A Perfect, Living Sacrifice
by Chris Machamer
And the LORD had respect unto Abel and
to his offering: But unto Cain and to his
offering he had not respect (Genesis 4:2–5).
God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but He rejected
Cain’s sacrifice.
When Abel offered the firstlings of his flock,
blood was spilled and fire was made; and
God was pleased. The Bible says, Without
shedding of blood is no remission (Hebrews
9:22). There is no forgiveness of sin without
the shedding of blood.
Cain was a farmer who brought forth fruit
from the Earth to present as a sacrifice unto
God, but God was not pleased with it. Cain’s
mistake was that his sacrifice to God was
pleasing only in his own eyes and not God’s
eyes, and that is the same mistake people have
made for thousands of years and are still making
today.
Throughout the Old Testament, sacrifices
unto God had to meet certain requirements
and be prepared in a specific way if they were
going to please God. For example, when the
days of a Nazarite’s separation were fulfilled,
the Bible says, And he shall offer his offering
unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first
year without blemish for a burnt offering,
and one ewe lamb of the first year without
blemish for a sin offering, and one ram
without blemish for peace offerings (Numbers
6:14).
Even the altars upon which the sacrifices
were made had to be built to certain specifications
and made ready in a certain way. At
first, sacrifices could be made only in the tabernacle.
After the temple was built, sacrifices
could be made there. All things related to a
sacrifice had to be completely submitted to
God and His direction.
A perfect, living sacrifice is something the
Lord seeks of every one of His children. Paul
said, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service
(Romans 12:1). The Lord calls for us to be living
sacrifices who are purified by divine blood
and set aflame by the Holy Ghost.
The Lord is calling, Come. And let him
that heareth say, Come. And let him that
is athirst come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely (Revelation
22:17). He is saying, “Come and be a shining
light to the world. Come and do the whole
will of your heavenly Father. Come ready and
willing to give your life unto the Lord daily.”
However, it is important to understand that
God will not accept just any kind of sacrifice.
He did not under the Law in the Old Testament,
and He will not today. As Romans 12:1
states, a person must be a holy and acceptable
sacrifice unto God; and to be such a sacrifice,
two things must be present—blood and fire.
An Acceptable Sacrifice
The Old Testament is filled with types and
shadows that become living reality in the New
Testament. Let’s examine some of them that
confirm sacrifices must be acceptable unto
God. In Genesis 4, two brothers, Cain and
Abel, both offered sacrifices unto the Lord.
Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was
a tiller of the ground. And in process of
time it came to pass, that Cain brought of
the fruit of the ground an offering unto the
LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
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