This is a powerful sentence in a number of different ways. It takes us back to Calvary and the cross upon which the Saviour died. But the cross is not Paul’s purpose. It is primarily used as an illustration. But what is Paul’s purpose? What was the Holy Spirit trying to tell us? Is it rebuke? “Walk in love, because I see far too much pride in your lives.” Is it exhortation? “Be ye followers of Christ rather than followers of John Gill, J.R. Graves or K. David Oldfield.” It isn’t instruction – even though “Christ died as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God.” We, as Christians, are supposed to know and understand this already. If this is merely a flight of eloquence, it is the eloquence of the greatest love story every told.
Paul’s mind was filled with thoughts of the Lord Jesus’ sacrificial death for our sins. You know how sometimes in the morning you awake up humming one of your favorite hymns? Paul often seemed to waken with thoughts of Christ’s love for the world’s chiefest of sinners. When he exhorts us to service, he uses Jesus’ death as the catalyst. When he encourages “Surrender to the Lord,” he says, “I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God.” When says, “Give,” it comes after he has reminded us that Christ first gave all that He had. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Out of several potential messages, I’d like to consider a few thoughts of worship and praise.
Let’s begin where Paul began – with the SACRIFICE of Christ – Jesus’ death was the sacrifice of HIMSELF.
I know that I have mentioned this before, but after 25 years it is hard not to be repetitious once in a while. During World War II, my father learned that he had rare blood type. It was during all that carnage and blood-shed he learned to give, what some people call, “the gift of life.” For the next 40 years, as often as possible, he went down to one of the blood donation places, giving away a liter of whole blood. By the end of his life, he had received many awards and got his name in the paper for the hundreds and hundreds of liters of blood that he donated. And I was proud of my Dad for that. But you know, despite all the donations and all the honors, he never took it to the next level. He never gave all that he had; he always kept back some blood for himself. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that initially, the act of donating blood was not voluntary. He was in the army at the time, and I’m not sure how many things were voluntary during that war. I would like to believe that when he first learned he could help save lives of other that he deliberately chose to visit the medics and lay back for a while as they sucked out yet another jug of blood. But I wonder if, at some point, he ever donated for reasons other than just to save other people’s lives? I wonder if at some point notoriety became a part of the equation to continue giving? He was never reimbursed for his blood, so it wasn’t out of that kind of greed. I won’t besmear his name by saying that it was. But again, he never freely gave his last drop of blood.
Unlike Antony Oldfield, who gave and gave, but always kept back a part, Christ Jesus did not give one kidney, or two liters of blood, keeping back a part the way that Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the sale of their land. Christ Jesus made a sacrifice of Himself – His entirety. The King of Glory “gave (up) His life a ransom for many” – every drop of his blood and the last beat of his heart.
There are theologians whose doctrine of Christ begins and ends with His love. Some of them refuse to admit that it was blood which purchased the sinner’s redemption. Without a doubt the love of God through Christ is an important Bible theme, found on page after page. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us.” “God commendeth his love toward us…” But as important as it is, sinners are not saved by the love of Christ. What did that love do? What did it accomplish? “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.” – I John 3:16. Out of love, the Lord Jesus Christ sacrificed His life – all of it – 100% of it. It was non-returnable and non-refundable, except through the power of God. As David said to Arunah, “I can’t offer a sacrifice unto the Lord, my God, of that which doth cost me nothing.” A person may “give” love, but it can’t be sacrificed; sacrifice means that it is gone for ever.
And Christ didn’t just sacrifice His love, power, health, friends, glory, or money He sacrificed HIMSELF. It wasn’t a pint of blood that He shed; it was every drop, and all the life that was contained therein. It wasn’t His pride that He sacrificed, or His fame; it was His life and breath. The infinite Son of God sacrificed His infinite life for some of the infinitely sinful children of Adam.
And it was given as a sacrifice UNTO THE LORD.
There are people who believe that the sacrifice of Christ was directed towards sinners. They say that He died to show the necessity of living in sacrificial love. In other words, He died as a martyr, an example, or as a moral light shining in wilderness. Others have the warped idea that Jesus’ sacrifice was made to please and appease the Devil. That is blasphemous, implying that Satan is of a higher rank than Jehovah. Back when Judy and I were first married and could hardly afford to buy a package of chewing gum, I used to tease her by taking a stick of gum out of that very rare package, and then putting the empty wrapper back together and returning it to the pack. Later she’d reach in for a piece of gum and end up with an empty wrapper. One day Satan was walking down the street and found the wrapper of Jesus’ sacrifice, and he was thrilled. No doubt he was as pleased as a rat pouncing on some poison-laced bait. But when opened it up there was nothing there for him but disappointment.
No sir, the death of my Saviour was a sacrifice unto Jehovah, the Lord of Heaven and earth. It was God who was offended by my filthy sin. David confessed for all of us, Lord, “against thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight.” It is to the Lord that we must all give an account for our lack of righteousness before Him. Take blasphemy as example: “The LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” Do you really think that the Devil cares how we use his name? The Lord will not ignore murderer – because God made man in His own image. Does Satan care whether one sinner kills another sinner? Not usually, unless he has special plans for the recently deceased. It is not Satan who declares that we are sinners. Conversely, it is Jehovah only, Who has authority to declare a sinner “righteous.” “Who can forgive sins but God only?” Certainly not Satan or some overly officious human priest.
