 |
| Photo Credit: freebibleimages.org |
This is a familiar topic, and as most of us know, it originated
as a result of Saul’s disobedience to God. Some of us know the story; and also
know the meaning of obedience, and sacrifice based on the story. But I must
admit that in our activities, we tend to sacrifice this truth on the altar of
pretense and ignorance.
Saul’s Disobedience
The entire chapter 15 of 1
Samuel that explains this topic points out that:
1. God
told Saul through Prophet Samuel to go and destroy the Amalekites and all that
they own.
2. Paul
went and destroyed the Amalekites but spared their King and the best of their
animals (an act of disobedience to God)
3. When
Samuel confronted King Saul, his reason for disobedience was that the plunder
are to be sacrificed to God at Gilgal
4. When Samuel told King Saul a piece of God’s
mind, King Saul confessed the real reason for his disobedience – he was afraid
of the people and so he gave in to what they want, he wanted the approval of
people rather than the approval of God.
King Saul had heard the word of
the Lord but thought he had a better idea. He was aware of what he was doing
yet he went ahead to disobey God and wanted to use sacrifice as a defense
mechanism. But the question is: Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than
sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
We cannot buy God
When we make sacrifices to God,
we kind of see it as a way of buying whatever we want to get from God according
to our needs which could be child, husband, wealth, etc. This makes us think
that He owes us, so we sit and wait for what we ordered from God to arrive.
Then, before the birth of Jesus
Christ, they used Peace offering, Burnt offering, the Sin-offering, Tithes, Duties, etc to appease God. But in the present,
it is First fruit, Thanksgiving, Vow, Tithes, etc. There is nothing wrong with
offerings but they are not God’s priority. To God, obedience is better than
sacrifice. God's salvation is freely given to us by our obedience to the
lordship of Jesus Christ, not through our sacrifice.
We are as guilty as King Saul
We have many King Saul today in
our worship centers. People who engage in fetish activities to destroy their
fellow human beings, yet go to church with fat offerings, People who steal
public funds, yet donate for church buildings, people who bear grudges and work
against their fellow human beings as an act of jealousy, yet they sing cheering
praises, serve in the prayer group or other church activities, people who
refuse to work hard for God to bless the works of their hands but pray away
their time, expecting God to release magical money, car, house, etc. Such
people are all King Saul who thinks they can bribe God and cut corners to
receive salvation and blessings. God is not a merchandise, He cannot be bought
and He cannot be sold.
God is not interested and
cannot be appeased by the magnificent cathedrals and churches we build; he is
interested in the souls of men. Those cathedrals and church buildings shall be
useless to Him if the worshippers are headed to hell. There is no short cut to
total submission/obedience to God; we cannot bribe Him.
Just like King Saul, some men
of God pretend to be interested in the souls of politicians and wealthy men;
they become diplomatic in administering the Word of salvation to them when they
are present; with the excuse that they may chase them away from the house of
God if they try to use the gospel of salvation to appeal to their conscience;
But in the actual sense, they don’t want them to go with their money.
The Sacrifice of Obedience
The best sacrifice we can offer
God is the sacrifice of our body and soul - to live a holy and righteous life;
such a sacrifice is an act of worship to the Lord. In 1 Peter 2:9, it is written, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light; It is also written in Romans 12: 1 “I appeal to you
therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
We are worthless before God
when we try to appease Him with material things knowing that he owns the world
and everything in it. It is written in Mathew 5: 23 and 24 “Therefore, if you
are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or
sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar.
First, go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift". Sacrifice
flows out of obedience. A sacrifice that does not flow out of obedience is
disobedience and is not pleasing to the Lord. God will appreciate our offerings
and tithe when we come to Him with a clean heart.
Religion is not Obedience to
God
Some of us are so religious
that most times, we tend to confuse obedience to God with our religious rituals
like attending all church activities, serving in the church, following the
order of service, observing the holy days, etc. It is written in Ephesians 2:8-9, For it is
by grace, you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it
is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” We can’t earn or
work our way into Heaven.
Conclusion
This is a challenging topic and I hope that after reading, not only
ourselves but people around us will feel the impact and learn to choose
obedience to God rather than empty sacrifices.
No comments:
Post a Comment