Sermon: Outside the Camp

I ask you to take a copy of God's word this morning and we're gonna turn open to the book of Hebrews this morning. Hebrews chapter 13. As we begin to close out that book, if you use in a pew Bible, you can turn right there in the Pew Bible page 1009 in the Pew Bible 1,009 in the Pew Bible. This morning we're looking at Hebrews chapter 13

and we are turning to verse nine through 16 this morning.

Hebrews chapter 13 verses nine through 16. Let's pray before we open the word together.

Father, we pray that even over these next minutes that you would quiet our hearts,

you would help our minds to be focused. We would have ears to hear.

So we pray that according to your grace and your goodness, that you would stir in us by your spirit, that you would make us ready vessels for the hearing of your word read and preached. Do that work which only you can do. We pray Christ name, amen. Hebrews chapter 13 verses nine through 14 or 16. This is the holy er word of God.

Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings. For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people

through his own blood. Therefore, let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city. We seek the city that is to come through him. Then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God. That is the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. You're not neglect to do good, to share what you have for such sacrifices or pleasing God. Though the grass withers and the flower fades, the word of God is forever.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

It's a little bit of a complex train of thought in this passage. It feels like a lot of disjointed things that the writer of Hebrews has pieced together, but it's not, and I want to try and walk our way through it this morning and bring some comprehension, uh, to this text. First, the writer warns his readers what they must not do, what they must not do. What is that? He says they must not embrace diverse and strange teachings.

He has come to the end of this entire letter or this sermon, as we've said over the weeks and as he comes to the end, this is his concern. You must not embrace strange and diverse teachings. What were these teachings? Well, we can't be certain, but it is clear that these teachings had to do with food that they were not to eat of certain foods was the teaching and they were to eat of other foods was the teaching and this was the teaching to Hebrew Christians

that they needed to do this to continue to grow and to continue to abide in Christ. But regardless, he calls it diverse and strange teachings. Why diverse? Well, diverse has the idea of many or the piling up of new requirements here, new laws that they need to obey much more, many more strange means. Foreign. That is, it was something that was foreign to their community. It came from outside the church into the church.

Diverse, many strange foreign from what? From what they had already received, from what they had already heard.

False teachers always say, always say that we don't have something quite right. You you need something just a little bit different or a little bit more or a little bit less. And notice the writer of Hebrews concern. He says at the beginning of verse nine that they must not quote be let away. The danger is real.

And too often we are too dull to hear the warning. The danger's real.

It happens to denominations, it happens to churches, it happens to individual Christians and he is warning the church, new teachings, foreign ideas, they've come into your midst and they don't come with red flashing lights that say danger, danger. You're being led astray. They don't do that.

In fact, they always grab the imagination and they always have some kind of appeal. It enters our ears. It scratches some kind of internal itch that we have some concern and then it grabs a hold of us and begins to motivate us. And before we know it, we have been led astray. And without fail, people don't even recognize it,

but it happens. It happens to denominations, to churches, to individuals.

I watched a few different videos this week from a mainline church that I grew up in, so I have some vested interest and was watching their national meeting this week and in it they voted to redefine marriage if they had not abandoned the faith before. Uh, they did this week by embracing diverse and strange teachings. There were different moments in this assembly as I was watching it that caught my attention. One was where a, a man from Africa,

a pastor from Africa stood up in this assembly and he was coming to the microphone to speak to the item that was before them that would redefine marriage. And he was speaking against it and he held up his Bible and he began his speech with I have my Bible in my hands and this is the word of God. And the parliamentarian cut 'em off

and he said to the man, why are you speaking against this amendment?

And the man said, because we do not have another Bible.

As he held it up, he then said, that is why I am trying to explain. And he goes on to say how they cannot embrace a new definition of marriage apart from the one that the Bible has defined as between one man and one woman for all of their days.

People always have a new secret sauce that you just have to taste.

Why must we not embrace diverse and strange teachings? Why is it changing truth so at odds with the Christian faith, isn't our faith adaptable?

Well, notice the immediately preceding verse that we looked at last week. Verse eight, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. And that is in stark contrast of verse nine and the diverse in the strange teachings of verse nine, the Christian faith is rooted in the fixed person of Christ. He does not change. So our truth does not change. He is fixed and so it is fixed. But here is what happens. As we discussed last week, the world

around us is constantly changing and as I look at church history or even in the present, these diverse, in these strange teachings, they always arise in a context in the context of a changing world. They don't come out of left field.

