Consumed for His Glory: The Call to Total Devotion

Introduction

A few weeks ago we worked through several passages in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. One of those passages of scripture was Romans 8:30 “and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified.” and as we worked through this passage we talked about how God works in and continues working in those whom He has called to bring us fully and completely into His presence by glorifying us. As we study sacred scripture, however, we also see that we as believers also have a responsibility, one that Paul would later refer to as “working out your own salvation.” Again, to be clear this is not works based salvation, this is about works that result from our salvation, but in all honesty it is much more than works.

In the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew we read the following in verses 18-22: Matthew 4:18-22

Matthew 4:18–22 LSB

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. And going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Obviously, we know that these men had no real idea about what they were getting themselves into, but there was something about Jesus, something that caused them to drop everything that they had and follow Him. Notice they were all in the middle of everyday activities, ones that provided them with a livelihood. Peter and Andrew were casting their nets while James and John were in the midst of mending their nets with their father, yet they all left what they were doing and followed Christ.

Over the next three years they would walk many miles, witness many miracles, and learn from Christ, their lives were completely devoted to following Him. In the end, they were witnesses to both His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Ultimately, not only did they follow immediately, but they devoted the rest of their lives to serve God. This is what it means work out your own salvation, to live a life that is wholly, fully dedicated to Go, to be able to say, as Paul said in his letter to Timothy; 2 Timothy 4:6–8 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Last week in our work in Exodus we took a look at the bull being sacrificed to atone for the sin of the men set apart by God and thought about how this points forward to the sacrifice that Christ made on Calvary’s cross on our behalf, a penal substitutionary atonement made for His people. As we come to the text again this morning the priests have now been washed from impurities, set apart for service, and had their sins atoned for. This morning we will be looking at the next sacrifice, the ram of the burnt offering. As we study the text this morning we will see what this sacrifice represented for these men and what it means for us here today. As we have done for the last two weeks we will read the instructional text from Exodus 29 and the obedience text from Leviticus 8.

Text

Stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Inerrant, Infallible, Authoritative, Sufficient and Complete Word...

Exodus 29:15–18 LSB

“You shall also take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram; and you shall slaughter the ram, and you shall take its blood and splash it around on the altar. “Then you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and its head. “You shall offer up in smoke the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering to Yahweh: it is a soothing aroma, an offering by fire to Yahweh.

Leviticus 8:18–21 LSB

Then he brought near the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. Then Moses slaughtered it and splashed the blood around on the altar. And he cut the ram into its pieces. Then Moses offered up the head and the pieces and the suet in smoke. And he washed the entrails and the legs with water. Then Moses offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to Yahweh, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Our prayer this morning is adapted from “The Valley of Vision”, Consecration and Worship

Almighty God,

We feel it is heaven to please You, and to be what You would have us to be. Oh, that we were holy as You are holy, pure as Christ is pure, and perfect as Your Spirit is perfect. As we come before Your throne we confess that we are sinners, that we have grieved You blessed Lord; You who are infinite in goodness and grace. We acknowledge that what we deserve as a result of our sin is nothing less than destruction, yet You continually pour out your mercy to us. Lord fill our hearts and minds with a desire to honor You always. We pray that our worship is true and glorifying to Your name. We pray that all of who we are, soul and body, would be consecrated to Your service without restraint, forever! Lord that we would giver ourselves up to You in all of our desires, that we would never have any will or affections that are not perfectly conformed to Your will and Your love!! We long to join with the angels in ceaseless praise of You for all eternity even though that is but a mere fraction of the glory and honor that You deserve. Grant us a heart filled with divine, heavenly love. We ask all of these things in the name of Your blessed Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

Presentation and Substitution

Again, we should notice that the instructions are to bring the sacrifice before God, to make a presentation before Him, at the doorway of the tent of meeting. These words continue to be repeated throughout this section because it is imperative that the priests, the people of Israel and us here today are reminded of the seriousness of these events. They were occurring in the sight of Holy God in order to prepare His chosen men for their duty in ministering to Him in the Tabernacle.

In a similar manner, the recall of the laying on of hands by Aaron and his sons, reminding them that this sacrifice is being made on their behalf and that this animal is their representative. In the case of this particular sacrifice we will see that the sacrifice does not serve as one that accomplishes something, such as the sin offering where the blood paid for their sins, but rather one in which the sacrificing of the ram is serving as a one commentator writes is “a token for the priest’s dedication of himself to God and His service.”

Having been completely cleansed of their sins, the priests can now lay their hands on this second sacrifice in full assurance that as they dedicate their life to God, they do so trusting and knowing that they can enter into His presence because they have been declared righteous by the blood of that first sacrifice. Once again, here in the Old Testament, just as it is throughout all of Scripture, salvation is truly by faith alone, it is not the sacrifice that truly cleanses, it is God accepting this substitution in their stead, that saves!!

