Offering

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:2

           In the Bible, sacrifice and offerings are often mentioned together, but there are important differences. Offerings compromise the broader category and refer to any objects brought to the designated place of worship that are presented as a gift to God. Sacrifices are a sub-group of offerings and refer to food stuffs that are totally or partially burnt on the altar.

          Christ came to earth to sacrifice His life as a substitution for mankind’s sins. This wasn’t something the Lord had to do because He owed salvation to Adam’s race, but rather was a free will offering. Jesus didn’t have to save us; He chose to save us.

          Since the focus was on giving a gift, all offerings are types of Christ and they come in many varieties. The many variations of sweet-smelling sacrifices were all voluntary and precious. Although a lame, blind, or sick animal could be butchered for food, it could not be given to God; it had to be without defect.

          Sin and Trespass offerings fall under non-sweet-smelling sacrifices, but also are Old Testament images of Christ. These were not optional; they were required in order to atone for sins. The Lord Jesus willingly became a sin offering in order to impute our sins as His own, because we were unwilling and unable to reconcile ourselves to the Holy God.

          Scriptures also link tithes and offerings. A tithe literally means 10% of one’s income and was compulsory for God’s people. Actually, there were three separate tithes required; one for the priests, one for the feasts, and one for the poor every three years. Therefore, tithing would actually come out to be between 20 and 30% any given year. Anything on top of that was considered an offering.

          Since Jesus Christ gave Himself 100% to free us from our sins, He is the living embodiment of an offering.