There's a reason that they come. It's not in a vacuum. Just think about the context of this passage. These are Jewish Christians, Hebrew Christians, and they're beginning to be persecuted by the Roman empire because now they are distinct from Judaism and they are a distinct threat to the Roman empire. And so you have these strange and diverse teachings which are coming into the church. Maybe they need to return to something old.

Maybe they need to pick up those old Jewish feasts and those old Jewish customs because then maybe Rome wouldn't persecute them or at least the Jews wouldn't persecute them.

They need their faith strengthened. Notice that's his concern in verse nine. How is it going to stand in their time? Surely this, this faith, this Christian faith that must adapt,

watched another video from that assembly this week when another man got up in favor of the redefinition of marriage and he said his name. He said he was from a certain southeastern state and then he said of himself white, older adult, straight, he him, his here's a man who adapts and then he made the case for Christianity adapting by saying, in the region I work in what we know. No notice he has the answer. What we Know Is that

Cynics and young adults will not listen to us talk about Jesus. If we say we do not condone people they love and care about, They Just shut us out. That is if we do not embrace a homosexual view of marriage, our young people will not listen to us talk about Jesus.

How is the faith gonna be strengthened in our generation? How can it survive today?

But that's often the question 'cause the world's changing and the church repeatedly, members of The church and individual churches and denominations repeatedly and church history will say what we need to adapt to reach this generation. It will help our faith to survive in This generation. Be especially on guard when you hear teaching that scratches an itch in this cultural moment. Be on guard. Now, I've picked on the theological left this morning,

but it also happens on the theological right?

Adapting either way is equally dangerous. I hope you understand that the

Pharisees where the ultra conservatives of their day, there was no one to the right of them and they were just as dangerous as the Sadducees who were establishment people and who just wanted to have peace with Rome at any cause just as dangerous.

We do not gravitate towards the more conservative view. We do not gravitate towards the most liberal view. We do not gravitate towards that magical third way that is always proposed. What we are to Gravitate towards is what is true biblically, we stand upon the truth of the scriptures. The Writer is clear. This is what is needed. It is not food That they need. It is not new teachings that will strengthen them. It is He says in verse nine, it is good for the heart

to be strengthened by grace, and grace doesn't come by adding to our faith nor by subtracting from it. You don't merit grace, nor do you improve upon grace. It doesn't need Adapting.

And so the writer turns them back and he turns us back to the old paths. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. If it is new run from it. Paul is very clear In Galatians one, even if we an apostle, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be a curse, run from it.

He's pointing them away from these new teachings that had to do with food, which I think must have been in their cultural moment, a reemphasis upon the Jewish feast, dayss or dietary laws. He's told them what they must not do and that leads him to what they must do. Verse 13, he says, go outside the camp and bear the reproach. He meaning Christ, he endured. Now we have to work our way down to verse 13. It takes some time to for him to work through three verses

to get there, to get to his argument. But let's walk through it. It's connected. I promise you He is just address what they must not do. Embrace these diverse and strange teachings regarding what they must eat or not eat. That is very much part of Jewish cult, the Jewish cultic system, the Le Levites, as you know, were allowed to eat some of the sacrifice meat that was provided for them at the temple. And so now he is reminding them the Christian in verse 10,

that we have a system of which the Levite priest does not belong to. And then we have an altar from which we eat that the Levite priests have no right to eat from. What's he talking about? Well, on the day of atonement, they would slaughter these animals outside the camp, outside the city walls, outside of Jerusalem, and then on this high holy feast day in Jerusalem, you'll remember that the high priest would take the blood

of a slaughtered lamb and he would bring it into the holy of Holies and he would sprinkle it upon the Mercy Sea toning for the sins of the people of Israel. But interestingly, the authors not focused on that sprinkling of the mercy sea. He's focused on the fact that the animals were slaughtered, that they were killed on the day of atonement. Outside the camp. As he says in verse 11, the blood was brought inside the city into the holy place,

into the holy of Holies. But the body of the animal, it was sacrificed and burned outside the camp. And the writer is saying to them, this was not a mistake. This was not mere coincidence. This wasn't just to make things work. No. In fact, this was a foreshadowing of what would occur. And the person of Jesus Christ who was led outside the city walls, outside the gate, outside Jerusalem, and as the lamb of God would be bodily sacrificed

outside the camp pointed to him

and he was bodily sacrificed on the altar of the cross, the sins of his people

outside the camp saying, look, we have a system which a Levi priest does not belong to. Why? Because he does not believe in Christ and we have an altar from which we eat that they have no right to eat from. Why? Because they do not believe in Christ. So let's piece it all together. What he's doing there, he's saying they must not embrace these diverse and these strange teachings about food that somehow abstaining or partaking of some kind of food will give them strength.

