of Titus after this. Matt read
that passage. I've been thinking that for a
couple of weeks, unless the Lord impresses me with something else.
Turn back to Hebrews chapter 13. I've entitled this message
Outside the Camp. When the Lord was crucified,
he was taken outside of Jerusalem to Golgotha's hill, to be crucified. Now, what is the significance
of that outside the camp? You know, if I read the Old Testament
without understanding the gospel, it would be a really strange
book. You read these sacrifices, like
the Day of Atonement, everything that took place. The high priest
would change his glorious garments to a humble white linen garb,
linen breeches. And he would first offer a sacrifice
for himself before he was fit to offer the sacrifice for the
children of Israel. And he would have two goats. We're going to be looking at
this in a moment, two goats. And they would cast lots, for
which goat would be the scapegoat. and which goat would be the sin
offering. And I love the way the priest
was not allowed to make the decision. Well, I'll pick that one. No,
it was cast lots because it's going to be the Lord's decision
in everything. And then that blood would be
shed. The scapegoat would be taken
out to a land not inhabited. The priest would put his hands
on it, signifying the transfer of sin. That's what it actually
says in Leviticus 16. All the sins and iniquities and
transgression of Israel, the goat bore. We know it was figurative,
but that lets us know something about the transfer of sin. And
that thrills me, that my sin can be taken away from me and
led off by that man, a fit man, the scripture says, into the
wilderness. And you know when that man came
back, he had to be washed. He was considered unclean just
touching that goat. and leading them out. And when
that sacrifice was done, unlike all the other sacrifices, all
the other sacrifices you could eat, you couldn't eat this sacrifice. It wasn't burned up on an altar
either. It was taken outside the camp. to be burned and the
men who took it out had to be washed. Their clothes had to
be washed and they had to be washed before they could come
into the camp. Now, if I didn't understand the
gospel, that would be so, well, it'd be hard to get hold
of. But I love what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15 verse three. The gospel is how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures. And he died for
our sins according to Leviticus chapter 16. Verse 10. We have an altar where if they
have no right to eat would serve the tabernacle. They were not
allowed to eat of this sacrifice. They could eat the morning and
evening sacrifice. What did you do with the Passover? You ate
it. But they were forbidden to eat this sacrifice. But the writer of the Hebrews
tells us we have an altar and the sacrifice, we have a right
to eat that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right
to eat. Now, one day a year, we had the
great day of atonement. And this is what this is about.
This is the sacrifice he's referring to, where the bodies of the beast
had to be carried outside the city. You'll remember the tabernacle
had two rooms, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, where
the Ark of the Covenant was. And once a year, the high priest
would come into the Holy of Holies. Now, before he could do this,
he first had to offer sacrifice for himself. He couldn't offer
a sacrifice for the sins of the people because he was a sinner,
just like they were. He wasn't any better. And he
had to offer this sacrifice for himself where he would be ceremonially
without guilt, and that would make him fit to offer the sacrifice
for the people. And I think it's glorious in
Hebrews 7, 27, the Lord didn't have to offer sacrifice of sins
for himself. He was sinless. He didn't go
through two sacrifices. He went through one when the
sins of the people became his, and that's why he was sacrificed. But the priest first had to offer
this sacrifice for himself, and then he would have the change
of clothes, the humble white linen garment that represents
the incarnation of Christ. He would then present two goats
before the Lord. Lots would be cast. I love that.
He didn't get to pick out which one was gonna be which. This
was the Lord's decision. Lots would be cast to determine
which goat would die and which goat would be the scapegoat. Aaron's bullock is slain for
himself and now he can offer up the goat. He puts his hand
on that scapegoat. I love to think about that, him
putting his hand on the scapegoat and what that signifies, the
actual transference of sins. And what's so thrilling about
this is to think if the Lord Jesus bore my sins, I don't have
them. Sin can't be two places at once. He bore them and put them away. That's what that scapegoat represents.
And then he, slaughters the goat for the sin
sacrifice. And they take the bodies of the
bullock, of the goat, and they take them outside of the camp.
Now, do you remember who dwells outside of the camp? Leopards
and the unclean. They're the ones who dwelt outside
of the camp. And that is where the Lord's
was sacrificed outside the camp. Now listen to this scripture
from Leviticus 13. All the days wherein the plague
shall be in him, he shall be defiled. This is speaking of
the leper that dwells outside the camp. He wasn't allowed in
the camp. All the days wherein the plague shall be in him, he
shall be defiled. He's unclean. He shall dwell
alone. Without the camp shall his habitation
be And before that man who brought the beast to be burned could
come back into the camp, he had to be washed. He was unclean
just because of touching that sacrifice. Now, the writer of
the Hebrew says we have an altar where they have no right to eat
which serve the tabernacle. Now, Christ is our altar. He's not a physical altar. He's
not a material altar. altar calls. How ridiculous. How ridiculous. Any kind of altar
in a church? No. Christ is our altar. He's not a material altar. What's so glorious about him?
