ROM. xii. 1.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.”
WE studied last Sunday the one perfect and final sacrifice made for the
sins of the whole world, when our Lord Jesus Christ completed our
propitiation on the cross. We found that that sacrifice differed from
those of the ceremonial law, in the great fact that it was once and for
ever; that it was so perfect, so complete, so fully sufficient to satisfy
the whole claim of the law, that when it was once offered there was no
place left for repetition, perpetuation, or addition. The veil of the
temple was then rent from the top to the bottom, and there was no space
left for any further rending. The Lord himself said, “It is finished;”
so the whole was done, and done for ever.
But still we read in Scripture of another sacrifice—a sacrifice which
Christian people are called to offer. Thus in this text St. Paul says,
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.” To this appeal the words in our
Communion Service are the Christian’s reply:—“And here we offer and
present unto thee ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable,
holy, and living sacrifice unto thee.” It clearly remains, therefore,
for us to examine the character of this second sacrifice, and also its
relationship to the great and perfect sacrifice completed on the cross
for sin. This, then, if God permit, shall be our subject this morning.
May the Lord dispose our hearts to bring to Him this holy sacrifice, that
we, if we live, may live not unto ourselves, but unto Him “that died for
us, and rose again!”
I. What, then, is the nature of the sacrifice? or, What is it we are to
offer? It is not a lamb, or a goat, or a bullock, but, according to the
language of our Communion Service, the offering which we are to render is
ourselves. “Here we offer and present unto thee ourselves, our souls and
bodies.” Just so we read of the churches of Macedonia, “that they first
gave their own selves unto the Lord.” A moment’s thought will suffice to
show that such a sacrifice as this is much more costly than any other.
It would be a light matter to sacrifice a bullock, but it is a very
costly one to sacrifice Self—an easy thing for the wealthy prince to
bring a thousand lambs to the altar, but a hard thing for either rich or
poor to bring his own will to be crucified with Christ.
But here a question will arise in the minds of all those who really
desire to make this sacrifice to the Lord, viz. What does it practically
involve? What is the real meaning of it? What will be the practical
result of such a sacrifice in our own life and character? Some will tell
us that it involves the necessity of conventual life, a separation from
common duties, and the seclusion of a nunnery, or the vows of a
sisterhood. Let any one read this chapter through, and he will see at a
glance that this is not the meaning of the Apostle. There are no rules
there for a monastic order, but there are very full directions for common
business, and common life. All such ideas, therefore, may be dismissed
at once. That is not the meaning of the sacrifice. Then, what is? What
is the sacrifice which we, living at home, are to offer to God?