He's saying that doesn't do it. What will? What's the answer, grace? Well, where does this grace come from? He says from an altar, verse 10, from which those Levi priests have no right to where is the altar? It's outside the camp, it's outside the gate. It is an altar in which the lamb of God was sacrificed for sinners. And it is from that altar, the cross that he's saying you are to be strengthened, that you have to keep returning to again and again and again.

It's from there that you receive grace and strength in the cultural moment.

It is not ceremony or asceticism or new teachings or cultural itches being scratched that we need. He's saying it's simply more of Christ that you need the crucified Christ for sinners. It's always what is needed more of Christ.

This is why diverse and strange teachings are so dangerous that they scratch an itch. They always scratch an itch,

but they always divert from the crawls.

To be clear this morning, many of you are itching right now told me

you're wondering, you're looking, you're seeking, you're fumbling for an answer. How will our faith stand in this time? Or as many of you have said to me, I'm concerned for my children and the next generation

and you're fumbling around looking for answers. Well, what's the answer? It's the same. It's always been. It doesn't change just Christ. Christ crucified for sinners.

How do we strengthen our families, ourselves, our church? Not by embracing new teachings, but as the writers pointed out to these Hebrew Christians who are facing greater cultural pressures than we, we feed in faith upon our crucified savior

talking about the cross with each other.

How often is that the topic of conversation in your homes, around your tables, in your marriages?

How often is that the conversation in the hallways of this church?

I'm concerned. I'm concerned.

How often are you talking about the crawls leading one another to the crawls?

There's a reason that Paul says we preach Christ crucified is it's from there that we're strengthened in grace we keep and keep on returning to the foot of the crawls. Pastor, that sounds awfully super spiritual.

There must be something more. Give us something practical.

How could there be something more?

Do you understand your greatest enemy? Your greatest enemies

have been dashed at the foot of the cross.

You have no greater need. The greatest possible gift you could have received is that the cross, you have no greater need and you can receive no greater gift. How could there be more?

Everything that preaches you more than the cross makes a mockery of it. We turn, turn and turn again to the cross. Give us more. There's no more to give

and if we can't see that, it's because we don't rightly value the crawls.

But having said that, I want you to notice that that doesn't mean the path is easier in this world. By returning once again to the old paths in the crawls,

it doesn't make it an easy road.

What we must not do is embrace diverse and strange teaching. What we must do is return to the cross. And now what we must understand is that bearing the reproach of the Christ of Christ is what is required and it's worth it.

Again, in the context it seems false. Teachers want these Jewish Christians to return to aspects of Judaism. If they were just counted once again as a sect under Judaism, then the persecution would be less severe. They could actually survive undercover. They would have a measure of peace, but it's not peace worth having. He reminds him verse 13, that we must go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

It is well worth being numbered with Christ and the writer understands. He understands this, that standing upon the truth of Christ often if not always means leaving the comfort of the city. That is you will not be popular with the people in our day. We have to go outside the gate. To him, Christ was crucified outside the gate, the city of Jerusalem did not find him worthy. He was despised one from whom men hide their faces.

As Isaiah said, he bore the reproach as the writer says in verse 13 out there,

not in the city out there, he suffered and bled and died. He was thrown out there, he was shunned, he was cursed, and it is out there outside the gate, out outside the city, outside the walls, outside the acceptance of the world that he was crucified for sinners and the writer says, you must go to him outside. There

must understand that we are to bear the reproach with Christ and it's worth it. Seldom, if ever is the Christian popular or loved or even respected in the eyes of a world because we associate with him and the world hates him.

Jesus said it. The world hates you know that it hated me. Before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Those crowned with Christ are often considered the refuse of the world and it's worth it.

That may mean for some of you that you'll not be the head of the department at the university that you're part of as you stand for Christ. It may mean for some of you you're not employee of the month because you don't laugh at the crass jokes in the workplace. You're a curmudgeon.

It may mean that you're not your teacher's favorite student because you're willing to call error, error, nonsense, nonsense. It may mean that you're not the most loved person in your neighborhood because you won't put out the signs that everybody else is.

