Romans 6:20-23 “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Pastor Herk continues that anyone who sincerely wish to be, through Christ they are completely redeemed from the sin predicament of our former life. Without Jesus Christ’s sacrificial life, death on the Cross and resurrection from the dead, we would be lost in our sin. Proverbs 10:16 tells us, “The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.” The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross gives us opportunity, life and victory to all who believe. Romans 10:9-10 confirms that, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Christ’s sacrificial work on the Cross was completely sufficient, that there is no other work that needs to be done. It was finished.
Philippians 2:5-11 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
When you hear the word sacrifice, you think of something being forfeited, given up, or even something prized that you are losing for something having a higher claim. Sacrificing is not our natural instinct. Humility and sacrifice go together because it is virtually impossible to sacrifice without being humble. Christ willingly gave up Heaven to come to earth and be sacrificed for our sin, so that we could be forgiven and saved. He knew that in order to rescue the world from the curse of sin, that He was going to have to sacrifice His life. That is the way God planned it, that’s the way it was prophesied, and that was the way that it had to happen.
And there is a cost on our part. If you are going to follow in the footsteps of Christ, which is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, then you are going to have to experience sacrifice. In Luke 14:27, 33 Jesus tells us, “whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. And likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he or she has cannot be My disciple.” The Lord’s challenge is that we need to be all in, willing to give up our plans, power, possessions and position in the process of being a disciple of Christ. You have to be willing of letting go of everything and follow Jesus Christ. We are not to, literally, hate your family, but to love them less than we love Christ, that is our sacrifice. God made and gave family, but love God above all, sacrifice time and follow Christ. Because of Christ’s redemptive sacrifice, we must sacrifice time in order to share Christ’s redemption with others. Share the Gospel of Salvation. We want to bring others to Jesus.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Discipleship and sacrifice can be difficult on the natural man or woman in the flesh. You have to be willing to change your thinking on many things; things that we thought were incredibly important in our existential life. Know that there is going to be opposition faced, but God is with us always. By the indwelling Spirit of God, he empowers us to live a life of faith. In Romans 11:33-12:1, the Apostle Paul says, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. 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.”
Only the true Christian that has been saving by the eternal atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ can respond to the call to offer a holy, acceptable living sacrifice that is pleasing to God. We are all sinners. Jesus Christ offered the only perfect sacrifice for sin, and He did it once and for all. Jesus Christ was and is the eternal atoning sacrifice. That is why today is "Good Friday".
In Christ, Brian
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