WHAT SACRIFICES DO CHRISTIANS OFFER TODAY?
Hebrews 13:15–16 — The Sacrifices That Please God
IF JESUS OFFERED THE FINAL SACRIFICE, WHY ARE CHRISTIANS STILL TOLD TO OFFER SACRIFICES?
Throughout Hebrews, the writer has explained that Jesus Christ offered the perfect sacrifice for sin.
His sacrifice was offered once for all.
No additional sacrifice is needed to accomplish what He has already done.
Yet Hebrews 13:15–16 tells Christians to continue offering sacrifices to God.
How can that be?
Has the writer contradicted everything he has taught?
Not at all.
The sacrifices Christians offer are not sacrifices to obtain forgiveness. They are sacrifices of praise, doing good, and sharing with others.
They are the response of people who have already received God's grace through Jesus Christ.
To understand this distinction, we need to examine what these two verses actually say.
HEBREWS 13:15 — THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE
The writer says:
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”
This single verse tells us several important things about Christian worship.
What Does “Through Him” Mean?
The verse begins with the words “Through him.”
The writer is referring to Jesus Christ.
This is important because Hebrews has repeatedly explained that Jesus is our High Priest and mediator.
Through Him, believers have access to God.
Hebrews 4:14–16 invites Christians to approach God's throne of grace with confidence.
Hebrews 7:25 explains that Jesus is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him.
Hebrews 10:19–22 tells believers that they can approach God because of what Jesus has accomplished.
Now Hebrews 13:15 says that our sacrifices of praise are offered through Christ.
We do not approach God on the basis of our own worthiness. We approach Him through Jesus Christ.
What Is a Sacrifice of Praise?
Under the Law of Moses, Israel offered various sacrifices to God.
Some were connected with atonement for sin.
Others expressed thanksgiving, dedication, and fellowship.
The Old Testament also speaks of praise and thanksgiving as sacrifices.
Psalm 50:14 calls God's people to offer thanksgiving.
Psalm 50:23 speaks of offering thanksgiving as a sacrifice that honors God.
Hosea 14:2 uses language about offering the fruit of the lips in repentance and praise.
The writer of Hebrews draws on this biblical language.
But he is not asking Christians to return to the former system of animal sacrifices.
He is describing praise offered to God through Jesus Christ.
What Is the Fruit of Our Lips?
The writer explains his own meaning.
The sacrifice of praise is “the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”
Our lips produce words.
Those words can express gratitude, confession, and praise.
When Christians acknowledge God's name, they openly recognize Him and His authority.
They give Him the honor He deserves.
This includes praising God in prayer, in song, and in what we say about Him.
But we should notice something important.
The verse does not limit praise to singing.
Singing can certainly express praise.
So can prayer, thanksgiving, and openly confessing our faith.
The writer is concerned with praise that comes from people who acknowledge God through Jesus Christ.
Why Does He Say “Continually”?
The writer says that Christians should continually offer praise.
This does not mean that we must speak or sing every moment of the day.
It means that praise should not be limited to occasional religious ceremonies.
Under the former covenant, particular sacrifices were offered at appointed times.
Christians now have an ongoing relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Our gratitude should be a continuing part of our lives.
We can praise God when we gather with other Christians.
We can praise Him in our homes.
We can praise Him in times of happiness.
And we can continue trusting and praising Him even when life becomes difficult.
Praise is not merely an event on our calendar. It is an ongoing expression of faith.
HEBREWS 13:16 — DOING GOOD AND SHARING WITH OTHERS
The writer continues:
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Now he moves from the words we speak to the things we do.
This is an important connection.
Christian worship is not only about what happens when believers gather.
Our treatment of other people also matters to God.
What Does It Mean to Do Good?
The instruction is simple.
Do not neglect to do good.
Christians are to look for opportunities to help others.
This may include showing kindness, providing practical assistance, encouraging those who are discouraged, and helping people who are suffering.
Hebrews 13:1–3 has already told Christians to love one another, practice hospitality, and remember those who are imprisoned or mistreated.
