The "Let Us" Series From The Book Of Hebrews
#11
"LET US GO OUTSIDE THE CAMP!"
TEXT: Hebrews
13:11-14
INTRO: The early
Christians who had been Jewish struggled to accept the power of Christ’s
sacrifice for their sins! There was
a tendency once saved to go back to those things which they once held dear as
practices, things that in truth were only shadows of the greater substance found
in Christ.
It can be amazing the kinds of old laws man will keep
just to feel “secure” and have life be predictable. Yet, these old laws can be meaningless
today even if they served a purpose
before:
ILLUS: Young girls are never allowed to walk a
tightrope in Wheeler,
In
No
one can eat unshelled, roasted peanuts while attending church in
In
No
citizen in
Swinging a yo-yo in church or anywhere in public on the Sabbath is
prohibited in
Turtle races are not permitted within 100 yards of a local church at any
time in Slaughter,
We can follow a similar path once we embrace Christ as
our Lord. If we are not careful we
can begin the process of “adding” lots of other conditions for salvation as time
progresses. Sometimes these
“things” can be very helpful truths pertaining to living a life of faith, but
they can grow beyond that to a type of legalism that demands others practice all
these “other things” in order to be
saved!
When this happens the Gospel starts to look like a list
of do’s and don’ts – even though some of those things should be a part of the
life of a believer, they must not become conditions in order to be saved. There is nothing more to add to the fact
that Jesus died for all our sins, and accepting Him is the only basis for
salvation! The living out of faith
is the practice of “sanctification” – the life of holiness that grows in the
life of the believer.
PROP. SENT: The Bible teaches us that Christ is the only
way of salvation! It is not the
laws we hold to that are created to make us look “holy” to others. It is not the expectations that
religious people have, the only way to God is through faith in the sacrifice of
Christ on
I. SHADOWS! Heb.
13:11
A.
Frequent Sacrifices! Heb.
13:11a
1. The Old Covenant was a bloody
one! Because of man’s constant
sinful behaviors it was necessary to have frequent blood sacrifices for their
forgiveness.
a. Just imagine what life was
like! Constant sacrifices, many
animals were killed in order to shed blood for the remission of
sins.
b. It has to be a constant reminder of
just how difficult it was to live for God.
Each animal killed was another reminder of the terrible price of sin, and
the need for it to be cleansed.
(1. How
visible the evidence of sin’s cost!
(2. That
innocent animals had to shed their blood in order for man to not have his own
blood shed.
c. There was a terrible pricetag for
sin!
d. All of these of course were but
shadows of the ultimate lamb of God that would be slain to take away the sins of
the world once and for all!
e. The shadows were bad enough, but
the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of
f. Looking back would only slow
them down; they needed to be looking forward to home to move
along!
ILLUS:
My horse
invariably comes home in less time than he makes on the journey away. He pulls the carriage with a hearty good
will when his face is toward home.
Should not I also both suffer and labor the more joyously because my way
lies toward heaven, and I am on pilgrimage to my Father's house, my soul's dear
home and resting place? -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable
Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc,
1990)
2. Yet, without the shedding of blood
there was no remission of sin!
a. Even in
b. In their own efforts to cover their
shame of nakedness they cover themselves with fig
leaves.
c. However, this didn’t appear to
cover the shame, they were still hiding from God after they covered their
nakedness!
d. Instead, God comes and takes the
skin of animals and clothes them – this very act required that He kill animals
and shed their blood to gain the skins that were used to clothe Adam and
Eve.
e. Thus, Adam and Eve witnessed the
first blood sacrifice to cover their sinfulness – a sacrifice done by God
Himself, but only a shadow of the ultimate “Lamb of God” which would be the
final sacrifice.
3. Thousands of years passed with the
constant need to shed blood under the Old
Covenant.
B.
Former Security! Heb.
