Getting Back On The Altar

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1

Genesis 22 contains one of the most famous stories in the Bible—indeed, in all of literature. It is the account of God commanding Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. This was the supreme test of Abraham’s obedience, and he did not hesitate. Because of his obedience, Isaac was spared moments before the sacrifice was completed.

Consider this: What if God had told Isaac to take himself up to Mount Moriah; to build an altar; to climb upon the altar; and, with his own knife, to offer himself as a sacrifice to God? The Old Testament sacrificial rituals prepared people to offer animals as sacrifices; a sacrifice was something other than yourself. That tradition did not prepare the early church for what Paul instructed them to do: offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God.

Living sacrifices don’t die physically, but they must die spiritually every day. As someone has well said, “The problem with living sacrifices is they keep crawling off the altar.”

Look around—if you’re standing on the ground, it’s time to get back on the altar.