, Paul?” He said, “I live by the faith of the Son of God.” He is not telling us that he lived by what Jesus believed. He is saying he lived by the gospel, the faith of the Son of God.

Now, these two ideas — personal faith and the faith — are not mutually exclusive; they go together. When saying that the Christian Life is a Life of Faith, we simply mean that we must have personal faith in the doctrine of faith.

Faith-Based

Occasionally we hear someone say that the Christian Life is faith-based. What this means is that faith is its foundation. You take personal faith out of your life and it is a shell. In like manner, when you take the gospel of faith out of it, it is even more useless. I don’t want that to happen to me because I know without faith I am lost! Thus, I must understand the importance of living A Life of Faith. How is this done? What is the nature of that Life of Faith?

The Meaning of a Faith-Based Life

The remainder of this article will identify some of the specific aspects of faith in the life of a Christian.

1. Children of God by Faith. Paul wrote, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27). Paul is not writing about what these Galatians believed. He is talking about this system of faith that he had preached to them, which came by Jesus Christ. By the direction of that system of faith — as an expression of their personal faith — they were baptized into Christ and became sons of God. Now what does sonship mean? What does it mean when the prayers of God’s children go up to him? Do you realize that there are people all over the world praying to God? But Peter says the eyes and ears of the Lord are only over the righteous (1 Pet. 3:12). Are they praying? Oh yes, they pray. But God only hears the prayers of his children; those who become children by faith in Christ Jesus!

2. The Household of Faith. In Galatians 6:10, Paul says, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” The gospel and our mutually shared faith bring us together, framing and forming us into the household of faith. Furthermore, Paul explains that the household of faith is: “. . . the house of God, which is the church of the living God . . .” (1 Tim. 3:15). Many people think they are in the household of faith; the church, even though they do not know the truth about the church. They have been told that denominationalism is the household of faith. However, there is not a shred of evidence that the division, confusion, and hostility of denominationalism comprise the household of faith. We must trust the gospel enough to obey it, then God puts us into his family.

3. Established in Faith. Paul told the Colossian church of blessings awaiting it, “. . . if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel . . .” (Col. 1:23). He is not telling this church simply to continue in whatever they might believe, but to continue in the faith, the gospel. Christians must be grounded or settled in the faith. We must not allow ourselves to be moved away from the gospel. Perhaps the saddest things we deal with in the church are Christians who fall away from the faith. Let’s be honest, there are circumstances that test every ounce of our faith, and we will also be overthrown unless there is depth and root to our faith. We will only be as strong as our faith is strong! Our regard for the gospel of the Lord will determine whether or not we remain faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10).

4. We Must Stand in the Faith. Paul exhorted the Philippians to “. . . stand fast in one spirit, . . . striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27). Are you in your place, standing where you are supposed to stand? Does the church stand as a mighty army, ready to take on the forces of evil? Or, are there breaches in the lines caused by wavering Christians with sinking courage?

5. We Must Contend for the Faith. Jude said, “. . . earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). I can remember a time in the church when an assault of error against truth would have been met with a ready band of Christians, contending for the faith. Brethren offered no apology when someone preached the truth, exposing false religion that will damn the soul.

But, today we are too nice for that! Why, we might offend someone! We need to put the fight back into faith. Paul told us to fight the good fight of faith; only by doing so will we lay hold on eternal life! (1 Tim. 6:12).

6. We Must Preach the Faith. It was said of Paul, “. . . he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed” (Gal. 1:23). Must preachers and Bible-class teachers preach or teach that gospel today? Oh yes! Could there be an obvious reason why we do not baptize people today as we used to? To baptize people, they must be taught (Matt. 28:19). The less teaching we do, the fewer we baptize. Pretty simple, isn’t it?

7. Faith Saves the Soul. The Hebrew writer said we must be among those “. . . that believe to the saving of the soul” (Heb. 10:39). When personal faith in the gospel produces obedience, then we believe to the saving of our soul. It’s that simple, folks!

8. We are Kept by Faith. Paul said that he had “. . . kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). As a result, a crown of life was laid up for him, and for us, if we will also be kept by faith. Peter speaks of an incorruptible inheritance for those “. .

. who are kept by the power of God through faith” (1 Pet. 1:4-5). What does this mean? The meaning is, we are kept in safety; kept where we are supposed to be; kept in the sense of sustaining us in trial and tribulation. God keeps us! How does he do that? He keeps us through our personal faith in the faith, the gospel.

Conclusion

The Christian life is a life of faith; it is faith-based! Make no apology for your faith. You have nothing for which to apologize. Rejoice in your faith; share your faith; keep the faith, and God will keep you. That’s what he promised to do. I like the sound of that! I can pillow my head at night in blessed assurance, because of faith. Do you have that faith?

