Well, continuing our study in this fantastic book of Hebrews, I believe today that we come to really what is a sort of summary section in Hebrews 13. I think he's sort of summarizing for us his big aim in the book of everything that he's been saying. And so it seems to me to be a last ditch effort to help and call these Christians and us these Christians in the first century to endurance in the sufferings of this present evil age endurance in the sufferings of this present evil age sort of recapitulating and helping us with all the themes that he has developed in the book to now put it together in a sort of last call if you will in the book and this is important he has been concerned in the book and if this concern was so prevalent in the first century it's just as much a concern today it was a concern to say don't leave christ stay with christ he's everything for you he's given everything for you he provides everything that you need but this is a hard call as one pastor said he's dealing with lightweight christians lightweight christians who are very immature in the faith who have not grown in the faith he's already made the case in the book and saying listen there are so many of you still in need of milk you should be on meat by now but you haven't grown in the christian faith so he's been concerned about this all the way through in the book that they were not growing and understanding the faith they were not growing and understanding what the faith is and and what it will look like in this present evil age and they were not convicted about things that's that's the great need of the moment for our days again simply conviction deep conviction from people. That's what R.C. Sproul said years ago, you know, why do people not fight anymore for the truth? Either they don't know or they don't care. I hope it's not because we don't care. If it's because we don't know, then we've got work to do. And that's exactly what the book has been doing. The temptations they were facing were temptations to pull them away from Jesus. a very big temptation that way pull them away from christ that they were elementary in their looking at christianity and to not think they were not thinking about what the cost of christianity was what it meant to be a christian what is sincere authentic christianity how can you tell the true christian from the false christian so this final section is meant to sort of summarize for us everything he has been saying to keep us enduring in the Christian faith. Endurance is such an important theme. But you can't endure if you don't understand the dangers that are coming at you. You can't endure if you don't understand the challenges of the Christian faith. The temptations that are always there to constantly pull you away from Christ. that's been the big issue here so that's the emphasis in this last section it's a powerful call to hold fast to the word of christ it's a powerful call to hold fast to the word of christ that is spoken to you he began this way at the beginning of the book remember that in these last days right at the beginning so this is kind of a bookend to this in these last days god has spoken to us through his son he did in various ways and in different times in the past but in these last days he's spoken to us from heaven through his son in the ministry of the gospel he's been making this case the whole way through hold fast to that word he has been saying hold fast to that word understanding what it means and the commitment to christ and holding fast to that word so i want to look at this section today which is a fascinating section considering three things and really this call here at the beginning in verse 7 to remember christ's ministry among us remember jesus's ministry among us and then to consider his sacrifice ending with this final point which requires then the bearing of his reproach the bearing of his reproach so that's what we're going to begin today looking at remembering and considering this ministry that has been put in place for us you'll notice that's emphasized in verse 7 as you have the scriptures in front of you that he is really giving us an antidote to all apostasy and departure from the christian faith so look at verse 7 remember those who rule over you who've spoken the word of god to you whose faith follow considering the outcome of their conduct we went through a long list in hebrews 11 of the heroes of of of our faith from the old testament those are some remarkable characters weren't they you know enoch and noah and abraham and and that was a fascinating section to go through they were great figures in our studies of the scriptures of people who in their hardships and in their difficulties of life and in their testings of life endured endured by faith they pressed on by faith but he doesn't want us to think they're the only greats. They're the only greats that we can look back to these figures we've not known personally. What he appeals to here is the ministry that Christ has put in place for you through pastors who have been sent to you to speak the word of God to you from heaven heavenly speech this is not earthly speech this is this is heavenly speech in all the struggle of the church this is a remarkable encouragement have you ever thought what God's done for you you just look in the course of your lives and I think you could prove this in the Escondido URC all along the way he has raised up faithful men to preach the word of God to you Think of it. You can go back to Joe May's father. I don't know how many are still alive who remember him. Joe May's still alive, so she remembers well. But think about how wonderful that was at the beginning of this church for those who were still here when God sent pastors. And then you had Reverend Howard's Isle who ministered a long time. And then you had Reverend Camminga. And then you had Reverend Voss and Donovan. And they've all moved on. some have completed their race already haven't they they all had one great purpose no pastor's perfect i can testify you know that's that's true they all had one great purpose for you they worked hard they were in their studies they did this for years they worked hard to discern the word of god to prayerfully understand the word of god the spirit worked in their hearts and And it was one great goal they had for you. The other day, every single one of you is that you'd be saved. That you would understand what Christ has done for you. That's the goal. They had an