Proverbs 15:8-9. 8The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. 9The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
The contrast is between the wicked and the upright. The sacrifices, prayers, ways, and pursuits of the wicked are an abomination to God. That is, everything they do grosses him out. He is repulsed by them.
It’s important to notice that the wicked are still trying to appease God with sacrifices and prayers. Were they using the sacrificial system of the temple as cheap grace? A way to continue in unrighteousness while “covering up” their sins with legalistic rituals? It sure seems like it.
God’s hatred for this kind of half-hearted worship is a theme throughout the Old Testament. Nearly every prophet from Samuel onward addresses it.
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.”
God looks at our hearts, not just our actions. If a person is wicked on the inside, uncaring about their sin, self-righteous in their attitude, but they bring a sacrifice to God on the outside, well we can understand why God would consider such hypocrisy to be foul to him.
Obviously today we don’t sacrifice for our sins with the blood of animals. The blood of Christ has covered our sins once for all time. But we better believe that God still hates our hypocrisy and the cheap-grace of using the blood of Christ as means to continue in sin. No, in Christ we are no longer positionally wicked, but have been made righteous by our union with him, but we better heed the warning of Proverbs 15, a warning that still remains for the people of God.
Hebrews 6:4-6. 4For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
This warning is very real, and yet never fully true of the person in Christ. The one who is indwelt by the Spirit of Christ can never hold Christ in contempt. Can they sin? Of course? Can they despise and resent Jesus? No way. Can they consciously use the cross of Christ as a way to justify their sinful actions – It’s OK for me to sin because the cross has already forgiven it? Again, no way.
The one who uses the cross of Christ and the blood of Christ as a license to sin is crucifying once again the Son of God, the greatest abomination of them all.
What is the correction? A life that pursues the righteousness of Christ replacing a life that tries to cover over sin with prayers and sacrifices. Which life are you living?
You: Is your Christian life a life of pursuing righteousness or a life of covering over sin?
You in Christ: Positionally, you are righteous not wicked. How does trusting this allow you to stop your self-justifying prayers and sacrifices to God?
Christ in you: How might you pursue the righteousness of Christ in you today?
Pray: Jesus, may I never hold you in contempt. May I never crucify you again in my heart using your death as my license to sin. Amen.
To Live is Christ 