God's Call to Consecration
Consecration is a biblical word that does not receive much attention these days. The potential reasons for this are undoubtedly up for debate, but it is difficult to deny the fact that most people prefer a self-centered life over a consecrated one. Our sin nature readily draws us away from the dedication necessary for a relentless pursuit of holiness, and tempts us to worship the god of self along with the rest of culture. In a society that idolizes self-determination and self-autonomy, the idea of consecration likely sounds archaic to some and even barbaric to others. And yet, this does not change the biblical call to a consecrated life that focuses on separation from sin and personal holiness. First Chronicles 29:5 serves as an example text that highlights consecration’s role in the believer’s life. “Who then,” David asks, “will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?” This is a timely question that demands our attention.
In the context of 1 Chronicles 29, David’s life is coming to an end, leaving Solomon as the Lord’s chosen successor. One of Solomon’s God-given responsibilities as Israel’s future king was to build the temple. While this had been a desire of David’s, God denied him the opportunity and named his son as the one to take up the task. This did not mean, however, that David had no role to play in the temple’s construction. In the opening verses of 1 Chronicles 29, David describes his personal contributions to the forthcoming building program. It is important to note that although David was currently the king of Israel, he was not exempt from giving. He certainly does not mention the materials he contributed out of arrogance or a selfish desire for attention; he merely summarizes his gifts before calling the people to willingly consecrate themselves unto the Lord, knowing that surrendered lives to the Lord practice generosity (v. 5).
David’s appeal for personal consecration resembles the call placed upon the Old Testament priests. An example of this priestly consecration is found in Exodus 19:22, which reads: “Let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.” Since consecration is not a regular part of our everyday vocabulary, a reminder of the word’s definition seems warranted. Consecration is defined as “the act of setting apart, or dedicating something or someone for God’s use and purposes; a call to set ourselves aside as a living sacrifice for God’s holy intentions.” Once again, the word consecration is not used terribly often anymore, but it is an important concept for believers to understand if we are to stand firm against the lure of the self-autonomy and self-adulation ideology permeating today’s popular culture.
It is interesting to note that David, after describing his generosity toward the temple project, does not immediately ask for an offering. Rather than resorting to coercion and manipulation to give, David urges the people to consecrate their lives to the Lord, knowing that changed and committed hearts would tangibly prove themselves through generous giving. David’s primary concern was not financial, but spiritual. People could obviously give money or materials to the temple project without a hint of personal consecration to the Lord. But apart from changing their hearts and committing their lives to God, their financial gifts would be nothing more than an empty ritual void of any spiritual value. God has always expected His people to generously give to His work in the world, but His primary desire is that all of our sacrificial giving would flow from a consecrated heart. Our giving is not about making ministries richer but helping them accomplish gospel ministry for the glory of God’s holy name. Our heavenly Father is chiefly concerned with our hearts, not our money. There is obviously more to consecration than financial giving, but generosity is one of the tangible ways one’s consecration to the Lord is evidenced.
As previously mentioned, David’s call to personal consecration resembles the commandments given to the Old Testament priests. Dedicating themselves to the Lord was a decision each individual priest had to make. Today, it is a decision each of us must also make. Priests who refused consecration were ineffective in their calling, and lacked the character necessary to obey God’s commandments for the priesthood. Leviticus 10:1-2 dramatically illustrates how reckless spirituality can affect our relationship with the Lord: “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” From these verses, we are reminded that God is not someone to be trifled with. Failing to set ourselves aside as a living sacrifice for God’s holy purposes places us in dangerous spiritual territory. While Christians are not priests in the Old Testament sense of the word, Peter reminds us that followers of Jesus are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Without consecration, holiness is impossible. This explains why so many Christians choose desecration over consecration.
If we are to successfully combat the sinful tendency to be self-centered and self-worshipping, we must choose the challenging path of consecration over the more popular route. In order to better understand the importance of this decision, consider the three main approaches to self that we must choose from. The one we follow will greatly impact the direction of our lives.
