Living Sacrifices as a Sweet Smelling Aroma
#1846A Bill Onisick Given 15-Nov-25; 37 minutes
2025-11-15
listen:
download:
summary: This message asserts that sacrifice is the central theme of God's plan, not only the foundation of salvation, but also the essential means by which God's called-out saints become transformed into God's image. From the foreordained sacrifice to the Old Testament that foreshadowed Him, Scripture reveals that true love is sacrificial action—not emotion—and that believers enter a covenant sacrifice requiring daily offerings of obedience, praise, repentance, service, forgiveness, and acts of unmerited kindness. Just as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ embodied the burnt, grain, peace, sin, and trespass offerings, we must respond by becoming "Living sacrifices," allowing God's Holy Spirit to replace self-concern with God-focused concern, overcoming evil with good, and building peace and harmony within the Body of Christ. This sacrificial way of life—love expressed through consistent, costly, others-focused giving—is the "bond of perfection" identifying Christ's disciples and completing God's transformative work in His people.
transcript:
No doubt most of you are aware that the US government shutdown has finally ended and again being overseas wondering if it was going to impact our ability to get home, we were certainly glad to hear this, and the airports were somewhat not not impacted, so we were able to get back home, but the shutdown was due to concern over The budget. The growing US debt now at $38 trillion and growing, which is just a fraction, by the way, of the estimated some 338 trillion debt held worldwide. It's an amazing number. Now, there is a lot of reasons for the growth of the stats, but underlying them all is One thing Turn with me, the I Peter one. Now at the feast, we examined the one thing God wants from us more than anything else. Do you remember what it is? Faith, hope, love, obedience. Well, I contend the one thing that God wants from us more than anything else is that which he first gave to us. Sacrifice. Now here in I Peter 1:18 and 19, Peter tells us, we were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ. We're going to read verse 20 now. First Peter 1:20. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in these last times for you. Now this was written much later, but this actually records one of the earliest events in the entire Bible. This is a mic dropping statement, brethren. Before the creation account in Genesis, God the Father and Jesus Christ made the plan of sacrifice by which they would redeem mankind, and I contend. The blot, the bottom line on top of the entire Bible could be summarized as God's active plan to recreate himself through sacrifice. Sacrificee was foreordained, and sacrifice is the foundation for mankind's salvation. It's only through God's sacrifice that we have the opportunity to even know Him, and it's only through our response of sacrifices that we are being transformed, created into his very image. And as we will see today, there are far more scriptures about sacrifice than anything else, I would contend. Now, they do not outright use the word sacrifice. There is a different English word used throughout the book that is much better understood as sacrifice. We'll see this in a bit and we will even read some scriptures substituting the word to prove this point. Now God's advanced plan of sacrifice is first recorded in the book in order in Genesis 3:15. Immediately after sin occurred, we find a prophecy that outlines God's planned sacrifice to defeat sin and Satan. And then one chapter over, verse 4, Abel offers a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. And now we do not see this recorded, but we know from the fact that since he was able to offer a more excellent sacrifice in faith that God had instructed Adam, Eve, Abel Cain on his requirements for proper sacrifice. We know this from Hebrews. Now throughout Genesis, we see the sacrifices and offerings of our forefront fathers. All those happen before we get to the Book of Leviticus, which actually provides the detailed sacrificial requirements of the priesthood. Now, as a recap, in Leviticus 1 through 5, we find the instruction for the 5 different sacrificial offerings. Remember, they are the burnt, the grain or meal offering, peace offering, sin, and trespass offerings. For much more detail, I'm going to once again point you to John Reitenbaugh's series on the offerings found on the website, CGG website. But the first three offerings, it's very important. These are different. These are grouped together and they were actually a sweet smelling offering to God. They had a sweet smelling aroma. Why? Because there was no sin found in them. They were offered in devotion to God on behalf of the worshiper. The last two, which found in of Leviticus 4 and 5 were the sin and trespass offerings which were burned outside the camp because it emphasizes God's disgust for sin and the fact that sin actually separates. That's what sin produces. It separates us from God. We know that Jesus Christ is the object of all the sacrificial offerings. The burnt offering pictures this perfect devotion and obedience to God in keeping the 1st 4 commandments. We know the meal offering depicts perfect devotion and obedience in keeping the remaining 6 commandments which apply to