Derek Prince - Do Not Be Led Away By Strange and New Teachings
We're continuing now in Hebrews 13:7–8. We just glanced at these verses at the end of the last session. We'll continue there; I'll translate them once more. Verse 7: Remember those who lead you, who spoke to you the word of God; and as you watch the outcome of their way of life, imitate their faith. Then the next verse is just on its own. I can't explain the peculiarities of Greek, but it doesn't link up with the previous verse and it doesn't really link up with the verse that follows. It's just there on its own and it doesn't have an "is" in it. It's just: Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the same, and for the ages.
I'll just say that again. Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the same, and for the ages. It serves as a kind of link between the previous verse and the verse that's following although it stands also entirely on its own. The verse that follows, which is verse 9, I'll translate those and then we'll make some comments. Or rather verse 9.s It's not immediately obvious, I think, the connection. Do not be carried away [or carried aside] by various and strange teachings [or doctrines]; for it is a good thing for the heart to be established [or made strong or firm] by grace, not by foods, in which those who have occupied themselves [or been busy] have not been helped.
Now let's look at the place of verse 8 for moment. If you are a person with a rather short memory but you like memorizing Scripture, I suggest Hebrews 13:8 is a good verse to memorize. "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today, and forever". I believe that it has a reference to the previous verse where the writer says, "Imitate the faith of your leaders, observing the outcome of their way of life". What is the outcome of their way of life? It's Jesus Christ, yesterday and today and forever the same. In other words, one responsibility of spiritual leaders of God's people is by their way of life to point you to the eternal, unchanging Christ so that it is related to what's said before. I think that's very important. We'll see later on people are not asked to imitate or obey all spiritual leaders. This chapter lays down certain very clear requirements as to the kind of spiritual leaders that we're asked to imitate and to follow.
Now, going on to verse 9, we are warned against various strange doctrines, particularly relating to food. I think this again follows on from verse 8 because what the writer is saying is: Jesus Christ is the only foundation of the Christian faith and He never changes. Don't be too changeable; don't be continually aiming at something new. There are, I think, a good many people in the body of Christ today who are always interested in what's the latest doctrine or the latest revelation. In a certain sense, the writer is warning us against always looking for something new and strange. When my first wife came to know the Lord as a teacher in Denmark, she became the object of the concern of the entire school, which was quite a large school. People used to say to her, "What's the news today"? She always gave them the same answer: "The grace of God is new every day".
That's a good way to avoid being carried away with an interest in something new and strange. Bear in mind Jesus doesn't change, His grace doesn't change; the best news is true news. If you look for a moment in 1 Corinthians 3:11 you'll see there what I mean about the foundation of the Christian faith. 1 Corinthians 3:11: For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. The foundation of Christianity is laid already, there's no options, there's no possibility of changing it, nothing has to be adjusted or revised, we just have to build on that foundation. That's true of the church as a whole; it's no less true of our individual lives. The only secure, stable life is one that's built on "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday and today and forever".
Then, with regard to the warning against strange and new teachings, let's look for a moment in Ephesians 4. This chapter, verse 11, lists the five main ministries Christ has set in the body for the building up of the body. And in verse 13 Paul states the aim of these ministries, where we are headed... until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. So we're headed for maturity, completeness, adulthood. Then, Paul gives the alternative if we don't come under these ministries and receive what they have for us. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming.
I believe there really only are two options in the Christian life. Either you grow up into maturity or you're one of those who never grow up, you become a perpetual babe, your case is one of arrested spiritual development and you're always being carried about by some new and strange doctrine just like a ship without an anchor is carried about by the winds and the waves. Each of us really has to make a determination in our own lives which kind of Christian we're going to be. Are we going to be the kind that is always looking for something new and dramatic and exciting, or is it our aim to grow up into stability and maturity? Over the years I have encountered so many Christians of the kind that are always looking for something new, always wanting something dramatic. I have to say, the end of most of them is usually rather disappointing.
Praise God, there is new truth that's brought to light by the Holy Spirit and God does do things that are dramatic. But our life needs to be founded on Jesus Christ the unchanging Christ. Then the writer of Hebrews warns us against being too much interested in things like dietary laws. Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited. I need to be very gracious and charitable in what I say, but living more than half the year in Jerusalem, we are in continual rather close contact with people, Jewish people, Orthodox Jews, who really are primarily occupied with dietary laws, that's their main preoccupation. That and the observation of the Sabbath. I love them dearly and I respect their convictions, but I have to say it really hasn't helped them much.
