Reference: Sacrifice
American
An offering made to God on his altar, by the hand of a lawful minister. A sacrifice differed from an oblation; it was properly the offering up of a life; whereas an oblation was but a simple offering or gift. There is every reason to believe that sacrifices were from the first of divine appointment; otherwise they would have been a superstitious will-worship, which God could not have accepted as he did. See ABEL. Adam and his sons, Noah and his descendents, Abraham and his posterity, Job and Melchizedek, before the Mosaic law, offered to God real sacrifices. That law did but settle the quality, the number, and other circumstances of sacrifices. Every one was priest and minister of his own sacrifice; at least, he was at liberty to choose what priest he pleased in offering his victim. Generally, this honor belonged to the head of a family; hence it was the prerogative of the firstborn. But after Moses this was, among the Jews, confined to the family of Aaron.
There was but one place appointed in the law for the offering of sacrifices by the Jews. It was around the one altar of the only true God in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, that all his people were to unite in his worship, Le 17:4,9; De 12:5-18. On some special occasions, however, kings, prophets, and judges sacrificed elsewhere, Jg 2:5; 6:26; 13:16; 1Sa 7:17; 1Ki 3:2-3; 18:33. The Jews were taught to cherish the greatest horror of human sacrifices, as heathenish and revolting, Le 20:2; De 12:31; Ps 106:37; Isa 66:3; Eze 20:31.
The Hebrews had three kinds of sacrifices:
1. The burnt-offering or holocaust, in which the whole victim was consumed, without any reserve to the person who gave the victim, or to the priest who killed and sacrificed it, except that the priest had the skin; for before the victims were offered to the Lord, their skins were flayed off, and their feet and entrails were washed, Le 1; 7:8. Every burnt offering contained an acknowledgment of general guilt, and a typical expiation of it. The burning of the whole victim on the altar signified, on the part of the offerer, the entireness of his devotion of himself and all his substance to God; and, on the part of the victim, the completeness of the expiation.
2. The sin offering, of which the trespass offering may be regarded as a variety. This differed from the burnt-offering in that it always had respect to particular offences against law either moral through ignorance, or at least not in a presumptuous spirit. No part of it returned to him who had given it, but the sacrificing priest had a share of it, Le 4-6; 7:1-10.
3. Peace-offerings: these were offered in the fulfillment of vows, to return thanks to God for benefits, (thank-offerings,) or to satisfy private devotion, (freewill-offerings.) The Israelites accordingly offered these when they chose, no law obliging them to it, and they were free to choose among such animals as were allowed in sacrifice, Le 3; 7:11-34. The law only required that the victim should be without blemish. He who presented it came to the door of the tabernacle, put his hand on the head of the victim, and killed it. The priest poured out the blood about the altar of burnt-sacrifices: he burnt on the fire of the altar the fat of the lower belly, that which covers the kidneys, the liver, and the bowels. And if it were a lamb, or a ram, he added to it the rump of the animal, which in that country is very fat. Before these things were committed to the fire of the altar, the priest put them into the hands of the offerer, then made him lift them up on high, and wave them toward the four quarters of the world, the priest supporting and direction his hands. The breast and the right shoulder of the sacrifice belonged to the priest that performed the service; and it appears that both of them were put into the hands of him who offered them, though Moses mentions only the breast of the animal. After this, all the rest of the sacrifice belonged to him who presented it, and he might eat it with his family and friends at his pleasure, Le 8:31. The peace offering signified expiation of sin, and thus reconciliation with God, and holy communion with him and with his people.
The sacrifices of offerings of meal or liquors, which were offered for sin, were in favor of the poorer sort, who could not afford to sacrifice an ox or goat or sheep, Le 5:10-13. They contented themselves with offering meal or flour, sprinkled with oil, with spice (or frankincense) over it. And the priest, taking a handful of this flour, with all the frankincense, sprinkled them on the fire of the altar; and all the rest of the flour was his own: he was to eat it without leaven in the tabernacle, and none but priests were to partake of it. As to other offerings, fruits, wine, meal, wafers, or cakes, or any thing else, the priest always cast a part on the altar; the rest belonged to him and the other priests. These offerings were always accompanied with salt and wine, but were without leaven, Le 2.
Offerings, in which they set at liberty a bird or a goat, were not strictly sacrifices, because there was no shedding of blood, and the victim remained alive.
Sacrifices of birds were offered on three occasions: 1. For sin, when the person offering was not rich enough to provide an animal for a victim, Le 5:7-8. 2. For purification of a woman after childbirth, Le 12:6-7. When she could offer a lamb and a young pigeon, she gave both; the lamb for a burnt offering, the pigeon for a sin offering. But if she were not able to offer a lamb, she gave a pair of turtles, or a pair of young pigeons; one for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering. 3. They offered two sparrows for those who were purified from the leprosy; one was a burnt offering, the other was a scape-sparrow, as above, Le 14:4,etc., Le 14:1; 27:34.
For the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, see PASSOVER.
The perpetual sacrifice of the tabernacle and temple, Ex 29:38-40; Nu 28:3, was a daily offering of two lambs on the altar of burnt offerings; one in the morning, the other in the evening. They were burnt as holocausts, but by a small fire, that they might continue burning the longer. The lamb of the morning was offered about sunrise, after the incense was burnt on the golden altar, and before any other sacrifice. That in the evening was offered between the two evenings, that is, at the decline of day, and before night. With each of these victims was offered half a pint of wine, half a pint of the purest oil, and an assaron, or about five pints, of the finest flour.
