"What Smells Good to God?" Part 2

In Part 1 of "What Smells Good to God?" we looked at the sacrifice for sins that Jesus made on the cross. We also saw God's acceptance of what Jesus has done, evidenced by Jesus being raised from the dead. We discussed how when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, God accepts the sacrifice of Christ's death for our sins, and gives us the righteousness of his life. By faith in Jesus we are declared righteous before God and heirs to eternal life. All of this can be examined here: Part 1 Link Here

For Part 2 of this post, I want to look at what we do in response to God's mercy as it has been revealed in Jesus Christ and the results that come from our response.

1. Our Response

Since Jesus Christ is the primary sacrifice for our sins, we respond by offering our lives to God. We respond by presenting ourselves to God in joyful service to Him.

Paul says in Romans, "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. (Romans 12:1 ESV)

By the mercies of God, present your bodies [to Him] as a living sacrifice. Presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices is how we spiritually worship God. Jesus told us about this time when he said, "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24 ESV)

We worship God in spirit and truth by presenting our bodies to him as a living sacrifices. 

Why and how do we live as sacrifices?

We present our bodies to God in light of His mercies toward us. 

a. We do this by remembrance of our deliverance. 

God delivered the Jews from their enslavement in Egypt and they passed through the desert on their way to Canaan, the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. Along the way, Israel grumbled and often times wanted to return to Egypt! God consistently gave them signs and presented many different ways they could remember their deliverance. However, Israel continually turned from the LORD. Israel did not remember their slavery in Egypt and how God delivered them.

This is not the way of the Christian, though. We remember God's mercies. We live in light of God's mercies and we remember always the deliverance from sin God has granted us through Jesus Christ. A great example of how we remember our deliverance from the slavery of sin is that we participate in the sacrament of communion.

Jesus explains our remembrance: And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22:19-20 ESV)

Paul also reminds us of communion, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." (1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV)

We proclaim the Lord's death. We remember the new covenant of his blood. Communion reminds us always of our union with Christ and of God's mercies towards us. This remembrance of our deliverance empowers us to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God.

b. We present our bodies as living sacrifices in celebration of our hope. 

Living in light of God's mercies has a twofold effect. We have already looked at how we remember our deliverance from sin. Now we turn our focus to the hope of glory that we have - the hope of eternal life. Earlier in Romans, Paul tells us that God will give us all things in Christ Jesus.

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32 ESV)

We know that if God was willing to give his own Son up for our sins, he will also give us every good thing with Christ. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells us two amazing things:
1) God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, and
2) God has raised us up and seated us with Himself in the heavenly places.  (Eph 1:3; 2:6)

When God raised Jesus from the dead, he raised up all of us who put our faith in Jesus. Jesus was raised to the right hand of God and so are all who have put their faith in Jesus!

"and [God] raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6-7 ESV)

When we realize that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places we have immense hope! We cling to the hope of glory and we cannot help but worship. When we consider that in the coming ages, God is going to show us the "immeasurable riches of his grace" we cannot help but present ourselves joyfully as "living sacrifices." Our hope in heaven is far too great for us to do anything but give our lives joyfully to God in service of Him.

We live as sacrifices to God when we live in light of his mercies by remembering our deliverance and celebrating our hope. 

The best part is this: when we present our lives as sacrifices to God, they are holy and acceptable to Him. God is well pleased in us when we are presenting the whole of our life to him. Our lives belong to God as our "spiritual form of worship," and God can use us to advance His purposes of reconciliation and redemption.

If every part of our lives belongs to God, He will be able to use every part of our lives to gain glory for His name, which leads us to the results of our response.

2. The Results of Our Response

The first result of us presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to God is personal sanctification. 

We continue on in Romans 12 to read, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2 ESV)

When we are offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God, we are able to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. We allow God to have ownership of every part of our lives. By presenting ourselves as living sacrifices, we are resisting conformity to this world and availing ourselves to be transformed into people who can discern and live in the perfect will of God. We are saying, "God, you can have me! I am yours! Because of the mercies you have shown me, I no longer resist. I belong to you and I want you transform me!" We aren't clinging to anything in our own power, rather we are availing ourselves to His immeasurable power. We are opening the whole of our lives to God and allowing His power to continually sanctify us.

In fact, seeing the beauty of God's mercy revealed in Christ Jesus and our response of surrendering ourselves to God's grace is the way of salvation of the gospel! When we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, we are giving up our power, our works, and our pursuit of goodness. We place our trust in Jesus to be our power, our works, and our goodness. This is a one time action, and a lifetime action! This presenting of ourselves as a sacrifice to God and allowing ourselves to be transformed is the first act in our saving faith and a continually renewed act in our saving faith!

We are sanctified once and for all by the blood of Christ and as living sacrifices we are being progressively sanctified by God as we are transformed by the renewal of our mind.

The second result of us presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice to God is that we find our joy in the service of the body of Christ. 

Paul goes on in Romans 12 to tell us of the various roles found in the body of Christ:
"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness." (Romans 12:4-8 ESV)

Look at each of these roles. Paul is saying that as we find our role in the body of Christ we find joy in our service. If we serve, let us serve! If we teach, let us teach! If we do acts of mercy, let us be cheerful!

Could you picture anyone else playing Don Corleone in "The Godfather" besides Marlon Brando? It's like the role was written for him! In the same way, when we present ourselves as living sacrifices to God, we are making ourselves available to find our role in Christ's body. God has ownership over our gifts, talents, and desires - and according to the grace given us He will use them in service to the body of Christ!

When we present ourselves as living sacrifices to be used by God for his purposes, we will also find joy. What great joy the gifted singer feels when she sings "Amazing Grace" to God her Father! And how does that bless the congregation who hears her beautiful talents! But if she weren't presenting her talents to God as a sacrifice for Him to use, she would never be on that stage!

The third result of presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God is that God is able to use us to build the body of Christ. 

Not only do our talents directly benefit the body, they also build the body. Paul says in Ephesians that "when each part of the body is working properly, the body grows so that it builds itself up in love." (Ephesians 4:16) Those who present themselves as living sacrifices to God are allowing themselves to be the "parts of the body" that God wants them to be, and they help to build the body of Christ up in love. For an example, consider your pastor! Your pastor presents himself to God as a living sacrifice, and God is able to use him to build up the body of Christ both internally through his congregation and externally by helping non-believers come to Christ.

The fourth result is that we imitate Christ as we live sacrificially. 

Paul finishes Romans 12 by showcasing the marks of the Christian, the signs that a person is presenting themselves as a living sacrifice:

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)

Read this list. Meditate on this list. Does this describe you? 

Consider this, Jesus fulfills this list! Someone who is presenting themselves to God as a living sacrifice is imitating Christ. Jesus loves genuinely. Jesus blesses his persecutors, Jesus associates with the lowly. Jesus overcomes evil with good. The Christian who presents himself as a living sacrifice is imitating Christ by living this way.

This sacrificial life of the Christian is what smells good to God. 

So to recap, by presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God we are sanctified, joyfully used imitators of Christ our Lord that God can use to build the body up in love.

Oh let us all be imitators of God! Let us all live joyfully sacrificial lives in light of God's amazing mercies!

Let's be the kind of people who smell good to God!