First, we can choose to fixate on ourselves. Choosing this path places the almighty self at the center of our heart, mind, and soul. Obsessed with self, modern humanity is determined to transgress any moral boundary set by God in the name of self-expression and self-autonomy that demand absolute freedom from our Creator. Those who follow this path make pleasing and appeasing self their ultimate pursuit while refusing to set themselves aside as a living sacrifice for God’s holy purposes. Rejecting God’s authority and word, they form their morality based on what feels right to them, with no thought of God’s objective boundaries established in Scripture. When our sense of value is determined by how we feel, by how people view us, or by the accomplishments we achieve, we quickly become preoccupied with our own self-interests and quickly lose sight of what God has called us to do: love God supremely and love our neighbors as ourselves. Self-fixation prevents us from a relationship with the Lord and from biblically loving others. Focusing solely on self keeps us from caring for our neighbors in their times of need. When all of our attention is on ourselves, we fail to see the problems and needs of others. Nor do we take time to consider our decisions and actions from God’s point of view. Fixating on self squelches any hope of consecration to the Lord, rendering us spiritually anemic and inactive in the body of Christ. Self-obsessed individuals will find consecration a rather revolting idea since it cramps their style and limits their perceived freedoms.
Second, we can choose to desecrate ourselves. Desecration takes place when we corrupt ourselves through the consistent mistreatment of the body the Lord entrusted to us through self-destructive behavior. Personal desecration is certainly not divorced from self-fixation. At least to some degree, self-fixation serves as the starting point of desecration. Author Carl R. Trueman considers desecration a strong word that “implies the intentional abuse or desecration of something holy, something of more than ordinary significance.”[1] While no one is perfectly holy, every individual is created in the image of God and deserving of proper care and treatment. Desecration of one’s body, therefore, is a violation of God’s divine plan for humanity. In an attempt to satisfy our individual tastes and insatiable desires to be our own god, we have become plastic people who are, for the first time in history, able to re-create ourselves through the ever-advancing technology into the image that we determine best harmonizes with our whimsical tastes and preferences. Believing God created us wrongly, we take it upon ourselves to correct His perceived poor judgment by redesigning ourselves into the god or goddess we long to be. In light of the rapidly escalating level of technology, Trueman warns, “The very idea of some fixed human nature becomes problematic, and we become raw material with no intrinsic end.”[2] In other words, using technology to modify one’s body like a piece of metal in an inferno is a repudiation of God’s creative purpose for humanity. Are people nothing more than clumps of raw material to be modified as individuals see fit? Or are humans fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God? How one answers these questions will greatly influence their view of not only humanity in general, but of self, and more importantly of God. According to the Christian worldview, using technology to radically alter a person who has been handcrafted in the image of the Creator for egocentric purposes is a self-fixated act of desecration. A scalpel in the hand of a surgeon used to save someone’s life is an honorable action, but using one to permanently modify a human body for the pursuit of personal deification is quite another. In society’s attempt to transcend the limits God has placed upon humanity, we have obstinately transgressed His moral law, often through the usage of technology that was once unthinkable. Unconstrained personal tastes combined with the insatiable desire for absolute self-autonomy is certainly no friend of personal consecration.
Third, we can choose to honor the Lord by consecrating ourselves. Remember, consecration is the act of setting apart, or dedicating something or someone for God’s use and purposes. Personal consecration involves setting aside ourselves as a living sacrifice for God’s holy purpose, and obediently following him. Biblical consecration shifts our fixation with self to a worshipful preoccupation with our Creator, empowering us to serve Him with all of our hearts. This kind of dedication also mortifies the temptation to selfishly desecrate the body God entrusted to us, freeing us to serve the Lord with energy and purpose. Once again, Carl Trueman offers helpful insight when he writes, “This life is one where our status as those made in God’s image is characterized by consecrating our lives to Him.”[3] Consecration unapologetically acknowledges God as our Creator, and recognizes the inherent dignity afforded to all people by him. The first two approaches to life are self-centered and destructive. But the way of consecration leads to an abundant life that is fully committed to our glorious Creator. The only way to overcome self-fixation and self-desecration is personal consecration to almighty God. Standing against the tidal wave of culturally acceptable self-autonomy propaganda is not an easy task for any Christian. This is why we must consecrate our lives to the Lord, and remember Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 2:21, “If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” Self-fixation and desecration will never afford us the opportunity to be used for God’s holy purposes. Keep yourself from that which is dishonorable. Mortify sin. Set yourself apart as a living sacrifice for God’s service, and allow Him to use you as He wills.
No matter how loudly people deny God, His word, and His moral boundaries, they will never change the fact that humans are moral beings, created in the image of the Creator, and bound by the limits He has placed on this world. In a culture where nothing seems sacred, Christians must take a long hard look into our souls and heed David’s question that he asked thousands of years ago: “Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?” This was David’s question for the people of Israel in 1 Chronicles 29:5, and it is the one God has for you and me today. Will you set yourself apart for God’s holy purposes? Or will you choose the illusion of self-autonomy and desecrate God’s glorious creation?