Such were the sacrifices of the Hebrews-sacrifices of divine appointment, and yet altogether incapable in themselves of purifying the soul or atoning for its sins. Paul has described these and other ceremonies of the law "as weak and beggarly elements," Ga 4:9. They represented grace and purity, but they did not communicate it. They convinced the sinner of his necessity of purification and sanctification to God; but they did not impart holiness or justification to him. Sacrifices were only prophecies and figures of the sacrifice, the Lamb of God, which eminently includes all their virtues and qualities; being at the same time a holocaust, a sacrifice for sin, and a sacrifice of thanksgiving; containing the whole substance and efficacy, of which the ancient sacrifices were only representations. The paschal lamb, the daily burnt-offerings, the offerings of flour and wine, and all other oblations, of whatever nature, promised and represented the death of Jesus Christ, Heb 9:9-15; 10:1. Accordingly, by his death he abolished them all, 1Co 5:7; Heb 10:8-10. By his offering of himself once for all, Heb 10:3, he has superseded all other sacrifices, and saves forever all who believe, Eph 5:2; Heb 9:11-26; while without this expiatory sacrifice, divine justice could never have relaxed its hold on a single human soul.
The idea of a substitution of the victim in the place of the sinner is a familiar one in the Old Testament, Le 16:21; De 21:1-8; Isa 53:4; Da 9:26; and is found attending all the sacrifices of animals, Le 4:20,26; 5:10; 14:18; 16:21. This is the reason assigned why the blood especially, as being the very life and soul
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Therefore, if thou bring thine offering to the altar, and there remembrest that thy brother hath any complaint against thee;
"I desire mercy rather than sacrifice:" for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.
And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and well-pleasing to God, as your rational service.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new mass, without leaven. For our paschal lamb, even Christ, was slain for us.
But now that ye know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that ye turn again to the poor weak elements, to which ye desire again to be in bondage as before?
even as Christ hath loved us, and given Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweet perfume.
And indeed I have it all, and now abound: I am fully supplied, having received of Epaphroditus the things sent by you, a fragrant odor, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
Which figure remains to the present time, wherein gifts and sacrifices are offered, that cannot perfect the worshipper as to his conscience, relating only to meats and drinks, and different washings, and such carnal ordinances as were required till the time of reformation. read more. But Christ being come an high-priest of the good things to come, hath entered once for all into the holy places, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this building,
But Christ being come an high-priest of the good things to come, hath entered once for all into the holy places, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this building, nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh;
For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God?
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God? And on this account He is the mediator of a new covenant, that undergoing death for the redemption of transgressions against the first covenant, they that are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.
And on this account He is the mediator of a new covenant, that undergoing death for the redemption of transgressions against the first covenant, they that are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there is a necessity of proving the death of the testator. read more. For a testament is valid after men are dead, but is of no force while the testator is living. Whence neither was the first covenant entered into without blood: for when every command was spoken according to the law, by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people, saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God hath enjoined you. And the tabernacle, and all the vessels of public worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the representations of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with more excellent sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands, which were but types of the true ones; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor to offer Himself often, as the high-priest entereth into the holy of holies every year with the blood of others; (for then He must indeed have suffered often since the foundation of the world) but now once at the conclusion of the ages He hath been made manifest for the abolishing of sin by the sacrifice of himself.
For the law having but a faint shadow of good things to come, and not the full image of the things, can never, even by the great annual sacrifices which they offer statedly, make the comers thereunto perfect.
Whereas in these very sacrifices there is a recalling of sins to mind every year.
Having said before, "Thou didst not desire, nor hadst pleasure in, sacrifice and offering, and whole burnt-offerings, and sacrifices for sin," (which are offered by the law) then He adds, "Lo I come to do thy will, O God." (He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.) read more. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Easton
The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as a divine institution. It did not originate with man. God himself appointed it as the mode in which acceptable worship was to be offered to him by guilty man. The language and the idea of sacrifice pervade the whole Bible.
Sacrifices were offered in the ante-diluvian age. The Lord clothed Adam and Eve with the skins of animals, which in all probability had been offered in sacrifice (Ge 3:21). Abel offered a sacrifice "of the firstlings of his flock" (Ge 4:4; Heb 11:4). A distinction also was made between clean and unclean animals, which there is every reason to believe had reference to the offering up of sacrifices (Ge 7:2,8), because animals were not given to man as food till after the Flood.
The same practice is continued down through the patriarchal age (Ge 8:20; 12:7; 13:4,18; 15:9-11; 22:1-18, etc.). In the Mosaic period of Old Testament history definite laws were prescribed by God regarding the different kinds of sacrifices that were to be offered and the manner in which the offering was to be made. The offering of stated sacrifices became indeed a prominent and distinctive feature of the whole period (Ex 12:3-27; Le 23:5-8; Nu 9:2-14). (See Altar.)
We learn from the Epistle to the Hebrews that sacrifices had in themselves no value or efficacy. They were only the "shadow of good things to come," and pointed the worshippers forward to the coming of the great High Priest, who, in the fullness of the time, "was offered once for all to bear the sin of many." Sacrifices belonged to a temporary economy, to a system of types and emblems which served their purposes and have now passed away. The "one sacrifice for sins" hath "perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
Sacrifices were of two kinds: 1. Unbloody, such as (1) first-fruits and tithes; (2) meat and drink-offerings; and (3) incense. 2. Bloody, such as (1) burnt-offerings; (2) peace-offerings; and (3) sin and trespass offerings. (See Offering.)
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By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts: and by it, though dead, he yet speaketh.
