Sacrifice lies at the very heart of religion.  Very early in the text of Sacred Scripture Abel’s offering of “the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof” is mentioned (Gen. 4:4).  Abel offered by faith (Heb. 11:4), but one cannot do something by faith unless a word from God has first been given to instruct (Rom. 10:17).  Thus, we conclude that God must have originated the practice of sacrifices and instructed Cain and Abel to offer them.  While Abel took God at his word, Cain did not (Gen. 4:5).  The rejection of Cain’s offering only makes sense if he had refused to follow God’s previous instructions, not recorded for us in Holy Writ.

From the time of Genesis 3, when sin had entered into the world, sacrifice was necessary for man to have a restored relationship with God.  God decreed the penalty of death for sin (Gen. 2:17).  Because man sinned, he must suffer the penalty of sin; however, God devised a way that His law could be honored while at the same time He offered mercy to mankind, “to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).

Animals took man’s place in suffering the penalty of sin throughout the Old Testament. Blood had to be shed for the remission of sins (Heb. 9:22).  After Cain and Abel, the Bible records Noah gathering the animals to be placed on the ark – the clean by sevens and the unclean by two (Gen. 7:2).  The additional clean animals were gathered for sacrifice later when the flood waters were assuaged and the land was dry enough for them to exit (Gen. 8:20).  Animal sacrifices were offered by the patriarchs (Gen. 22:13), detailed in the law of Moses (Leviticus), and were still practiced at the time when Jesus was on the earth preparing to die for the sins of the world (Luke 22:7-8).

All of these animals sacrifices could not take away sin (Heb. 10:4), but they looked forward to their fulfillment: Jesus Christ’s death and mediation, a better sacrifice that once and for all would pay for sin (Heb. 9:23-26).  Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29), a plan God had from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Perhaps because we live on this side of the cross, with the sacrifice already made, we are tempted to take for granted the sacrifice made for us.  Whenever we sin, we do not have to see death right in front of our eyes for what we’ve done.  Do we think of sin as no big deal?  God has given us instructions to remember and cherish the sacrificial death of Christ every week when we come together (1 Cor. 11:17-29).  Do we take the Lord’s Supper lightly?  The more we grasp how monumental Jesus’ death was for us, the more we will be motivated to live for Him, “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15).

-Mark Day

A steward is one entrusted with caring for the goods of a superior.  The Bible reveals that often stewards were set over an entire household (Gen. 15:2; 39:1-9; 43:19; Matthew 20:8), though the same word in the original can also refer to a guardian or curator (Gal. 4:2).  The apostle Paul recognized that he was a steward of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4:1).

Really all Christians are stewards (1 Peter 4:10).  In fact, every human being, Christian or not, is a steward of what God has bestowed (Matt. 5:45; James 1:17). In reality we own nothing.  We came into this world with nothing and we will leave it with nothing (Job 1:21; Ecc. 5:15; 1 Tim. 6:7).  Everything really belongs to our superior: God (Psa. 24:1).  As stewards we will be held accountable for how we have managed what the Lord has placed in our charge (Luke 16:1-2; 1 Cor. 4:2).  Those who have faithfully managed what God has entrusted them will be recompensed by being ruler over many things, but those who mismanage will be punished (Matt. 25:14-30).

The most valuable possession with which God has entrusted each of us is the soul.  Jesus asked, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26).  One’s soul is more valuable thant all the possessions the world can boast.

Our souls belong to God (Ezek. 18:4). At death, they will be returned to His possession (Ecc. 12:7).  God did not design the soul to be lost.  He gave His own Son as a sacrifice so that through His blood we can be saved (John 3:16; Heb. 5:8-9; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). He has provided the power for our souls to be saved in the Gospel (Rom. 1:16), which is His word (James 1:21).  We must choose to save our souls (Acts 2:40) by getting in the water as God has directed (1 Pet. 3:21) and continuing in a faithful life of service (Gal. 6:9; Heb. 10:38-39; Rev. 2:10).

Sadly, however, there are many who will choose to waste what God has given them and lose this most valuable possession.  If a man does nothing, then his soul will be lost and the torment he suffers in the life to come will be in the face of all that God has provided and intended for him (Matt. 25:25-30).  How are you caring for your most valuable possession?

– Mark Day