13:11b
1. These sacrifices and blood had to
be carried into the Holy Place by dedicated priests, and burn the bodies of the
animals outside the camp.
a. Nothing was saved or used for food
in these sacrifices for sin.
b. The people only felt secure once
the ceremony had been complete.
2. And the people had to rely on these
priests to perform the duties for them; they could not provide the service
themselves.
3. Their security lay at the feet of
leaders who would do the right
thing.
4. And yet, even a careful adherence
to the letter of the law could ultimately not save anyone, it all depended on
the Messiah who would come and fulfill the law, and the Spirit of the Law and
lay His life down for us. The
letter of the law would only kill.
ILLUS: The pharisaical legalism pictured in the
parable of the Good Samaritan is alive and well. As a result, a 15-year-old
African-American boy in
One a warm spring
evening in May 1998, Christopher Sercye was playing basketball with a few
friends half a block from
As is often true, when
we legalistically insist on the letter of the law, the needs of others are
overlooked. By holding to standard operating procedures, the "royal law of love"
was pinned to the mat. Initially, hospital administration vehemently defended
their ER's lack of involvement. Only after a barrage of community outrage did
It was
Jesus who observed "Woe to you teachers of the law, you hypocrites. You give a
tenth ... but you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice,
mercy, and faithfulness." (Matt. 23:23) -- Greg Asimakoupoulos. From the files of
Leadership.
4. This was a precarious position to
be in, what if their leaders were corrupt, what happened to their sins if there
was failure by the priests?
5. Indeed the Old Testament was full
of poor examples, even some priests whom God killed because of their wickedness
and improper leadership.
6. No man could come before God in the
Holy Place without being the right clan, and the right kind of
priest.
a. However, in the New Covenant we
have a High Priest Jesus who has opened up the Holy of Holies for us all to
enter, covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, so we are cleansed and can come
individually!
b. The day Jesus died on the cross the
Bible says that there was a terrible earthquake that tore the curtain before the
Holy of Holies in the Temple in half, thus opening up the way for anyone to
enter – Jesus opened the way!
c. And as the author of Hebrews says
here, Jesus matched that Old Covenant shadow by not only shedding His blood as
God’s lamb, but by dying outside the camp, or the walls of
Jerusalem.
d. The writer was clearly identifying
Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice that fulfills all the shadows of the Old
Covenant in full!
II.
SUBSTANCE! Heb.
13:12-14
A.
Final Solution! Heb.
13:12
1. Jesus is the final and ultimate
sacrifice for man’s sins!
a.
Jesus became the substance of the shadow in the Old
Covenant.
b. No
longer is there a need for constant blood sacrifices for sins, Jesus’ death on
c.
There is no other place we can go to find cleansing from our sins, only
through Christ and His shed blood has all the shadows in the Old Covenant
ceremonies been fulfilled.
d.
Any man-made attempt at cleansing would have ruined
us!
ILLUS: At their school carnival, our kids won four
free goldfish (lucky us!), so out I went Saturday morning to find an aquarium.
The first few I priced ranged from $40 to $70. Then I spotted it right in the
aisle: a discarded 10-gallon display tank, complete with gravel and filter for a
mere five bucks. Sold! Of course, it was nasty dirty, but the savings made the
two hours of clean-up a breeze.
Those
four new fish looked great in their new home, at least for the first day. But by
Sunday one had died. Too bad, but three remained. Monday morning revealed a
second casualty, and by Monday night a third goldfish had gone belly up. We
called in an expert member of our church who has a 30-gallon tank. It didn't
take him long to discover the problem: I had washed the tank with soap, and
absolute no-no. My uninformed efforts had destroyed the very lives I was trying
to protect.
