Then I heard ‘To Build My House on Righteousness, you have To Be Able To Make Sacrifices’.
To understand the message, I received from the Spirit of God, I went to the internet to do my research. I came across loads of information on the topics of righteousness and Godly sacrifice.
The first information that drew my attention was in 1 Peter 2:5 ESV where the Apostle refers to humans as a spiritual house and I quote ‘You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
I will therefore focus my post on the scripture I quoted above.
The Human being is the Spiritual House of God (i.e., the temple of God), and the message from the spirit of God says that for the spiritual house to be built on righteousness, sacrifices have to be made by the human being.
For clarity, I’d like to get a simple definition of the word righteousness.
What does God mean by righteousness?
In my research on righteousness on the google app, I found a wide range of explanations and definitions of the word righteousness. However, I will refer to the definition given in the link below: https://www.gotquestions.org/righteousness.html.
And I quote ‘Dictionaries define righteousness as “behavior that is morally justifiable or right.” Such behavior is characterized by accepted standards of morality, justice, virtue, or uprightness. The Bible’s standard of human righteousness is God’s own perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word. Thus, God’s laws, as given in the Bible, both describe His own character and constitute the plumb line by which He measures human righteousness. In simple terms, the term righteousness concerns ethical conduct.
What Is the meaning of Sacrifice?
Sacrifice means giving to the Lord whatever He requires of our time, our earthly possessions, and our energies to further His work. The Lord commanded, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Our willingness to sacrifice is an indication of our devotion to God. People have always been tried and tested to see if they will put the things of God first in their lives.
What Sacrifice does the LORD require of us?
The scriptures in the book of MICAH 6:1-8 says ‘…the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God…’ In other words, to act justly, show love, and mercy, and walk humbly with your God.
In addition, the Scriptures tell us ‘And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19–20). A “broken heart and a contrite spirit” means that we offer deep sorrow for our sins as we humble ourselves and repent of them.
Those who have a broken heart, and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them, without resistance or resentment. We cease doing things our way and learn to do them God’s way instead. In such a condition of submissiveness, the Atonement can take effect and true repentance can occur.
A quick look at both words (righteousness and sacrifice) indicate that both words are intertwined. You cannot achieve righteousness without sacrifice. And righteousness is an outcome of a display of what the scriptures refer to as the fruits of the spirit. In the book of Galatians 5:22-23 ESV, the scriptures describe the fruits of the spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.
Godly Sacrifice
An example of Godly sacrifice is seen in the book Luke 18:28-34, the Apostle Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Therefore, making a sacrifice of one’s family when required, is considered a good thing in the kingdom of God, and such a sacrifice is rewarded by God. However, the above-referenced sacrifice is a tough sacrifice to make by any standard.
Another good example of sacrifice found in the book of Luke 19:8 NIV is when Zacchaeus committed to making some sacrifice when he met with The Lord Jesus Christ. ‘And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and I if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’
Are We Willing?
The question is, how many people are willing to retrocede or restore what they unfairly or unjustly acquired, and to restore what was acquired fourfold as compensation for the wrong? It is tough to do I must say.
This explains why a writer was once quoted as saying ‘The sacrifices of righteousness are unpleasant. The flesh cannot stand them. They require that we, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh.” (Romans 13:14). For example, both righteousness and sacrifice require that we do not: “repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.” (1 Peter 3:9).
Benefits of Righteousness and Sacrifice
It is important to note that there are benefits that accrue to humans by maintaining righteousness and making sacrifices. In Psalm 112, the scriptures tell us of a righteous man ‘Surely, he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end, he will look in triumph on his foes’.
To conclude, the bible says to achieve God’s righteousness and God’s sacrifice can only be done with the assistance of the Holy Spirit of God through faith.
I pray that through our faith in God and the increase of the fruits of the Spirit in us, we All meet the requirements of God’s righteousness and God’s sacrifice.
Praise Be To God, Praise Be To Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Praise Be To the Holy Spirit of God.