A Christmas Sacrifice? To be sanctified through sacrifice.

Romans 12: 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.
2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

To the secular crowds, Christmas has always been a time of merriment, gift giving and a time to wind down after a year of work. Christians often lament the fact that Christ seems to be “lost” in a celebration called Christmas. The inebriated crowds and raunchy parties notwithstanding, we should appreciate that the season has evolved, even among the non-believers, into a time of sharing and giving.

* How does the fact that Christ came into this world impact us as Christians?
* Do we take it as a time to appreciate what God did?

* What then is our reponse?

We can never fully know how much it cost to procure our salvation. But the Bible tells us that the Father planned it, The Son procured it and the Spirit enables us to know and appreciate it.

I have chosen a text that reflects, at a human level, a similar journey that we must take that Jesus took in the incarnation. The steps in the journey were:
1. He was born: He came down to earth to save us.
2. His ministry: Between the start of His mission and his death on the Cross, He spent time with His disciples, preparing them and helping them grow in knowledge and love of Him.
3. His death: Finally, he died for our sins, and then rose again to glory.

Isn’t it a reflection of our journey too?

Firstly, we are born again: Our acceptance of Christ as personal Lord and Saviour is the essential first step. It is the new birth. It is our own personal “Christmas” to be born, as a babe in Christ, into a world that is hostile to all things Christian. And the angels rejoice when a new believer is “born again” into the family of God.

• John 1:12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
  Romans 12:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Secondly, our ministry journey: The second part is the time between our salvation experience till the day we depart this earth. This is the process of living as a Christian and growing into the likeness of Christ. The term sanctification is used for this process.

What is sanctification?

• Rather than ask what it is, I would suggest that we think of it as a process of offering.
  Rather than think of sanctification as something that we ought to pursue or do, I think we should consider it a process of offering ourselves to God.
  Because we are fallen creatures, it takes time to offer ourselves fully to God.

The mature Christian is one who has fully offered his life to God, as a living sacrifice.

Sanctification is thus a daily sacrifice of ourselves to God. The passage today does reflect this sanctification journey as a picture of sacrifice. The process involves the offering of ourselves to Him. We offer ourselves in the following ways:

(i) Our body – we are to be wholly and fully available to His service. It is incumbent on us to respond to the Holy Spirit when He calls us into service

• Romans 12:1- 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.

There are all manner of ways that we can offer our bodies to Him. To offer time and effort requires prioritization. We often give the excuse of not enough time or inadequate experience.
But in God’s eyes, now is the time when the work needs to be done. God will open opportunities for serving, but we have to step out and offer ourselves in faith.

(ii) Our Bounty – we are to offer our material things to God. In today’s context, that would mean money and other financial offerings to the work of the church.
It is alarming to see studies that show evangelical Christians giving only 1% of their income to the church. Why is this?
It is because many Christians do not see that monetary offerings are a sacrifice to God, and that it blesses us more than it does God to be generous in our giving.

• Phil 4:18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.

(iii) Our Works – God delights in our works and we are to do good works as a offering to Him.

• Heb 13: 16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

When we are involved in humanitarian or mission works, it is all seen by the Lord. It is also an important evangelistic tool. For the unbelievers will see the good works done in Jesus’ name and glorify His name.

(iv) Our Words – we are called to be careful with what we say and how we say it. The process of watching our speech is part of the sanctification process. It is far better to use our lips to praise His name! (

• Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

I may even suggest that our speech (content and tone) is the most important part of our sanctification. The Christian who has placed himself on the altar fully will find that he is careful of his words, and in fact, his words will be few. This is not surprising if we realize that God is the silent listener to everything we say!

Thirdly, our departing: When our time on earth is over, is that a sacrifice too?
Yes, of course! If we have lived a life pleasing to God, then our death will not only be glorious because we will go into His presence, but it will also be a sweet offering to Him.

• 2 Timothy 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

How wonderful that our final journey through the door that leads to eternal life would be pictured as an offering pleasing to God!

A Prayer

This Christmas, let us all pray as follows: “Lord Jesus, we present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. And let us not be conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.

Have a blessed Christmas

Amen

Dr Joshua Raj