A Living Sacrifice Part II

So, if we are naturally inclined to serve the Devil, if sin feels good to the flesh, and if serving God requires discipline, and death; why follow God? Why not just follow what feels best to the flesh and be done with it? Why struggle against the flesh and the powers of darkness?

That is a great question and one that every person needs to ask and answer. If we are to live for God; it will cost us something but there are great rewards. If we live after the flesh, there will be rewards but there are also great costs. We must count the costs and rewards of living for the master we choose. So then, let us count.

#1. We were created to serve Jehovah.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created everything in them: the trees, the animals, the plants, and the man and the woman. Genesis 1:26 says He created them in His image after his likeness and gave them dominion over the fish, the birds, the cattle, every creeping thing, and over all the earth. In verse 28 he commanded man to be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it. It seems as if God wanted man to be like Himself to a certain degree. Just as God has dominion over everything in the universe so man has dominion over everything in the earth. So why would God want a being similar to himself to exist? Would that not be a threat to Himself?

I believe God created man similar to himself because He wanted to have a relationship with man. Furthermore, He wanted man to be in the relationship because he wanted to be in it. That’s why he put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden. He wanted man to be able to make a choice whether or not they would be in the relationship with Him. So, God created man to live in a relationship with Him. That is man’s purpose here on earth. Every person has a God-shaped hole in his spirit that only God can fill.

To illustrate let’s consider a hammer and a telephone. A hammer was created to pound nails into wood. A telephone was made to place and receive phone calls. Imagine trying to use the hammer to place a phone call or using the telephone to pound a nail into wood. Neither of these experiments would bring the desired result. They simply would not work. Similarly, man was created to serve God and live in a relationship with Him. When we chose to serve the Devil and reject God, we open ourselves to damage physically, spiritually, and emotionally, because we are doing things we were never intended to do and living in a way we were never intended to live.

When we live for God in a close relationship with Him, we live a life of fulfillment and joy, using our bodies for their intended purpose. All machines, even though they may perform other tasks to some degree of success, function best when they do what they were built to do. Man also, even though he can live in sin and serve the devil, performs best when he does what he was created to do, serve Jehovah.

#2. The promises of the Devil are a lie.

The world promises many things that appeal to the flesh: fame, wealth, an easy life, sex, happiness, and pleasure, all free for the taking. Just come and take them like picking an apple off a tree. But is it really as easy as that? The Bible in speaking of the Devil says: He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44 The Devil tells us these things will fill the God shaped hole in our spirit. Ask anyone who has tried to find fulfilment in the things of the world and who has tried God and they will tell you that God is the only true fulfilment and that the Devil is a liar. There is no true lasting fulfilment unless God is living within us filling the God shaped hole in our spirits.

In reality the Devil hates us. Every time he sees us, we remind him of God, and he hates God. The Devil was cast out of heaven because he tried to take Gods place. He can never return and he is angry about that. He knows his end is the fire of hell and he wants to take every human he possibly can along with him as a revenge against God. He lies to us every day in his quest to tale us down with him.

Will you believe his lies, or will you be a living sacrifice for your Heavenly Father who loves you so much He gave His son as a sacrifice for you.

#3. The rewards and consequences.

All things have rewards and consequences. Sin is fun and, to a certain extent, fulfilling for a short time; but when the sin is finished it becomes empty and disgusting and, in the end, it brings forth death. James 1:15, Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. That death is more than physical death. We will all die. This death is a spiritual death that ends in the fire of Hell with the Devil, whom the sinner has served, and his angels.

Jehovah also offers fulfilment. He created man and so he knows just what we need to live a fulfilled life. He has provided everything we need to live that fulfilled life. He offers peace, and joy to go along with it. In the end He has promised eternal life in Heaven married to the love of our spiritual life, Jesus, and living in eternal bliss and rest.

One day every knee will bow before God. Those who do it while on earth will enjoy a perfect existence with God forever. Those who wait until they stand before God in judgement will be cast into hell where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.

You can choose the life of the flesh now and the eternal dying of the spirit or the eternal life of the spirit and the death of the flesh now. There are no other choices. Which will you choose?

#4. The love of Jesus.

Who is the love of your life? Your wife? Your child? Your boat? What should it be? Who has done more for you than any other being?

Who are you? As we discussed in part I we are all, by default, sinners. The end result of sin is death in the fire of hell which is eternal torture and endless pain and suffering. There is only one way to escape this end, and that is through Jesus Christ.

The only remedy God has ever accepted for sin was blood. In the old testament he accepted the blood of cattle, sheep, goats, birds etc. Then two thousand years ago God sent His own son, a perfect, sinless being, into this vile sinful world. We didn’t care for Him much and finally got so upset with Him we beat Him, tortured Him and hung Him on a cross and He died an agonizing death. However, three days later as He was laying in the tomb He suddenly began to move, He opened his eyes and stood up! He was alive again! He walked out of that tomb. He had overcome death and, in the process, had allowed himself to be sacrificed for the sins of the whole world. His death had been part of Gods plan to save you and me from our sins. Today, if we hear his voice, we can accept his offer of salvation, repent, follow Him and be saved from that awful eternity in Hell.

Think about what He did for us: leaving his perfect home with no discomfort to live on this world with nowhere to lay his head. Then to die a horrible death by the hands of the people he had come to save. What should be our response to such a great love? We should love Him and serve Him with all our hearts.

#5. Our reasonable 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.

Let us, once more think of what all God has done for us. He created us. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey Him, He accepted animal sacrifices as a covering for sin until He sent His own son into the world to suffer and die a horrible death so that we could return to a personal relationship with Him. He created us and so He owned us. We chose to walk away from Him and in doing so we sold ourselves to another master. When God allowed His son to be sacrificed on the cross, He was buying us back. He has given us His spirit to live in us. He has given us grace to face the difficulties of life. He walks with us and guides us. He gives us every breath and every heartbeat. He protects us from the Devil who wants us dead, now. He causes the rain to fall, the sun to shine and our food to grow. In short, He has given us everything we need to live this life within His will. He will never let us down.

In light of all He has given us and done for us, is it not just reasonable that we should lay down our lives for the service of His kingdom?

A living sacrifice is what we were created to be. It seems difficult to kill the flesh and live after the spirit but that is a lie from the devil. The only true fulfillment is found in living for God. He has done so much for us, should we not pour out our lives in love for the one who has died for us? It is, after all, only reasonable. The end of living for God is eternity with Him in heaven. The end of living for the flesh is eternity in Hell with the Devil and his angels. Who will you live for?