Verse 16 continues that same concern.
Our faith should produce actions that benefit other people.
What Does It Mean to Share?
The word translated share comes from a Greek word associated with fellowship, participation, and sharing with others.
Here, it points to practical generosity.
Christians should not become so attached to their possessions that they refuse to help people in need.
Sharing may involve money, food, clothing, shelter, time, or other resources.
The writer does not establish a required amount.
Nor does he suggest that every Christian has the same resources or opportunities.
The emphasis is on generosity.
We should be willing to use what God has entrusted to us to benefit others.
Why Does God Call These Actions Sacrifices?
Under the former covenant, worshipers brought offerings to God.
Here, the writer describes doing good and sharing as sacrifices that please Him.
This does not mean that giving to others purchases God's forgiveness.
It means that God values the generosity and love that flow from faith.
When we give something of value to help another person, we may be making a real sacrifice.
We may be giving up something we could have kept for ourselves.
But we are doing so because we love God and care about others.
The sacrifice is not payment for salvation. It is an expression of the faith and gratitude that salvation should produce.
What Does It Mean That These Sacrifices Please God?
The writer says that God is pleased with such sacrifices.
That is a remarkable statement.
God does not need our money, possessions, or assistance.
Yet He delights when His people demonstrate love, generosity, and concern for others.
Our actions matter to Him.
But we must not reverse the order of the writer's argument.
Jesus has already provided the sacrifice that makes our relationship with God possible.
Now, through Christ, believers offer sacrifices of praise and loving service.
We do not offer these sacrifices to make Christ's work sufficient. We offer them because His work is sufficient.
GOING DEEPER
1. IF CHRIST'S SACRIFICE WAS ONCE FOR ALL, WHY DOES HEBREWS STILL USE THE WORD “SACRIFICE”?
The word sacrifice does not always refer to an offering made to obtain forgiveness of sins.
The Old Testament includes sacrifices expressing thanksgiving and devotion as well as sacrifices associated with atonement.
Hebrews makes clear that Jesus' offering for sin was final.
Hebrews 10:10 says that believers have been sanctified through the offering of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:14 says that by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Hebrews 10:18 concludes that where forgiveness has been accomplished, there is no longer an offering for sin.
Therefore, Hebrews 13:15–16 cannot reasonably be understood as requiring additional sacrifices to complete Christ's work.
The writer identifies the sacrifices he means: praise, doing good, and sharing.
These are different in purpose from Christ's atoning sacrifice.
2. DOES HEBREWS 13:15 REQUIRE CHRISTIANS TO SING?
The verse describes praise as the fruit of lips that acknowledge God's name.
Singing is one way Christians can offer praise.
Other New Testament passages explicitly discuss singing.
Ephesians 5:19 speaks of singing and making melody to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16 speaks of teaching and encouraging one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
But Hebrews 13:15 itself does not specify that the sacrifice of praise must take the form of singing.
Nor does it provide detailed instructions about musical arrangements.
The verse's main point is that Christians should continually acknowledge and praise God through Jesus Christ.
We should not make the verse say more than the writer intended.
3. DOES CHRISTIAN WORSHIP TAKE PLACE ONLY WHEN THE CHURCH ASSEMBLES?
No.
The New Testament teaches that Christians should gather together.
Hebrews 10:24–25 specifically warns believers not to neglect meeting together.
But Hebrews 13:15–16 shows that honoring God is not limited to those gatherings.
Christians offer praise continually.
They do good.
They share with others.
Romans 12:1 also calls believers to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
This language describes a life devoted to God.
Our assemblies are important.
But the way we live between assemblies is important too.
Christian worship includes gathered praise, but a life that honors God cannot be confined to a building or a particular hour.
4. CAN DOING GOOD EARN OUR SALVATION?
No.
Ephesians 2:8–9 teaches that salvation is by grace through faith, not the result of works that give us grounds for boasting.
But the next verse says that believers are created in Christ Jesus for good works.
The order matters.
We are not saved because our good works have earned salvation.
