Hebrews 13:15,16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
The book of Hebrews is probably the most jewish of New Testament books. The death of Jesus is described as the final sin offering. As that day was lived out on earth thousands of years ago, the writer showed how it played out spiritually in the real Holy of Holies, the altar in Heaven. In that Jesus was the high priest who was sprinkling blood on the heavenly altar. The grand plan of the bible was fulfilled. Now that it is finished what is the believer to do when it comes to sacrifices? They were once an important part of their worship. There was the yearly sacrifice for sin, but then there were other lesser sacrifices. The sacrifice for sin is forever done. Today’s passage answers the question about what place sacrifices play. We are asked to give the sacrifice of praise and to do good and share with others. In a sense these summarize the Ten Commandments. One part deals with our love for God and the other part deals with our love for people. The sacrifice of praise is our present duty. It’s not to gain salvation, but our appropriate response. It’s like a parent training a child to say thank you. It’s first modeled, but should become natural. The act of salvation was epic. The things He does for us daily make fresh our sacrifice of praise. Even difficulties are meant to be blessings. We would be in awe if we saw the wisdom of it. It’s also to proclaim His name; to tell others of his goodness. The second sacrifice is to do good and share with others. While our nature is to self serve, we were raised to consider others. God brings that to a new level. It’s a blessing to them and oddly enough a huge blessing to us. We can’t out-give God. He floods our lives with goodness as we give. While these are called sacrifices, they are in integral part of our christian experiences. It’s like comparing a running river to a stagnant pond. The more we sacrifice, the more the life of God flows. Lord, help us to participate in these sacrifices with a glad heart.