We stand in the same situation, we, by faith alone in Christ alone, are declared just, granted the righteousness of Christ and can now faithfully dedicate ourselves into the service of God. Notice Paul’s words in his letter to the church at Ephesus in Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Here again is yet another mark of assurance for the believer, that we are His workmanship, prepared for good works, by God Himself, so that we would walk in them. When Jesus is speaking to the crowds He says to them in Matthew 16:24–26 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” This is not a call to salvation based on your efforts, but rather a call to surrender wholly to the Savior, giving up the pitifulness that we are for ALL that He is!!!

Consumed by Fire

God, after Moses has the priest to lay their hands on the head of the ram, then commands Moses to again slaughter the animal. The blood is then sprinkled around on the altar , again signifying the purification of the altar itself in preparation for the sacrifice to be made. Although it may seem odd to us for this need of the altar itself to be purified once again, recall the words in Exodus 28:38 that there is still iniquity even in the holy things, because these are still creaturely things. In order for the sacrifice to be as pure and true as possible, then the altar itself must have any defilement removed.

Although we may not fully appreciate the significance of this because we are no longer under the sacrificial system, it still rings true for our worship today. We came here today as imperfect people gathering to worship a fully perfect God. As such every act of worship that we commit is still tainted by that imperfection and only by the work of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Christ is our worship perfected in the eyes of God.

And so, with the altar being appropriately purified, Moses is then commanded to begin the actual sacrifice. The first command is to cut the ram into its pieces, remember, at the end of this chapter there is the command in Exodus 29:35 ““Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you shall ordain them through seven days.” so from a practical standpoint it makes sense to divide the animal so that the carcass is consumed quicker allowing time for the ceremony to be repeated daily, but there is more to it that just that, it is a demonstration that all of the parts are to be surrendered and dedicated to Him. The washing of the entrails and the legs demonstrates the removal, not just of the outer sin, but the inner.

I want to press into this verse for just a moment because there is so much false teaching out there as it relates to the work of Christ in the life of a believer, and I say believer because the example we have before us of the priesthood is one of believers, they have placed their faith in God’s acceptance of the sin offering on their behalf to declare them just. We must see that these men, having been declared just, are now having a ram that symbolizes the entirety of their life being prepared to be sacrificed to God as a token of their dedication to serving Him; a ram that was “without blemish” externally having its entrails and legs (symbolically the most unclean portions of the animal, non-kosher) cleansed.

One of the worst things that we hear being repeatedly either taught by word or by deed is that there is no real effect on the life of an individual when they are saved. We see so-called Christians living what they define as their best life now, standing up for sinful practices and deeds, subverting the Word of God and even denying the very truth of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, God’s sovereignty, the Holy Spirit’s true nature and work. We no longer want to call people to repentance and faith, we no longer stand in pulpits and demand that people submit to the authority of God’s word, we don’t want to call out brothers and sisters for fear that we may be seen as judgemental. God calls us in His word to nothing less than total submission and obedience to Him.

There are those who will stand up and say that this is a works based salvation, but it is not… So that we are clear, let’s use clear terminology, salvation is a broad term that covers three more specific terms in theology, Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. We are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, in accordance with God’s word alone, for God’s glory alone...but that is just the beginning of salvation. Yes, we can and should be absolutely assured because we know that He will complete the work that He begins in us, but that does NOT mean that we sit back smugly believing that we have no responsibility. We read texts like the one I quoted earlier in Matthew where we are commanded, as followers, to take up our cross, to deny ourselves, we read in other places that if we love Jesus we are to obey His commands, and still in other places we are called to run the race, contend for the faith, study to show thyself approved; and these are but a sample. All of these have the commonality of we are saved and saved people respond to the work the call of Christ in faith, being justified, and then in action as a RESULT of that justification NOT in an effort to obtain it.

These men who were being consecrated as priests to God had been specifically chosen and called by God for this role, their sins had been forgiven, but their work was just beginning and this ram being cut into pieces, having its unclean parts cleansed, represented both the dedication of the whole man to service and the necessity that the whole man, internally and externally, be cleansed, be purified, be HOLY as Almighty God is HOLY!!

Finally, with the ram cut into pieces, the entrails and the legs cleansed it is placed upon the altar and consumed by the fire until there is nothing left. All of who they are is dedicated and given to serving their God. The cost of following Christ is high, Jesus never shied away from that fact, quite the opposite, He ensured that it was known. In the great discourse in John’s gospel that gives us a glimpse into the final hours of Jesus’ life as He imparted the final words He had for His disciples before He would be crucified. In John 15 and the first part of 16 we read these words: John 15:18-16:4

John 15:18–16:4 LSB

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. “He who hates Me hates My Father also. “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. “But this happened to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without cause.’ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me, and you will bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will put you out of the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they did not know the Father or Me. “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

The cost to follow is high, but the reward, eternity in the very presence of Almighty God, is well worth it.

