Archives

Outside the Camp

Hebrews 13:9-18 – Outside the Camp

Life in this world is shifty, changing, and uncertain. Society’s views can change in a generation, leaders in an instant, lives upturn in a moment. In this uncertain world we can trust in the unchanging nature, will and purpose of Jesus (Hebrews 13:8), who has secured our salvation and fulfilled all the types and shadows of the Old Testament.
Because Jesus is unchanging, his message is also unchanging. So the author of Hebrews can encourage us to focus on Jesus’ teaching (Hebrews 13:9-14). To do this, we ought to avoid false teaching, embrace the gospel of grace, and follow Jesus outside the camp.
Jesus is unchanging, and the truth is too, so the message which we receive and pass on should not change either. In verse 9, the author exhorts us to “not be led away by diverse and strange teachings”. The Greek word for diverse can also mean “many coloured”, which helps us understand what is meant.
The teachings described here are false, because they are in some shape “colourful” or “strange”. A teaching which is dazzling to see, beautiful to the eyes yet complex and unclear, leading to destruction. Or, a radical “insight” or a new and different teaching received, which is completely foreign (and often contradictory involving mental gymnastics) to the teaching of Scripture. We must stay away from false teaching.
Instead, we should embrace the gospel of grace. The author continues in verse 9 to say “for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” For his original hearers, the context was the Old Covenant system of food sacrifices, fulfilled and replaced by Christ.
Our hearts should find strength in God’s grace, fed to us through his Word and the administration of the sacraments. This is made clear in verses 10 through 12, where we are reminded that we “have an altar from which those who serve the tent [Jews] have no right to eat” (v.10). The altar is in heaven, not earth, and is that on which Jesus offered himself, not the earthly copy (see Hebrews 9).
Jesus fulfils the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, when “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” (vv.11-12). Placing hope in any old Jewish sacrifices is pointless, because they pointed forward to Jesus. And now that Jesus has come, we find forgiveness only in Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, not by any other way of salvation.
Avoiding false teaching and embracing the gospel of grace will not find adoring fans in this life. So he exhorts us to “go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (vv.13-14).
The atoning sacrifice was removed from the camp to symbolise the removal of sin, and Jesus likewise was crucified outside Jerusalem, despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3). We should go to Jesus where he is found, outside the camp, despised and rejected. If that means the same for us, so be it. Our home is not here on this earth, in this present evil age, but in the heavenly city which Abraham looked to (Hebrews 11:10), capital of the kingdom which cannot be shaken (12:18-29).
This passage encourages us to learn more of the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and avoid false teaching. The best way to discern a counterfeit is to study the original, and so we should devote ourselves to learning more of God’s grace, gaining strength from it.
We should also expect to see plenty of false teaching, which looks slick and enticing with smooth talking and with great entertainment values. There is plenty of that in our city, on television, and the internet; together with the worldly radical insights which preach a message foreign to Scripture, sometimes bending and twisting God’s Word to try and make it fit. As appealing as it may be, the end is destruction. Jesus is unchanging, and his truths never change, so we must stick with the message which does not change.
Nor should we expect our desire for the gospel to make us “Mr. Popularity”, but instead accept that at best we will be tolerated, but some will certainly despise us and reject us for our faith in Christ. We trust in him whom the world rejected, but has become the cornerstone. We cannot expect to be loved by this world for our stand.
Yet as we avoid false teaching and embrace the unpopular message of Jesus, we can take encouragement that Jesus is unchanging, and his promise to bring us to his side in the city not made with hands endures. Because there is where our true home is.

Ash

Come worship with us this Sunday at 10:30am. We worship together at Kelburn Normal School hall, 16 Kowhai Rd, Kelburn. We hope to see you there!


Hebrews Life

Hebrews 13:1-8 – Life in the Christian Community

The author of Hebrews has written of how Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament types and prophecies. The author has warned us multiple times to persevere in trusting Christ for our salvation. Now, in chapter 13 the book of Hebrews moves on to some points of application for the Christian life. Firstly, in verses 1 to 8 the author covers how we are to live as members of the Christian community.

We can group these encouragements around three commands: to show love for each other, to love doing good, and to love imitating our leaders.   Firstly, we are to show love for each other. In verse 1, the author exhorts us to “Let brotherly love continue.” He suggests two ways in which we can share “brotherly love” with each other.  

One way we can show brotherly love is by offering hospitality to each other, and to strangers: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (v.2). In the author’s day, hospitality was an important social custom because inns could be dangerous places (cf. Genesis 18:1-15, 19:1-3). In our day of social isolation, opening our homes to each other and to strangers is one way in which we can encourage each other and open a door to the gospel.  

A second way we can show brotherly love is to actively care for those imprisoned “as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (v.3). While likely referring to Christians imprisoned for their faith, we can show the same love today by caring not only for those imprisoned, but also Christians undergoing difficult trials of life. We can also pray and care for the persecuted Church in other parts of the world.  

Secondly, we are to love doing good. Two examples are given of holy living: faithfulness in marriage, and contentment. In verse 4, the author tells us to hold marriage in honour, and not defile the marriage bed, because God will judge those who do not. We live in a society whose ethics and morals are much like those of the author’s day. Just as maintaining sexual purity before and during marriage was important then, so too it is today. We must all honour marriage in our lives before we marry, and in our marriages. We must not follow the worldly way.  

A second way to love doing good is to show contentment. This is described in verse 5 as avoiding a “love of money” and to “be content with what you have”. Everything we have is a gift from God, and showing contentment is a way of honouring God, because he knows what we truly need and “will never leave you nor forsake you” (v.5; Josh 1:5). Likewise, avoiding a love of money means we avoid making an idol of self-sufficiency, and instead view money as an opportunity to do Kingdom good, knowing that God is our helper (v.6; Ps. 118:6).  