[1] Carl R. Trueman, The Desecration of Man (New York, NY: Sentinel, 2026), 14.
[2] Ibid., 40.
[3] Ibid., 11.
In the context of 1 Chronicles 29, David’s life is coming to an end, leaving Solomon as the Lord’s chosen successor. One of Solomon’s God-given responsibilities as Israel’s future king was to build the temple. While this had been a desire of David’s, God denied him the opportunity and named his son as the one to take up the task. This did not mean, however, that David had no role to play in the temple’s construction. In the opening verses of 1 Chronicles 29, David describes his personal contributions to the forthcoming building program. It is important to note that although David was currently the king of Israel, he was not exempt from giving. He certainly does not mention the materials he contributed out of arrogance or a selfish desire for attention; he merely summarizes his gifts before calling the people to willingly consecrate themselves unto the Lord, knowing that surrendered lives to the Lord practice generosity (v. 5).
David’s appeal for personal consecration resembles the call placed upon the Old Testament priests. An example of this priestly consecration is found in Exodus 19:22, which reads: “Let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them.” Since consecration is not a regular part of our everyday vocabulary, a reminder of the word’s definition seems warranted. Consecration is defined as “the act of setting apart, or dedicating something or someone for God’s use and purposes; a call to set ourselves aside as a living sacrifice for God’s holy intentions.” Once again, the word consecration is not used terribly often anymore, but it is an important concept for believers to understand if we are to stand firm against the lure of the self-autonomy and self-adulation ideology permeating today’s popular culture.
It is interesting to note that David, after describing his generosity toward the temple project, does not immediately ask for an offering. Rather than resorting to coercion and manipulation to give, David urges the people to consecrate their lives to the Lord, knowing that changed and committed hearts would tangibly prove themselves through generous giving. David’s primary concern was not financial, but spiritual. People could obviously give money or materials to the temple project without a hint of personal consecration to the Lord. But apart from changing their hearts and committing their lives to God, their financial gifts would be nothing more than an empty ritual void of any spiritual value. God has always expected His people to generously give to His work in the world, but His primary desire is that all of our sacrificial giving would flow from a consecrated heart. Our giving is not about making ministries richer but helping them accomplish gospel ministry for the glory of God’s holy name. Our heavenly Father is chiefly concerned with our hearts, not our money. There is obviously more to consecration than financial giving, but generosity is one of the tangible ways one’s consecration to the Lord is evidenced.
As previously mentioned, David’s call to personal consecration resembles the commandments given to the Old Testament priests. Dedicating themselves to the Lord was a decision each individual priest had to make. Today, it is a decision each of us must also make. Priests who refused consecration were ineffective in their calling, and lacked the character necessary to obey God’s commandments for the priesthood. Leviticus 10:1-2 dramatically illustrates how reckless spirituality can affect our relationship with the Lord: “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” From these verses, we are reminded that God is not someone to be trifled with. Failing to set ourselves aside as a living sacrifice for God’s holy purposes places us in dangerous spiritual territory. While Christians are not priests in the Old Testament sense of the word, Peter reminds us that followers of Jesus are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Without consecration, holiness is impossible. This explains why so many Christians choose desecration over consecration.
If we are to successfully combat the sinful tendency to be self-centered and self-worshipping, we must choose the challenging path of consecration over the more popular route. In order to better understand the importance of this decision, consider the three main approaches to self that we must choose from. The one we follow will greatly impact the direction of our lives.
First, we can choose to fixate on ourselves. Choosing this path places the almighty self at the center of our heart, mind, and soul. Obsessed with self, modern humanity is determined to transgress any moral boundary set by God in the name of self-expression and self-autonomy that demand absolute freedom from our Creator. Those who follow this path make pleasing and appeasing self their ultimate pursuit while refusing to set themselves aside as a living sacrifice for God’s holy purposes. Rejecting God’s authority and word, they form their morality based on what feels right to them, with no thought of God’s objective boundaries established in Scripture. When our sense of value is determined by how we feel, by how people view us, or by the accomplishments we achieve, we quickly become preoccupied with our own self-interests and quickly lose sight of what God has called us to do: love God supremely and love our neighbors as ourselves. Self-fixation prevents us from a relationship with the Lord and from biblically loving others. Focusing solely on self keeps us from caring for our neighbors in their times of need. When all of our attention is on ourselves, we fail to see the problems and needs of others. Nor do we take time to consider our decisions and actions from God’s point of view. Fixating on self squelches any hope of consecration to the Lord, rendering us spiritually anemic and inactive in the body of Christ. Self-obsessed individuals will find consecration a rather revolting idea since it cramps their style and limits their perceived freedoms.