relationships and the service to man. And then the peace offering shows the perfect communion produced with the first two together to be acceptable, the burn offering and the meal offering had to always be together. We have to remember that you could not do one or the other, you had to do both the burn offering and the meal offering and even talks about the fact that the meal offering was belong to the burn offering. If you go back and read it, it says, With the burn offering with their respective, with their respective or it's required grain offering or meal offering. It's very interesting. It had to be done together. Now many, including Josephus, estimate the total number of animals sacrificed on a single high holy day was in the magnitude of hundreds of thousands if not millions of animals on a single day. Can we even begin to imagine all the animals that were sacrificed in all those years leading up to Jesus Christ sacrifice? What was the purpose? Of the millions, perhaps billions of animals that were sacrificed across all those years, according to, in accordance to the Levitical law. And we know from Romans 15:4I Corinthians 10:11 that whatever things were written before, were written for our learning. And all these things happen to them as examples. They're written for our admonition. What are we to learn from all of those sacrifices? While those animals were sacrificed for us in the end time church as a reminder. They are part of a great cloud of witnesses we could say before us they are a teaching tool whereby we learn about the character, the mind and the attitude of Jesus Christ. Long before the ultimate sacrifice, God started laying out this groundwork by which he was going to recreate himself, a groundwork of sacrifice by which we are saved and by which we are transformed through our living sacrifices to become just like him. Turn with me to Hebrews 10. Now we know God's people were called to a covenant of sacrifice. We see this in multiple places, including Psalm 50 verses 4 and 5. It reads, God says, gather my saints together to me, those who have made a covenant with me, my sacrifice, he says. Jesus tells himself, tells us himself in Luke 22:20. This is, this cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. OK, let's pick up Hebrews 10. And read a few scriptures here, Hebrews 10:1. For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered, for the worshipers, once purified, would have no more consciousness of sins. Verse 3. But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of the sins every year, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, sacrifice an offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure. The repeated sacrificial offerings of animals found in Leviticus could never take away sins, brethren. The penalty for mankind's sin is mankind's death. The value of the life of an animal was not even close to the value of the life of a person. And we could tie back to our beginning here in the world's debt problem. Why does it exist? Because of lack of sacrifice to put others first, delay gratification and live within our own means. But all that monetary debt. Is nothing. Nothing compared to all the debt of the world's sins. Before the foundation of the world, God planned for a payment so large, it can't be measured in trillions or even quadrillions or even centilions. God brought an investment. Measured in Googleplex. Probably never heard that word. I had to look it up. It's a number so large it's impossible to fully write it out. This one payment was so large, it will satisfy the cost of all the sins of all mankind for all of the world, for all of time. When Jesus Christ, God the Son came into the world, God provided him a human body we read here, which enabled him to serve God's will and be our sacrifice once for all. Reading verse 10 now, Hebrews 10:10. By that will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Over two chapters now to Hebrews 13, as we are again reminded of our covenant of sacrifice, and Jesus, who is the offerer. The offering and our faithful high priest. I'm going to say that again because it's a bit much to unpack. Jesus is the offerer, the offering, and our faithful high priest. It's a lot to get our head around. All right, let's pick up Hebrews 13. Verse 11 and 12. Hebrews 13:11. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. So we know Jesus personified the intent of the Levitical sacrifices as he lived each day as a living sacrifice in devotion to God and service to man. He was a perfect, burnt grain and peace offering, which are the sweet smelling savior's offerings to God. And his perfect life as a burnt meal and peace offering qualified him. To be the once for all, sin, and trespass offering. So how are we to respond to such a great sacrifice? Picking up Hebrews 13:15. Thereby, therefore by him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. We respond to God's unmerited sacrifice with our sacrifice of praise, thanks, and humble repentance. We acknowledge our sins. We ask for forgiveness and we join a covenant of sacrifice with God as we obey His law and work hard to overcome our carnal human selfish nature. When we respond to God's ultimate sacrifice with our daily sacrifices of obedience, prayer, praise, and mind share, we then receive His presence and enabling spirit. You can jot down first John 3:24, which