Living Sacrifice
~ Pastor Thuamminlian Guite
Bible Portions: Gen 2:18, I Cor 6:15 - 19, Rom 1: 24, Rom 12: 1, Exo 30: 34- 38.
Gen 2:18: The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Women have been created to be of help to men. A University Professor once noted, "Women should not boast as they would not have existed if men had not needed them." As noted by the Professor, the role of women is indeed crucial and it is an undeniable fact that they should be of help to men. Women have been created with a purpose. So, women should not boast about their physical appearance, as this is not the purpose of their creation. Considering the purpose, women should not even try to be rulers of the family but rather live for the glory of God. As such, the physical body of a woman was created to glorify God and nothing else.
I Corinthians 6: 15-19:
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”[a] 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.[b] 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.
Three important points from the above Bible verse can be noted:
(a) we are bought with a price,
(b) We are the Temple of God, and
(c) Our bodies are members of Christ.
God is concerned of how we present our physical bodies as a Holy Sacrifice for Him alone.
Certain teachings suggest that the body is but a "sinner" and that it is justifiable when it sins, as it is its nature, which is not true. We Christians often think that this body would be of no use after Rapture, but the truth is that this same body will be recreated and glorified in the new world. Romans 1: 24 states, "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another."
"God has turned His face away from them." Discussion of these issues like same sex marriage is not even necessary in the Church, as it is crystal clear from the given Bible verse that God is totally against it. Rom 12:1. "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. This Bible verse has given us the nature of our bodies as a sacrifice –
a) Living sacrifice.
b) Holy sacrifice, and eventually
c) Acceptable sacrifice.
God wants our thoughts as well as our body. He wants our body, life and behavior altogether. In the Old Testament, an animal was sacrificed as atonement for sins; as such, in the New Testament Jesus was sacrificed as atonement for our sins. It was ensured that the animal to be sacrificed was blameless such as; healthy, no skin disease, and so on. Similarly, Jesus, our perfect sacrifice, with no single blemish - "who knew no sin", was sacrificed for us. Considering how holy and flawless our sacrifice is, let us ponder upon how we worship Him in all the little ways we can, which also includes the aspects of how we can maintain and use our physical appearance for His glory alone.
We should also ask ourselves whether our sacrifice meets God's standard. Exodus 30: 34-38. 34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices - gum resin, onycha and galbanum - and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the Ark of the Covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its aroma must be cut off from their people.”
This verse is about the making of an incense from sweet spices, onycha and galbum, and pure frankincense which was to be put before the testimony of the tabernacle where the Lord would meet with Moses. The Lord had warned Moses not to make any of those for themselves and that it should be holy for the Lord. Whoever makes any like it, to smell it and use it for his own benefit will be cut off from his people. This is unlawful, impure and impossible. Moreover, in the process of making this incense, the right quantity of spices was grinded as instructed by God. This shows how God is the supreme and that everything goes according to His will.
It can be inferred that our body as a living sacrifice should meet the standard ruled down by God. Nothing more or less should be added which indicates that we are to humble ourselves to serve God's will through our bodies and it is unjust and impossible that it should serve any other purpose. This is an undeniable fact and whoever violates this will come under the wrath of God. Therefore, we should present our bodies holy and blameless, meeting His standards, before Him lest we spur up His wrath. May the Lord bless us to use our bodies for His glory alone.
