Worship As Sacrifice

Tonight we are going to come to a better understanding of what it means to worship the Lord. To begin, we must understand what the word “worship” means. The word worship is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word, which is actually a combination of the two words “worth” and “ship.” The term “ship” means to occupy a position; therefore, God occupies a position of worth, meaning that worshipping God is about ascribing worth to Him.

So, how does one ascribe worth to God? We might give answers such as praying, singing hymns of praise, bowing down on our knees, or a number of other things. However, these examples only scratch the surface of defining the true worship of our heavenly Father. In order to ascribe worth to God, we must somehow rid ourselves of our own self-worth; meaning that we must be in a state of absolute humility.

And, I believe that in our culture today we don’t fully understand humility. People in America are living like royalty in comparison to the citizens of some third world countries. Worship of God doesn’t cost us much, and we have basically forgotten His real worth. Because worship doesn’t cost us much here in America, I don’t believe we fully understand how to worship; so, we’re not worshipping God as He would have us to. I wish to propose tonight that the worship of God actually costs us something and involves sacrifice.

Old Testament Sacrificial Worship

Let’s think about worship in the Old Testament, for worship cost the people something. Israel’s worship of God included sacrifices offered on a regular basis. So, what was the purpose of all these sacrifices? Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.” The Israelites worshipped with sacrifices because God required blood as the atonement for sin. We are all sinners and God is holy; therefore, if we wish to come into His presence we must be made pure, and this was done through sacrifice.

So, why did God require blood in order to symbolize this cleanness and purity that we are supposed to have before Him? Genesis 9:5 says, “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.” Leviticus 17:11 reveals that a person’s life is bound up in their blood, and Genesis 9:5 says that God will require an account, or rather a reckoning, of one’s life.

The key word here is “life.” Blood symbolizes the life within us. This is why God requires blood. God is telling us that He requires of us our very life in worship; so, there’s a price for coming into the presence of Almighty God. Now you might be thinking, “Well what about God’s grace, and the free gift of His Son?” Well, hang on and we’ll get to that.

Since God created all things, what can we possibly give unto Him that He does not already own? The answer is our life. God created us, but He gave us control over our own life; He gave us free will. Our life is the only thing that we really have to ourselves. But if we wish to follow the Lord, we must give up the control of our life and surrender our ownership. This means that God wants our total being – heart, mind, and soul – dedicated entirely to Him. Keep in mind that blood symbolizes the offering of one’s own life to God.

Now, in requiring blood, God did not intend for people to commit human sacrifice. The way that a person could bring the sacrifice of life to the altar, was to find a substitute life to offer, which just happened to be animals. We no longer have to make animal sacrifices, because Jesus, the very Lamb of God gave His own life for us on the cross; and because His blood is perfect, it was a one-time sacrifice, ending all other blood sacrifices.

As believers, we continually celebrate the price that Jesus paid for us when He gave His life for our sins. He gave His life so that we could be made holy and be able to come into the presence of God. As believers, we are certain to affirm that Jesus made the once-and-for-all sacrifice for us, and that there is no longer any need to make animal sacrifices; but I must ask, “Has all sacrifice ended?” What about the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15), the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psalm 107:22), the sacrifice of our time in doing good works (Hebrews 13:16), and the sacrifice of our financial resources (Philippians 4:18)? You see, sacrifice is an integral part of the Christian life and Christian worship.