Saturday, 28. February 2004
Acceptable Sacrifice mebrooks, February 28, 2004 at 4:00:00 AM GMT
By Michael E. Brooks "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire… In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure" (Heb. 10:5,6). It is easy for people who live in so-called "Christian" cultures to assume that animal sacrifice is an obsolete custom, long vanished from the earth. Many Americans and Western Europeans have never seen an altar, or animals prepared for burnt offerings. In other parts of the world, however, such sacrifices are still very much a part of life. Eid, the second most sacred festival of the Islamic calendar, was celebrated this year in early February. It lasts several days, and is commemorated with various rituals, but one of the most important of these is the day of "Corbani" – on which every pious Muslim offers an animal sacrifice. The days before Eid are noted for the huge numbers of bulls and goats offered for sale. On the afternoon of Corbani one sees trucks and rickshaw vans piled high with skins of the slaughtered animals being taken to the tanneries. The sacrifices themselves provide food for the worshipper and for the poor to whom some of the meat is given. Unfortunately, the absence of animal sacrifice from Western culture is sometimes mistakenly taken to mean that no sacrifices are given or expected in Christianity. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though our New Testament affirms that God is no longer worshipped through offerings given on fires, it is also full of requirements for other forms of sacrifice. These include the "living sacrifice" of our own bodies (Rom. 12:1), the "sacrifice of praise" as we give thanks to God (Heb. 13:15), and the self-sacrifice which precedes our following Jesus (Matt. 16:24). The fact that these sacrifices are not accompanied by bloodshed, or fire, or smoke, or ash, in no sense lessens their reality or their importance. The fact is that "the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin" or otherwise appease God (Heb. 10:4). Nothing which humans do can remove the guilt or the consequences of our sin. Only God can do that, through the satisfaction of his justice provided by the death of his son, Jesus. Our sacrifices, whatever their nature, earn us nothing. The genuine sacrifices of self-denial and worship do glorify God, however. They also indicate our faith in and commitment to God through Jesus. And there-in lies their value. It is not what we do to impress or obligate God. It is what we do that reveals our genuine response of faith and trust in Jesus, and our submission to his will. This is why the only real sacrifice that can be offered today is sacrifice of self. We die to self, and to sin. We die with Christ and through Christ. And in so doing we take his ultimate sacrifice for ourselves and receive its benefits. We renounce any claim to goodness of our own and rest all our hope in the goodness God gives us through the sacrifice he made for us. That is all the goodness that will ever be required and far more than we could otherwise attain. |
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Update on FMag Forthright Magazine continues, more dynamic than ever! We have groups created for FMag on Facebook and the Churches of Christ Network. Announcement blog is up and going on Preachers Files. Email lists about FMag and FPress are available both on Yahoo and GoogleGroups. And, to top it all off, we're twittering for both on Twitter.com. by randal @ 1/20/09, 11:55 AM How to Make Sure That Your Judgment Is Flawless by Don Ruhl Read the Bible in a Year This evening read John 5:24--47 How to Make Sure That Your Judgment Is Flawless Yes, it is popular to say that we are not supposed to judge, but the truth is we all make judgments about many things daily. Otherwise, we would never succeed in life. The real question is what is our guide for judging. Why can we not simply follow the example of our Master and Lord? He said, 30 "I can of Myself ... more ... by diane amberg @ 5/18/05, 5:08 AM Do You Ever Feel Like Just a Name? by Don Ruhl Read the Bible in a Year This morning read First Chronicles 1--3 Do You Ever Feel Like Just a Name? Think on the manner, in which the Book of First Chronicles begins, 1 Adam, Seth, Enosh (1 Chr. 1:1). In this way begins the longest genealogy in the Bible. The names continue to the end of the ninth chapter! Were these just names? Adam; who is he? You know there is more in the Bible than the mere mention of his name in ... more ... by diane amberg @ 5/18/05, 5:05 AM ...
by Don Ruhl Read the Bible in a Year This evening read John 5:1--23 Jesus healed a man. Praise God! However, Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. Uh oh. Some people were ready to kill Jesus for this perceived violation of the Sabbath Law. 16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath (Joh. 5:16). Jesus did a good thing. Yet, people criticized Him severely for it. And they were not people ... more ... by diane amberg @ 5/18/05, 5:03 AM They Were His Servants by Don Ruhl Read the Bible in a Year This morning read Second Kings 24 and 25 They Were His Servants As the writer of Second Kings explains whom the Lord sent against Judah, the writer said that this was 2 ...according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken by His servants the prophets (2 Kin. 24:2). Those great men we have honored for centuries were nothing more than servants of the Lord God. What does that make us? Do you do something ... more ... by diane amberg @ 5/18/05, 5:01 AM ...
by Don Ruhl Read the Bible in a Year This evening read John 4:30--54 The disciples went into a town to buy food while Jesus remained out of the town. There He engaged a woman in conversation. When the disciples returned, here is what happened, 31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know" (Joh. 4:31, 32). As you read the Gospel According to John, watch ... more ... by diane amberg @ 5/18/05, 4:59 AM Having a Tender Heart by Don Ruhl Read the Bible in a Year This morning read Second Kings 22 and 23 Having a Tender Heart When Josiah heard the word of God for the first time, he tore his clothes, knowing of the wrath that was upon Jerusalem for the idolatry of his forefathers. Therefore, he sent messengers to a prophetess to inquire of the Lord. He did have a message for Josiah. God said through the prophetess, 19 "...because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before ... more ... by diane amberg @ 5/18/05, 4:56 AM
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