Fausets
Every sacrifice was assumed to be vitally connected with the spirit of the worshipper. Unless the heart accompanied the sacrifice God rejected the gift (Isa 1:11,13). Corban included all that was given to the Lord's service, whether firstfruits, tithes (Le 2:12; 27:30), and gifts, for maintaining the priests and endowing the sanctuary (Nu 7:3; 31:50), or offerings for the altar. The latter were:
1. Animal
(1) burnt offerings,
(2) peace offerings,
(3) sin offerings.
2. Vegetable:
(1) meat and drink offerings for the altar outside,
(2) incense and meat offerings for the holy place within.
Besides there were the peculiar offerings, the Passover lamb, the scape-goat, and the red heifer; also the chagigah peace offering during the Passover. (See PASSOVER.) The public sacrifice as the morning and evening lamb, was at the cost of the nation. The private sacrifice was offered by the individual, either by the ordinance of the law or by voluntary gift. Zebach is the general term for "a slaughtered animal", as distinguished from minchah, "gift," a vegetable offering, our "meat (i.e. food) offering." 'Owlah is the "burnt offering", that which ascends (from 'alah) or "is burnt"; also kaleel, "whole," it all being consumed on the altar; "whole burnt sacrifice." Shelem is the "peace offering". Todah the "thank offering". Chattath ("sin and punishment") the "sin offering". 'Asham, "trespass offering", accompanied by pecuniary fine or forfeit, because of injury done to some one (it might be to the Lord Himself) in respect to property. The burnt offering was wholly burnt upon the altar; the sin offering was in part burnt upon the altar, in part given to the priests, or burnt outside the camp. The peace offering was shared between the altar, the priests, and the sacrificer.
The five animals in Abraham's sacrifice of the covenant (Ge 15:9) are the five alone named in the law for sacrifice: the ox, sheep, goat, dove, and pigeon. They fulfilled the three legal conditions: (1) they were clean; (2) used for food; (3) part of the home property of the sacrificers. They must be without spot or blemish; but a disproportioned victim was allowed in a free will peace offering (Le 7:16-17; 22:23). The age was from a week to three years old; Jg 6:25 is exceptional. The sacrificer (the offerer generally, but in public sacrifice the priests or Levites) slew the victim at the N. side of the altar. The priest or his assistant held a bowl under the cut throat to receive the blood. The sacrificial meal was peculiar to the peace offering. The priest sprinkled the blood of the burnt offering, the peace offering, and the trespass offering "round about upon the altar."
But in the sin offering, for one of the common people or a ruler, he took of the blood with his finger and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and poured out what blood remained at the bottom of the altar; in the sin offering for the congregation and for the high priest he brought some of the blood into the sanctuary and sprinkled it seven times before the veil, and put some on the horns of the altar of incense (Le 4:3,6,25,30). The "sprinkling" (hizah) of the blood of the sin offering with the finger or hyssop is distinct from the "casting abroad" (as the Hebrew zarak expresses) with the bowl in which the victim's blood was received as it flowed. The Mishna says the temple altar was furnished with two holes at the S.W. corner, through which the blood made its way down to Kedron. The Hebrew for burning (hiktir) on the altar means to send up or make to ascend in smoke, rather than to consume (Le 1:9). The offering was one of sweet smelling savour sent up in flame to Jehovah, not merely consumed.
The fat burned on the altar was mainly "sweet fat" or suet, cheleb (Ex 29:13,22; Le 3:4,10,15; 4:9; 7:4), distinct from mishman or shameen (Nu 12:16). The cheleb, as the blood, was not to be eaten (Le 3:17); the other fat might be eaten (Ne 8:10). A different word, peder, denotes the fat of the burnt offering, not exclusively selected for the altar as the cheleb of the other sacrifices (Le 1:8,12; 8:20). The significance of its being offered to Jehovah was that it is the source of nutriment of which the animal economy avails itself on emergency, so that in emaciation or atrophy it is the first substance that disappears; its development in the animal is a mark of perfection. The shoulder belonging to the officiating priest was "heaved," the breast for the priests in general was "waved" before Jehovah.
The wave offering (tenuphah) was moved to and fro repeatedly; applied to the gold and bronze, also to the Levites, dedicated to Jehovah. The heave offering (terumah) was lifted upward once; applied to all the gifts for the construction of the tabernacle. Abel offered "a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" because in "faith" (Heb 11:4). Now faith must have some revelation from God on which to rest. The revelation was doubtless God's command to sacrifice animals ("the firstlings of the flock") in token of man's forfeiture of life by sin, and a type of the promised Bruiser of the serpent's head (Ge 3:15), Himself to be bruised as the one sacrifice. This command is implied in God's having made coats of skins for Adam and Eve (Ge 3:21); for these must have been taken from animals slain in sacrifice (for it was not for food they were slain, animal food not being permitted until after the flood; nor for clothing, as clothes might have been made of the fleeces, without the needless cruelty of killing the animal).
A coat of skin put on Adam from a sacrificed animal typified the covering or atonement (kaphar) resulting from Christ's sacrifice ("atone" means to cover). Wycliffe translated Heb 11:4 "a much more sacrifice," one which partook more largely of the true virtue of sacrifice (Magee). It was not intrinsic merit in "the firstling of the flock" above "the fruit of the ground." It was God's appointment that gave it all its excellency; if it had not been so it would have been presumptuous will worship (Col 2:23) and taking of a life which man had no right over before the flood (Ge 9:2-4). Fire was God's mode of "accepting" ("turn to ashes" margin Ps 20:3) a burnt offering. Cain in unbelieving self righteousness presented merely thank offering, not like Abel feeling his need of the propitiatory sacrifice appointed for sin. God "had respect (first) unto Abel, and (then) to his offering" (Ge 4:4). Our works are not accepted by God, until our persons have been so, through faith in His work of grace.