aim. But consider then in your short life What God has done and put in place for you, wherever you've been. Sure, there are bad examples, but you've had good examples. They spoke the word of God to you. Some completed their race, some are gone. Over in Hauer's Island, Cammington, those ones from before. Do you see why he's raising the point? Jesus Christ is the same. Yesterday, today, and forever. That ministry has not changed. It never will change in this life. There's always the temptation to think, there's something better. There's something more to this. There's something we're not receiving. There's something we've not really attained to yet. Jesus doesn't change. His ministry does not change. all that is revealed in the Word of God is given and is profitable for salvation and righteousness. Christ said, think about this, you know, He sent all these pastors, that's why they're sent, and the end of all of the ministry, the goal of all of the Christian ministry is your salvation. And I can say that today. You can say, Pastor Contreras and I can say that. That's our goal for you, every single one. We may have to press, we may have to convict, we may have to get in your face a little from the pulpit, you may not always like it, but there's a goal in it, isn't there? It's always a goal. One of the great problems, though, is dissatisfaction with this. It's always been. We're never quite satisfied with what God has put in place. and and that's why he spent so much time in the book of hebrews on the sacrifice of christ and on worship we don't get worship worship in spirit and worship in truth there remains this first in the first century this temptation of the hebrews to find something better to find something that was a better experience as we've been looking at experience experience experience something we think will get us closer to god or really as we looked at something that may we actually want to keep us away from god and the author sees this alone as one of your great temptations in this life he raises it and he says here following this notice the connection the ministry is in place the words in place jesus does not change but here's your problem you are often carried away by various strange doctrines and various different ideas that the the two ideas here that are being communicated is there are various things that will captivate you along the way that will dazzle you is what he's talking about that will be more interesting to you this is why it's so hard to get people to stay focused on the gospel which is the greatest news ever but we're constantly thinking there's something better strange ideas ideas that are new ideas that are different that have never been consistent in the history of jesus's same yesterday today and tomorrow ministry and that's what paul was saying when he said in the last days the great challenge of the christian church will be there will be many who want their ears tickled they want light and fluffy christianity they don't want to be challenged they want their ears tickled and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables that second timothy four such an important verse strange stories it'll just be story time there's nothing impactful there's nothing deep there's nothing heavenly about what's being pressed upon the people it's all earthly can you see it can you recognize it really important question really important question it pollutes the gospel you know hebrews was one sermon 13 chapters was one sermon in the early church and you're saying i don't know if i could have endured that these are warnings he says you have to take seriously as one pastor said if if we point this out today we will be labeled as divisive uncharitable critic thinking we're better than everyone else we don't think we're better than anyone else but he says these are warnings that we have to take seriously because they're in the scriptures he seems to address in this verse that and what the issue was probably the most pressing issue for these early hebrew christians comes out here we're not entirely sure exactly what they were facing but he says here we're not established with foods which have not profited those who've been occupied by them that that may be the heart of the book right here it may be the heart of what he's concerned about right here the temptation they were facing in the book we don't know what exactly it was but it's pretty clear it's tied to judaism and what it was was these sacrificial meals in the jews were celebrating still of the old covenant they were coming along to these christians and they were saying, you don't have an altar. Where's your altar? You don't have sacrifices. Where are your sacrifices? And because of this, the reality is you don't have real access to God. Your hearts are not being established. You're not truly spiritual. the cultic meals in the first century were troubling the church. Whatever it was, you can kind of apply this across the board, you know. They were saying, you can only experience God and have real power and strength and access through these things. And so the calling is clear from the author. Whatever ideas come at us away from the foundational instruction that we've received in the Christian faith, you've got to do everything you can to avoid. But can you see them? It gets to an attitude of the heart, I think. What is the attitude of the heart for what God has put in place? What would it be today? Well, I've emphasized this a few past sermons and I think you see it in the most pressing issues among us. This is why he spent so much time in chapter 12 on the issue of worship. So much time of worship and spirit. What that is, because all kinds of ideas are pitched at us to make and say, this is how you will experience God. This is how you will actually get real powerful experience. He is really concerned about this. He is really concerned about this. That there are all these teachings and these ideas, what were called in the first century itinerant pastors, that were coming with strange ideas imposed upon the churches to now saying, this is how you get close to God. You cannot really have God if you're not experiencing this. And here's the best way to experience real power in the Christian life. He says, do not be led away by this. Here's what they were saying. Strength is communicated through our meals. Grace comes in the meal. That will bring you into the presence of God. But you don't have that. Your hearts are