Rather, God's grace produces a new life in which good works have an important place.
James 2:14–26 also emphasizes that genuine faith should produce action.
Hebrews 13:16 fits that same pattern.
God is pleased when His people do good and share with others.
But their generosity does not replace the sacrifice of Christ.
5. DOES GOD REQUIRE CHRISTIANS TO GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY?
Hebrews 13:16 does not command Christians to surrender all their possessions.
It tells them not to neglect doing good and sharing.
The New Testament recognizes that people have different resources and responsibilities.
Second Corinthians 8:12 teaches that a willing gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what the person does not have.
Second Corinthians 9:7 encourages willing, cheerful giving rather than giving under compulsion.
First Timothy 5:8 reminds believers of their responsibility to provide for their households.
These passages help us understand that Christian generosity should be thoughtful, willing, and responsible.
The question is not whether everyone gives the same amount.
The question is whether we are willing to use what we have to help others.
6. DOES THIS MEAN THE OLD TESTAMENT SACRIFICES WERE WORTHLESS?
No.
God established those sacrifices for Israel under the former covenant.
They served a purpose within His plan.
But Hebrews explains that they were never intended to provide the final solution to sin.
Hebrews 10:1 calls the law a shadow of the good things to come.
Hebrews 10:4 says that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins.
The former sacrifices pointed toward the greater work of Christ.
Now that Christ has offered Himself, Christians do not need to return to those sacrifices.
The writer is not saying that God's earlier instructions were meaningless.
He is saying that their purpose has been fulfilled.
7. WHY DOES THE WRITER CONNECT PRAISE WITH GENEROSITY?
This may be one of the most important lessons in the passage.
Verse 15 speaks about what comes from our lips.
Verse 16 speaks about what comes from our lives.
Both are called sacrifices.
It would be inconsistent to praise God with our words while refusing to care about people in need.
The apostle John makes a similar point in 1 John 3:17–18.
He asks how God's love can remain in someone who has material possessions, sees a fellow believer in need, and closes his heart against that person.
He then urges Christians to love not merely in word but in deed and truth.
Our words and actions should agree.
The God we praise with our lips is the same God we honor when we help others.
8. WHAT MAKES THESE SACRIFICES ACCEPTABLE TO GOD?
Hebrews 13:15 begins with the words “Through him.”
That is where we must begin.
Throughout Hebrews, Jesus is presented as our High Priest and mediator.
He offered the perfect sacrifice.
He opened the way to God.
He continues to intercede for His people.
Our praise and generosity do not make us independent of Him.
They are offered through Him.
First Peter 2:5 similarly speaks of spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
The emphasis is not on human achievement.
It is on our relationship with God through His Son.
Christ makes our approach to God possible. Our sacrifices express our gratitude for what He has done.
WHAT SHOULD WE LEARN?
Hebrews 13:15–16 brings the great teaching of this letter into everyday life.
Jesus is our perfect High Priest.
He offered the final sacrifice for sin.
His work does not need to be repeated or improved.
But that does not mean Christians have nothing left to offer God.
We offer Him praise.
We acknowledge His name.
We do good.
We share with those in need.
And we do these things continually, not merely when we gather for worship.
The greatest sacrifice has already been made.
Now God's people respond with grateful hearts and lives shaped by love.
We do not sacrifice to obtain salvation. We offer these sacrifices because we have received God's grace through Jesus Christ.
That is the kind of life that pleases God.
CONTINUE EXPLORING SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 13:10–14 — Why Does Hebrews Say, “We Have an Altar”?
Why Jesus suffered outside the gate and why Christians are called to follow Him.
https://text-b4-tradition.com/13-10-14-hebrews
Hebrews 13:1–6 — How Should Christians Live Every Day?
How love, hospitality, marriage, contentment, and trust in God shape Christian living.
https://text-b4-tradition.com/13-1-6-hebrews
Next Study: Hebrews 13:17 — Why Does Hebrews Say, “Obey Your Leaders”?
What does the New Testament teach about spiritual leadership, responsibility, and the proper response of Christians?
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