The sacrifice necessary for our redemption was made to Jehovah. How would the IRS feel if you had paid your taxes to Calvary Baptist Church this year? Our sin-debt is to God, and Christ offered to pay that debt on behalf of many to Jehovah.
“Oh, but a God of love and grace wouldn’t think receiving something drenched in such blood.” If you say that, you are proving that you know nothing of the Bible. Your god is not the Father of Christ nor is he the God of the scriptures. The Biblical message from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22:21 speaks of a Lamb slain from before foundation of the world. And that lamb, drenched in its own blood, was presented to God the Father. Jesus’ sacrifice was made to the One to Whom we own our eternal debt.
And it was made FOR US – in theological terms it was VICARIOUS.
As Jesus hung on the cross – it was on behalf of His people, NOT Himself. Just as the Passover lamb lost his life for the eldest son in each Jewish family. Just as the bullock and the goat of the Atonement died on behalf of the nation of Israel. Just as the ram caught in thicket took the sacrificial place of Isaac. Christ Jesus died in the place of those He intended to save.
.For us the blood was shed,” said Paul, addressing himself to group Christians. “Us” – including himself – a man whom he considered more wicked any other. “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” Jesus’ sacrifice cleansed the hearts and the records of blasphemers, murderers, and idolatrous priests. It has saved infants, the elderly, blacks and whites by the millions. It is impossible today to be beyond the realm of Jesus’ saving capability. “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto him by faith.” He said, “Come unto me ALL ye that labour and are heavily laden and I will give you rest.”
We notice here too that Jesus death was VOLUNTARY. Jesus gave himself an offering and sacrifice to God. There was no coercion – no gun to His head. The general asked for volunteers for a mission of certain death. And Jesus, the General’s Son said, “I’ll go, since it is the only guarantee of victory.” And it was done.
The NATURE OF THE GIFT was two fold – was a SACRIFICE and an OFFERING.
You may think that there’s no difference between a sacrifice and an offering, but there is. To some degree, one is negative and the other is positive. An offering is a gift of praise and thanksgiving; it comes out of a free will and love. A Biblical sacrifice, on the other hand, may be something that the law demanded to meet a specific need.
Jesus offered the gift of blameless life – well-pleasing to the Father. “He did no sin neither was there guile found in His lips.” He challenged the enemy: “Who is able to stand and accuse me of sin?” Neither could anyone accuse Him of withholding good when the occasion demanded. The Father looked down at the baptism of His Son and said, “This is my son in whom I am well-pleased.” Then again at the transfiguration, He said basically the same thing.
Not only was Jesus a perfect offering, but a perfect sacrifice. A sacrifice, unlike some offerings, involved blood, death and pain. And these things Jesus most definitely endured. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” He was torn to ribbons by the Roman scourge and blood poured down His back and legs. Nails pierced His hands and His feet. His joints ached and tore under the weight of His body in that unusual position. His naked body baked and then shivered with cold when exposed to mid-day sun and then to the darkness. He died a cruelly-offered sacrifice. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
What a sacrifice, what a precious sacrifice.
Do you ladies ever put a chicken or some other roast in the oven or crockpot before church, timing it to finish when you get home at about 12:30? We do that at our house once in a while. And as we enter the door the odor is a most wonderful thing. That chicken died and was placed in a pot, but as it roasted it began to smell good. As awful as you may think it sounds, the smell of a roasting sacrifice was wonderful unto Jehovah. The sacrifice of Christ was an offering and sacrifice to God with a sweet-smelling savor.
Get your filthy rags off God’s altar; the Lord doesn’t want your stinky righteousness there. Would you dare cook a roast still wrapped in plastic? What a stench that would create. Would you throw your dirty socks into the pot where the chicken was simmering? God is not interested in some human substitution or self-righteous wrapper around His sacrifice. Believe God and accept His very costly provision for your soul.
I’ve had people tell me that God couldn’t cast anyone into hell because He has too much love for sinners. I tell you that God went to a lot of pain to provide His Son as a sacrifice for those sinners. There is the love of God displayed – certainly not in turning a blind eye to their sin. and His love is seen, not just in the final salvation of a few sinners, but in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. If you live and die without Christ, it will be with God’s pleasure, that you’ll be cast into Hell. “Kiss the son,” the scripture says, “lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
Of course, this mention of Christ’s sacrifice was to empower Paul’s exhortation.
It was given as an argument to saints to imitate their Saviour. The Saviour was filled with the purpose of God as He dragged Himself and that cross up that awful hill. And “hereby perceive we the love God, because he laid down his life for us.” He pleased not himself, but sacrificed himself for a few sinful souls of 21st century.
Paul was pointing out that Jesus’ sacrifice ought to provoke sacrifice in us as well. How does your life stand up before the glare of the sacrifice of Christ?