Articles
Sacrifices Today
When one thinks of spiritual sacrifices, they usually turn to the Old Testament. In Old Testament worship, you can read about all the different types of sacrifices that God’s people offered. There were animal sacrifices, food sacrifices, monetary sacrifices and many more. The sacrifices were offered daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and on special days.
Under the new law of Jesus Christ, we are not commanded to offer any of these types of sacrifices. Although they have been taken away from God in the new law, it does not mean Jesus does not expect us to still offer to Him daily sacrifices. Many people live with the idea that a sacrifice to God must be some type of hardship to the one offering the sacrifice. That’s not true as you can see in the sacrifices of Noah. It was not a hardship for him to offer the animals he sacrificed to God. In fact, he brought extra animals on the ark for just that purpose. Now at times it might be a hardship but don’t associate hardship with sacrifices in every case. Sacrifices by God’s people helped them to have a deeper appreciation and thankfulness for all God does for them.
What kind of sacrifices does God want his followers to offer him today?
- Sacrifices of praises to Him - Heb. 13:15
- Sacrifices of doing good - Heb. 13:16. Ex: helping the needy Gal 6:10, assembling with the saints Heb 10:25
- Sacrifices of singing - I Cor. 14:15
- Sacrifices of financial giving - I Tim. 6:17-18 Ex: be generous to the poor and needy, supporting the Lord’s work I Cor. 16:1-2
God may have taken away the old law sacrifices but the new law has exciting new sacrifices to offer. Remember when we sing, pray, do good, give, we are making sacrifices that are acceptable to God. As we perform these regular sacrifices, we must make sure we are not only fulfilling the outward action but our hearts and minds are fully behind these sacrifices. Now let’s all get out and offer sacrifices to God today.