strengthened this way. it's interesting he doesn't raise the supper here because God did give us a meal but I think that proves the point of its absence whatever God ordains we're less interested in why has there been such a fight in the history of the church on the supper why has there been a push to everything else because whatever man imposes we're more interested it. Whatever our ideas are, we're more interested in. So the point he's making is, do you really want to be close to God? Do you really want to receive God? Do you want power in the Christian life? What are you searching for? Do you want to feel alive? Such an important thing that's said here. Notice what he says. How are your hearts established? It's such a really powerful verse when you look at it. The heart, it is good, verse 8, verse 9, for the heart to be strengthened by grace. Grace. What is that? Boys and girls, it's his favor, unmarried. We don't deserve it, like that water rushing into the valley. His closeness to us is established by grace. How so? Grace is given to you, and you are grounded in the Christian faith. You are grounded in the truth, in the unchanging Christ through the ministry of the word. That's what he's saying. The ministry of those who are preaching the gospel to you, that's his voice. But you fight it. You're established by grace in the preaching of the gospel. That's how grace comes. And that's why we call the word preached a means of grace. Ignatius in the early church gave great attention to this. And in this context, you can hear exactly what he was facing reading the book of Hebrews and seeing what they were facing in the early church. He said this, gather together all of you to the temple of God. As it were to one altar, to one Jesus Christ, do not be led away through strange teachings and outmolded fables, which are not useful. If we still go on observing Judaism, we acknowledge that we never received grace. The godly prophets lived Christ Jesus' way. That's why they were persecuted, for they were inspired by grace. See, he got it. He knew what was going on. In their context, you still observe Judaism, you're not going to receive grace. so the great answer to everything he counters these strange ideas by saying something really powerful in the in this verse you'll notice here he says but you do have an altar you do have an altar do you notice that verse 10 an altar from which those who serve have no right to eat those who serve still in the temple those who are still serving in the temple structure they have no right to eat of this altar and the Christians might have said well what's this altar I don't see an altar what are you talking about and this is the big issue with Rome today Rome still says this about Protestantism you guys don't have an altar they have an altar up front it's really a polemic against Roman Catholicism here you have an altar what's my altar well we don't see one where's our altar he says you have an altar he wants you to know where the altar is and why it matters and what it means for you what is this altar you're talking about dear author of hebrews where do i get god where do i come to god where do i get an altar where do i receive grace and those who were setting up their own altar were missing something in the history of the church very important on the day of atonement once a year the high priest would make an offering for the sins of the people listen to leviticus 16 27 the bull and the goat for the sin offerings whose blood was brought into the most holy place to make atonement must be taken where outside the camp their hides flesh and intestines are to be burned and i think the author would have said you know they never could eat of that the author grabs this and notices application the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest do you remember where those bodies were burned they were burned outside the camp and he applies the whole thing to Christ Jesus also that he might sanctify you set them apart with his own blood he suffered outside the gate see that there he sees this as this location is really important for christianity when jesus died at golgotha and suffered outside the city outside the camp outside the gate outside the holy precincts the author is saying just as the sacrifices was made in the holy places in the temple jesus went and suffered outside the gate at golgotha outside and faced open shame and derision that corresponds directly to what the type in the temple was saying it corresponds one for one in other words the most holy place where the blood was sprinkled on an altar to make atonement for sins the point is the altar is outside the gate his altar is outside the temple that means the altar that we go to is Golgotha it's jesus dying for us that's our altar why is he making this point because jesus suffered great shame in this beloved he was despised and rejected by men he was a man of affliction and sorrows and he was cast outside the camp his atonement was never tied to the earthly temple it was outside the camp it's outside the gate he was excluded he was shunned the altar of christ was among common criminals remember the two that hung beside him he was never received in the camp he was an outcast when he suffered these things for you now why does this matter do you see the connection i'm hoping i can bring this all together for you the great application is given in verse 13 to this therefore let us go forth to him our altar outside the camp and bear his reproach it's a verse i should do a long pause with i think it's so important to the whole book if you want to be a true christian you want to be a real christian you want to be not just one in name you have to bear his reproach as an outcast you know what reproach means right someone in whom the world and the people have expressed disappointment and disapproval he's an outcast he was cast out of the sacred courts he was outside of the entire Jewish community when the altar was set up among the holy people of god he was cast out just look at his entire earthly ministry who was he fighting well it really wasn't rome wasn't even really pilot it was the great challenge of following christ the great challenge to jesus's ministry was the community. The camp here is Judaism with all of its rites and all of its festivals and all of its practices that would not embrace everything those pointed to. He was ousted. Look at the entire ministry. So what's he saying to us today? To bear his reproach