Sometimes
our in zeal to clean up our own lives or the lives of others, we unfortunately
use "killer soaps" -- condemnation, criticism, nagging, fits of temper. We think
we're doing right, but our harsh, self-righteous treatment is more than they can
bear. -- Richard L. Dunagin,
2. Christ carried the entire burden
for sins, He is the “Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the
world” as John the Baptist declared in John 1:29 (NIV) “The next day
John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the
world!”
a. It does require us to accept this
gift for it to be applied.
b. How tragic that such a gift is
available but not accepted.
c. Even in the Old Covenant, the
person who wanted their sins forgiven had to accept the blood sacrifice for
their sins.
3. Christ has made the way possible,
though He died outside the gates fo the city, although He was an outcast of the
Jews and their sacrificial system.
a. Their failure to see that Jesus was
the substance to the shadows of the Old meant that they remained in their
sins.
b. Refusal to accept the proper
sacrifice meant refusal to be
forgiven.
B.
Favored Status! Heb.
13:13
1. What about us today?
a. We too must be willing to accept
this once and for all sacrifice of Christ’s in order to experience His cleansing
power.
b. Why would anyone prefer the shadows
over substance?
c. Through Christ’s own blood He shed
we are able to be cleansed.
d. No wonder the writer in Hebrews
here said, “Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing the
disgrace He bore.”
2. Do not throw away such a great
invitation, such a great salvation!
3. The idea of “going outside
the camp” is to leave behind all the systems and religions of the
past or future and going directly to Christ as the perfect
sacrifice.
a. Nothing created or made by man will
satisfy a Holy God, man who is a sinner by nature cannot please or satisfy a
Holy God – so we must go “outside the camp” to find the acceptable
sacrifice that will allow us to be accepted by a Holy God, and only Christ’s
shed blood as the perfect sinless Lamb of God can provide
that.
b. There is no other way to
God!
c. We need to pick the way out, not
the old ways we know – they will lead to death, but the path out through Jesus
leads to life.
ILLUS: An Arab chief tells a story of a spy who was
captured and then sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This
general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between
the firing squad and the big, black door. As the moment for execution drew near,
the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked the question, "What will
it be: the firing squad or the big, black
door?"
The
spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing
squad.
Moments
later shots rang out confirming his execution. The general turned to his aide
and said, "They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic
of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we gave him a
choice."
The
aide said, "What lies beyond the big
door?"
"Freedom," replied the general. "I've known only a few brave enough to
take it." -- Don McCullough,
"Reasons to Fear Easter," Preaching Today, Tape No. 116.
4. The emphasis on the first part of
Heb. 13:13 is, “LET US, THEN, GO
…”
a. The responsibility at this point is
for us to make the move toward God!
b. While Christ has made the way open,
it is still up to us to come to
Him!
c. This means it is possible to NOT
COME.
5. The start of this verse is one of
invitation, one of asking for
response.
6. The request is for others to join
and go along.
C.
Forever Secured! Heb.
13:14
1. For all those who actually go “outside the
camp” and discover the sacrifice for sins in Christ, not only is
there joy in the forgiveness of sins – there is a future city that will endure
forever.
ILLUS: If we or the world could be saved through
human kindness or clear thinking, Jesus either would have formed a sensitivity
group and urged us to share our feelings or would have founded a school and
asked us to have discussions. But
knowing the ways of God, the way of the world, and the persistence of human sin,
he took up the cross, called disciples, gathered the church, and bade us follow
him down a different path of freedom. -- William H. Willimon, Leadership, Vol. 10, no. 4.
2. Today we can guarantee a future by
accepting the blood sacrifice of Jesus
Christ.
3. Our hope for the future is
dependent on what we do today, about what Christ did
yesterday!
CONCLUSION:
This invitation of “LET US” is to find the cleansing from all sin that
is needed. It is an invitation to
provide for the future joy and happiness that God intended for man to have. It is however just that, an invitation –
one that has to be responded to. In
order for the blood of the sacrifice to cleanse, one has to apply the blood to
the agent to be saved. Failure to
do this means no cleansing. So, how
can we neglect so great a salvation?
“Let
us, then,
go…”