So, the writer of Hebrews warned them nineteen centuries ago that isn't the way to be established. There's always a tendency amongst Christians to get over-involved in something like dietary laws. I'd like to say I personally believe in eating sound, good, healthy foods. I don't indulge in junk food. But that is not a religious matter for me; it's a matter of practically cultivating my health and my body. We have to make a clear distinction between these two. Grace doesn't come through the kind of food we eat, that's what the writer is saying. Remember, grace is what we need. Let's look at just three Scriptures there that are referred to in your outline. John 1:17, I don't need to turn to it, I know it by heart. For the Law was given by Moses; but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Notice the "but". You can choose the law or you can choose grace. But grace doesn't come through the Law. Grace comes through Jesus Christ.
Then Ephesians 2:8, which is another Scripture that I know by heart. For by grace you have been saved through faith; that not of works, lest any man should boast. We are saved by grace through faith. Never let anything ever move you away from that basis. By grace through faith. And then a specific warning in 1 Timothy 4. 1 Timothy 4:1–3. But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron... That's very strong language. Now, what are the typical doctrines of demons? Two are mentioned. Verse 3: ...men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth. So, we are warned against being, I would say, super-spiritual by a kind of abstinence that God doesn't ask, whether it's from the married life or whether it's from certain kinds of food.
And again, over the years, the last twenty years, I've encountered many Christians who have wandered off into a super- spirituality. I have to tell you, I have no ambition to be super-spiritual. If I can just keep both feet on the ground and obey the plain, written Word of God, that's my ambition. Super-spirituality is a snare. And really, when you analyze it, the appeal is to human pride. I believe, as a matter of fact, this is a personal opinion of mine, that error comes always through pride. Pride is the wedge that opens the door that lets error into our lives. Because of my involvement in the Middle East, I've often asked myself, What is the attraction of the Moslem religion, Islam? It's never made anybody happy, it's never done anybody any good. It's a religion of iron slavery, especially for women, who are treated worse than slaves. And yet, it holds in bondage hundreds of millions of people. Do you know what my conclusion is? It has an appeal because it appeals to human pride. You can do something to earn favor with God.
See, the message of the cross deflates all human pride, because it says there's nothing you can ever do of good works that will earn the favor of God. That's why the cross is an unpopular message. It brings all the blessings of time and eternity with it, but people turn it down because it pricks the balloon of human pride and we're left without anything to boast of. Paul said, "God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ". We have to move on. Now we come to a rather complicated couple of verses. Verse 10, talking about not being occupied with food for the body, the writer goes on: We have an altar, from which they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle. To understand that, as with many passages in Hebrews, you have to know the Old Testament. There's a reference to Numbers 4. Let me read the outline. The altar represents the source of all true grace. Grace comes by Jesus Christ through the cross, not by any other means. The tabernacle represents the physical externals.
You see, one of the problems with the Hebrew Christians was they were still hung up on physical externals. Under the Levitical law, there was a separation between the Kohathites, who ministered at the altar, and the Gershonites and Merarites, who were responsible for the furnishings and structure of the tabernacle. Those are the three main branches of the Levites: the Kohathites, the Gershonites and the Merarites. Now, when the tabernacle moved in the wilderness for forty years, each group had its own specific, allotted task. They had certain specific things they were responsible for. If you turn back, for a moment, to Numbers 4 and we'll look very briefly at the responsibilities of the three groups. Beginning in verse 2: "Take a census of the descendants of Kohath..."
That's the first section of the Levites. Verse 4: "This is the work of the descendants of Kohath..." Verse 5: "...they... take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it..." Verse 6 is the other various ways they have to cover the ark. Verse 7: "...the table of the bread of the Presence... [or the showbread]". And then verse 9: "...the lampstand..." Verse 11: "...the golden altar..." And verses 13 and following: "...the [brazen] altar..." So they dealt with the altars and all the most sacred pieces of furniture in the tabernacle. They were so sacred that they were not allowed to see them. Only Aaron and his sons were allowed to see them. Aaron and his sons covered these sacred pieces, then the Kohathites came in and carried them. They had the most sacred task of all the Levites.
Then in verse 22, the Gershonites. "Take a census of the sons of Gershon..." Verse 24: "This is the service of the families of the Gershonites..." Verse 25: "...they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting..." Verse 26: "...and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the doorway..." So they carried all the curtains and screens. And then in verse 29 we come to the task of Merarites: "As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families..." Verse 31: "Now this is the duty of their loads... the boards of the tabernacle, and its bars and its pillars and its sockets..."