He's the priest. He's the sacrifice and He's the
altar. That's who we have in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You can't worship without a priest to represent
you. You can't worship without a sacrifice that God can accept. You can't worship without His
prescribed altar. Christ is all three. We have. If you're a believer, you have
this. This is yours. We have an altar. Praise the Lord, O my soul, we
have an altar, Christ himself. And we're allowed to eat of this
altar, whereas people who believe in works aren't allowed to eat.
People under this old covenant, they're not allowed to eat of
this. But we are. And listen to this, the only
thing that Christ said, except you eat my flesh and drink my
blood, you have no life in you. The only sustenance we get is
from Christ and His sacrifice. That's the only thing that gives
us life. That's the only thing that gives us encouragement.
That's the only thing that inspires us. That's the only thing that
motivates us, Christ and Him crucified. Paul said, we preach
Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block, unto the Greeks
foolishness, but unto them which are the called, Christ. the wisdom of God, Christ, the
power of God. The only thing that gives me
comfort, the only thing that gives me assurance, the only
thing that gives me rest, the only thing that motivates me
to give myself by His grace to live for the glory of God is
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is our necessary food. And if you were still in the
Old Testament Levitical system, If you believe in salvation by
works, you had no right to eat of this. Verse 11, and this is
something that I'm preaching with fear and with trembling. I am scared about what I'm getting
ready to say. I'm overwhelmed. by what I'm
getting ready to say with regard to this verse of scripture. Verse 11, for the bodies of those
beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high
priest for sin are burned without the camp. These dead bodies of these beasts
were considered unclean. They were burned outside the
camp, and the person who carried them out there was made to be
washed once again before he could come back into the camp because
he was unclean because of his contact with these sacrificial
beasts. He was to be burned outside the
camp, the residence of the lepers and the unclean, and this presents
a powerful and disturbing portrait to us of Christ's sacrifice for sin
on our behalf. Now, what I'm saying, right off
the bat, I don't understand it, but I believe it. I don't know
how else to say that. I don't understand this. It's
so far above my head. I'm speaking of things too high
and too wonderful for me. I should speak them because the
word of God speaks them. I'm not saying I shouldn't speak
them, but I'm saying this is difficult to think about that
such was the reproach and degradation suffered by the son of God for
our sin, that these animal sacrifices prefigured him being treated
as a loathsome, unclean, and polluted thing. That's how Christ was viewed
by his father on the cross. Even the one who touched him
as he was taken outside the camp, the one who touched that beast's
body was made to be washed because he was unclean because of his
connection with that. Now that, to think of Christ
in that light is disturbing. I don't know what else to say,
it's disturbing. But it gives us some vague understanding of
what is meant by, for he hath made him sin for us. Who knew no sin that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. Isn't that a disturbing picture? Christ suffering outside the
camp, outside the gate, on Golgotha's hill, and the shame, the sin,
the degradation that he experienced. He never sinned, you know that,
and I know that. He never sinned in his person,
but he experienced sin so much more acutely than you and I ever
will because of who he is. He suffered without the gate.
Verse 12. Wherefore, Jesus also, that he
might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without
the gate. Would you turn with me to Matthew
27? Verse 25, or verse 26. Then released he Barabbas unto
them, and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be
crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor
took Jesus into the common hall and gathered unto him the whole
band of soldiers and they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown
of thorns, they put it on his head and a reed in his right
hand. And they bowed the knee before
him and mocked him saying, hail, king of the Jews. And they spit
upon him the act of utter contempt and took the reed and smote him
on the head. And after they had mocked him,
they took the robe off from him and put his own raiment on him
and led him away to crucify him, and as they came out." That's
the key. This is outside the camp. You
see, when the tabernacle was built in Jerusalem, I mean the
temple in Jerusalem, Jerusalem was the camp, and he had to be
brought outside of Jerusalem to be crucified. And as they
came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, Him they
compelled to bear His cross. Look once again at verse 12 of
chapter 13. Wherefore Jesus also, that He
might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without
Now, to think of the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ, He
was so infinitely more than the physical suffering. You know,
there are men who were crucified, who were, by the grace of God,
enabled to sing praises to God while they were nailed to a cross.
Men singing praises to God while they were burning. Now, I would
not in any way discount the physical sufferings. I don't want to do
that. But it's the spiritual sufferings of being forsaken
by God, of being made sin, of being cut off by His Father.
Oh, how he suffered, and he suffered more than anybody else has ever
suffered because he suffered the full equivalent of eternal
hell. He's the only one to do that.