reads, Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he has given us and we can tie into Ronnie's message on our flourishing relationship with God. It starts first with God's sacrifice, right? And then it's our sacrifice, our burnt offerings in devotion and obedience to Him, which allows him then to come and dwell with us, which sets the stage for The next sacrifices. So these daily acts of sacrifice are how we overcome, actually how God helps us overcome and transforms that self-focused carnal nature that's enmity against God into a God-focused nature, into an others focused nature, and little by little, with each sacrifice to him. We gradually put to death our carnal nature. This is why it's so important for us to give daily acts of sacrifice to God. Prayer, thanksgiving, right? Meditation. Obedience, each and every act of sacrifice is helping us to overcome that carnal nature and become more like God. Sacrifice is how God creates us into His image. All right. Let's read next about the sacrifices to others, reading Hebrews 13:16 now. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. Here's the other side of the coin, so to speak, our required sacrifices in devotion to God, devotion to God through the service to man. All of our sacrifices are to in devotion to God, brethren. Our sacrifices or devotion to God and the service to God or the burnt offerings. Our sacrifices and devotion to God and the service to man are the meal or grain offerings, but they are all done in devotion to God. Remember, the burn offering, devotion to God and the service to God was unacceptable. Unacceptable. It was worthless without the proper grain offering, sacrifices of devotion to God and the service to man. Our sacrifices to each other, daily sacrifices include controlling our mind. Bridling our tongue, giving of our time and resources, forbearance and forgiving for any wrongdoing. And the hardest one, sacrificing our egos and accepting the loss of self-esteem to always keep the peace. Here in Hebrews 13:12 to 16, Paul's outlining the proper order of sacrifice in our life, which is interesting in that it's slightly different from the initial order given in Leviticus of the burnt grain, peace, sin, and trespass offerings. Why is that? Well, the order here in Hebrews 13 is the same found in Leviticus 9. Which was, which records the observance, the first observance of the Aaronic priesthood. In both Leviticus 9 and in Hebrews 13:12, we see that first comes God's sacrifice. The sin and trespass offering has to come first to open a door and enable our relationship with God. We could never approach God as a whole burn offering and complete devotion to God until Jesus Christ's sin offering suffered outside the gate, opened the door to our relationship with God. That had to come first. And once that happens, our response of sacrifices and repentance and devotion to God found in Hebrews 13:15, represent the burnt offering, our complete devotion and obedience to God. That comes next and results in God with His enabling Spirit to come right into. Our very temple, our body, we can jot down I Corinthians 6:19-20, and then right on top, just like the burn offering and a meal offering happened always together right on top, enabled by his spirit is Hebrews 13:16, our sacrifices and service to man representing the grain offering. The result is seen in the peace offering of unity and peace in our relationship with God. The Father, Jesus Christ, and their extended family, the body of Christ, and these sacrifices on God's table symbolizes a complete meal that is indeed a sweet smelling aroma to God. Let's read on here the conclusion in Hebrews 13:20 and 21. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of all the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. All right, over to Ephesians 5 now, over to Ephesians 5, as we tie something together. That might help us unlock the innumerable scriptures on sacrifice. Ephesians 5. Verses 1 and 2. Here we are. Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ has. Has, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. So sweet smelly aroma, here is a clue, tells us this is referring back to the burn offering. The meal offering and the peace offering, OK? Now, there is an underlying Greek word here that I contend would be much better translated sacrifice. You know what it is? I'm going to reread, reread this verse substituting sacrifice to see how it fits. And I'm going to put sacrifice in brackets as I do this throughout these scriptures, so that you'll know that I'm, I'm actually making a substitution here. Here we go. Ephesians 5:1. Therefore, be imitators of God as dear children and walk in. Sacrifice. As Christ also has sacrifice for us and given Himself for us and offering in a sacrifice to God for his sweet smelling aroma. Fits pretty good, doesn't it? Now our modern English word love is so watered down, it's practically worthless. It reflects mere emotion and a word that's conveniently and carelessly thrown around with no backing action. That's why we see marriage failing so well, right? So, so many times, so it's failing so well in America, I should say. But even worse, love is often confused with the sin of lust. Over the II John 1 now, please, we are going to look at another scripture. God's sacrificial love extends far beyond emotion and reflects a constant action of sacrifice to always do what's