is to go to Him outside the gate. When the religious community, and I add even the Christian community today, is full of practices and things that contradict the Word and the ministry that you've received, you are called to go outside the gate and you are called to embrace Christ in His shame. William Lane said, task of the community the true church of god is to leave behind security congeniality and respectability of the sacred enclosure risking the reproach that fell on christ you want to be followers of jesus you got to go outside the camp at times what does that mean when the christian community when there are practices and beliefs that contradict god's word part of who you are as a christian is to stand with christ and go outside of that it's the court of respectability you see the challenge for too long and our christianity has been that we've been on milk this was the problem in the first century with little to no conviction on worship on doctrine I mean we just recoil even at catechizing anymore on Sabbath on basic Christian morality all because we have been shamefully afraid of offending people in the camp or coming across that we're so much better for conviction. This means to embrace Jesus means you're going to be willing to suffer the loss of reputation. You're going to be criticized. You're going to be reproached. You're going to be said, who holds to those crazy ideas? If you, as another pastor said, one acceptance in the courts of respectability you want to be admired in the cocktail lounges of conventional and progressive worldly wisdom and especially if you want to avoid the scandal of religion that man rejects then you may not have fellowship with jesus christ you know this is true for us it's true in our community there's a brand of christianity that has no conviction on anything it's just cultural it's cultural christianity it's all it is there's no conviction on truth there's no conviction on worship or much of anything in the community and you will be accepted if you go along with that but if you go outside the camp that refuses christ in the gospel where there's no conviction bearing his reproach then you've come to your Savior. You may not approach His cross by saying, as one said, safe within the confines of the camp of popularity. For the cross is found outside the camp. Life is somewhat short, isn't it? And then we die. And then the judgment. In the big picture, we have no continuing city here. That's why Jesus went outside the camp to teach us that. There is no city for you on this earth. There is no home for you in this world. There is nothing that you can save that will bring in the everlasting city in this life. The character and faith of the Christian is one that lives believing and looking as we endure much tribulation entering the kingdom of God, living and believing and looking for the city that does not belong to this world. Here we are living as those who have so much better prepared for us. One that Abraham looked for. The city that has foundations. whose builder and maker is God. That's the last verse I quoted in verse 14. Here we have no lasting. Here we have no enduring city. Jesus told us, if the world hates me, then it will indeed hate you. And the world that crucified him at that time was the world of the Jews. No one ever said Christian life is easy. We are justified by faith. We have peace with God. and the life that follows what that looks like is we go out to the altar every day we go to jesus every day of our lives we come to him turning from our sins and bearing his reproach and trusting in him and praising him being set apart to him outside of whatever's respectable in this life in our day what will this look like well even in our christian circles even in our Christian institutions. We cannot be ignorant. I speak to our young people. You will, even in Christian institutions today, find a variety of beliefs that simply aren't Christian. Christian institutions today are about to be tested in ways we have never been tested before. And with the moral revolution set before us, it is so easy to set down all convictions because we are afraid of exposure. That's the camp of respectability. Christians, he says, go outside the camp to Jesus. Where you will go and being outside the camp, you may be hated for your beliefs, but you'll lose nothing. That's the encouragement. You gain everything. you gain everything standing with your Savior who was willing to be despised, hated, rejected as the King for you. Willing to bear your reproach and be hated for you so that you would be saved. So you see the call of the book here as we kind of bring this close to an end. Go to him. Come to Christ. Think of the man born blind. When he was saved, he was kicked out. Go to Jesus. The ministry is right in front of you that he put in place. A ministry of the word that is meant and designed to keep you, preserve you, and hold you since he is the same today, yesterday, and forever. so today i realized the challenge it may be hard to appreciate that you may be outside the camp in your convictions i i think this is so important for our young people you will be outside the camp in your convictions and you may suffer for it but you are simply identifying with the savior who loved you and who gave himself for you and i want to say this inside the camp is not a safe place to be outside the camp where jesus is where his true church is gathered to him that's the safest place you can be on this earth so let us come to him the day of judgment's coming let us come to him let us receive mercy like those waters rushing down into the valley and may you receive that mercy while he may be found and may you enjoy your status as belonging to christ there's nothing more special than that let's pray heavenly father thank you for your blessed word to us thank you for helping us and thank you for giving us perspective for we struggle with this of counting the cost of what it means to be a christian thank you so much for the sacrifice that was made for us and that Christ bore that reproach and shame that we might be His children adopted by grace, sanctified in the truth. Preserve this ministry, we pray. Let us not be turned aside to the courts of popularity on issues. May we drink deeply from the well of Your Word. And may we go outside the camp to Christ, bearing His reproach, recognizing that here we have no enduring or lasting city. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.