Psalms 116:12, “What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me?”

Rom 12:1, 2, “… by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 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.”

Psalms 50:5, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

At the age of thirty, Jesus presented himself to John the Baptist at Jordan to be baptized. The backward lowering of his body into the water symbolized the death of his human will. He symbolically put his humanity on the altar of sacrifice. For the following three and a half years, He no longer laid claims to earthly rights.     

Because Jesus was sacrificing his perfect human life, the Father begat in him a new spiritual nature. Matthew 3:16, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.” 

From Jordan to Calvary, Jesus spent his life as a servant to do his Father’s will. Hebrews 10:7, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” His sacrifice was completed at Calvary. This was to the benefit of the church (his true followers), the nation of Israel and eventually the whole world of mankind.

Those of us who believe and trust in Christ will gladly ask, “What can I offer to the Lord for all he has done for me?” The answer is we should want to be part of his body of believers and conform our lives to his life of sacrifice (Philippians 3:10). Therefore, like Jesus, we present (consecrate) our bodies a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1, “brothers…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God…”

When thus done, we begin a new way of life. Sacrificing is not simply abstaining from evil. We cannot offer the Lord that which we have no right to have do. But we can surrender our rights and preferences on behalf of others. Now, if a man takes your coat, let him have your cloak also. If he strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the other. Love your enemies and do good to them that hate you (See Matthew 5:20-48). “Do good unto all men, especially those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

This is how we sacrifice. Our humanity and earthly wills reckoned as perfect through faith in Jesus’s blood is what we sacrifice (Romans 4:24).

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