What the Bible says about Devoting Life to Sacrifice
(From Forerunner Commentary)
As the great and almighty Sovereign of the universe, the Father was positioned to dictate how He would work out the purpose He envisioned, bringing many sons and daughters into His Family. In His love for us, He chose to set the supreme example by sacrificing what He loved most "that the world through Him might be saved" (verse 17).
And His Son did the same. Philippians 2:5-7 informs us that the One who became Jesus Christ did not cling possessively to His power, glory, and equality with God, but readily consented to humble Himself to be incarnated as a lowly servant, a human being. Beyond that, "being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself [again] and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:8). As He told the Jews in Capernaum, He would sacrifice His flesh, His precious life, "for the life of the world" (John 6:51). To cover the sins of those who would believe in Him and provide access to the Father—and thus a relationship with Him—Christ, in faith, was willing to give up everything.
The Father and the Son have not been the only ones to sacrifice. In the long history of God's people, sacrifice has been a constant. Abel and Enoch both gave their lives for God's way and truth. Noah sacrificed many years and his reputation to build the ark, not to mention all the relationships with relatives and friends that were lost under the waters of the Flood. Abraham sacrificed his home in Ur to live in tents, and then God required him to slay his heir, Isaac, the son of promise. In Abraham, we not only have a type of God the Father's own sacrifice, but we also have the supreme example of sacrifice among God's people. He is "the father of all those who believe" (Romans 4:11), whose faith we follow.
Consider what Moses sacrificed to obey God. In his speech to the Sanhedrin, Stephen recounts that "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds" (Acts 7:22). He had education, experience, position, wealth, and all the advantages of life in Pharaoh's court. Hebrews 11:24 suggests that, more than these other things, he was in line to become the next King of Egypt, as the title "son of Pharaoh's daughter" indicates. But the verse asserts that he refused the title, "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the reward" (Hebrews 11:25-26).
The Bible is full of similar examples of men and women of God who were called on to sacrifice their ways of life and their desires to follow God. Judges, kings, prophets, apostles, and lay members alike had to give up their carnal plans and aspirations in this world to walk a different path, one of the Spirit, following a purpose that others could not see. This life of sacrifice remains as the general course of Christian living.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
This Life of SacrificeRelated Topics: Abel | Abraham as Father of the Faithful | Abraham's Sacrifice | Devoting Life to Sacrifice | Enoch | God's Purpose | God's Sovereignty | Noah | Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
Paul realized to the marrow in his bones that he was sinful. But he wanted to do what is good. He had a will of steel that kept him from committing a great many sins, but he still sinned, and he hated it every time he did. So, he was grieved deeply that he could not perform what God required of him because of that deep-set sin within human nature. Because we are so selfish, we allow human nature to lead us around by our noses and indulge ourselves when we should be sacrificing ourselves.
This sorrow is what Jesus is advocating when He says, "Blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4). He wants the kind of sorrow that is grieved to our innermost being that we are not like Him, that we are full of sin, that we cannot ever seem to move beyond our carnality. We see it cropping up so often, and we hate ourselves for it. We grieve because of our weakness.
This sorrow is always appropriate and applicable in our walk with God. It is a deep conviction that we are unworthy, and we are upset about it. We grieve that we cannot match the perfection of Jesus Christ. We always have miles to go, but Jesus also promises comfort at the end of that hard road.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Those Who MournRelated Topics: Beatitudes: Mourning | Blessed are those who Mourn. | Deep Mourning | Devoting Life to Sacrifice | Exercising Humility | Grieving | Law of Sin | Law of Sin and Death | Those who Mourn.
Paul makes a strong, urgent appeal to Christians to devote their lives to sacrifice. Sacrifice suggests the giving up or forfeiture of something or oneself for something or someone considered to be of greater value. In this context, the "Someone" is Jesus Christ and the "something" is God's way of life. The apostle is urging those of us who have had the revelation of God given to us to devote ourselves entirely to living it.
He urges us to sacrifice our bodies. He does not mean to imply giving up merely our skin and bones but the totality of what we are—our entire beings including our minds with all of their character, energy, knowledge, experiences, skills, perspectives, and attitudes—with nothing held back, since we are likely to hold a portion of our life in reserve just for ourselves. In other words, he is asking us to consecrate our entire lives to God. Note that Paul does not call this "extreme," but "reasonable."
