“A Sacrifice of Praise”

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

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.” (Hebrews 13:15)

The author of Hebrews has established his major premise. Now at the close of the letter he offers some final words of encouragement.  Among them are the words recorded in the verse above.

Every sacrifice offered to God is only acceptable through Jesus Christ. Those who accept Christ’s atonement for sin, are a holy priesthood able to offer spiritual sacrifices “acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. (1 Peter 2:5) The blood of Christ is sufficient to purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14) What an undeserved honor!

We bring our offerings of praise to God because of his perfect glory and power. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3) We come to the Lord with a song because the Lord is God. (Psalm 100:2,3)  And we bless God for his goodness and benevolence. “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:12,13)

The most visible way to honor God is the fruit of our lips. Such praise must spring from a heart full of gratitude. We must never allow our worship to become meaningless repetition. It must bring us closer to God and lift our hearts to heavenly things.

While there may be a prescribed time for communion (Acts 20:7), there is no specific time for praise. “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God. (Hebrews 13:15) Praise is not an occasional exercise, but an abiding attitude of our heart. We must cultivate a thankful and praise full spirit.

With such sacrifices, God's well pleased. He graciously accepts our feeble attempts to honor him, and by them, he is glorified.

By George Slover

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