SACRIFICES THAT WORK
Hebrews 13:15-16 NKJV
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
The author of Hebrews, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is wrapping up his letter to the Jewish believers. And it’s as if the Holy Spirit had a laundry list of things to cover before signing off. Things like be good to strangers for some people have actually entertained angels and were not aware. Marriage is honorable but not fornication or adultery. One of my favorite scriptures in verses 5-6. We can boldly say the Lord is my helper. And then don’t get into weird teachings but focus on grace. This chapter is a virtual cornucopia of important but unrelated instructions.
Which leads us to our verses for today. By Jesus, we are to continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. The sacrifice of praise is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. It would not be a sacrifice if it did not cost us in some way. This sacrifice involves speaking words. That may not seem to be much of a sacrifice but try giving thanks continually. And not just thinking thanks but rather, speaking our thanks and appreciation to God out of our mouths. If we are honest, it can be difficult at times to speak words of thanks. If it was easy, continuous thanksgiving would not be referred to as a sacrifice. But we must make our mouths give thanks. We must give thanks when we don’t feel like it. That’s when it’s really a sacrifice.
And don’t forget to do good and share. Doing good and sharing are activities that we must stir ourselves up to do. The author says don’t forget. Evidently, doing good and sharing are things that we make ourselves remember. It’s like oh yeah, I need to do some good. Oh yeah, I need to share with others. We can put this on our to-do list for the day. Do good things and give today. That may be a bit overboard, but it’s so easy to get caught up with all the distractions of life that we forget. We can become so focused on our problems that we forget to look for ways to do good and share. We can too easily be caught up in the mundane routines of life that we don’t give thanks.
By combining these two categories of sacrifice, giving thanks, doing good, and sharing, we can see an important truth. Christianity is not merely words of thanks and praise. Real Christianity involves action, doing good, and giving.
APPLICATION
Here is an application idea. Over the next few days, Friday through Sunday, make a conscious effort to give thanks and praise to God out loud with your mouth. Put it in your list of things to do. And make an effort to do good for someone or share with someone. Sharing can also involve giving of your time, listening, or you can share a word of encouragement. This is a form of giving. Doing good for someone does not have to be elaborate, but you can send an encouraging text, write a letter, or help do something that is not your responsibility. There are many ways to do good and share. Make that sacrifice and know that those are the sacrifices that are well pleasing to God.