The title Living Sacrifice is complete obedience.
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1 Samuel 15:22-23
22. And Samuel said, "Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and other sacrifices, as does the obedience of his voice? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hear is better than the fat of rams.
23. For rebellion is the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is the sin of worshiping an idol that has been bought. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, the LORD also rejected you from being king.
Romans 12:1-2
1. Therefore, brethren, I beseech you by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable worship.
2. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, which is good, acceptable, and perfect.
Content
Subject: Living Sacrifice is pure obedience.
Text: 1 Samuel 15:22-23, Romans 12:1-2
Sacrifice is a ritual in which humans ask for mercy before God. According to the Bible, there is no record of sacrifices in Eden. The first records of sacrifice were outside of Eden. It is a record of the sacrifices offered by Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, who were born and raised outside of Eden (Genesis 4:1-7). However, his brother Abel's offering was accepted, but Cain's offering was rejected. Abel's sacrifice achieved its original purpose, but Cain's sacrifice failed. The sacrifices of the Old Testament that have continued since then also lead to the results of acceptance and rejection. When is the time when human beings seek God? It is at the limit of human beings. They cannot solve it on their own, so they seek God, and if they refuse there, the result is unhappiness. So, sacrifices must be made acceptable.
Today's Old Testament text (1 Samuel 15:22-23) contains the historical experience of this. During the reign of King Saul, there was a fight with Amalek. Amalek had a nemesis with Israel. It was the result of an unfortunate encounter in the course of the Exodus. It happened during the journey to Mount Sinai after crossing the Red Sea. It was when I was born after experiencing the miracle of giving water from the Rock of Rephidim (Exodus 17:1-7), suffering because of drinking water after solving the food problem (Manna and quail, Exodus 16). There were those who stood in the way of Israel. We win with God's help. This is the historical experience of ‘Jehovah Nissi’ (the Lord is my banner) (Exodus 17:8-16). There, God declares an ‘Amalek blot’ that will one day be fulfilled because of the sin that blocks the way for His people (14:16).
He fulfills the promise he made there in the days of King Saul. King Saul was commanded through Samuel what the war meant and how to proceed (1 Samuel 15:1-3). However, after winning the victory, King Saul did not perform ‘obedience according to the word’. Today's Old Testament text is Samuel's rebuke for his disobedience. “Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and other sacrifices, as he loves obedience to his voice? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and hearing is better than the fat of rams, for disobedience is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as the sin of bowing down to idols. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, the LORD also has rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22,23). It is a rebuke for King Saul's lack of thorough obedience. Partial obedience is not allowed.
‘Heart, character, and strength’ is the attitude of the worshiper (Deuteronomy 6:5). Today's New Testament text (Romans 12:1-2) is a bridge for forgetting the Christian life (Romans 12:-16:) according to the Christian soteriology (Romans 1:-11:). ‘A living sacrifice that is pleasing to God’ is ‘a life of offering the body’. “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). It is the attitude of a new life that began thanks to Christ's love on the cross (unbreakable love). It means ‘Living Sacrifice is complete obedience’. Complete obedience to every word is required. However, for application to our lives in the process of sanctification, with the help of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), I would like to first speak of complete obedience to the 'word of enlightenment'. Verse 2 is a cautionary note about this kind of obedience training. In Eden, in the Exodus, in Jericho, it reminds me of the words of David and Solomon, the Babylonian captivity, Malachi, and the book of Revelation.