best for the God family. How do we become imitators of God as dear children? Paul tells us, we walk in sacrifice as Christ sacrificed, as an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. We complete. The burn offering, the grain offering, and the peace offering. That's how, brethren. All right. II John 1:6. John's going to tell us to do some walking here too. The last scripture was about walking, following Christ. Let's pick this one up. II John 1:6. This is sacrifice that we walk according to his commandments. God's love, his sacrifice. His sacrifice, the sin offering comes first, and then our sacrifices to him, the burn offering of obedience and devotion come next. Let's go back to I John 4:19. I John 4:19. We sacrifice for him because he first sacrificed for us. Fits pretty well, doesn't it? We can exchange love for sacrifice for there. And remembering a burn offering was not acceptable without the corresponding meal offering. Our sacrifices to each other come right on top of the foundation of the burn offering and his enabling spirit through our relationship with him. Let's look at a few more now. First John 3I John 3:16, I John 3:16. By this we know, sacrifice because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Let's go to I John 4:9 through 12. First John 4:9 through 12. In this, the sacrifice of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. And this is sacrifice, not that we sacrifice for God, but that he sacrificed for us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so sacrifice for us, we also ought to sacrifice for one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we sacrifice for one another, God abides in us, and his way of sacrifice has been perfected in us. All right. Well, we could do this all day, by the way, but we are going to stop with one more. John 15 verses 12 and 13. John 15 verses 12 and 13. This is my commandment that you sacrifice for one another as I have sacrificed for you. Greater sacrifice has no one to this than to lay down one's life for his friends. Brethren, sacrifice is not just the one thing sacrifices. Everything Sacrificee by definition requires a cost. The giving up of something valuable to us for a greater benefit. Of something or someone else, sacrifice requires a denial of what we want, a loss of something we value and or a suffering we would much rather avoid. Our carnal self-focused mind absolutely hates sacrifice. Whenever we have self-concern, it creates a fear of losing that thing we value the most. Our self-esteem Our daily challenge, brethren is overcoming this fear of loss and learning to reframe sacrifice as an investment to focus on the spiritual outcome of sacrifice as it produces lasting spiritual dividends of eternal life. This is what God the Father and Jesus Christ did before the foundation of the world. They made A huge commitment to the greatest investment of all time. To cover the sins of the entire world for all time. And remember, each of us is a gift to each of us in the greater church of God. How so? Well, it's through our imperfections, our misunderstandings, are many mistakes that we actually create the opportunity to learn how to make spiritual investments to give unmerited sacrifice. You see, we can't learn how to give unmerited sacrifice to God. Every sacrifice we give to God is absolutely merited and that much more. We have to learn on merit to sacrifice by giving the people who are undeserving, who are imperfect, who have done something they shouldn't have done that's how we become like God. God beings by definition give unmerited sacrifice. It's what Jesus Christ did for us. We did not deserve his sacrifice. We still do not deserve his sacrifice. We fall far short from it and we always will. Let's go to Romans 12. Romans 12, brethren. The next time somebody slights us, I want us to reframe that as an opportunity for an investment in an unmerited sacrifice. That's exactly what it is. That's what forgiveness is. Doesn't have to be merited. Right, forgiveness is often an unmerited act that we are extending to someone else who made a horrible mistake. All right, Romans 12 verses 1 and 2. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, I beg you, Paul saying here, you, that's, that's the, that's the, the, the, the, the meaning behind that word beseech. I beg, he's yelling, I beg you. Brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God. Paul's telling us how we are transformed by the renewing of our mind, and it's through our daily sacrifices in the service to God and service to fellow man. And then for the remainder of this chapter, actually starting in verse 9 through 21, Paul expounds on the daily sacrifices that will help transform us to be like God. And I'm going to pull out just a few of these. You can kind of follow along here as I go through these starting in verse 10 actually. Be kindly affectionate to one another, giving preference to one another's needs. