Bible Studies

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Romans 12:1 – “Therefore, I urge you in light of God’s mercy to offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – for this is genuine worship.”

Thesaurus Fun:

Offer – give, present, submit
Worship – adoration, love, reverence, respect, devotion

Be a Living Sacrifice

God has done so much for us. He has removed our sin far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), He has given us a new heart of flesh and blood (Ezekiel 11:19 ), He has given us a new nature (Colossians 3:10), and thereby made us a new creation altogether - in Him (2 Cor. 5:17). He has restored us into a relationship with Him and has given us genuine and lasting life by giving us Himself. How can we respond to such love and mercy and grace? By offering ourselves back to Him – completely, wholeheartedly, and unreservedly; to be as Scripture says, “a living sacrifice.” Let’s look at two kinds of sacrifice in the old testament. First, there was the sacrifice for sin, which was to be a bull, goat, or lamb with nothing wrong with it (Leviticus 4). It had to be perfect. This sacrifice is representative of Jesus who is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He was the only possible sacrifice to truly cleanse us of our sins. We cannot offer ourselves for this, but we must depend entirely on Jesus Christ to cleanse us and make us acceptable to God.

The other kind of sacrifice presented was a fellowship offering. This offering was firstly an animal of the same sort as the sacrifice for sin, but added to it was an offering of leavened and unleavened (without yeast) bread mixed with olive oil (which represents anointing for service and dedication). Throughout Scripture, God’s people are often referred to as wheat or some other grain (Matthew 13:24-30&36-43, Luke 3:17). Jesus is “the bread of Life” (John 6:35&48), so this could represent that we come to God in fellowship through Christ’s sacrifice (as the lamb) and by offering ourselves (the grain or wheat) in and through Christ (the bread). Therefore, we are to offer ourselves in fellowship and service to God out of thanksgiving and as the most genuine kind of worship possible.

These days, we tend to think of worship as certain kinds of songs we sing and certain emotions that we might feel. These things have their place, but if they are not accompanied by true submission to God and an offering of the entire person to be used in God’s service and for His glory, then any other supposed “worship” is empty and therefore is not holy or pleasing to God. As Scripture says, “These people honor Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me. (Isaiah 29:13)”. We must offer ourselves to God out of love and devotion toward God because of His love and mercy toward us. We are to offer ourselves to God out of reverence and respect for God because He is the One true God, almighty and sovereign. In view of these things, how can we do other than give ourselves entirely to God? Any time someone serves or follows God any less than whole heartedly, it is because they do not see God rightly. He deserves all that we can give because of what He does for us (in salvation and other daily mercies, and in the sufficiency of His grace in so many ways that we may not even be aware of) and because of who He is (a God of love and grace, mercy and kindness, justice and power, holy and clothed with majesty and glory.).

Point to Ponder

How much of yourself do you offer to God on a daily basis for His service and glory? Do you realize that you can (and should) be doing this with every part of your life and not simply the “religious” parts? As Scripture says, “do everything to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)”. Are you ready to offer more or even all of your life to God to be used by Him every minute of every day? If not, do you think that it might be that you lack a clear and true vision of who God is and what He does for His children?
Try reading these passages: Romans 5:8, Matthew 1:21, Colossians 1:14,
Genesis 1:1&14:2, Isaiah. 4:5, Deuteronomy 7:8

May we pray, “God, our heavenly Father, thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace that You show us. Lord, help us to remember, keep in mind, and see clearly all that You do for us, through us, and in us. Reveal to us Your holiness, glory, and power that we would be in awe of You. As You reveal Yourself to us, move our hearts with worship, adoration, devotion, and reverence. Help us see how right and good it is to offer all of ourselves and our lives to You. Help us to completely surrender to You, holding nothing back. Help us to live only for You and Your glory every day even if we don’t see it at the time. May this be our constant prayer: ‘God, live though me for Your glory every moment of every day for the rest of my life.’. Thus, may everything we do be an act of worship that is holy and pleasing to You. We thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have been reconciled to You (2 Cor. 5:18) – having been cleansed from our sins and having received a new nature – and by whom we now enter into fellowship with You by His sacrifice and by offering ourselves as a sacrifice that lives and yet is fully consecrated and devoted to You. Thank You for being who You are. To You be all glory and honor, dominion and power, now and forever! Amen.”

See these songs: Creator Redeemer, An Offering to You

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