iii. The Sacrifices of the Chri.stian Life. — The NT doctrine is tliat Christ ottered a sacrifice which established peace with God, and which pro- cures the forgiveness of sins. But with this the conception of ofiering was not wholly detached from the sphere of human service ; on the contrary, a place is reserved for human ofl'erings of a com- plementary or secondary kind.
(a) The graces and the activities of the Chris- tian life have a sacrificial character. In the Prophets it was a frequent thought that the forms and expressions of the devout life — the broken spirit, the voice of adoration and aspiration — were
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sacrifices of peculiar value ; and such spiritual exerci-es continued to be described as oblations. The NT doctrine of the priesthood of believers also involved the idea that they had somewliat to oiler. The in.iterial of such otlVrings is the Christian per- sonality (Ko 15", cf. Jnde ■■'), or the body regarded as the "instrument of Christian service (Ro 12'), or the exercises and actinties of the Christian life (1 P 2'), including prayer (He 13"), beneficent deeds (v."), money gifts (Ph 4"), or the graces in which service has its spring (faith, Ph 2") (Cave, p. 40G IT., who treats this subject very fully and suggestively). The immediate effect attributed to these ollerings is that they are pleasing to God (Ko 12'), are to Him as the odour of a sweet smell (Ph 4'").
But the further question arises whether God, as pleased with these sacrifices, and on the ground of the offerings, bestows upon the Christian any special corresponding blessing. It may safely be said that tliey are not regarded as expiatory ; only faith comes into account as connected with the forgiveness of sin, and then as the mere con- dition of obtaining the boon of which the real ground is the sacrifice of Christ. But certain of the offerings specified have at lea-st a puriliiatory virtue — faith which overcomes the world, and hope which purifies. As regards forms of Christian service, it is antecedently probable that they were regarded as procuring certain benefits. To call an act a sacrifice, was clearly to imply that a benefit followed ; and to say that God was well pleased, was equally to imply that He would practically manifest His approbation. From the NT stand- point, indeed, the motive for rendering spiritual sacrifices is gratitude to God for His inexpressible magnanimity ; but it does not thence follow that they do not receive a rich Divine recognition. In the paralile of the Unjust Steward it is taught that wealth might be .so used as to procure an abundant entrance into the everlasting habitations [Lk 16"-), and it is no unfamiliar thought of the ipostle of grace that God will specially reward the work and labour of love.
But what is the precise nature of the Divine response to the offerings of service? The current reply is that in the present it takes the form of mward enrichment and growth in grace, and that in the world to come it will be manifested in a distinction of degrees of glory. Hut it may be doubted if this e.xhausts the NT concejjtion of the efficacy of the secondary sacrifices. The life that utters itself in the forms of sacrifice would appear to evoke a response additional to strengthening grace, which is of the nature of a special provi- dential discipline or blessing, and which, resting on the individual or even the house, makes "ener- ally for their protection and well-being (^It 6'"). So St. Paul, after specifying the acceptable sacrifices of the Philippians, concludes that God will supply all their need (Phil 4''').
^n ezpiatory chancer mi^ht appear to t>e ascribed to one cloiw of ttpirilual sacriQces, viz. the sutTerin^s of Itie sainU. ' I reloice in inv sufTeriiiga on your behalf,' sa.vs the npoalle, 'and fill up wliat 19 larking of the atllictions of ChrlHl in my tiesh on behalf of hia body, which is the Church* (Col IW). "By some Rom. Cath. excretes it has been ar^^ued that the afllictions of the saints are regarded as comliined with the passion of Christ 'o constitute the satisfaction on the ground of which God pardons sin. But while the apostle atflruis that his sutTerings are for the good of the Church, he <ioe8 not say that it is as propitiatory, and the mo<le of conveying benefit may well have been that, bv the apostolic example of patient obedience, the body was edified. But how do they fill up what was la<^king of Christ's sufferings? The idea may either be that the apostle desired to approximate to the standard of Christ's sulTerings (Weiss), or that he desin-tl to entluro his share of the sutTerings which Christ, through Ills Cburch-bodv, has yet to •uner(AI- ford, in loe.). See also Lightfoot and Abbott.
(h) The worship of the Church embodies a sacri- ficial element ; but this is not to be identified with the Eucharist, nor can the latter be scripturally in-
terpreted as having the character of a propitiatory .sacrifice. To say that worship is sacrificial is to repeat what has already been said of the NT spiritual sacrifices. The faith and hope and love which find expression in praise ami prayer, the money gifts which are devoted to the work of Christ, are declared by the apostles to have this character. Specially is the celebration of the sacrament of trie Lord's Supper, evoking, as it does, faith and hope and the sentiment of gratitude, the occasion of the presentation of spiritual offerings. The special question is whether the Eucharist is a sacrifice in a peculiar specific sense, and if so, what is its precise character and efficacy. The question as to whether it may be called a sacrifice is not of vital importance. It may easily be brought within the compass of our working defini- tion. ' In a certain loose sense the Lord's Supper may be called a sacrifice, inasmuch as it was deliberately associated by its founder with the sacrificial rites of the O't" (Cave, p. 439). The really important issues are raised by the Roman doctrine, which interprets it as continuous with the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and as therefore possessing a propitiatory character.