By (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. 16. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
These verses are in the middle of a discussion about the difference between the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the sacrifices offered in the temple in Jerusalem. The writer mentions some things that should result from our relationship with Jesus, that is, “sacrifice of praise,” doing good and “communicating,” or sharing with others, and sharing Jesus with others. I see these three things as qualities that should be in our lives because of our relationship with Jesus. Because Jesus is in our lives, we should “offer the sacrifice of praise.” Praise should be a natural reaction of people who are in a real relationship with Jesus. The Bible is full of stories and incidents about praising God. The feast days in the Old Testament were actually services of praise to God. The author of Hebrews refers to praise as “the fruit of our lips.” Jesus mentioned that our lives are to be bear fruit, and praise is one of the fruits that we are to bear. This means that we should not be ashamed to publically praise God. I don’t mean that we should go down the street shouting. People might think we are crazy, but we should not be ashamed of offering praise to God. Because Jesus is in our lives, we are “to do good.” Good works are a natural part of our relationship with Christ. We know from Paul that we are “saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8) We are not saved by doing good, but James clarifies this by writing that “faith without works in dead, being alone.” (James 2:17) James’ emphasis on works does not nullify Paul’s emphasis on faith. We are, indeed, not saved by doing good works. For example, how many good works would it take to save us? When we put Paul and James together we get the idea that we are saved by a faith that works. Because Jesus is in our lives, we are to “communicate.” Another translation of this is to “share.” This has two meanings. One is that we share with other people, that is, that we should not be stingy. We should not be stingy with other people and we should not be stingy with God. One of the first things that the first church in Acts did was to share all that they had with each other. Being a person that shares with others and with God is certainly a quality that Jesus should bring into our lives. Along with continual praise and good works, we should share Jesus with other people. The first way we do this is by living a like that will make our witness real to others. Look over these three qualities and ask yourself if you are attempting to live them. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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