You don't signify as the world signifies.

You don't identify with the things the world identifies with. You went to him outside the camp. So it will often be that you are disregarded, you are disrespected, you are despised and even worse and it's worth it.

It's so very worth it.

We must understand burying the reproach of Christ is worth it. Jesus said, truly. I say to you, there is no one who's left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundred fold. Many who are first will be last and the last first bearing. The reproach of Christ is worth it. As he says in verse 14, we seek that city that is to come.

It then ends with two quick simple applications. Verse 15 and 16 through him, meaning through Jesus, let us continually offer up sacrifice of praise to God. That is keep presenting your bodies of the living sacrifice to God. In the words of the apostle Paul, do it with your life. Do it with your lips. Do it with all that you are in the second verse 16, do not neglect to do good and to share what you have. That is you have received so much so now as a Christian,

you walk in the world giving much, but there must be more. It must be much more complex than that to live like a Christian in the world. It's not

Verse 13, go to him outside the camp. Verse 13, bear the reproach endure. Verse 15, continually offer up sacrifice of praise to God. Verse 16, do good share what you have. This is what it like looks like to be a Christian. This is what it looked like for them to be in a Christian in a culture that was much more opposed to them than the culture as opposed to you

don't embrace more diverse and strange teachings because they scratch a itch.

I was thinking this week about Steven, I'm gonna preach on 'em a little bit this evening in our ordination installation service, but Steven was that first martyr of the Christian faith

and he went to Jesus outside the camp. He knew what awaited him, so he was intentional

and he was very committed and willing to continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God and share what he had, what he had received.

That wonderful act six, Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin and charges are read against him and then all the men in the council, all 71 of them, they look at Stephen and what they see they don't expect. You would think that he would be trembling, think that maybe he would be white as a ghost because of what is getting ready to happen to him, or he would think his eyes would be looking down at the very least. But Luke says this,

he says, and gazing at him all who saw all who sat in the council, saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Now we have no clue what an angel's face looks like. Neither did Luke. He'd never seen an angel. So so what in the world is he trying to convey? He's trying to convey that the countenance upon Stephen was like one who was in the presence of God. Here was Stephen outside the camp facing certain death and God gave Stephen the same

Radiant face when he was accused of opposing the law as he had given to Moses. When Moses received The law, it was as if God was whispering or or shouting.

Stephen has the best of things. He has me, he's with me, that all the world oppose him. He has me.

It's what we get. It's worth bearing. Verse 14, for we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. This lamb of God who was sacrificed for sinners outside the city, his blood actually sanctifies us. The writer of Hebrew says,

in the eternal city of God, the eternal throne, we are sanctified.

We'll often say to Leah, when something difficult is before me, and we kind of have this little routine we do, she will say, will you make it through this Jason?

I have the same rejoined her every time. It depends on what it is, how long the answer is. It's either, ah, I can do this for a couple of hours. I can do this for a couple of days. I can do this for a few weeks. I can do this for a few months. I could do this for a few years. Why? Because I know there's a finish line. I can bear it by Christ grace, I can bear it. There's a finish line. Relief is coming. You know, to use his analogy

that he is used throughout this book, We are in the midst of a race, a marathon runner who is running and running and running and doesn't know that there is a finish Line will eventually give up. I'm done. I start a race, I'm done. But A marathon runner would keep going. They keep going. Why? Because they know there's a finish line and there's a prize. They know it. And what the writer of Hebrews is saying, you just keep going.

There's a finish line, there's a prize. You keep running outside the gate, outside the city. You keep bearing this reproach. Do you not know there is a city that you will Dwell in forever where you will be more than accepted,

where he will delight over you, where you will be loved beyond loved, where he will dwell with you forever more.

There's a finish line. There's a prize that awaits. So we keep going back to the source of that prize. Christ crucified over and over and over,

and His grace strengthens you in the journey. Not new teachings, not strange on diverse things. Christ, keep going back to Christ.

We pray for us.

Father, we are thankful for so great the salvation that we have and your beloved son. We do pray that every one of us in this room would find that we have gone outside the city, we have turned our back upon this world that we have found life everlastingly at the foot of the crows. For those of us in Christ, would you help us over and over and over again, return back that lamb slain for sinners who's truly all of our strength, all of the grace

that we need to continue to persevere in this world till that day when we shall see you face to face in the person of your son. Keep us, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.