Жертва

The Jews sacrificed various animals to God, as is written about in the books of Moses and the Prophets. And this sacrifice of theirs marked the death of Christ, the Son of God, who, like an immaculate Lamb, was slain on the tree of the cross for the salvation of the world. But when this most holy sacrifice was made, that one, like a shadow that had transformed the truth, ceased. In the new grace, Christians must offer spiritual sacrifice, without which that sacrifice was of no use to the Jews either, by faith. The Christian sacrifice from Holy Scripture is seen as follows: 1. A contrite spirit and a contrite heart, as Saint David says: a sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart (Ps. 50:19). This is what happens when we grieve with sorrow for our sins, we have sorrow in our hearts, which is sorrow for the sake of God and produces unchangeable repentance leading to salvation (2 Cor. 7:10). God Himself demands this from us: rend your hearts, not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God (Joel 2:13). Such a spirit and heart is a pleasing sacrifice to God. God will not despise such a contrite heart. God looks upon such a sacrifice from His height and looks upon the one who offers it with His merciful fatherly eyes. The Apostle Peter made such a sacrifice when he rejected Christ, and, going out, wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75). We, Christians, must offer such a sacrifice on the altar of our hearts, so that the Lord will look upon us with mercy. 2. A sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, when we thank Him from the heart for the innumerable benefits He has provided and continues to provide. He created us with a rational soul and honored us with His image - let us glorify Him. He raised us up as fallen ones, sought out the lost and redeemed the lost... God requires such a sacrifice from us: offer God a sacrifice of praise (Ps. 49:14). Such a sacrifice is pleasing to Him, as the prophet says: I will praise the name of my God with song, I will magnify Him with praise. And this will please God more than a young calf (Ps. 68:31-32). Christians should offer this sacrifice in the evening, in the morning and at noon, following the example of the Psalmist: in the evening and in the morning and at noon I will tell and proclaim (Ps. 54:18), - moreover, at all times, bless the Lord, as the same prophet of God says about himself: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise is always in my mouth (Ps. 33:2). So, if anyone wants to praise God in eternal life, let him not leave Him here to praise and glorify Him. 3. Victim of mercy and mercy. Just as the Lord Himself is generous, long-suffering and abundantly merciful, so He considers it a pleasant offering to Himself when we show mercy to our brethren, show compassion to the suffering, and give a helping hand to the needy. For such sacrifices are well pleasing to God (Heb. 13:16). Therefore, the Lord Himself says: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Hos. 6:6). Christ of the Jews refers to this: go, learn what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matthew 9:13). Christ will extol such a sacrifice before the whole world, and to those who offered it he will kindly say: I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you accepted Me, and so on (Matthew 25:35–36). 4. The sacrifice of righteousness and truth, as Solomon says: when we act in righteousness and truth, this pleases God more than the blood of sacrifices (Proverbs 21:3). God is righteous and loved righteousness (Ps. 10:7), or even He is Truth and Truth itself, and therefore loves righteousness and truth. For we honor His eternal truth with truth, and eternal truth with truth, when we do what His truth wants, and we are kept from lies, flattery, deceit and hypocrisy, from which His eternal truth turns away. Therefore, the prophet exhorts us: offer the sacrifice of righteousness (Ps. 4:6). And the apostle commands: speak the truth, every one of you, to your neighbor (Eph. 4:25), for the Lord requires truth (Ps. 30:24). 5. The sacrifice of the members of our flesh, which rebels against our spirit, and with its bodily members, as instruments, fights us and wants to kill our faith. Such a sacrifice is then made by Christians when they mortify their earthly members: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust and any acquisition, which is idolatry (Col. 3:5), - according to the admonition of the Apostle; they purify their hearts and circumcise them with circumcision made without hands; cleanse the mind of vain and evil thoughts, proud undertakings and ungodly intentions; they turn the will away from evil lust and subjugate it to the will of God; malice and all obscenity are expelled from memory; They turn away their eyes so as not to see vanity (Ps. 118, 37); turn away their ears from slander, slander, songs and seductive words; keep the tongue from slander, condemnation, slander, curses, blasphemy, foul language, idle talk and other evils; they turn away their hands from theft, covetousness, theft, beating, and unclean touch; keep the belly from overeating and drunkenness; in all members, like dumb animals, disorderly passions are slaughtered: pride, arrogance, anger, rage, envy, gluttony, drunkenness, uncleanness, etc.... Thus, when they mortify the members of their flesh, instruments of righteousness, they offer a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, their verbal service, as the apostle teaches: I beseech you, brethren, by the mercy of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, for your reasonable service (Rom. 12:1)... The altar on which Christians offer this sacrifice pleasing to God is a heart cleansed from the defilements of this world by faith in Christ. The church is the composition of soul and body in which this sacrifice is slaughtered and offered up. The knife is a spiritual sword, that is, the word of God, with which this spiritual sacrifice is slaughtered. The fire with which they burn her is the love of God. We ourselves are priests, according to what is written: Jesus Christ created us kings and priests to God and His Father (Rev. 1:6). Something worthy of surprise! The Jews, when they made a sacrifice, needed a church, needed an altar, needed a sacrifice, needed fire, needed priests, and so on. It's not like that for Christians. The priests themselves, the church themselves, the altar themselves, the sacrifice themselves with their souls and bodies, carry fire within and the sword of the word of God.