Dondi said:
Sacrifice signifies our inability to please the Lord. The reason for sacrifice is to recognize our inablility to obey God's Perfect Law. If we could perfectly obey God, there would be no need of sacrifice, for our obedience would be that sacrifice.
I'm not sure I agree with that. Consider this passage in 1 Peter 2.
As you come to him, the living Stone -- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him -- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5
Spiritual sacrifices?
This passage suggests that we are part of a Temple -- a spiritual temple. The "spiritual sacrifices" are rituals that we perform inside that spiritual temple. A temple is a
place where we conduct these rituals. This place can either be physical or spiritual. The "sacrifice" in a sense is an act of devotion where we
give up what we want (our time, money, what we desire) and allow God to make use of what we've given up. This may be manifested in an expression of affection for someone we love, for example, where we give up our time to be with them. That's the sacrifice.
Jesus' sacrifice, in a sense, has nothing to do with that fact that he was crucified, but has to do with the fact that he gave up something. He gave up his life,
to be what?
What else? 1 Peter 2:6 talks about the cornerstone that God put in Zion. Jesus gave up (sacrificed) himself in order to dedicate himself as the First Stone in God's spiritual temple. He is the Foundation Stone of that Temple forever. He cannot be removed. He has given his life to
be that Stone. His fate is sealed. He can't cancel the decree.
The sacrifices that we are to perform are of the same pattern as that of Jesus when he did it. Our sacrifices are acceptable to God when we conduct them the same way as Jesus did. When we do, we are spiritual descendents of Jesus and we are his people. Descendents follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. If we are his people then we are part of the Temple that he built. We're not incapable of pleasing God!! I disagree.
Jesus' sacrifice was the First Sacrifice. Many more sacrifices are to come after him.
There were sacrifices that came
before Jesus (animal sacrifices) when human beings couldn't sacrifice themselves. The sacrifices of human beings that come
after Jesus are now acceptable (human sacrifices) because they are made by Christ's spiritual descendents. Sacrifices made by Christ's spiritual descendents are acceptable to God because they live for and believe in the same purpose as Christ did.
We couldn't sacrifice ourselves before because there was no Temple in which to perform the sacrifice. The Foundation Stone hadn't yet been laid. No Temple had been ordained. Jesus was the only one who could conduct a sacrifice that was acceptable to God without a Temple already existing.
The curtain veiling the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem tore open as a sign that human beings can now sacrifice themselves to God and God will now accept that sacrifice. God didn't accept the sacrifices before but he accepts them now. The way to reach God is now open.
That's the meaning of the passage in 1 Peter 2:4-5 as I see it.
Quite a bit of metaphor and symbolism involved here.
