Friday, May 1, 2015

Praise Jesus Because He is Good

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Hebrews 13: 15)

Too many people, acting from the perspective that man must do something before God does something, read this passage from the viewpoint that praise in something that we do in order to get God to do something.

Not at all!

We praise God because He is good, because He loves us and has blessed us.

He has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1: 3), and more importantly made us gracious, highly favored in His Beloved Son (Ephesians 1: 6)

Yet even throughout the Old Testament, the inspired writers exhort us to praise God because He is good:

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." (1 Chronicles 16: 34)

Give thanks because He is good, and His mercy (His grace!) endures forever!

He loved us first (1 John 4: 19), creating a rich beautiful word for man, the pinnacle of His creation, made in His image. Even when mad disobeyed, God still blessed  man, finding the Way to not only restore man to His glory, but greater glory, in which God the Father is blessed, as is His Son:

We praise God for al the good that He is doing, and wants to do all the more:

"I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." (Psalm 81: 10)

Not just in First Chronicles, but throughout the Old Testament, we find exhortations to praise GOd because He is good:

"4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100: 4-5)
 
and
 
"Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant." (Psalm 135: 3)

So, why does the writer of Hebrews make a reference to a "sacrifice of praise"? To point out that Jesus our High Priest Forever has done the perfect working perfecting us forever in Him (Hebrews 10: 14)

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" (Hebrews 1: 3)

and

"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrew 10: 12)

This gift of righteousness, in which Jesus stands as our perfect substitute, allowing us to come boldly before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4: 16) permits us to seek our Lord, our Daddy God at any time of need.

We do not praise God so that He will do good in our lives. We praised God because He is Good, that He gave His Son, and through Him we can expect to receive all things (Romans 8: 31-32)

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