So you see, each group had a different burden to carry. The Gershonites and the Merarites could put them on carts but the Kohathites had to carry them on their shoulders because they were too sacred to be put in a cart. And you remember the tragedy that happened when David allowed the ark to be put on a new cart? So, although they had small items to carry, their burden was greater because they had to carry them on their shoulders. Now, what the writer of Hebrews is saying with this is: if you want to partake of the altar, and only those who ministered at the altar ate from the sacrifices of the altar, if you want to be one of those that minister at the altar, don't get involved with the tabernacle and its furnishings. So it's a typical Talmudic Jewish way of saying, Don't serve the body, serve the spirit. Don't be the slave of your body, don't be the slave of material things, because if you are, you have no right to partake of the altar from which the grace comes. I hope I made that clear to you.
If you're in the least bit familiar, and I suppose most of you are not, with the Talmudic way of interpreting Scripture, you can see that Hebrews was written by a real religious Jew. He was a believer in Jesus, but he certainly reasoned and thought like a scholar of the Talmud. I think that's one reason why there are so many Jewish lawyers, because their whole background is training in analysis and, in a certain sense, hairsplitting. But, it's just a perfect preparation for being a lawyer. I must also say, in my experience, that lawyers tend to understand the gospel better than other people because there is a very strong legal element in the truth of the gospel. We have to go on to Hebrews 13:11. There's another pattern taken from the services of the Levitical priesthood. Verse 11: For those beasts whose blood is carried by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin into the holy place, their bodies are completely burned up outside the camp.
So again, what the writer is doing is trying to make us aware of the distinction between the truly holy and the profane and to be careful that our priorities are right. I'll read now my outline. We've talked about the separation between the Kohathites, the Gershonites and the Merarites. Now we're talking there is a similar separation between the blood of the sin offerings which was taken by the high priest into the holy of holies and their bodies which were burned outside the camp. We must distinguish between that which belongs to the holy of holies, and that which belongs outside the camp. It was a constant charge of the law against the children of Israel, especially against the priest, that they did not observe the distinction between the holy and the profane. It runs almost all through the Old Testament.
There is a corresponding problem with Christians. In the spiritual realm we have to be sensitive to that which belongs in the holy of holies and that which belongs outside the camp and not ever get the two mixed up. Look in Leviticus 16 for a moment. A long way back, some of you will remember, we spent some time in this chapter. This is the chapter that speaks about the ordinances of the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16, beginning at verse 11. "Then Aaron shall offer the bull of the sin offering..." He shall slaughter it and so on. Verse 12: "And he shall take a firepan full of coals of fire from upon the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense... [verse 13:] And he shall put the incense on the fire before the LORD... [verse 14:] Moreover, he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times".
That's what the writer of Hebrews is saying. The beasts that were offered as the sacrifice for the sin of the priest and of the people on the Day of Atonement, their blood was taken right in beyond the second veil into the holiest place and sprinkled there in the presence of the Lord. That was the only time, once in the year, that anybody ever went through that second veil. It's a type of Jesus making atonement for us and taking His blood into the presence of God as a propitiation for our sins. Also, it says in verse 15 there he will slaughter the goat of the sin offering and do the same with its blood. So, both the bull and the goat had their blood carried by the high priest into the holy place. Now, what happened to the body? Looking at verses 27 and 28 of Leviticus 16: "But the bull of the sin offering, and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire". They're totally burned, nothing is left. And the man who does it still has to be sanctified from it.
Verse 28: "The one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water, then afterward he shall come into the camp". It's a very vivid presentation of how totally unclean sin is. There is no way to make it clean, there is no way it has any place inside the camp. It has to be taken right outside the camp and burned. What the writer of Hebrews is saying is: Remember, the blood belongs in the holy of holies but the body of the bull, or the goat is to be burned outside. In other words, the blood provides propitiation for sin, but if we become involved and place the physical and the material where the blood should be, we are desecrating the presence of the Lord. I don't know how it is with you. You either get excited about these pictures in the tabernacle, whether it's in Exodus or Leviticus or Numbers; or else you just wonder why they ever were put in the Bible. Their effect on me is always to make me aware of God's demand for holiness in His people.
I don't know if you could find a more vivid way of saying how totally unacceptable sin is to God than the fact that those animals whose blood was taken for sin into the holy place have to be totally burned outside the camp, and the one who burns them has to wash himself all over before he comes back into the camp again. That's all a physical ordinance but it has a deep spiritual significance. We're going on to verse 12 in Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13:12. Applying the truth of verse 11, the writer goes on: Wherefore also Jesus, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. So when Jesus became the sin offering for the world, not merely for Israel but for the world, symbolically that was typified by the fact that they led Him outside the city to crucify Him, just as the body of the bull was taken outside the camp to be burned.