Thirdly, we are to love imitating our leaders. The author exhorts us to remember “your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (v.7). The God-appointed leaders of the Church – the Elders (teaching and ruling) and the Deacons are those to whom we should look as examples of living. Like us all, they sin and fall short of perfection, but they are called to live lives of maturity and example to us (see 1 Tim. 3). We are not called to follow their personality, but consider the way they live and imitate their faith in God accordingly. Just as our leaders should strive to follow God and mature in faith so too we should look to these men as examples and do likewise.  

In reading these commands we could be tempted to dismiss these words as out of date or not speaking to us today. After all, we live in a rich and vibrant society where we have so much wealth and enjoy so much pleasure. Why deny our heart’s desire for contentment and holiness? Why care for others, and why on earth would we imitate men who have failings just like us? The answer comes in verse 8, where the author states that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  

Because Jesus is unchanging, the commands and the promises of God are unchanging. Living a life of Christian community where we love each other, love good, and love imitating our leaders is just as valid for us today, because the redemption we have received from God through Jesus is the same for us today as it was in the author’s day. When we do these things, we are demonstrating our faith in Jesus, and our trust that God will draw us to his side.  

We join the saints of old (v.6, Ps 118:6) in saying “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” As we start a New Year together, instead of picking a few resolutions to abandon, let’s adopt loving community together as a pattern for our lives.

Ash

Come worship with us this Sunday at 10:30am. We worship together at Kelburn Normal School hall, 16 Kowhai Rd, Kelburn. We hope to see you there!



Mary, Joseph and Jesus

Psalm 72 – O God to Thine Anointed King

Read Psalm 72

Summary

We come once again to the Christmas season, when presents are swapped, barbecues and ovens fired up, and sunscreen liberally applied. Christmas is also the time of the year we rejoice at the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Anointed One (Messiah) of God. We often turn to the opening pages of the Gospels to read the familiar Nativity stories, but Psalm 72 also speaks with wonder of the coming of Jesus, God’s Anointed King.

Our passage explained

v1-4

Psalm 72 begins in verses 1 to 4 asking God to grant righteousness and justice to his king. This is so he may “judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!” (v.2) and reflect God’s character to the world around. The blessing of this righteous reign is such that (poetically) even the normally barren mountains and hills will bear a great harvest (v.3). The righteous king will help the poor and oppressed, and bring judgment on their oppressors (v.4).

v5-7

Next in verses 5 to 7 the psalmist speaks of an enduring kingship. While the kingdoms of this earth shake and crumble (Hebrews 12:25-29), the psalmist prays that Jesus’ kingdom will remain “while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!” (v.5, cf Luke 1:31-33). The enduring kingship will bring prosperity “like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!” (v.6) and flourishing for the righteous who enjoy his eternal holy reign (v.7).

v8-11

Thirdly, in verses 8-11 the psalmist speaks of a universal kingship. He asks that Jesus the king have “dominion from sea to sea, and from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth!” (v.8). All sorts of peoples will come and bow before him, desert tribes (v.9) and distant nations (Tarshish, the Coastlands, Sheba, and Seba, v.10). Enemies will submit (“lick the dust”, v.9), being placed under his feet (1 Cor 15:24-25). All “kings [will] fall down before him, all nations serve him!” (v.11).

v12-14

Fourthly, verses 12-14 speak of Jesus’ concern for the poor and needy. The righteous king “delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper” (v.12). He cares for those who are weak and needy, saving them from those who sinfully oppress and hurt them (vv.13-14). In King Jesus’ eyes, everyone is valued and precious, not just the rich and influential.

v15-17

Fifthly, in verses 15 through 17, the righteous King Jesus brings universal blessing. The psalmist’s desire for his eternal reign is described in the traditional blessing on a king, “Long may he live” (v.15), receive blessings of wealth, and people pray for his continued blessed reign all the time. These blessings should flow not just to the king but overflow in God’s covenantal blessings to all the people, described in terms of great crops and a growing population (v.16). 

The king’s name and rule must endure forever, “his fame continue as long as the sun” (v.17). The reason for this is so the covenantal blessing made to Abraham (Gen 12:3) may be fulfilled in this king as the psalmist proclaims “[m]ay people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!” (v.17). Jesus fulfills and mediates the promises of Abraham to all peoples who call upon his name, that all the nations may be blessed.

v18-20

Finally, in verses 18 to 20 the psalmist concludes by blessing God who sends his anointed king. It is only “the LORD, the God of Israel” who should be blessed, because it is God “who alone does wondrous things” (v.18). It is God’s name only which should be blessed for eternity, and “the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!” (v.19). God is worthy of the highest eternal praise, for sending Jesus to bring God’s blessings to the nations.

Our passage applied

As we open presents and meditate on the birth of baby Jesus in a manger in Jerusalem, we must not forget that baby Jesus is the Messiah, the one who was promised by God in days of old. He is “the Son of the Most High” who sits on “the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32) and “he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33).

Jesus, not any other earthly ruler, brings true righteousness and justice, cares for the poor and needy, reigns forever over everything, bringing God’s blessings to all the nations. The little baby in a manger is the one through whom all God’s blessings and plans to save us, his people, for himself come to fruition.

Resources

From “My cry ascends” (Psalm 72 on Youtube) “Like rain upon the newborn grass / That falls refreshingly / Like gentle showers that cheer the earth / So shall His coming be. / The righteous in His glorious day / Shall flourish and increase /The earth, until the moon shall fade / Shall have abundant peace.”

Questions? Please contact us. Inspired? Come and worship with us on Sundays.

Merry Christmas everybody.