Second, we can choose to desecrate ourselves. Desecration takes place when we corrupt ourselves through the consistent mistreatment of the body the Lord entrusted to us through self-destructive behavior. Personal desecration is certainly not divorced from self-fixation. At least to some degree, self-fixation serves as the starting point of desecration. Author Carl R. Trueman considers desecration a strong word that “implies the intentional abuse or desecration of something holy, something of more than ordinary significance.”[1] While no one is perfectly holy, every individual is created in the image of God and deserving of proper care and treatment. Desecration of one’s body, therefore, is a violation of God’s divine plan for humanity. In an attempt to satisfy our individual tastes and insatiable desires to be our own god, we have become plastic people who are, for the first time in history, able to re-create ourselves through the ever-advancing technology into the image that we determine best harmonizes with our whimsical tastes and preferences. Believing God created us wrongly, we take it upon ourselves to correct His perceived poor judgment by redesigning ourselves into the god or goddess we long to be. In light of the rapidly escalating level of technology, Trueman warns, “The very idea of some fixed human nature becomes problematic, and we become raw material with no intrinsic end.”[2] In other words, using technology to modify one’s body like a piece of metal in an inferno is a repudiation of God’s creative purpose for humanity. Are people nothing more than clumps of raw material to be modified as individuals see fit? Or are humans fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God? How one answers these questions will greatly influence their view of not only humanity in general, but of self, and more importantly of God. According to the Christian worldview, using technology to radically alter a person who has been handcrafted in the image of the Creator for egocentric purposes is a self-fixated act of desecration. A scalpel in the hand of a surgeon used to save someone’s life is an honorable action, but using one to permanently modify a human body for the pursuit of personal deification is quite another. In society’s attempt to transcend the limits God has placed upon humanity, we have obstinately transgressed His moral law, often through the usage of technology that was once unthinkable. Unconstrained personal tastes combined with the insatiable desire for absolute self-autonomy is certainly no friend of personal consecration.
Third, we can choose to honor the Lord by consecrating ourselves. Remember, consecration is the act of setting apart, or dedicating something or someone for God’s use and purposes. Personal consecration involves setting aside ourselves as a living sacrifice for God’s holy purpose, and obediently following him. Biblical consecration shifts our fixation with self to a worshipful preoccupation with our Creator, empowering us to serve Him with all of our hearts. This kind of dedication also mortifies the temptation to selfishly desecrate the body God entrusted to us, freeing us to serve the Lord with energy and purpose. Once again, Carl Trueman offers helpful insight when he writes, “This life is one where our status as those made in God’s image is characterized by consecrating our lives to Him.”[3] Consecration unapologetically acknowledges God as our Creator, and recognizes the inherent dignity afforded to all people by him. The first two approaches to life are self-centered and destructive. But the way of consecration leads to an abundant life that is fully committed to our glorious Creator. The only way to overcome self-fixation and self-desecration is personal consecration to almighty God. Standing against the tidal wave of culturally acceptable self-autonomy propaganda is not an easy task for any Christian. This is why we must consecrate our lives to the Lord, and remember Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 2:21, “If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” Self-fixation and desecration will never afford us the opportunity to be used for God’s holy purposes. Keep yourself from that which is dishonorable. Mortify sin. Set yourself apart as a living sacrifice for God’s service, and allow Him to use you as He wills.
No matter how loudly people deny God, His word, and His moral boundaries, they will never change the fact that humans are moral beings, created in the image of the Creator, and bound by the limits He has placed on this world. In a culture where nothing seems sacred, Christians must take a long hard look into our souls and heed David’s question that he asked thousands of years ago: “Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?” This was David’s question for the people of Israel in 1 Chronicles 29:5, and it is the one God has for you and me today. Will you set yourself apart for God’s holy purposes? Or will you choose the illusion of self-autonomy and desecrate God’s glorious creation?
[1] Carl R. Trueman, The Desecration of Man (New York, NY: Sentinel, 2026), 14.
[2] Ibid., 40.
[3] Ibid., 11.
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