Controlling the Appetites and Passions
19
temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown;
but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight
I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it
into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others,
I myself should be a castaway” (
1 Corinthians 9:25-27
). “What? know
ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought
with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are God’s” (
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
).
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An Unblemished Offering
Again, the apostle writes to the believers, “I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”
(
Romans 12:1
). Specific directions were given to ancient Israel that
no defective or diseased animal should be presented as an offering to
God. Only the most perfect were to be selected for this purpose. The
Lord, though the prophet Malachi, most severely reproved His people
for departing from these instructions.
“A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a
father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear?
saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And
ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread
upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye
say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for
sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?
offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept
thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.... Ye brought that which was torn,
and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept
this of your hand? saith the Lord” (
Malachi 1:6-13
).
Though addressed to ancient Israel, these words contain a lesson
for the people of God today. When the apostle appeals to his brethren
to present their bodies “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,”
he sets forth the principles of true sanctification. It is not merely a
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theory, an emotion, or a form of words, but a living, active principle,
entering into the everyday life. It requires that our habits of eating,
drinking, and dressing be such as to secure the preservation of physical,