THE RIGHT SACRIFICES

Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD. Psalm 4:5

Our flesh views the sacrifices of saints in a perverse way. The corruptions of our flesh want us to believe that when we put to death “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5), or put away “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk” (Col 3:8), that we are sacrificing unto God or serving Christ. These are not right sacrifices before the Lord. Many of us recognize that this Old Testament command is not a discarded truth, as the Christian life is a living sacrifice that is holy, acceptable, and reasonable service unto God in Christ (Rom 12:1).What is a right sacrifice? It should seem obvious, but to recognize the right sacrifice, we must go to the best Sacrifice, which was the perfect precious Treasure of heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ’s ultimate sacrifice was certainly offered upon Calvary’s tree, consumed by the fire of God’s wrath, weighed down by the guilt of our sins and transgressions, dying in our stead, and shedding His precious blood for our undeserved forgiveness; however, His sacrifice on the cross was a once-and-for-all sacrifice, which we need not, nay, must not dishonor by attempting to duplicate. Before the cross, however, Jesus offered His very life unto God as the perfect sacrifice in all that He thought, said, and did. We are grateful He has done so, because His righteousness, that we can never live up to, has been placed upon our account when once we trusted in Him by grace through faith. Yet, His life models for us the blessedness of true sacrifice, by prayer, thanksgiving, intimately knowing and living God’s Word, fellowship with believers; these are just a few of the living sacrifices, right sacrifices, which not only bless the Lord, but also shape our lives so that the earthliness mentioned above is put to death and put away by our prayer, thanksgiving, intimacy with God’s Word, fellowship with believers, etc, because it is by this sacrifice, which is accomplished by God’s grace, we are able to trust the Lord and be transformed to a heavenly image, and not being conformed to the world (Rom 12:2).

=======

Today's M'Cheyne Reading Schedule: 4/2 - Lev 5; Psa 3-4; Prov 20; Col 3

If you don’t have one, get a free PDF copy of Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s “Daily Bread” Bible Reading Calendar by Clicking Here.

=======