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Steadfast in prayer. Give to those in need. Be given to hospitality. Bless those that persecute you, bless and never curse. Rejoice and weep with each other. Be not wise in your own opinion. Repay evil with good. Maintain positive thoughts that generate good works even to those that are undeserving. Do everything possible to submit to others and live peaceably with all men. See any conflict as your fault, not their fault, your fault, and do good works to those that do not deserve it to create an environment for reconciliation and peace. Do not avenge yourselves. Do nothing in wrath or retaliation, but give the sacrifice of prayer and forgiveness for the person that has wronged us. Do good to all people, even to those that do evil to us, to give them unmerited good works to promote peace. Overcome evil by doing good. There is so much packed into those scriptures. Summarizing, do not let any injury received from others, allow you to abandon your calling, to become like God, to give unmerited sacrifice. Be mild, kind, forgiving. Let any injury or wrongdoing be an opportunity to demonstrate God's spirit in you, and that spirit of unmerited sacrifice in you. Do not become enraged or engaged in words or actions or attitudes of retaliation. Overcome evil. With good Demonstrate God living in you by walking in His spirit of unmerited sacrifice and loving kindness. Over to Colossians 3 now, over to Colossians 3. I realize it's easier said than done, brethren. It's, it's actually easier for us to, to mimic the burn offering easier in comparison, mind you, in that God deserves all of our sacrifice. He's done so much for us. He is so perfect. We can't possibly give him enough. It's a lot harder in comparison to give unmerited sacrifices to people who have treated us badly, to people who do not deserve it. But that's what being like God is. It's tough. It's a high bar. That's what we are called to do. All right, over to Colossians 3, we are going to read verse 10. Class 3:10, and I put on the new man who was renewed in the knowledge according to the image of him who created him. Skipping to verse 12, therefore, a select of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has to complain against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on. Sacrifice, which is the bond of perfection and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body and be thankful. Godly love is unmerited sacrifice. Unmerited sacrifice is indeed the bond of perfection. Our carnal nature hates sacrifice, and we especially hate. unmerited sacrifice. But we must remember our burn offerings are of no value to God without the right underlying attitude which drives the required grain offering in the service to man. All our obedience, prayer, praise, devotion, and service to God is of no value without the required sacrifice and service to man. We must learn the way of God, which is to give both merited sacrifices, of course, but unmerited sacrifices as well. This is what Paul is actually summarizing in I Corinthians 13. If we have not sacrifice, then we are nothing. In fact, in verse 3, I just picked this up this morning. Paul says, though I give my body to be burned but have not love, sacrifice it profits me nothing. Is he literally pointing to the burn offering in service to God, suggesting it's nothing without the required grain offering and sacrifice and service to man? It's pretty interesting when you read that verse. Though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, sacrifice, it's nothing. All right, over to Galatians 5. Where we will start to conclude. Over to Galatians 5 as we start to wrap up. We'll start in verse 13. Galatians 5:13, for you brethren have been called deliberately and they do not use liberty as an opportunity for for for the flesh, but through sacrifice, serve one another. For all the laws fulfilled in one word, even this, you shall sacrifice for your neighbor as yourself. Brethren, when we walk in God's spirit of unmerited sacrifice each day, we are gradually putting our self-focused carnal spirit to death. That's the sacrifice that's happening, right? We're becoming more God-focused, we are becoming more others focused, and we are putting that carnal selfish spirit to death as we become more like God. Skipping to verse 22 now. But the fruit of the spirit is. Sacrifice. Finally, Galatians 5:24 and 25, and those who are in Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk. There is that word walk again, walk in the spirit. Brethren, those who are Christ. Those who have been crucified with Christ and thereby Christ lives in them, right? They have crucified and sacrificed their carnal selfish spirit. They've replaced Satan's way of get. In order to live in God's sacrificial spirit of gift, we could actually describe all of the fruits of God's spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 and 23 as the fruit of humble sacrifice, devotion of devotion to God shown through the service to man. And God-willing, we will tap into that maybe in the future. Brethren, we will end where we began. The one thing God wants more than anything else is that which He first gave to us, sacrifice. We must follow Brother Peter's admonition in First Peter too, for we are all being built up as a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. With each and every daily sacrifice of devotion to God, through our service to God, our burn offerings, and through each daily sacrifice and devotion to God through the unmerited service to man, our grain offerings, we are being transformed into the fullness of Jesus Christ.
The Bereans "received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:10-11). This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God.
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time.
