Sacrifice Versus Obedience

 

Bible Questions Answered:

“...I go to church every Sunday, go to prayers, give substantial sums of money to the church and someone like you says that I am not going to heaven....”

Clarence/ Lexington, Kentucky U.S.A.

Bible Answer:

Bible Texts:

This world is filled with people, who would love to sacrifice their way to heaven! Alas, but not possible, no matter how great the offering, God is no ones fool, and cannot be bought!

Baptism, doesn't give one access to heaven, neither does confirmation, dedications, communions etc. etc.

Oh, yes there are churches and peoples that preach that, but they will answer to God one day for their false doctrine.

I Timothy 4:1-5 NLT (Warnings against False Teachers)

1 Now The Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.

2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

3 They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know The Truth.

4 Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.

5 For we know it is made acceptable by The Word of God and prayer.

Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is The Gift Of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 2:8,9 NLT

8 God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is A Gift From God.

9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Romans 4:4,5 NLT

4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.

5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

Titus 3:4,5 NLT

4 But When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love,

5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through The Holy Spirit

What Is The Way To Salvation, And God's Blessings?

John 14:6 KJV

Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto The Father, but by Me.

John 3:16,17,36 KJV
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

36 He that believeth on The Son hath everlasting Life: and he that believeth not The Son shall not see Life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Sacrifice And Offerings?

I Samuel 15:22,23 KJV (King Saul and Samuel)

22 And Samuel said, Hath The Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of The Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected The Word Of The Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.

Job 9:20 KJV

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

Psalm 4:5 KJV

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in The Lord.

Psalm 40:6 KJV

Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

Psalm 69:30,31 KJV

30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

31 This also shall please The Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

Proverbs 15:8 NLT

The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but He delights in the prayers of the upright.

Proverbs 21:3 NLT

The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer Him sacrifices.

Ecclesiastes 5:1 KJV

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Isaiah 1:11-13 KJV

11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith The Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

12 When ye come to appear before Me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread My courts?

13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto Me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith The Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

Isaiah 66:1-4 NLT

1 This is what The Lord says: “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.

Could you build Me a temple as good as that? Could you build Me such a resting place?

2 My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are Mine. I, The Lord, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at My Word.

3 But those who choose their own ways— delighting in their detestable sins— will not have their offerings accepted. When such people sacrifice a bull, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice.

When they sacrifice a lamb, it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog!

When they bring an offering of grain, they might as well offer the blood of a pig.

When they burn frankincense, it’s as if they had blessed an idol.

4 I will send them great trouble— all the things they feared. For when I called, they did not answer. When I spoke, they did not listen. They deliberately sinned before my very eyes and chose to do what they know I despise.”

Jeremiah 6:16,20 NLT

16 This is what The Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, Godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’

20 There’s no use offering Me sweet frankincense from Sheba. Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands! I will not accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for Me.”

Hosea 6:6 KJV

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:6-8 KJV

6 Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before The High God? shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

7 Will The Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth The Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Matthew 9:12,13 NLT

12 When Jesus heard this, He said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”

13 Then He added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Matthew 12:7 NLT

But you would not have condemned My innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices

Acts 5:29 KJV

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Romans 12:1,2 KJV

1 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.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Hebrews 9:9 NLT

This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

Hebrews 10:4-10 NLT

4 For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 That is why, when Christ came into the world, He said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given Me a body to offer.

6 You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.

7 Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about Me in the Scriptures.’”

8 First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses).

9 Then He said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.

10 For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of

Jesus Christ, once for all time.

Men are more than willing to give money, pray given prayers, do this or do that, to believe that

The Living God will receive them, anything but bend a knee and repent of their sins, forsaking them and asking The Lord Jesus to be both Savior and Lord (Master of their lives).

Psalm 51:16,17 KJV

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Matthew 7:21 KJV

Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.

Mark 2:17 KJV

When Jesus heard it, He saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of

the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

John 14:6 KJV

Jesus saith unto him, I am The Way, the Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto The Father, but by Me.

John 14:21 KJV

He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.

Acts 3:19 NLT

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

II Corinthians 7:10 NLT

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

II Peter 3:9 KJV

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Prayer:

Isaiah 45:21,22 KJV

21 "...there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside Me.

22 Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.

John 1;12,13 KJV

12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Romans 10:9, 10 KJV
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth The Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation.