Praise to God—Our Christian Duty

March 20, 2019
Praise to God—Our Christian Duty

Heb 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

One of the chief duties that every Christian is to fulfill is the worship of the living God. Believers from the very beginning of creation until now have been those who offered sacrifices of praise to God. There have been many different ways that this praise has been offered through the centuries, from the early days before the Law to the times of Israel when the people gathered in the Temple. The Church also continued to worship after the resurrection of Christ and found that they could at any place and time.

One aspect of biblical worship which seems to be consistent throughout human history is using our voices to praise God’s name. As another commenter affirms, “The OT sacrificial system has been set aside, but our grateful worship should still overflow to God” (ZSB).

Now, we are talking about Christian worship. Notice that the sacrifice of praise to God the Father is to be continually offered “in Him,” that is, through Jesus Christ. So, we no longer offer physical sacrifices, but we do continue to offer spiritual sacrifices which are pleasing to God. Jesus has laid down His life on our behalf, making peace between us and God through the forgiveness and cleansing of our sins. And on the basis of Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, we now offer the spiritual sacrifice of praise to God’s name.

The primary ways in which we praise God today are through sacrificing our time and energy to be in the assembly to praise His name through song and other affirmations in the company of the saints, and we also sacrifice whatever it takes to confess God’s glory in the public square, whether pride, reputation, or any of the like. This is a continual activity for the Christian. Therefore, let us not give up praising God on Sundays and every day in between.