The general prevalence of animal sacrifice among the pagan with the idea of expiation, the victim's blood and death removing guilt and appeasing divine wrath, is evidently a relic from primitive revelation preserved by tradition, though often encrusted over with superstitions. The earliest offering recorded as formally commanded by Jehovah, and of the five animals prescribed, is that of Abraham (Ge 15:9-17). The intended sacrifice of Isaac and substitution of a ram vividly represented the one only true sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, in substitution for us (Genesis 22). (See ISAAC.) Jacob's sacrifices at Mizpeh when parting with Laban, and at Beersheba when leaving the land of promise, were peace offerings (Ge 31:54; 46:1). That sacrifice was known to Israel in Egypt appears from Moses alleging as a reason for taking them out of Egypt that they might hold a feast and sacrifice to Jehovah (3/18/type/worsley'>Ex 3:18; 5:1,3,8,17).
Jethro's offering burnt offerings and peace offerings when he met Israel shows that sacrifice was common to the two great branches of the Semitic stock (Ex 18:12). Balaam's sacrifices were burnt offerings (Nu 23:2-3,6,15); Job's were also (Job 1:5; 42:7-8). Thus the oldest sacrifices were burnt offerings. The fat is referred to, not the blood. The peace offering is later, answering to a more advanced development of social life. Moses' order of the kinds of sacrifices in Leviticus answers to this historical succession. Therefore, the radical idea of sacrifice is in the burnt offering; figuring THE ASCENT of the reconciled, and accepted creature to Jehovah: "'olah" (Le 1:9): his self-sacrificing surrender wholly of body,
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therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than raiment?
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, He took our infirmities himself, and bore our diseases.
And be not afraid of them, who can only kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him, who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
He that would save his life shall lose it; and he, that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it.
for he that would save his life shall lose it; but he that would lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give as a ransom for his soul?
as the Son of man came not to be ministred unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
as the Son of man came not to be ministred unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
for this is my blood, the blood of the new covenant, which is to be shed for many for the remission of sins:
And when He had looked round upon them with indignation, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, He saith to the man, Stretch out thine hand: and he stretched it out, and his hand was made as sound as the other.
for he that would save his life, shall lose it; but he that would lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, shall save it.
For the Son of man came not to be ministred unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
And on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the paschal lamb, his disciples said to Him, Where wouldst thou have us go and make preparation for thee to eat of the paschal lamb?
And He said to his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat; nor for the body, what ye shall put on: the life is more than food, and the body than raiment.
The next day John seeth Jesus coming towards him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
He saith unto them, Come and see. And they came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day: and it was about the tenth hour.
For the passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those that sold oxen,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up:
For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life:
wherefore he that believeth on the Son, hath eternal life; and he that obeyeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
For this doth the Father love me; because I lay down my life: that I may take it again. None taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received from my Father.
None taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment I have received from my Father.
being justified freely by his grace, because of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
being justified freely by his grace, because of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath appointed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, in the remission of past sins, according to the forbearance of God;
whom God hath appointed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, in the remission of past sins, according to the forbearance of God; for a demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at this time: that He might be just, and the justifier of him, that believeth in Jesus.
For when we were yet without strength, Christ died in due season for the ungodly. Whereas one would hardly die for a just man, though perhaps for a good man one might dare even to die. read more. But God recommendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.
For as by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners; so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that we might no longer be inslaved to sin:
For that which was impossible for the law to do, and in which it was weak through the corruption of the flesh, God by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sacrifice for sin, hath done; that is, hath condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. read more. For they who are after the flesh, mind the things of the flesh; but they who are led by the Spirit, do mind spiritual things. Now to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace:
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and well-pleasing to God, as your rational service.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new mass, without leaven. For our paschal lamb, even Christ, was slain for us.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new mass, without leaven. For our paschal lamb, even Christ, was slain for us.
For in the first place I delivered to you, that which I also received, to wit, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:
For He hath made Him, who knew no sin, to be a sin-offering for us, that in Him we might be made righteous before God.
For He hath made Him, who knew no sin, to be a sin-offering for us, that in Him we might be made righteous before God.
I am crucified with Christ; yet I live, though no longer I, but Christ liveth 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 up himself for me.
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, having been made a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
for the flesh desireth things contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit things contrary to the flesh: and these are opposite to each other; so that ye do not those things which ye would.
in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
and that He might reconcile both in one body unto God, by the cross, having thereby slain the enmity:
even as Christ hath loved us, and given Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweet perfume.
and being in the human state, He humbled himself, and was obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross.
But if I be even poured forth as a libation on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and congratulate with you all.
And indeed I have it all, and now abound: I am fully supplied, having received of Epaphroditus the things sent by you, a fragrant odor, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which ye have heard before in the word of truth, that is the gospel;
and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace by the blood of his cross; by Him only, whether they be things on earth, or things in heaven.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
which things indeed have a pretence to wisdom in voluntary worship, and humiliation, and bodily penance, as having no regard to the satisfying of the flesh.
