Proverbs 15:8 – The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him.
When a person who does not love God and who is not repentant of his evil ways, makes a sacrifice to appease the Lord, does that please the Lord? This verse clearly shows that it does not. It is clearly mentioned that the sacrifice God does not accept is from whom He describes as “wicked.” Because they are wicked the Lord does not accept the sacrifice because it is not given in humility and is not given in true repentance for sin. The Word clearly states that there is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus. (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) All who try to get to please the Father by their own works rather than through Jesus have set themselves as a higher authority than God Himself. They have rejected the Way that the Father gave them to be saved from sin and have asserted their own will rather than obeyed God’s will. Since the only way to receive forgiveness of sin is through Jesus, then the one who tries to “be good” and rejects being “born again” (John 3:3) through Jesus remains in the condemnation that is upon all humankind from birth. (John 3:18) Therefore, unless one is born again through Jesus, that one is the one here described as wicked. God does not accept any sacrifice offered to appease Him because the only sacrificed needed and accepted is the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. To try to appease God by one’s own merit (sacrifice) is to reject salvation as only through Jesus and is attempting to get into Heaven by their own righteousness rather than Jesus who is the only gate to Heaven. (John 10:1-18) That, as described by God, is wickedness.
However the one who is called upright is the one who has been cleansed by the sacrificed blood of Jesus, by His perfect and acceptable sacrifice. (1 John 1:7, Matthew 26:28, Ephesians 1:7) It is that person’s prayer, the prayer of one made righteous through Jesus, which pleases God.
1 John 3:19-24 – This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from Him anything we ask, because we keep His commands and do what pleases Him. 23 And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in Him, and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.
We are sinners when we become born again. As we walk with the Holy Spirit sin begins to fall away. We become more like Jesus. However in this life, we will always sin. But we do not let sin have a victory over us. We know that Jesus paid the full price for our sins and we know (by His Word) that though our minds want to condemn us, in Christ, we are fully forgiven. Our hearts are then free to approach God and fellowship with Him solely because of Jesus. We who are fully forgiven have no reason to feel guilty. Freely when He calls out to us we answer “Father, here I am! Here I am with you!” Jesus fully frees us to be children of God! (John 8:26) Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”