SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES 
of the Melchizedek Priesthood 

SACRIFICES IN THE CHURCH AGE 

• today's sacrifices are called "spiritual sacrifices (pneumatikos thusias)" (1 Peter 2:5): 
they're offered in the Spirit and are a part of the age of the Spirit—they are Church age sacrifices 
• spiritual sacrifices are offered by priests after the order of Melchizedek (1 Peter 2:5) 
• these spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God (1 Peter 2:5; cf. Rom 15:15–16; Phil 4:18) 
• God accepts spiritual sacrifices because of the sacrifice of His Son (1 Peter 2:5; cf. Heb 13:15) 
• God is pleased with spiritual sacrifices (Rom 12:1; Eph 5:2; Phil 4:18; Heb 13:16) 

KINDS OF SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES 

• ten spiritual sacrifices are mentioned in the New Testament: (1) prayer is a "memorial offering"
(Acts 10:4, 31; Rev 5:8; 8:3–4), (2) almsgiving is a "memorial offering" (Acts 10:4), (3) money given to missionaries
(Phil 4:18), (4) faith (Phil 2:17), (5) praise (Heb 13:15), (6) doing good (Heb 13:16), (7) sharing (Heb 13:16),
(8) our bodies (Rom 12:1), (9) souls saved (evangelism) (Rom 15:15–16), and
(10) death by martyrdom (of Paul and Jesus) (Phil 2:17; 2 Tim 4:6; Eph 5:2; cf. Heb 7:27; 9:14, 25, 26, 28; 10:10, 12, 14)
• any act of self-denial can be offered as a spiritual sacrifice to God 

FASTING 

• though not mentioned as such, fasting is a spiritual sacrifice that often accompanies the sacrifice of prayer: 
it shows how serious you are—that you're willing to suffer hunger to bring about God's will on earth 
• fasting will be rewarded (Matt 6:16–18) 

A RIGHTEOUS LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SACRIFICES 

• God desires seven qualities more than sacrifices: (1) love (loyalty) (Mark 12:33), (2) compassion (Matt 9:13; 12:7), 
(3) the knowledge of God (Hosea 6:6), (4) covenant loyalty (hesed, Hosea 6:6; cf. Micah 6:6–8), (5) obedience (1 Sam 15:22), 
(6) do righteousness and justice (Prov 21:3; cf. Micah 6:6–8), (7) to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:6–8) 

OFFERING SPIRITUAL SACRIFICES 

• you must be spiritual (clean) to offer spiritual sacrifices (for prayer, Psalm 66:18; for good works, 2 Tim. 2:21) 
• spiritual sacrifices are costly (cf. 2 Sam 24:18–25) 
• spiritual sacrifices will be rewarded by God: almsgiving (Matt 6:3–4), prayer (6:6), fasting (6:16–18), giving to missionaries
(Phil 4:17–18), faith (2 Tim 4:7–8; 1 Pet 1:7), good works (Rom 2:6–7; 2 Cor 5:10; Eph 6:8), sharing (1 Tim 6:18–19), evangelism
(John 4:36; "planting" in 1 Cor 3:8), preaching and teaching ("watering" in 1 Cor 3:8; "building" in 3:9–17), martyrdom (Rev 2:10)
• the sacrifice of Christ was rewarded with rule over all—session at the right hand of the Father (Heb 10:12; cf. Eph 1:20–22)

LANGUAGE OF SACRIFICE TODAY 

• sacrificial lingo is still with us, but the associations with our priesthood have become fuzzy and blurred
• allusions to spiritual sacrifices are found in worship services today: (1) an "offering" is collected during an "offertory"
and placed on an "altar" near the front of the church, (2) "sacrificial giving" is encouraged
along with "offering praise" and "offering prayer"