God’s original intention for his children were to become a nation of his priests. (Exodus 19:6) Jesus was the cornerstone of that intention. Having been baptized into him, we are to be used as living stones to build up his spiritual temple. (1 Peter 2:4-5) Christians therefore, are his priests. The concept is also a major point in the book of Hebrews and mentioned in Revelation 1:6.
Part of the responsibilities of the priests were to offer sacrifices. This was a big deal to the Jews of the time because once Christ sacrificed himself, there was no more need for the bloodshed of bulls and goats. This took away a major part of the ceremony of the Jewish nation. Peter reminds us that that we are a part of the holy priesthood with related tasks to practice.
Ten Ways Christians Sacrifice
New Testament Christians do not offer sacrifices the same way the Jews did. We have a number of other responsibilities that Peter refers to as Spiritual Sacrifices. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
We sacrifice through our:
Francisco de Zurbarán, The Bound Lamb, 1635–40. Rights
reserved © Museo Nacional del Prado–Madrid.
- Our faith (Philippians 2:17)
- Our love of God (Mark 12:33)
- Our repentance (Hosea 14:2)
- Our confession of faith in Christ (Hebrews 13:15,16)
- Our baptism into Christ (Romans 12:1, Hebrews 10:19-22)
- Our praise of God (Hebrews 13:15)
- Our contributions (Philippians 4:18)
- Our songs (Colossians 3:16)
- Our prayers (Revelation 5:8)
- Our life of honor and love (2 Timothy 4:6, Ephesians 5:2)
As we worship and serve God in these various ways, we need to be mindful of the reasons we do them. We often forget the reason and only go through the motions.
Daily Bible reading for August 22
Psalm 20
1 Samuel 8
Jeremiah 52
1 Peter 2:4-10
August 22, 2013
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