A Changed Life

By Jim Walsh

Paul wrote, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17). He also wrote that when one is baptized into Christ’s death, he is resurrected to a new life (Rom. 6:4). Think about what it’s like to get something new — something that doesn’t wear out anytime soon. Having something that’s new makes us feel good. There is even an emotional change. The problem with new things is that they never stay new. All too soon they become old and begin to decay, as does all life. Peter helps us with this problem by reminding the Christian that this new life is to be a changing life. In 1 Peter 4:1-4, he wrote that several things need to happen if this change is to be permanent. (1) Our new life has to be a life that changes in thought by following the mind of Christ (4:1). (2) Our new life must be a life that changes in desire, by obeying the will of God (4:2). (3) Our new life must be a life that changes in activities, by refusing to lust after the flesh 4:3). (4) Our new life must also change in direction, by no longer walking after the world (4:4). Beginning The Changed Life

First, we must understand what new means: it means a new beginning. When we obey the gospel, we start with a clean slate; our sins are forgiven. God promises to remove our sins and our iniquities and “. . . remember them no more” (Heb. 8:12). This means that our forgiveness is complete and absolute. God is not holding on to any of our sins. He has removed them and treats us as if they never existed. We need to have the same attitude toward past sins. We  need to forget them and not carry the chains of guilt over past sins. Christ died and shed his blood so that we might have the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14). Do we believe in the power of Christ’s blood to do as he promised? If so, then we need to realize that when we become Christians, God removes all of our sins.

Also, we need to see our new relationship with God as an ongoing one. In his first epistle, John mentions that our relationship can continue with God, so long as we continue to do his will. John wrote, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Our relationship with God is conditional upon our remaining obedient to him. God has given us our start in this new life by removing our sins. We must do our part by keeping away from sin. In so doing, we maintain our fellowship with God, Christ, and other Christians. If we sin, we must repent in order for God to remove our sin and keep us in this new life (1 John 1:9). God’s promise then is that faithfulness and repentance from sin maintain this new relationship.

In addition, we need to appreciate that this is a new relationship only if it is “in Christ.” This means that there is no relationship outside of Christ because there is no forgiveness outside of Christ. When we become Christians by baptism, we are placed “into Christ” (Rom. 6:3). Before being in Christ, we are separated from God. We are placed into Christ by baptism. In this act of obedience, our old life is “crucified” and “buried” (Rom. 6:4). Why resurrect the old and dead when Christ gives me the new and living? It is only “in Christ” that we can have freedom from the condemnation that was the consequence of sin (Rom. 8:1). Therefore, God equates our being in Christ with being alive. We are truly new creatures because God has created us anew, and put us in a place where he say that everything is good. That place is in Christ.

Maintaining the Changed Life

Change will not be complete if we are not committed to that change. We will not experience the full appreciation of the freedom that is in Christ if we keep trying to leave him and go back to the old way of sins. What are some ways we might fail to realize a complete change?

1. When one does not continue to purify himself with God’s word. Peter instructs us to “. . . purify your souls . . . not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God” (1 Pet. 1:22, 23). Too often, people do not treat God’s word as the purifying agent it is. He provided it to guard and preserve us. Those who embrace the changed life are to depend fully upon God’s word to maintain their new life. There is nothing else that can instruct man in how to purify one’s soul because there is nothing else in this world that is free from decay and corruption. God’s word comes from him. It comes from him who is everlasting. It is ever- lasting. As Peter wrote, it “. . . liveth and abideth forever” (1 Pet. 1:23). We can only remain free from corruption by continuing to purify ourselves with God’s word.

2. When one does not appreciate the process of removal and replacement. When we turn from the old, we must discard it to make room for the new. Paul instructed the Philippians to “. . . put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the Spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteous- ness and true holiness” (Phil. 4:22-24). Paul said to put off that old man, to get rid of him. Too often we hold onto the old man. We treat the old man of sin like the mad doctors treated vampires in old horror movies; they kept digging them up! God instructs us to be holy as he is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). God considered those under the Old Covenant as unclean if they came in contact with the dead (Num. 19:11). Why go back to the old man and become unholy by coming in contact with that which is dead? God removed the old man when we were baptized into Christ (Rom. 6: 4). Leave the dead alone and live in Christ as a new man.

3. The changed life requires regular self-examination. Paul reminds us that we must examine ourselves to make sure we are staying in Christ (2 Cor. 13:5). We are to examine ourselves against the standard of God’s word. If we are not measuring up to what God would have us to be, then we need to complete the change we began. Failure to continue to examine ourselves, and to grow and change to comply with God’s word, will cause us to fall (2 Pet. 1:3-12).

This is where Peter’s admonition in 1 Peter 4:1-4 applies. We must compare ourselves to Christ in thought, desire, activity, and direction. We must have the same mind as Christ. We must have the same desires as Christ in obeying the Father’s will. We must have the same activity as Christ, living according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Finally, we must set the same course as the Captain of our salvation: the course for Heaven.

Conclusion

A new life has been made available to us in Jesus Christ. We begin this new life without sin being held against us. God recreates us as if we are brand new. He has given us his incorruptible word to help guide us beyond this corruptible world. His plan of redemption places us in his Son, Jesus Christ, so that we can continue to be renewed. He has provided everything. All we need to do is follow him. What a loving Father, and what a wonderful Savior!