A Living Sacrifice Romans 11:33-12:8 

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as a sacrifice to God, that we might live for Him.

Today we’re going to talk about living our lives as a spiritual sacrifice. 

Paul says in our Epistle, I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

In Old Testament times, there was an elaborate sacrificial system that was at the heart of Jewish belief and worship. 

This system was thriving at the time of Jesus, although, sadly, it had become tainted with corruption. 

In 70 AD the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army, and the  sacrificial system never recovered.

But there was another reason for the disintegration of the Jewish sacrificial system, not a political or military reason, but a spiritual reason -- because the Messiah, in obedience to God, fulfilled all the sacrificial commands of the Old Testament by sacrificing Himself on the cross, the perfect and complete sacrifice for sin. 

All the sacrifices of the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus.

In the Old Testament there were 5 kinds of sacrifices or offerings; Jesus fulfilled them all. 

1) The burnt offering, where an animal would be slaughtered and then completely consumed by fire, entirely given to God. This symbolized total obedience to God. 

Jesus fulfilled this sacrifice by living a holy, sinless life, and then offering His perfect obedience to God in our place by giving his life on the cross.

2) The grain or cereal offering, made up of grain or flour or oil or incense. Some was burned, given to God, and some went to the priest to provide for his family. 

This offering was a recognition of God’s goodness and provision. So the offerings we give today are a response to God’s grace and goodness. Jesus died to win God’s grace and goodness for the world.

3) The peace or fellowship offering, an animal and bread were shared in a meal by the party offering it and the priest. Then everything leftover was given to God as a burnt offering. 

In the Old Testament, sharing a meal symbolized friendship and good will. This sacrifice symbolized being at peace and in fellowship with God and one another. 

The priest represented God in the meal. Jesus, the great high priest, as He’s called in Hebrews, reconciled us to God with His sacrifice on the cross. Being reconciled with God helps us to be reconciled and at peace with each other.

When Jesus was born, the spiritual peace He would bring was proclaimed by the angels, who said, Glory be to God on High, and on earth, peace, good will toward man.

Jesus died so we could live at peace with God and one another, now on earth, and live in perfect peace and joy with God and one another forever in heaven. 

4) The sin or purification offering, an animal or some flour. This was to admit sin and to receive forgiveness and cleansing. Jesus was a sin offering on the cross, to win our forgiveness. 

Now, believing in Him, as we repent and confess our sins, we receive His Absolution, His forgiveness to live by. 

In Baptism, we’re cleansed by the Holy Spirit, and our sins are washed away. 

In the Lord’s Supper, we receive the bread and wine, and in it, Jesus’ very body and blood, for our forgiveness. 

Note the similarity to the Old Testament animal and cereal sacrifices; from the animals the blood, and the cereal, the bread. It all fits together in Jesus and what He does for us and gives to us in this Sacrament.

5) The guilt or reparation offering, a ram or a lamb, plus reparations. This was an admission of guilt and making things right after wrongly harming someone. 

The animal sacrifice would make it right with God, and the harmed party would receive money or a gift to make things right for them. And the priest would broker the agreement.

Jesus, again, is the great high priest, who made things right between us and God through His death and resurrection; and He calls us to be responsible and make things right with one another.

Looking at these sacrifices, we can see some overlap between them. Sometimes people made multiple sacrifices, always starting with the sin offering, first being cleansed and forgiven, and then moving to the other kinds of sacrifices. 

In Jesus, on the cross, all these sacrifices were made at once and perfectly fulfilled. Now, believing in Jesus, we receive the blessings from God that His sacrifice won for us. 

As all the Old Testament sacrifices were made, they were consumed by fire, or by eating, or given away. So they were all dead or gone.

Jesus’ life was consumed on the cross; He died and shed his blood. But unlike any of the millions upon millions of sacrifices that were made before Him, He came back. He rose, and He lives, and continues to love us.

Now, Jesus is the living or surviving sacrifice. That’s how He’s portrayed in  Revelation 5, as a Lamb, looking like it had once been slain, but is somehow alive.

Because Jesus sacrificed and fulfilled all for you, and now lives for you, you can live for Him. Paul says in our Epistle, Present your bodies, therefore, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

We’re called to treat our bodies as holy and redeemed, not existing for the purpose of sin and selfish pleasure, but for the purpose of honoring God, and serving others.

That’s what Paul calls our spiritual worship, a life that’s lived to the glory of God and for the good of our neighbor. 

That’s the sacrifice that pleases God. And that’s the reason we’re here and alive, to honor our God and love our neighbor.

The Old Testament sacrifices are over and done with, all taken care of by Jesus. Now the life we live is our sacrifice to God. 

Like the burnt offering signified total obedience, so we strive to live our lives in complete devotion to God, dedicating all that we are and have to Him.

Like the grain offering showed gratitude for God’s blessings, so we live our lives in gratefulness to God, and charity toward others.

Like the peace offering, we live at peace with God through Jesus, and we strive to be at peace with others, treating them with love and respect.

Like the sin offering, so we live in God’s forgiveness, and we forgive those who sin against us.

Finally, like the guilt or reparation offering, we live a life made right with God in Christ, and we try to live responsibly, and make things right with others.

May your life always be lived as an offering to God. There’s no better way to live. 

There’s nothing better to do with your life, than to honor God, and treat your neighbor right.

And as you live for God and serve your neighbor, may the offering of peace, won for you on the cross, always guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, our loving Lord, who sacrificed all for us. Amen.