Sacrificial Love

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 30th of August, 2026.  Our air conditioning has been out for two weeks now, forcing us to cancel last Sunday's service as the sanctuary temperature exceeded 92 degrees.  This Sunday we met in our Fellowship Hall, with windows open and fans buzzing, just like in days long past.  There is no recording of this service.]

I often speak of how we should love as Jesus loved - selflessly, unconditionally, sacrificially.  Jesus showed His love for us by allowing Himself to be sacrificed on the cross to redeem us of our sin.  Must we also give up our mortal lives in service to others?  Let Paul answer this.

I've mentioned before that Paul's Letter to the Romans can be a little difficult to fully understand in places.  Sometimes his words need to be taken metaphorically rather than literally.  For instance, doesn’t it sound a little bit of an oxymoron when he writes of being a living sacrifice.  Doesn’t something usually have to die to be a sacrifice?

Paul had just finished writing about how God has not forgotten His chosen people, but because many Jews refused to believe in Jesus, it made it possible for the Gentiles to be children of God along with Jewish converts.  If for no other reason than this, we should praise God, for this is a great gift to us non-Jews.

Please listen as Paul tells us how we should react to God’s great and undeserved mercy toward us, as I read the first 10 verses of the 12th chapter of the Apostle’s Letter to the Romans, and I’ll be reading from the Easy-to-Read version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to Him — an offering that is only for God and pleasing to Him. Considering what He has done, it is only right that you should worship Him in this way. 2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to Him and what is perfect.

3 God has given me a special gift, and that is why I have something to say to each one of you. Don’t think that you are better than you really are. You must see yourself just as you are. Decide what you are by the faith God has given each of us. 4 Each one of us has one body, and that body has many parts. These parts don’t all do the same thing. 5 In the same way, we are many people, but in Christ we are all one body. We are the parts of that body, and each part belongs to all the others.

6 We all have different gifts. Each gift came because of the grace God gave us. Whoever has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in a way that fits the kind of faith they have. 7 Whoever has the gift of serving should serve. Whoever has the gift of teaching should teach. 8 Whoever has the gift of comforting others should do that. Whoever has the gift of giving to help others should give generously. Whoever has the gift of leading should work hard at it. Whoever has the gift of showing kindness to others should do it gladly.

9 Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Do only what is good. 10 Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself.

--Romans 12:1-10 (ERV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for showing such great mercy on us even though we are not part of Your chosen people, the children of Israel.  You have opened the beautiful Gospel message to us and Your Son Jesus has wrapped us in His loving arms.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much.  And now, Father, please open our hearts to receive Your message this morning.  Touch each of us with Your most Holy Spirit that we might be moved to love others as You love us.  To God be the glory!  In the precious name of Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.

I've used this quote before, and I will again, because it speaks so clearly to the idea some have about sacrifice.  This comes from Soren Kierkegaard in his writing, And I looked Around and Nobody was Laughing:

“I went into church and sat on the velvet pew. I watched as the sun came shining through the stained glass windows. The minister dressed in a velvet robe opened the golden gilded Bible, marked it with a silk bookmark and said, ‘If any man will be My disciple,’ said Jesus, ‘let him deny himself, take up his cross, sell what he has, give it to the poor, and follow Me.’”

I'm reminded of a certain denomination, and of some churches, that have a great amount of financial resources tied up in the trappings of the church facilities.  Fancy buildings, expensive windows and paintings, costly ornamentation, elaborate dress for the pastors, priests, and officials.  A lot of money tied up in show, and not being used to relieve suffering.

Now don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with wealth, or even the accumulation of wealth.  It’s what we do with that wealth that matters.  How can we follow Jesus if we aren't willing to do what He says?

In our scripture reading, Paul is using the language of Old Testament animal sacrifice to express the idea of completely giving of oneself to God.  He isn’t saying that we should give of our mortal lives as a sacrifice to God – Jesus already did that for us – but to give of ourselves in service to God.  And how do we give of ourselves to God?  By using the gifts that God gave us, and using them to help others, and especially to help others come to Christ Jesus.

Each of us has been given some kind of gift, and some of us were blessed with many gifts.  Paul mentions a few of the possibilities:  speaking for God, serving others, teaching, providing comfort, giving to help others, leading, showing kindness.  If you’re not sure what gift you have been given, a standard Myers-Briggs test could help.  But the thing is to use your gift in love, out of love for others.  And that love must be true, your love must be real.

And folks, this is what God wants of us.  He wants us to show our love.  Please listen as God speaks through His prophet Hosea in verse 6 of the 6th chapter of the book bearing his name, telling us…

6 I want faithful love,

not sacrifice.

I want people to know God,

not to bring burnt offerings.

--Hosea 6:6 (ERV)

The New King James Version translates this as, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”.  If we are faithful in our love, our love to God and to others, we will show mercy, and mercy will be extended to us.

There was a moment when some Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection, came to Jesus and tried to trap Him.  They described the hypothetical case of a woman eventually becoming the wife of seven brothers, who all died one after the other.  “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?”, they asked.  Jesus set them straight using their own scripture.  A scribe who had been closely following this discussion had a question of his own.  Please hear how the Apostle Mark reported the scribe’s conversation with Jesus, in verses 28 through 34 of the 12th chapter of his Gospel account…

28 One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus. He heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He saw that Jesus gave good answers to their questions. So he asked Him, “Which of the commands is the most important?”

29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘People of Israel, listen! The Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second most important command is this: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’ These two commands are the most important.”

32 The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You are right in saying that God is the only Lord and that there is no other God. 33 And you must love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. And you must love others the same as you love yourself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”

34 Jesus saw that the man answered Him wisely. So He said to him, “You are close to God’s kingdom.” And after that time, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.

--Mark 12:28-34 (ERV)

In verse 31, when Jesus says “Love your neighbor”, His teachings make it clear that this means “love all others”, as the scribe correctly noted in verse 33.  The scribe echoed Hosea when he added, “These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”

God doesn’t want us to sacrifice animals as a way to please Him.  He doesn’t even want us to take grain or food that we would normally eat and leave it on an altar somewhere to spoil and rot.  The only sacrifice He wants us to make is of ourselves, of our time and resources - a living sacrifice.  He just wants us to love, and to love sacrificially.

So let’s do what God wants, what truly pleases Him.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who showed us how to love.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for showing mercy to the Gentiles, because that is us.  By Your gracious love, we get to share in the victory Your Son won over death.  Thank You for giving us gifts that we can use to serve You, to use in sacrificial love.  Help us please You, Father.  Encourage us to give of ourselves in Your service to others.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment so that each of us can speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your and our Lord’s commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us how to love.  Thank You for telling us what is truly important, and setting the example for us to follow.  Please help us love in the same way that You love: selflessly, unconditionally, sacrificially.  Help us share the wonderful Gospel message and carry out the mission You gave us, seeking the lost sheep and leading them to You.

Holy Spirit, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this world might offer.  All this we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.