Exhort the young men in like manner to be temperate:
Who being the refulgence of his glory and the imprest image of his person, and sustaining all things by his powerful word, having by Himself performed the purging away of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
For it became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect by sufferings:
Whence it behoved Him to be made in all things like unto his brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high-priest in the things concerning God, to make atonement for the sins of the people:
For the word of God is lively and efficacious, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the very joints and marrow, and judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Having therefore a great high-priest, that is passed into the heavens, even Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession:
Having therefore a great high-priest, that is passed into the heavens, even Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession: for we have not an high-priest who cannot sympathize with our infirmities, but was in all respects tempted in like manner with us, yet without sin.
for we have not an high-priest who cannot sympathize with our infirmities, but was in all respects tempted in like manner with us, yet without sin. Let us therefore come with freedom to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace for our seasonable help.
Let us therefore come with freedom to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace for our seasonable help.
For every high-priest taken from among men, is appointed for the sake of men in things relating to God, that he may offer gifts and sacrifices for sins: who can have due compassion on the ignorant and those that are going astray; seeing he himself also is surrounded with infirmity: read more. and for this reason he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifice for sins. And no one taketh this honor to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was.
Who in the days of his flesh, offered prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears, to Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in what He feared; but though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered: and being thus perfected, read more. He became the author of eternal salvation to all that obey Him:
which we have as an anchor of the soul safe and stedfast, and which entereth within the veil. Whither Jesus our fore-runner is entered for us, being made an high-priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec.
wherefore also He is able to save to the uttermost, those that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
For every high-priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; wherefore it was necessary that He also should have something to offer.
but into the second only the high-priest went once a year; and that not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the sins of the people committed through ignorance. The Holy Ghost shewing by this, that the way into the Holy of holies was not yet manifested, the first tabernacle being yet standing. read more. Which figure remains to the present time, wherein gifts and sacrifices are offered, that cannot perfect the worshipper as to his conscience,
Which figure remains to the present time, wherein gifts and sacrifices are offered, that cannot perfect the worshipper as to his conscience, relating only to meats and drinks, and different washings, and such carnal ordinances as were required till the time of reformation. read more. But Christ being come an high-priest of the good things to come, hath entered once for all into the holy places, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this building, nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh;
For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God?
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God?
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God?
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God? And on this account He is the mediator of a new covenant, that undergoing death for the redemption of transgressions against the first covenant, they that are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.
And on this account He is the mediator of a new covenant, that undergoing death for the redemption of transgressions against the first covenant, they that are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there is a necessity of proving the death of the testator.
For where a testament is, there is a necessity of proving the death of the testator. For a testament is valid after men are dead, but is of no force while the testator is living.
For a testament is valid after men are dead, but is of no force while the testator is living. Whence neither was the first covenant entered into without blood:
Whence neither was the first covenant entered into without blood:
Whence neither was the first covenant entered into without blood: for when every command was spoken according to the law, by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people,
for when every command was spoken according to the law, by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people,
for when every command was spoken according to the law, by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people,
for when every command was spoken according to the law, by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people, saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God hath enjoined you.
saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God hath enjoined you.
saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God hath enjoined you.
saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God hath enjoined you. And the tabernacle, and all the vessels of public worship he likewise sprinkled with blood.
And the tabernacle, and all the vessels of public worship he likewise sprinkled with blood.
And the tabernacle, and all the vessels of public worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the representations of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with more excellent sacrifices than these.
It was therefore necessary that the representations of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with more excellent sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands, which were but types of the true ones; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
For Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands, which were but types of the true ones; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor to offer Himself often, as the high-priest entereth into the holy of holies every year with the blood of others;
nor to offer Himself often, as the high-priest entereth into the holy of holies every year with the blood of others; (for then He must indeed have suffered often since the foundation of the world) but now once at the conclusion of the ages He hath been made manifest for the abolishing of sin by the sacrifice of himself.
(for then He must indeed have suffered often since the foundation of the world) but now once at the conclusion of the ages He hath been made manifest for the abolishing of sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed to men once to die, and after this the judgement;
And as it is appointed to men once to die, and after this the judgement; so Christ, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear the second time without sin, to those who are waiting for Him, unto salvation.
so Christ, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear the second time without sin, to those who are waiting for Him, unto salvation.
For the law having but a faint shadow of good things to come, and not the full image of the things, can never, even by the great annual sacrifices which they offer statedly, make the comers thereunto perfect.
For the law having but a faint shadow of good things to come, and not the full image of the things, can never, even by the great annual sacrifices which they offer statedly, make the comers thereunto perfect. For then they would have ceased to be offered, because the sacrificers, being once purified, would no longer retain any consciousness of sins. read more. Whereas in these very sacrifices there is a recalling of sins to mind every year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
then said I, Lo I come, as in the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God." Having said before, "Thou didst not desire, nor hadst pleasure in, sacrifice and offering, and whole burnt-offerings, and sacrifices for sin," (which are offered by the law) then He adds, read more. "Lo I come to do thy will, O God." (He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.) By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And indeed every priest under the law standeth daily ministring, and frequently offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but He having offered one sacrifice for sins, is for ever sat down at the right hand of God;
Now where there is such a remission of these, there needs no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, free admission into the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
Having therefore, brethren, free admission into the holy places by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say,
the new and living way which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and having a great high-priest over the house of God,
his flesh, and having a great high-priest over the house of God, let us draw near with sincerity, in the full assurance of faith, having our hearts cleansed from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
let us draw near with sincerity, in the full assurance of faith, having our hearts cleansed from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts: and by it, though dead, he yet speaketh.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts: and by it, though dead, he yet speaketh.
We have an altar, of which those who perform service in the tabernacle have no right to eat. As the bodies of those animals, whose blood being offered for sin is brought into the holy place by the high-priest, are not eaten, but are burnt without the camp. read more. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us then go out unto Him without the camp, bearing his reproach: for we have here no continuing city,
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant,
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who was indeed appointed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last times, for your sakes,
For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now turned unto the shepherd and bishop of your souls.