Let me read my comments there on Page 13/2. The fact that Jesus became our sin offering was attested by His being led outside the city to be crucified. Likewise, the fact that He was made a curse for us was attested by His being hanged on the tree. You see, a Jew who knew his Old Testament Scriptures and had spiritual understanding would learn from the events that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus the real significance of what was taking place. Just look for a moment in Deuteronomy 21:22–23. We have to look in verse 22 for a moment. Deuteronomy 21:22–23. "If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree..." And bear in mind that in Hebrew the same word tree means a tree that's growing and a tree that's cut down. So, it can mean a gallows. Verse 23: "...his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God)..."
The fact that Jesus was hanged on the cross testified to those who had knowledge of the Scripture that He was made a curse. First He was made sin and the curse always follows sin, so then He was made a curse. Turn to the New Testament, for a moment in Galatians 3:13–14. Galatians 3:13–14. I preached on this Scripture last Sunday in Lakeland on identifying curses and being released from them. The service was broadcast on their radio station and a lady in Tampa heard it, was so convicted she turned her car around and drove all the way to the church to get help. It took her an hour to get there. Fortunately, we had one of our long after services which lasted about three hours, so she made it in time. It really impressed me that this message could so touch a person that they could turn around in their car and come back. This is what I was preaching on, this Scripture. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed is every one who hangs on a tree", in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles...
So, Paul says the fact that Jesus was hung on the cross indicated He was made a curse. He was made a curse that He might redeem us from the curse. He was made sin that we might receive His righteousness. He was made a curse that we might inherit the blessing. Now, returning to Hebrews 13:12, the outline. On the other hand, His blood sprinkled in the heavenly sanctuary gives us access to God. We'll look at two passages in Hebrews we've already looked at on our way through, but we'll just refresh our memory. Hebrews 9:23–26, speaking about the earthly tabernacle as a copy of the heavenly tabernacle. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these [the blood of animals], but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own.
So the message is that Christ entered with His own blood into the holy place in heaven. Then in Hebrews 10:19 and following: Hebrews 10:19 and following: Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh... So, you see the exact fulfillment of the types of the Old Testament took place through the death and sacrifice of Jesus. We come now to verse 13 which is our eleventh "let us" passage. In the original analysis of the entire epistle I stated, amongst other things, there were twelve "let us" passages in the epistle. It's one of the distinctive features of Hebrews. Chapter 13, verse 13 is the eleventh such "let us" passage. Let us go out to Him. While we're in that place we might as well look at the twelfth, which is coming two verses later. Hebrews 13:15, Let us offer up a sacrifice of praise. That's the final "let us" passage of Hebrews.
Now, going back to Hebrews 13:13: Therefore, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. As followers of Jesus we must expect to share the reproach attached to His cross. The most despised emblem in the Roman world was the cross. It was used only for executing people who were not Roman citizens. Roman citizens were not crucified. That's why according to tradition Peter was crucified upside down, but Paul was executed because he was a Roman citizen. He was executed by beheading. That's tradition, which I believe is reliable. Why I say that is because it's hard for us to conceive how totally disgusting the cross was to Roman citizens. Because, we're used to centuries where people carry little crosses around their neck and adorn various things with crosses. But, bear in mind, that was not the significance of the cross in the days of the New Testament, it was the most hated, despised and feared emblem of shame.
But, Jesus carried His cross and again, that was normal. When a person was to be crucified they would take the crossbeam of the cross, not the whole cross, but the crossbeam, and put it on his shoulders. And he had to carry it out to the place of execution, which was what happened to Jesus. Let's look at two passages that refer to the cross. Luke 9:23: Luke 9: 23: And He [Jesus] was saying to them all... Please note the word all, there are no exceptions. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me". So to take up your cross daily is daily to take the road that leads to execution. I heard Charles Simpson say, "What is your cross? It's the place where your will and God's will cross. It's also the place appointed for you to die". So, every day expect to die.
Paul said, "Behold, I die daily". Take up your cross, the place where your will and God's will cross, and be prepared to die to yourself. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Me. You cannot follow Jesus unless you first take up your cross. There is no way to do it. The first step is taking up your cross. I've often observed in my own ministry that the time it suits me least is the time when God tends to bless most. When it's most inconvenient and I feel least like it, and there are so many reasons why I might not do it, that's the time to do it. God will bless in a unique way. God cannot bless human flesh; it's corrupt. The flesh has to be put to death before God's blessings will come in our lives. The cross is both the place of execution and also the place of liberation. It's the only way of escape from carnality and self-pleasing.
