The scriptures plainly and repeatedly state that Christ gave Himself as man’s complete and only sacrifice. Yet, the New Testament proclaims that because of salvation, the believer can offer spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Peter 2:5). Before a believer can determine the complete nature of these sacrifices, he must first recognize that any such sacrifices must be made to God only. The Lord declared His jealous nature in the Old Testament when He said, “He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed” (Exodus 22:20). Though much has changed, God still demands that man’s sacrifices be presented to Him and Him alone.
Man’s loyalty must be first and foremost directed toward the Lord; however, an aspect of one’s loyalty to the Lord also involves a certain loyalty toward man. At times, these loyalties might conflict. During those instances, each person should heed the words of Simon Peter when he admonished, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). When one’s loyalty to God does not conflict with any loyalty toward man, the Lord admonishes men to be loyal toward one another. When Moses placed his honour upon Joshua, he did so in order to encourage obedience, respect, and loyalty on the part of the people of God. In similar fashion, the Lord has crowned man with glory and honour (Psalm 8:5). As such, the Lord has naturally put within man a desire to be loyal toward the Lord and others.
God expects loyalty from man. He is not interested in “worship” that involves Him being one of man’s many gods. In fact, He adamantly opposed this position within the Ten Commandments. There the Lord admonished His people to “have no other gods before” Him (Exodus 20:3). He then warned them not to make nor bow in worship to idols (Exodus 20:4-5). The Lord earned Israel’s loyalty in many ways, but the Bible specifically points to His delivering them from Egypt. It is important to note that God does not expect blind loyalty from man, but He certainly deserves this type of loyalty. He earned man’s loyalty by being his Creator. Yet His ultimate claim to loyalty stems from His offering to redeem fallen man though man is completely unworthy.