In this was the love of God manifested towards us, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. I John, who am also your brother, and companion in the affliction, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the island called Patmos, for the sake of the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
And I turned to see the voice that spake to me: and when I turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
And when He had taken the book, the four animals, and the twenty four elders, fell down before the Lamb, having every one harps and golden vials full of perfumes, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book, and to open its seals; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation; read more. and hast made us to our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round the throne and the animals and the elders: and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
And the smoke of the incense went up with the prayers of the saints, out of the hand of the angel, before God.
So that all who dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Morish
As a technical religious term, 'sacrifice' designates anything which, having been devoted to a holy purpose, cannot be called back. In the generality of sacrifices offered to God under the law the consciousness is supposed in the offerer that death, as God's judgement, was on him; hence the sacrifice had to be killed that it might be accepted of God at his hand. In fact the word sacrifice often refers to the act of killing.
The first sacrifice we read of was that offered by Abel, though there is an indication of the death of victims in the fact that Adam and Eve were clothed by God with coats of skins. Doubtless in some way God had instructed man that, the penalty of the fall and of his own sin being that his life was forfeited, he could only appropriately approach God by the death of a substitute not chargeable with his offence; for it was by faith that Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Heb 11:4. God afterward instructed Cain that if he did not well, sin, or a sin offering, lay at the door.
The subject was more fully explained under the law: "The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Le 17:11. Not that the blood of bulls and of goats had any inherent efficacy to take away sins; but it was typical of the blood of Christ which is the witness that they have been taken away for the believer by Christ's sacrifice.
Christ appeared once in the end of the world "to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself;" and He having once died, there remains no more sacrifice for sins. Eph 5:2; 26/type/worsley'>Heb 9:26; 10:4,12,26. Without faith in the sacrificial death of Christ there is no salvation, as is taught in Ro 3:25; 4:24-25; 1Co 15:1-4.
The Christian is exhorted to present his body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is his intelligent service, Ro 12:1: cf. 2Co 8:5; Php 4:18. He offers by Christ the sacrifice of praise to God, and even to do good and to communicate are sacrifices well pleasing to God. Heb 13:15-16: cf. 1Pe 2:5. For the sacrifices under the law see OFFERINGS.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
whom God hath appointed to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, in the remission of past sins, according to the forbearance of God;
but for our sakes also, to him it will be imputed, as we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead: who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and well-pleasing to God, as your rational service.
And this they did not merely as we hoped, but first gave themselves unto the Lord, and to us by the will of God.
even as Christ hath loved us, and given Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweet perfume.
And indeed I have it all, and now abound: I am fully supplied, having received of Epaphroditus the things sent by you, a fragrant odor, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
(for then He must indeed have suffered often since the foundation of the world) but now once at the conclusion of the ages He hath been made manifest for the abolishing of sin by the sacrifice of himself.
For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
but He having offered one sacrifice for sins, is for ever sat down at the right hand of God;
For if we sin wilfully after having received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins;
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts: and by it, though dead, he yet speaketh.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
and precious, ye also are built up as living stones, a spiritual house, an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Smith
Sacrifice.
The peculiar features of each kind of sacrifice are referred to under their respective heads. I. (A) ORIGIN OF SACRIFICE. --The universal prevalence of sacrifice shows it to have been primeval, and deeply rooted in the instincts of humanity. Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or whether it was based on that sense of sin and lost communion with God which is stamped by his hand on the heart of man, is a historical question which cannot be determined. (B) ANTE-MOSAIC HISTORY OF SACRIFICE. --In examining the various sacrifices recorded in Scripture before the establishment of the law, we find that the words specially denoting expiatory sacrifice are not applied to them. This fact does not at all show that they were not actually expiatory, but it justified the inference that this idea was not then the prominent one in the doctrine of sacrifice. The sacrifices of Cain and Abel are called minehah, tend appear to have been eucharistic. Noah's,
and Jacob's at Mizpah, were at the institution of a covenant; and may be called federative. In the burnt offerings of Job for his children
and for his three friends ch.
we for the first time find the expression of the desire of expiation for sin. The same is the case in the words of Moses to Pharaoh.
Here the main idea is at least deprecatory. (C) THE SACRIFICES OF THE MOSAIC PERIOD. --These are inaugurated by the offering of the Passover and the sacrifice of
... The Passover indeed is unique in its character but it is clear that the idea of salvation from death by means of sacrifice is brought out in it with a distinctness before unknown. The law of Leviticus now unfolds distinctly the various forms of sacrifice: (a) The burnt offering: Self-dedicatory. (b) The meat offering: (unbloody): Eucharistic. (c) The sin offering; the trespass offering: Expiatory. To these may be added, (d) The incense offered after sacrifice in the holy place and (on the Day of Atonement) in the holy of holies, the symbol of the intercession of the priest (as a type of the great High Priest) accompanying and making efficacious the prayer of the people. In the consecration of Aaron and his sons,
... we find these offered in what became ever afterward their appointed order. First came the sin offering, to prepare access to God; next the burnt offering, to mark their dedication to his service; and third the meat offering of thanksgiving. Henceforth the sacrificial system was fixed in all its parts until he should come whom it typified. (D) POST-MOSAIC SACRIFICES. --It will not be necessary to pursue, in detail the history of the Poet Mosaic sacrifice, for its main principles were now fixed forever. The regular sacrifices in the temple service were-- (a) Burnt offerings. 1, the daily burnt offerings,
2, the double burnt offerings on the Sabbath,
3, the burnt offerings at the great festivals;
11/type/worsley'>Nu 26:11,1; 29:39
(b) Meat offerings. 1, the daily meat offerings accompanying the daily burnt offerings,
2, the shewbread, renewed every Sabbath,
3, the special meat offerings at the Sabbath and the great festivals,
1/type/worsley'>1/type/worsley'>Nu 28:1/type/worsley'>1,1/type/worsley'>1,1/type/worsley'>1
... 4, the first-fruits, at the Passover,
at Pentecost,
the firstfruits of the dough and threshing-floor at the harvest time.
