Quotes About Sacrifice for Sermons on Discipleship and the Cross
Scripture on sacrifice: Christ's once for all, and the "living sacrifice" it asks of everyone who follows him.
Sacrifice in scripture moves in two directions that a sermon should keep distinct: the sacrifice Christ made, which cannot be repeated or added to, and the sacrifice of a life laid down in response, which scripture asks of every believer. Romans 12:1 makes the connection explicit, "in view of God's mercy," not instead of it.
One modern quote is included, from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, because it is unusually precise about the cost of discipleship and its source (The Cost of Discipleship, 1937) is exact and well documented.
Quotes about sacrifice
Scripture is quoted from the World English Bible (public domain). Every non-scripture quote names its specific source so you can verify it before you preach it.
“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service.”
Paul — Romans 12:1 (WEB)
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
Jesus — John 15:13 (WEB)
“By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
John — 1 John 3:16 (WEB)
“God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”
Abraham — Genesis 22:8 (WEB)
“For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God.”
Peter — 1 Peter 3:18 (WEB)
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer — The Cost of Discipleship (1937)
Using these quotes in preaching
- 1Romans 12:1 is easiest to preach when it is read alongside the "therefore" that opens it: the sacrifice it calls for is a response to eleven chapters of mercy already described, not a transaction that earns anything.
- 2Genesis 22:8 is Abraham's answer to Isaac's question mid-journey, before he knows how the story resolves. It works best quoted in that suspended moment rather than after the ram is provided.
- 3The Bonhoeffer line is often quoted alone; the sentence that follows it in The Cost of Discipleship ("It may be a death like that of the first disciples...") makes clear he does not mean this only metaphorically, which is worth knowing before using it.
- 41 Peter 3:18's "once" is doing real theological work, worth pausing on if the sermon is distinguishing Christ's sacrifice from the ongoing sacrifice asked of believers in Romans 12:1.
Frequently asked questions
What does "living sacrifice" mean in Romans 12:1?
Unlike an Old Testament sacrifice that died on the altar, Paul asks believers to offer their lives while still alive, ongoing obedience and worship rather than a single act. It is presented as a response to God's mercy, described in the chapters before it, not a means of earning it.
Is the Bonhoeffer quote about discipleship and death genuine?
Yes. "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die" is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship (1937), and it carries particular weight given that Bonhoeffer was executed in 1945 for his resistance to the Nazi regime.
How is Christ's sacrifice different from the Old Testament sacrifices?
Hebrews argues at length (especially Hebrews 9–10) that Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated because they could not fully deal with sin, while Christ's sacrifice, described in 1 Peter 3:18 as happening "once," is presented as final and sufficient.
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