When we think of sacrifices, we think of giving up something precious to us. For it to be a sacrifice, we must give up something for the benefit of another. A mom sacrifices the opportunity for a career so she can raise her children, so that biblical principles develop their character. In the Old Testament, there were many animal sacrifices made by the Jewish believers. There were burnt offerings where the entire animal was consumed. It was done to show complete devotion to God and to appease God for intentional sins. There were peace offerings, sin offerings, and penalty offerings. Each one is done for specific reasons. This was how the Jews approached God through the ministry of their high priest. With the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, we have a high priest who surpasses all others.
In Hebrews 13:15-16, the writer proclaims we are to offer up the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Our words and our songs should give thanks to Him. The gift He gave us was a sacrifice from Him that can never be matched. He gave us a High Priest who is pure. He has never sinned and never will. He was tempted in every way a man can be, and He never gave in. His love for us is deeper than we will ever experience from anyone. He intercedes for us and carries our requests to the Father. Because of the sacrifices of His Son, we become God’s children and we are also His friends.
When we live in a manner that exalts His Son, it is pleasing to the Father. In verse 16, we are to share with others out of what God has blessed us with. It is so easy to forget the needs of others when we live in a “me first” society. As Christians, we are not to allow the world to influence our concern for others. In Galatians 6:10, we are taught, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
Hebrews 13:15-16 “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. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
At the end of verse 16, the writer tells us these are the sacrifices that God is well pleased with. He is pleased with our praise, our prayers, and our hearts that are broken over sin. The sacrifices of our time and our resources are a demonstration to God and others that our hearts desire to follow His example. His nature is to do good. He is good and therefore everything He does is good.
Think about your own life. What are you doing that could be considered a sacrifice? Do you sacrifice time to stop and be kind to those in a store and pray the Holy Spirit would give you the opportunity to share Christ with them? Do you sacrifice sleeping time to get up before the kids to read, pray, and just spend time with Jesus? Do you make excuses for not studying His word, not enough time, too many distractions, or it is too hard to understand? When you make excuses, all you are saying is that spending time with God is not as important to you as other things. At the same time, we all have things that may hinder our time alone or our witnessing. It should be the exception, not the rule. When you do miss your alone time, it should make you feel desperate to get alone with Him the next time. If you miss seeing your spouse or children, you get anxious when it is time for them to come home. We should be that much more excited and anxious to see God through His word and prayer. I desire to live my life as a pleasing sacrifice to my Lord. There is nothing I can do to repay Him for all He has done for me, and even though it seems so small in comparison to what He did for me, I long to give Him my best.