Sweet Aroma

The final words of verse 18 contain what I believe to be a promise and a reassurance. The words used here are a way of saying that the sacrifice is found pleasing in the eyes of God, that it is acceptable. In Romans 12:1 Paul writes “Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” Our lives are supposed to be a sacrifice that is pleasing to God. Earlier we read from Ephesians where we are told that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand”. If we want to live a life that is sweet aroma, we really need to look no further than our text for today for instructions.

First, it is to be a life that is completely dedicated to God, no parts are withheld. In this particular burnt offering the entirety of the animal was consumed, this demonstrates again that all of the life of the priest was to be dedicated to God. This is not a call on every Christian to enter into a specific job or role, but rather one that aligns with Paul’s words to the Colossian church when he writes Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Each believer has been placed in the exact place that God desires him/her to be. I remember almost being hounded by the idea that the only way to be obedient to the great commission was to go to somewhere I wasn’t, after all in acts it says Acts 1:8 “... you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth.”” and of the veracity of that statement I have no doubt, as the church we should have a presence everywhere, but for you at this moment and this week, to be obedient to that means that you profess the name of Jesus right where you are. You already have a mission field, right where you are, at home, at school, at work, even if you are playing a round of golf, joining a book club, or other activities. We pray for God to give us opportunities to share the gospel, but we assume that this does not take place in the ordinary rhythms of life. If we want our lives to be a sweet aroma, everything that we are and have must be dedicated to His service.

Secondly, we must seek and destroy the sin in our lives. We cannot be complacent in this, it is a fundamental necessity of being a true believer. We must be attentive to the Spirit’s work in our lives, pray earnestly for the right desires in our lives, one of absolutely hating and being grieved, even for the “smallest” of sins in our lives. The outside of this ram that was presented was without blemish, but it was still necessary for the unclean parts to be cleansed. The Spirit is at work in your life, exposing sins for you to eradicate. Colossians 3:5-11

Colossians 3:5–11 LSB

Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, lay them all aside: wrath, anger, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you put off the old man with its evil practices, and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman, but Christ is all and in all.

1 John 2:15–17 LSB

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.

If we want our lives to be a pleasing aroma to God, then it is necessary that we are obedient to these commands, this is our responsibility and the most reassuring part of this is that we can walk in this with absolute certainty because we know that “He who has begun a good work in us will be faithful to complete it”.

Finally, be reminded that our imperfect worship and living is made perfect in the eyes of God because of the work of the Spirit within us and the Lord Jesus Christ work in the throne room of the Father. We move forward in obedience knowing that our sins are forgiven, we have been declared just and that as we stand in His presence we are clothed in the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, the ram of the burnt offering was not just a ritual—it was a declaration. It was a life wholly surrendered, entirely consumed for the glory of God. And so, the question must be asked: Is your life a sweet aroma rising to the Lord? Have you, like those first disciples, laid down your nets—your ambitions, comforts, and self-will—to follow Christ without reservation?

The gospel call is not merely to believe, but to follow, to be consumed in joyful obedience, to present your body a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is not the path of ease. It is the narrow road of daily dying to self. But it is also the only road that ends in glory.

So, I ask you: Have you truly laid all on the altar? Or is there something you’re still withholding from the flame? Let today be the day of full surrender—where nothing is spared, and all is offered up in worship to the One who gave all for you.

Closing Prayer

Gracious and Holy Father,

We bow before You now, humbled by the weight of Your Word and the glory of Your calling. You are the consuming fire, the One who is worthy of all that we are—our hearts, our minds, our strength, our lives. Lord, we thank You for the reminder that the call to follow Christ is not partial or passive, but total and transforming. You have not redeemed us merely to spare us from wrath, but to make us holy vessels of worship, set apart and fully dedicated to Your service.

Father, forgive us for the areas of our lives we have withheld from You—for the sins we tolerate, the comforts we cling to, and the fears that hold us back from full surrender. Cleanse us, O Lord, inside and out. Purify the secret places of our hearts. Like the ram on the altar, may every part of our lives be placed before You—washed, consecrated, and consumed for Your glory.

Give us courage to walk the narrow path, grace to deny ourselves daily, and joy to serve You even when the cost is high. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we might offer ourselves in obedience not as a burden, but as a joyful act of love. Let our lives be a pleasing aroma, holy and acceptable in Your sight.

We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, our Sacrifice, and our King. Amen.