The reason hell is eternal is because men can never satisfy
God. It's gonna go on eternally. But
he suffered the full equivalent of eternal hell, the only man
to ever do that, forsaken by God. You see, he was taking what
I deserve. That's what was going on at this time. He's giving
what I deserve, what you deserve. Forsaken by God, bearing our
sins in his own body on the tree while he never sinned in his
person. He felt all the shame, the degradation, and the uncleanness
of sin. I want you to think of the worst
you've ever felt about your sin. That's nothing compared to what
he felt. He suffered without the camp,
the place of the lepers and the unclean. But look what it says
he accomplished by this suffering in verse 12. Wherefore, Jesus
also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood. Now, this is what he did in this
suffering. And I want you to, oh, may the
Lord enable us to enter into this. Let's talk about what he
did for me. If you're a believer, this is
talking about what he did for you. He sanctified the people with his
own blood. Now, who are these people termed
the people? Well, it's everybody he died
for. It's all of the elect. It's those people that the angel
announced to Joseph, thou shalt call his name Jesus for he shall
save his people from their sins. That's who those people are.
Those people are all the elect of God. They're everyone to ever
believe the gospel. The scripture says he sanctified
the people by his own blood. Would you turn back a few pages
to Hebrews chapter 10? Verse nine is a quotation from
Psalm 40. Then said he, lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first covenant
of works, that he may establish the second, the covenant of grace. By the which will. Remember he
said, I came to do your will, O God. This is the will he's
talking about. By the which will. We are sanctified. Made holy. Declared by God to
be holy. We are sanctified by the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. You know, we sing that song,
once for all, oh sinner receive it. Once for all, oh brother
believe it. It means perfectly completed,
never to be repeated. You cannot get any more sanctified
than you are right now through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What Paul calls holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Now that's what every believer
is. When God looks at me right now, I don't see myself this
way. But God does. Because of the
blood of the cross, He sees every believer as holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in His sight. Now that's what the blood of
Christ accomplished. Sanctified the people by His
blood. I love that scripture in 1 Corinthians
1.30 where it said, He's made into us wisdom. He's made into
us righteousness. He's made into us sanctification. He's made into us redemption. Now, in that passage in Hebrews chapter
10, the word he has sanctified once for all, it's actually in
the perfect tense. I've said this before, perfectly completed,
never to be repeated. Now, in man's religion, in reform
religion, in Arminianism, free will, in charismatic Pentecostal. I think that covers all the different
kinds of what goes on under the name of Christianity. In man's
religion, all of these religions, and like I said, it's man's religion,
teach what's called progressive sanctification. You, through
your Bible reading, through your prayer life, through your self-denial,
through your battle against sin, become progressively more holy
and progressively less sinful. Progressive sanctification. That's just not true. It's not what the Bible teaches.
It's blasphemous. It's a lie. It's anti-Christ. It's anti-gospel. It's making you make yourself
better by grace. It's a denial of the reality
of the new birth. It's a denial of that new heart
we read about in Ezekiel chapter 36, a new heart will I give you. It's a denial of the two natures.
It's a denial of the gospel. Blasphemous. And you know, we grow in grace. We grow in
love. We grow in faith. We grow in
zeal. We grow in our desire for Him.
We do grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. This is not a denial of that. I wanna honor the Lord
in my life, in my conduct. I wanna honor the Lord as a pastor
to you, as a preacher. We wanna honor the Lord, but
I also know this, I'm just as sinful as I ever was. I know
that so. And somebody says, I don't think
I am, then you don't know who you are then. I'm just as sinful
as I ever was. But here's the glory of the gospel.
I can't get any more holy than I am in Christ Jesus right now.
God calls me holy. God calls me unblameable. God
calls me unreprovable. Oh, isn't it glorious that by
his blood, he sanctified the people. I'm sanctified. I'm perfect in Christ Jesus. Does that mean there's not a
battle all the time going on? Of course it doesn't mean that.
Galatians 5.17 says, the flesh lusts against the spirit, and
the spirit lusts against the flesh. These are contrary to
one to the other. That's not talking about the Holy Spirit.
That's talking about the spiritual nature you have, that you were
given in the new birth. That lusts against the flesh,
wars with the flesh, and the flesh wars with this, and these
are contrary one to another. That's not taking away from the
reality of that, and we're going to experience that until we die.
Thank God I'm sanctified once for all through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10, 14 says, wherefore,
well, let's, let's go and read in Hebrews 10 verse 10, by the,
which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once complete. Every high priest standeth daily
ministering, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sin. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever. Is there anything progressive
about that? By one offering, he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. You know, I was listening to
I'm going to be preaching out of Romans chapter 7 soon, just
about that, from 1 Corinthians 7, about the wife being bound
by the law to her husband. So I started looking to see if
anybody preached on that. And I ran across a sermon on Romans chapter
7, and it was entitled Progressive Sanctification. And I thought,
well, how are you going to get progressive sanctification out
of that? I was kind of interested to see how he did it. So I listened
to the message. And you know how he got it out
of it? Well, he read Romans chapter 7 and went straight to the Second
London Baptist Confession of Faith to tell us what it meant. Those confessions are an abomination. They're man-made. I don't see
why men think that man-made documents are better than the Word of God.