Nu 15:20-21; De 26:1-11
(c) Sin offerings. 1, sin offering each new moon
2, sin offerings at the passover, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets and Tabernacles,
28/22/type/worsley'>Nu 28:22,30; 29:5,16,19,22,25,28,31,34,38
3, the offering of the two goats for the people and of the bullock for the priest himself, on the Great Day of Atonement.
... (d) Incense. 1, the morning and evening incense
2, the incense on the Great Day of Atonement.
Besides these public sacrifices, there were offerings of the people for themselves individually. II. By the order of sacrifice in its perfect form, as in
... it is clear that the sin offering occupies the most important: place; the burnt offering comes next, and the meat offering or peace offering last of all. The second could only be offered after the first had been accepted; the third was only a subsidiary part of the second. Yet, in actual order of time it has been seen that the patriarchal sacrifices partook much more of the nature of the peace offering and burnt offering, and that under the raw, by which was "the knowledge of sin,"
the sin offering was for the first time explicitly set forth. This is but natural that the deepest ideas should be the last in order of development. The essential difference between heathen views of sacrifice and the scriptural doctrine of the Old. Testament is not to be found in its denial of any of these views. In fact, it brings out clearly and distinctly the ideas which in heathenism were uncertain, vague and perverted. But the essential points of distinction are two. First, that whereas the heathen conceived of their gods as alienated in jealousy or anger, to be sought after and to be appeased by the unaided action of man, Scripture represents God himself as approaching man, as pointing out and sanctioning the way by which the broken covenant should be restored. The second mark of distinction is closely connected with this, inasmuch as it shows sacrifice to he a scheme proceeding from God, and in his foreknowledge, connected with the one central fact of all human history. From the prophets and the Epistle to the Hebrews we learn that the sin offering represented that covenant as broken by man, and as knit together again, by God's appointment through the shedding of the blood, the symbol of life, signified that the death of the offender was deserved for sin, but that the death of the victim was accepted for his death by the ordinance of God's mercy. Beyond all doubt the sin offering distinctly witnessed that sin existed in man. that the "wages of that sin was death," and that God had provided an atonement by the vicarious suffering of an appointed victim. The ceremonial and meaning of the burnt offering were very different. The idea of expiation seems not to have been absent from it, for the blood was sprinkled round about the altar of sacrifice; but the main idea is the offering of the whole victim to God, representing as the laying of the hand on its head shows, the devotion of the sacrificer, body and soul. to him.
The death of the victim was, so to speak, an incidental feature. The meat offering, the peace or thank offering, the firstfruits, etc., were simply offerings to God of his own best gifts, as a sign of thankful homage, and as a means of maintaining his service and his servants. The characteristic ceremony in the peace offering was the eating of the flesh by the sacrificer. It betokened the enjoyment of communion with God. It is clear from this that the idea of sacrifice is a complex idea, involving the propitiatory, the dedicatory and the eucharistic elements. Any one of these, taken by itself, would lead to error and superstition. All three probably were more or less implied in each sacrifice. each element predominating in its turn. The Epistle to the Hebrews contains the key of the whole sacrificial doctrine. The object of the epistle is to show the typical and probationary character of sacrifices, and to assert that in virtue of it alone they had a spiritual meaning. Our Lord is declared (see)
to have been foreordained as a sacrifice "before the foundation of the world," or as it is more strikingly expressed in
slain from the foundation of the world. The material sacrifices represented this great atonement as already made and accepted in God's foreknowledge; and to those who grasped the ideas of sin, pardon and self-dedication symbolized in them, they were means of entering into the blessings which the one true sacrifice alone procured. They could convey nothing in themselves yet as types they might, if accepted by a true though necessarily imperfect faith be means of conveying in some degree the blessings of the antitype. It is clear that the atonement in the Epistle to the Hebrews as in the New
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Wherefore by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before Him: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and well-pleasing to God, as your rational service.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
who was indeed appointed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last times, for your sakes,
So that all who dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Watsons
SACRIFICE, properly so called, is the solemn infliction of death on a living creature, generally by the effusion of its blood, in a way of religious worship; and the presenting of this act to God, as a supplication for the pardon of sin, and a supposed means of compensation for the insult and injury thereby offered to his majesty and government. Sacrifices have, in all ages, and by almost every nation, been regarded as necessary to placate the divine anger, and render the Deity propitious. Though the Gentiles had lost the knowledge of the true God, they still retained such a dread of him, that they sometimes sacrificed their own offspring for the purpose of averting his anger. Unhappy and bewildered mortals, seeking relief from their guilty fears, hoped to atone for past crimes by committing others still more awful; they gave their first-born for their transgression, the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul. The Scriptures sufficiently indicate that sacrifices were instituted by divine appointment, immediately after the entrance of sin, to prefigure the sacrifice of Christ. Accordingly, we find Abel, Noah, Abraham, Job, and others, offering sacrifices in the faith of the Messiah; and the divine acceptance of their sacrifices is particularly recorded. But, in religious institutions, the Most High has ever been jealous of his prerogative. He alone prescribes his own worship; and he regards as vain and presumptuous every pretence of honouring him which he has not commanded. The sacrifice of blood and death could not have been offered to him without impiety, nor would he have accepted it, had not his high authority pointed the way by an explicit prescription.
