Saturday, February 18, 2023

Orange Moon Saturday, February 18, 2023 "One Sacrifice"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
              

"One Sacrifice"

 
     The sacrifice of Himself on the cross of Calvary by the Lord Jesus Christ means that born again believers live lives of sacrificial reality rather than ritual.

    "But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12).  
    "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" (Romans 12:1).

   God accounts His Son's atoning work on the cross of Calvary as so complete and satisfactory that "one sacrifice" suffices as salvation and justification for all who trust the Lord Jesus.  Indeed, our Savior so perfectly bore our sins in His death that God will "not impute sin" to all who are in Christ.  He rather places on our eternal account the merits of the One who is "made unto us… righteousness" (Romans 4:8; I Corinthians 1:30).  In simple language, the Lord Jesus bore our sins on the cross that we might bear His righteousness as a freely given gift of grace.  "One sacrifice for sins forever" accomplished by one Savior made perfect and complete atonement for sin, freely delivering us from ritual sacrifice unto "living sacrifice."

   "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21).

    The Holy Spirit leads us to make our sacrifices of reality out on the dusty roads of everyday life rather than the ceremonial observances such as prescribed by the Old Testament law of Moses.  We offer fleshly thoughts, impulses, and inclinations on the altar of our hearts, replacing them with offerings of unselfish devotion to God and others empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We view ourselves as "the servant of all," foregoing our native fleshly tendency of self-centeredness to install the needs of others as more important than our own.  We join the Lord Jesus, as enabled by Him, to affirm to His Father and ours, "Not my will, but Thine be done" (Ephesians 4:22-24; I Corinthians 9:19; Luke 22:42).  Sacrificial reality guides us as we imprint upon our hearts the grace of "one sacrifice for sins forever" to serve as the guiding light of our acceptance with God, and as a powerful motivator of grateful love for the Lord Jesus no ritual could ever provide.

   "And lest the shadow of a spot should on my soul be found, He took the robe the Savior wrought, and cast it all around!" 
("Awake My Heart, Arise My Tongue!" - Isaac Watts).

   Too much was given by the Lord Jesus to make possible a life of "living sacrifice" for believers to "turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements" of ritual sacrifice (Galatians 4:9).  Of course, ritual demands far less than reality, making the temptation a great challenge.  However, immersing our hearts and minds in the Scriptures' revelation of our Lord's "one sacrifice" will go far in leading us to live lives whereby we gratefully make many sacrifices along the pathways of reality…

"Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor." (Ephesians 5:2)
"For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people's: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself."
(Hebrews 7:26-27)

Weekly Memory Verse
   I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.
 (Psalm 119:32)

    


   






















  

    

     























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