Then one other Scripture, Galatians 5:11: Galatians 5:11: But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. That's really right in line with what we were talking about, the appeal to human pride. You see, the cross cuts away the ground from all human pride; you've got nothing to boast of. See, that figure on the cross in shame and agony? He's paying your debt and you have no other claim on God. Paul said if I would only add something else, people wouldn't object. If I would just say, yes, Jesus died, but in order to be reconciled with God you have to believe in Him and be circumcised. He said my Jewish brothers wouldn't criticize me. The reason why I'm attacked is because I say nothing but the cross, there's no other way and nothing else is needed. The cross is unique, it's all-sufficient.
I really feel somehow as we come to the end of these studies that God somehow, to me at least, is emphasizing the uniqueness and the centrality of the cross. I think, in a way, that was probably the problem with these Hebrew Christians. They believed in Jesus, they believed in His crucifixion but they wanted something else as well. You see, God won't meet you on that basis. God says you only have one claim on My mercy, only one. It's the cross. If you add anything else it's no longer a stumbling block. But, on the other hand, its power has been taken away. Let's go on, I think we can take at least one more verse which we must do. That is verse 14. Hebrews 13:14: For we do not have here an abiding city, but we are seeking the one that is to come. That, of course, takes us back for a quick glimpse at Abraham in Hebrews 11:9–10. By faith he [that is, Abraham] lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
What the writer of Hebrews is saying is if you're at home in this world, then you're not looking for a home in another world. Abraham's testimony and the testimony of Isaac and Jacob was that was not their permanent resting place, they didn't build houses, they only pitched tents. They always said they were aliens, they were strangers. That word is continually used in the book of Genesis of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. The word "a sojourner," one who is just there but not permanently. I think we could also look at the next two verses. This is the twelfth "let us" passage. That's verses 15 and 16. Have you noticed the succession of therefore's and so then's? Almost every sentence begins with a therefore or so then or something like that. Through him therefore, let us offer a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. But doing good and sharing do not forget [do not overlook], for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
There we have three sacrifices that we are required to offer as Christians. They're not physical sacrifices, they're not animals. What are the three sacrifices? First of all, praise. Second, doing good. And third, sharing with others who need what we have. I'd just like to look at my outline. The first one, praise. We praise God because He is worthy, even when we do not feel like it. It's very important to understand praise should not originate from your feelings, but from your convictions. Look quickly for a moment at Psalm 100:4–5. It's talking about approach to God. Psalm 100:4–5. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. We are required to come to God with thanksgiving and praise. Those are the sacrifices that admit us to His presence.
Now notice the reasons in verse 5: For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations. Three reasons for praising the Lord that don't depend the least bit on our feelings or circumstances. Whatever we feel like, whatever our circumstances may be, it still remains true; the Lord is good, His lovingkindness is everlasting, His faithfulness to all generations. If we really believe that, we will praise Him. Praise is a sacrifice that costs you something. The more it costs you, I think, the more God appreciates it. Let's look also at the passage quoted by the writer of Hebrews that's found in Isaiah 57:18–19. This is speaking about the restoration of Jacob, that is, of his descendants Israel. It speaks about Jacob as one who has forsaken God and gone his own way and turned away from God but is to be healed and reconciled.
This is what the Lord says: Isaiah 57:18–19: "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners, creating the praise of the lips". That's the translation but I prefer the literal version, which is "the fruit of the lips," which is what the writer of Hebrews says. "...creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far, and to him who is near," says the LORD, "and I will heal him". So when God heals us, restores us to His favor, He creates fruit for our lips which is confessing His name. I think it's very important that we learn to confess the name of Jesus. When we pray, assert that Jesus Christ is Lord, assert He's king of kings, He's my Lord. The more you magnify and confess to His name, the freer access you have to His presence. Then let us just look quickly at the other two sacrifices. Doing good.
Let's compare Galatians 6:9–10: Galatians 6:9–10: Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. Bear in mind you can do good and not reap if you grow weary. So, you have to hold on. Otherwise, you can lose the harvest that you would have gathered. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. That's the second sacrifice, it's doing good. The third one is sharing, we'll look briefly in Romans 12:8–10. Romans 12:6–8 lists eight different charismatic gifts. You can look at the list for yourself. In the middle of verse 8 it says: ...he who gives, [let him do it] with liberality... Or generosity. The word translated "gives" means literally shares. And again, in verse 13 of Romans 12: ...contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Those are the three sacrifices that are appropriate at all times in this age for Christians: praise, doing good and sharing.