Topical Bible: Offerings: Useless when not Accompanied by Genuine Piety

◄ Offerings: Useless when not Accompanied by Genuine Piety ►

Jump to: Nave's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical narrative, offerings hold a significant place as acts of worship and devotion to God. However, Scripture consistently emphasizes that offerings, regardless of their material value, are rendered meaningless when not accompanied by genuine piety and righteousness. This theme is recurrent throughout both the Old and New Testaments, underscoring the importance of the heart's condition over mere ritualistic observance.

Old Testament Insights

The prophet Isaiah delivers a poignant message regarding the futility of offerings devoid of sincere devotion. In Isaiah 1:11-15 , God expresses His disdain for the multitude of sacrifices offered by the Israelites, stating, "What is your multitude of sacrifices to Me? says the LORD. I am full of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats." The passage continues to highlight that God desires justice and righteousness over ritual, urging the people to "cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression" (Isaiah 1:16-17).

Similarly, the prophet Amos conveys God's rejection of insincere worship. In Amos 5:21-24 , God declares, "I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them." Instead, God calls for justice to "roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24).

The narrative of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 further illustrates this principle. Abel's offering was accepted by God because it was given in faith and sincerity, while Cain's was rejected due to his lack of genuine devotion (Genesis 4:3-5). This account underscores the importance of the heart's posture in offering sacrifices to God.

New Testament Teachings

The New Testament continues this theme, with Jesus Himself addressing the issue of hollow religious practices. In Matthew 15:8-9 , Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying, "These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men." Here, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for their focus on external rituals while neglecting the weightier matters of the law, such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).

The Apostle Paul also emphasizes the importance of genuine love and faith over mere ritual. In 1 Corinthians 13:3 , he writes, "If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing." This passage highlights that even the most sacrificial acts are meaningless without love, which is the true essence of piety.

Conclusion

Throughout Scripture, the consistent message is clear: God values the heart's sincerity over the mere act of offering. True worship is characterized by a life of righteousness, justice, and love, reflecting a genuine relationship with God. Offerings, when not accompanied by such piety, are rendered useless in the eyes of the Lord.

Nave's Topical Index

1 Samuel 15:22
And Samuel said, Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 40:6
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire; my ears have you opened: burnt offering and sin offering have you not required.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 50:8-14
I will not reprove you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 51:16,17
For you desire not sacrifice; else would I give it: you delight not in burnt offering.
Nave's Topical Index

Proverbs 21:3,27
To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Nave's Topical Index

Isaiah 1:11-14
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? said the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
Nave's Topical Index

Isaiah 40:16
And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
Nave's Topical Index

Isaiah 66:3
He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offers an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burns incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 6:20
To what purpose comes there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 7:21-23
Thus said the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
Nave's Topical Index

Jeremiah 14:12
When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
Nave's Topical Index

Hosea 6:6
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Nave's Topical Index

Hosea 8:13
They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of my offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepts them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.
Nave's Topical Index

Amos 5:21-24
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
Nave's Topical Index

Micah 6:6-8
With which shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Nave's Topical Index

Mark 12:33
And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Modern Revivals.
... the temple of the Holy Spirit will not be enslaved ... yearly expend an immense sum upon
useless and pernicious ... God is robbed in tithes and offerings, while they ...
/.../white/the great controversy between christ and satan /27 modern revivals.htm

Modern Revivals
... the temple of the Holy Spirit will not be enslaved ... yearly expend an immense sum upon
useless and pernicious ... God is robbed in tithes and offerings, while they ...
/.../white/the great controversy/chapter 27 modern revivals.htm

Of Prayer --A Perpetual Exercise of Faith. The Daily Benefits ...
... 3. Objection, that prayer seems useless, because God ... being firmly persuaded that
though not disencumbered of ... ratified: "Remember all thy offerings," says David ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 20 of prayera perpetual.htm

The General Conference of 1840
... means which, under God, have been accompanied with such ... in extraordinary acts of
devotion and offerings to the ... Methodism, indeed, might not so much as exist in ...
/.../chapter 15 the general conference.htm

The Transformation of Rome from a Pagan into a Christian City.
... This practice"save the expiatory offerings"was adopted by the ... the city of the famine
proved useless, and the ... The grain was not intended to be sold, but to ...
/.../lanciani/pagan and christian rome/chapter i the transformation of.htm

Period I: the Imperial State Church of the Undivided Empire, or ...
... I; The Council of Nicaea: The Genuine Remains; HR ... that the decision at that council
was not acceptable in ... with the command of your devout piety, sovereign lord ...
/.../ayer/a source book for ancient church history/period i the imperial state.htm

The First Epistle of St. Peter
... Stone, which had been flung aside as useless by men ... the offering of those spiritual
sacrifices (thank-offerings, of course ... towards God (i.17, ii.17), not (as in ...
/.../moffat/the general epistles james peter and judas/the first epistle of st.htm

part i
... 'God is not a man ... here before me, knowing all my thoughts and feelings; every inward
slothfulness, stubbornness, or other passion is always accompanied by a ...
//christianbookshelf.org/calvin/my life in christ/part i.htm