That's all he could do with that. That's not part of this message. Back to our text in Hebrews 13. Wherefore Jesus also that he
might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without
the gate. Let us go therefore unto him
without the camp. Now what's the significance of
that? Let us therefore go unto him without the camp, outside
of the camp, outside of man's religion. The camp is where the
lepers were. It's where the unclean were.
That's where he is. That's who he saves. And he does
not identify with man's religion, man's denomination or religion.
Let us go, therefore, to him without the camp. You know, when
John the Baptist was preaching, you didn't go to the temple to
hear him, did you? You had to go out into the wilderness.
He was completely, had no backing of human religion. Let us go,
therefore, to him without the camp. Denominations, it's dreams
of being man-made. It's not in the Bible. Who was it that persecuted the
Lord? The Pharisees, that's a denomination. You know, you don't read of the
Pharisees in the Old Testament. They didn't come around until
about 160 B.C. during the rebellion of the Maccabees
or whatever it was, and all of a sudden they get this denomination
that was, this is a denomination, they're the ones who persecuted
the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go to him without the camp,
bearing his reproach. The Lord said, blessed are you
when men shall hate you and when they shall separate you from
their company and shall reproach you and cast out your name as
evil for the son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap
for joy. That's the words of the Lord. What's this all about? Bearing
his reproach. What's the last beatitude? Blessed are they which are persecuted
for righteousness' sake. Theirs is the kingdom of God.
Now, does that mean that if you live a righteous life, you'll
probably be persecuted for it? Well, I'm sure at times that
can happen, no doubt about it. But does that mean if you're
kind and generous and seek to be an encouragement and seek
to be an example that people will persecute you for it? I'm
sure it could happen, but that's not what this is talking about.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the righteousness of Christ's
sake. Now that's what this persecution
is about. Not because of how you're living, but because you
maintain that the righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only righteousness
there is. And you believe that? And you
preach that? And you glory in that? And somebody's
going to come along and they're going to say, well, if you believe
that way, you're saying it doesn't matter how you live. You're saying
you can sin all you want because you have his righteousness. And
the only reason somebody would say something like this is because
they've never been born again. That's the only reason. If you're
born of God, you're not going to say or even think anything
like that. but an unbeliever because he doesn't have a new
man. He doesn't have the spirit of God within him. When he hears
that, it does scare him. Why, that would lead me to sin. That would, if I could, if that's
so. Now, when the Lord is talking
about being persecuted for righteousness sake, let me give you some scriptures
that I hope will be helpful. Psalm 71, 16. David said, I've made mention
of thy righteousness, What are the next three words?
Even, thine, only. Paul said, oh, that I may win
Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faithfulness
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. It's the only righteousness I
know anything about. Isaiah said, our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags. Now, let us therefore go unto him
without the camp bearing his reproach. Do you want to bear
his reproach? Do you find that attractive? Now, I know a part
of us would chicken out at the thought of being persecuted for
the gospel sake. I realize that. But do you want to be somebody
who's persecuted for righteousness sake, his righteousness sake?
I do. Bearing his reproach. I want to bear his reproach.
I love that scripture in Acts chapter 5 where they went rejoicing
counting it a blessing that they were counted worthy to suffer
shame for his name. Would you count that a blessing
to be allowed to suffer shame for his name? To have men speaking
ill of you because of the gospel you believe. Now, the writer
says in verse 14, here we have no continuing city. So just take
it for granted that as long as you're here, enjoy everything
you can, but be bearer's reproach, be persecuted because of the
gospel you believe and stand for. Our home is not here. Here we have no continuing city,
but we seek one to come. And we're waiting on that time
wherein we are in that glorious city. May God give us grace to
go to him outside the camp. I don't want to be identified
in any way with what is called Christianity in our day. I don't
want to be identified with it. I want to go to Him, outside
the camp, bearing His reproach. Let's pray. Lord, we stand utterly amazed
at what Your Son did for us. How we're amazed that you gave
him to do that for us. How we are amazed at how he on the cross was made to bear
our sins in his own body and all the filth and the degradation
of them. Lord, we're so thankful for his
sinlessness, his perfection. We know that he never sinned
even though he was made sin. But how we thank you for what
he accomplished, sanctifying us by his own blood. putting
away our sin and making us holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in your sight. And Lord, give us the grace to
go to him outside the camp bearing his reproach. In true thankfulness,
for his righteousness that is our righteousness before you.
Bless this message according to your will. In Christ's name
we pray, amen.