Under the law, sacrifices of various kinds were appointed for the children of Israel; the paschal lamb, Ex 12:3; the holocaust, or whole burnt- offering, Le 7:8; the sin-offering, or sacrifice of expiation, Le 4:3-4; and the peace-offering, or sacrifice of thanksgiving, Le 7:11-12; all of which emblematically set forth the sacrifice of Christ, being the instituted types and shadows of it, Heb 9:9-15; 10:1. Accordingly, Christ abolished the whole of them when he offered his own sacrifice. "Above, when he said, Sacrifice, and offering, and burnt- offerings, and offering for sin, thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein, which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all," Heb 10:8-10; 1Co 5:7. In illustrating this fundamental doctrine of Christianity, the Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, sets forth the excellency of the sacrifice of our great High Priest above those of the law in various particulars. The legal sacrifices were only brute animals, such as bullocks, heifers, goats, lambs, &c; but the sacrifice of Christ was himself, a person of infinite dignity and worth, Heb 9:12-13; 1:3; 9:14,26; 10:10. The former, though they cleansed from ceremonial uncleanness, could not possibly expiate sin, or purify the conscience from the guilt of it; and so it is said that God was not well pleased in them, Heb 10:4-5,8,11. But Christ, by the sacrifice of himself, hath effectually, and for ever, put away sin, having made an adequate atonement unto God for it, and by means of faith in it he also purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God, Heb 9:10-26; Eph 5:2. The legal sacrifices were statedly offered, year after year, by which their insufficiency was indicated, and an intimation given that God was still calling sins to his remembrance, Heb 10:3; but the last required no repetition, because it fully and at once answered all the ends of sacrifice, on which account God hath declared that he will remember the sins and iniquities of his people no more.
The term sacrifice is often used in a secondary or metaphorical sense, and applied to the good works of believers, and to the duties of prayer and praise, as in the following passages: "But to do good, and to communicate, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased," Heb 13:16. "Having received of Epaphroditus the things which ye sent, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God," Php 4:18. "Ye are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ," 1Pe 2:5. "By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually; that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name," Heb 13:15. "I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service," Ro 12:1. "There is a peculiar reason," says Dr. Owen, "for assigning this appellation to moral duties; for in every sacrifice there was a presentation of something unto God. The worshipper was not to offer that which cost him nothing; part of his substance was to be transferred from himself unto God. So it is in these duties; they cannot be properly observed without the alienation of something that was our own,
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I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, and well-pleasing to God, as your rational service.
even as Christ hath loved us, and given Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweet perfume.
And indeed I have it all, and now abound: I am fully supplied, having received of Epaphroditus the things sent by you, a fragrant odor, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
Who being the refulgence of his glory and the imprest image of his person, and sustaining all things by his powerful word, having by Himself performed the purging away of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
Which figure remains to the present time, wherein gifts and sacrifices are offered, that cannot perfect the worshipper as to his conscience, relating only to meats and drinks, and different washings, and such carnal ordinances as were required till the time of reformation.
relating only to meats and drinks, and different washings, and such carnal ordinances as were required till the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high-priest of the good things to come, hath entered once for all into the holy places, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this building,
But Christ being come an high-priest of the good things to come, hath entered once for all into the holy places, through a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this building, nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
nor by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh;
For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh;
For if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purification of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God?
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God?
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself spotless to God, purify your conscience from dead works, that ye may serve the living God? And on this account He is the mediator of a new covenant, that undergoing death for the redemption of transgressions against the first covenant, they that are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance.
And on this account He is the mediator of a new covenant, that undergoing death for the redemption of transgressions against the first covenant, they that are called might receive the promise of an eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there is a necessity of proving the death of the testator. read more. For a testament is valid after men are dead, but is of no force while the testator is living. Whence neither was the first covenant entered into without blood: for when every command was spoken according to the law, by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people, saying, this is the blood of the covenant, which God hath enjoined you. And the tabernacle, and all the vessels of public worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the representations of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with more excellent sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands, which were but types of the true ones; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor to offer Himself often, as the high-priest entereth into the holy of holies every year with the blood of others; (for then He must indeed have suffered often since the foundation of the world) but now once at the conclusion of the ages He hath been made manifest for the abolishing of sin by the sacrifice of himself.
(for then He must indeed have suffered often since the foundation of the world) but now once at the conclusion of the ages He hath been made manifest for the abolishing of sin by the sacrifice of himself.
For the law having but a faint shadow of good things to come, and not the full image of the things, can never, even by the great annual sacrifices which they offer statedly, make the comers thereunto perfect.
Whereas in these very sacrifices there is a recalling of sins to mind every year. For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. read more. Wherefore upon his coming into the world He saith, "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Having said before, "Thou didst not desire, nor hadst pleasure in, sacrifice and offering, and whole burnt-offerings, and sacrifices for sin," (which are offered by the law) then He adds,
Having said before, "Thou didst not desire, nor hadst pleasure in, sacrifice and offering, and whole burnt-offerings, and sacrifices for sin," (which are offered by the law) then He adds, "Lo I come to do thy will, O God." (He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second.) read more. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And indeed every priest under the law standeth daily ministring, and frequently offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
and precious, ye also are built up as living stones, a spiritual house, an holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.