Letter to the Hebrews Volume 185

 Sacrifices Pleasing to God Part 12

Hebrews 13:15 By Him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name. KJV

Jesus Christ and His Sacrficial death upon the Cross of Calvary is the only way God the Father will communicate with sinful human beings. Through Him (Jesus Christ) and by Him is the only way for human sinners to ever be linked up with the One & Only True God. Therefore, as we saw from the previous study/commentary, this only occurs when any sinner hears the Gospel of Grace or Christ and is then awakened from their spiritual 😴 sleep or spiritual stupor into the Truth of God which is the Word of God. This 🤭 realization should also awaken in each one of us the desire to praise God the Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, just as the writer of Hebrews declares with these words, "By Him (Jesus) 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) (KJV). The English word 'praise' is translated by the Greek word ainesis (used this one time only in the New Testament) which means a praising (the act), that is, (specifically) a thank (offering): - praise. In other words, this is the attitude of gratitude we should live in every single day giving God the Father thanks for sending His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and giving Him thanks for the Gospel of Grace that pricked our sinful inner man and inner woman breaking us, bruising us, and bringing us to the point where God the Holy Spirit could then regenerate us, revive us, and rebirth us into adopted sons and daughters of God, as it is written by the Apostle Paul with these words, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:15-17) (KJV). Praising God should be more of our daily posture, rather than complaining about our circumstances or trial's because we have been 🚚 delivered from the worst circumstance that any human soul could face and that being spending eternity in hell/lake of 🔥 fire (Revelation 20:14-15). Continually thanking Him for His grace and mercy to each one of us who believe on our Lord Jesus Christ ALONE for forgiveness of our sin is indeed our number one priority. Therefore, I shall pray and praise as the great Psalmist King David did with these words, "Save me, O God, by Thy Name, and judge me by Thy strength. Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah. Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in Thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise Thy name, O LORD; for it is good. For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies." (Psalms 54:1-7) (KJV).

Here is what Alexander MacLaren had to say of Hebrews 13:15, "‘By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.’ What are these offerings? Christ’s death stands alone, incapable of repetition, meeting no repetition, the eternal, sole, ‘sufficient obligation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.’ But there be other kinds of sacrifice. There are sacrifices of thanksgiving as well as for propitiation. And we, on the footing of that great sacrifice to which we can add nothing, and on which alone we must rest, may bring the offerings of our thankful hearts. These offerings are of a two-fold sort, says the writer. There are words of praise. There are works of beneficence. The service of man is sacrifice to God. That is a deep saying and reaches far. Such praise and such beneficence are only possible on the footing of Christ’s sacrifice, for only on that footing is our praise acceptable; and only when moved by that infinite mercy and love shall we yield ourselves, thank offerings to God. And thus, brethren, the whole extent of the Christian life, in its inmost springs, and in its outward manifestations, is covered by these two thoughts - the ‘feast on the sacrifice once offered, and the sacrifices which we in our turn offer on the altar. If we thus, moved by the mercy of God, ‘yield ourselves as living sacrifices, which is our reasonable service,’ then not only will life be one long thank-offering, but as the Apostle puts it in another place, death itself may become, too, a thankful surrender to Him. For He says, ‘I am ready to be offered.’ And so the thankful heart, resting on the sacrificial life and death of Jesus Christ, makes all life a thanksgiving, ‘death God’s endless mercy seals, and makes the sacrifice complete.’ There is one Christ that can thus hallow and make acceptable our living and our dying, and that is the Christ that has died for us, and lives that in Him we may be priests to God. There is only one Christianity that will do for us what we will need, and that is the Christianity whose centre is an altar, on which the Son of God, our Passover, is slain for us." Here also is what Matthew Henry had to say of Hebrews 13:15, "The sacrifice of praise to God, which we should offer up to God continually. In this are included all adoration and prayer, as well as thanksgiving; this is the fruit of our lips; we must speak forth the praises of God from unfeigned lips; and this must be offered only to God, not to angels, nor saints, nor any creature, but to the Name of God Alone; and it must be by Christ, in a dependence upon His meritorious satisfaction and intercession."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…