Working for the Lord isn’t foreign to our life in Christ. Good deeds don’t save us; only His death and resurrection achieve that. But as we’ve seen in the past two blog posts (links here and here), God has plans for us, and they involve labor and effort.
Both halves of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (chapters 1-3, and 4-6) reinforce this claim. Here’s the first instance:
“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10
Last week’s article interpreted the good deeds of this verse as sacrifices. These are the works we whom God joins to His house are to perform.
The second section connects this idea of sacrifice to love.
Love
“Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” – Ephesians 5:2
Our walk is our lifestyle; it’s how we conduct ourselves in our interactions and behaviors. And if anything is to characterize our journey with Jesus, it’s love.
To demonstrate His love for us, Jesus offered Himself to God as a sacrifice on the cross. Likewise, to demonstrate our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must offer ourselves to God as a sacrifice. The context of this verse shows that Paul had practical holiness and help in mind.
How do we apply this admonition to our daily affairs? The New Testament shows us what practical sacrifice looks like.
Service
“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.” – Romans 12:1
We’re to sacrifice ourselves! This sounds like a hard pill to swallow. Do this, and we’re dead! But Paul suggests our decision isn’t fatal. God wants us to remain alive. This is so we can express our dedication to Him uninterrupted. Not only does this please God, it’s the reasonable way to worship Him. We honor Him when we live for Him.
The whole of chapter 12 describes the working out of this commitment. We exercise our spiritual gifts (vss. 4-8), bless fellow Christians (vss. 9-16), and even treat opponents well (vss. 17-21). All these stem from our imitation of Christ who offered Himself as a sacrifice to God for us. As His disciples, we can do no less.
Gifts
“I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” – Philippians 4:18
Money counts, too! Helping out brothers and sisters in Christ, especially frontline ministers, by donating some of our financial resources blesses them, but it also glorifies God. Paul says the gifts the Philippian church had given him were a sacrifice that pleased the Lord.
Our money travels farther than we do. We can’t be everywhere, but we can support those who’ve gone to places we haven’t.
God wants us to take advantage of this extensive power. True, we can’t meet every need, but if our hearts are right, the Spirit will lead us to good opportunities to invest in kingdom work.
And the Lord rewards such efforts!
Good
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” – Hebrews 13:16
We don’t have to worry about the details. Life has so many options, that we can get dismayed at having to discern what God approves of and what He doesn’t.
This verse keeps things general, and for an important reason. Anything good qualifies as a sacrifice in God’s sight. Far from disparaging our actions, He’s delighted when we take care of others.
Sacrifice is spiritual work, but it’s also practical. Through it we serve our Father in heaven, but we also take care of people on earth. We don’t have to choose between the two. With Jesus as our Example, and the Spirit as our Guide, we can worship God and bless others.
Let’s get going!
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