Why would one even consider taking on the potential for such costly pain? No one really grasps the fullness of what God asks of those who make the New Covenant with Him at baptism. This witness in Romans 12:1-2 is nonetheless part of His Word to testify against us. There is a good reason, succinctly given in Romans 5:5: "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." We do it because God's love for His Son has been given to us and is growing. His investment in us, His grace, is beginning to be returned.
The love of God, the biblical love, is not a mere affection but an outgoing concern equal to or greater than self-concern. This love, which we do not have by nature but is given by God as a gift, will sacrifice itself for the well-being of others. It will pay the costs of forfeiture of self-interest for the well-being even of enemies. It will choose to lay down its life following the pattern shown in Jesus' life.
The love of God is an unearned, dynamic gift from God that influences one who has it toward oneness with God and fellow man. It must be deliberately chosen, though, in order to be put to use.
At this juncture, its costs come to the fore because, despite conversion, human nature remains. Though considerably weakened, it still exerts its influences toward the self (Romans 7:14-23; Galatians 5:16-17). We must overcome human nature's influences, but in virtually every case, we must make a sacrifice to fulfill the influences of the love of God. Sacrificing almost always involves the potential for loss, at times a considerable loss.
A number of verses reveal that, in one sense, choosing whether to sacrifice oneself in obedience to Jesus Christ is not a realistic option to anyone who claims to love Him. In John 14:15, Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." He adds in John 14:21, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me." Verse 15 is a direct command and challenge to anyone claiming to love Him, and verse 21 says that one's following through in submissive obedience is the proof that the claimant loves Him. I John 5:3 adds a resounding confirmation to verse 21 by providing the Bible's definition of love: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."
Love comes at a high price, but it is also rewarding because, as we make the sometimes costly choices to please God by following Jesus Christ, we transform more fully into His image due to following the pathway our Savior blazed before us. Becoming a living sacrifice is one of the costs that observing Passover should recall to our memories, giving us substance for sober reflection aimed toward revitalizing our understanding of the significance of this important day.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Awesome Cost of LoveRelated Topics: Baptism | Cost of Sacrifice | Devoting Life to Sacrifice | God's Way of Life | Living Sacrifice | New Covenant | Reasonable Service | Sacrifice | Sacrifice as a Way of Life | Total Sacrifice
These verses summarize what must occur during the conversion process. The apostle Paul presents our marching orders directly. We are to sacrifice our bodies while we still live, that is, submit ourselves wholly to God and to His way of life, which is only reasonable, since having redeemed us, He owns us completely. In addition, we are to reject this world's attempts to pull us back into its ungodly lifestyles, despite its many allurements. Instead, we are to engage in the transformation of our minds into perfect alignment with God's will.
Paul calls it "the renewing of your mind." This renewing is not making the mind new in the sense of time. For instance, to say one has a new bike suggests that it was recently purchased; someone else has not used it. The renewal of Romans 12:2, however, speaks to quality. We might understand it better by using the terms "refresh," "revive," or "rejuvenate." When a tool—say, a chisel—is old and dull, a craftsman will renew it by cleaning off the rust, sharpening the edge, and perhaps putting on a new handle. Essentially, this is what God is doing in renewing our minds. He is taking an old, ill-used mind, cleaning it, sharpening it, and putting it to use in His work.
Consider that another spirit has had many years to shape our minds to follow his way (Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 12:9). Satan the Devil's way of life is that of pride, vanity, lust, greed, envy, deceit, murder, adultery, and covetousness—all the evil things that we are supposed to be putting off. While he had a hold on us, Satan impressed his ungodly way on our minds, but now God has called us and is now in us by His Spirit, transforming us, refreshing our minds, so that we can change the quality of our minds from carnal to spiritual. The transformation that we are undergoing will take us from the self-absorbed, degenerate, sensual mentality to the outgoing, pure righteousness of God's own mind.
The last part of Romans 12:2 can be paraphrased as "so that you may test or experience all the benefits of His will." Without His mind being formed in us through the Holy Spirit, we would have no way of truly understanding His will or His way. Our minds must be transformed so that we can have even the capacity to understand the differences between God's way and Satan's way, as well as the overwhelming benefits of living as God prescribes. Only then, as it says in Deuteronomy 30:19, can we truly "choose life." This process is happening in us so that we can make the choices that will allow us to live eternally.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What Is Real Conversion? (Part Five)