HEART MATTERS

“Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.  Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.”    Hebrews 13:12-13

Have you ever felt outside the camp? Have you ever felt the reproach of being rejected, ostracized, or ignored as though you were invisible to your peers?  It stings doesn’t it?  If we’re honest we can admit that those experiences are some of the most hurtful moments of our lives. I’m willing to bet you can quickly recall and instance when this has happened to you without any hesitation.  It hurt us whether we we’re the kid who came to school on a Monday morning only to discover everyone was still reeling over a classmates’ weekend party of which we knew nothing about because we were never invited.  And today, even as adults, it still hurts us to find out we’ve been purposefully left out of some get together or event by those we thought we were close to.  It’s a universal principle-everyone has a desire to be loved, to feel welcomed, and to be embraced-especially by those we love, admire, and care about.  Non-believers and believers alike all want to be accepted inside the camp. It’s true! No one wants to be left out or forced to go outside of the camp.

However, according to the scripture above, as believer’s, not only are we to be okay when we’re not accepted inside the camp, we should be moving of our own volition away from the camp-to the place where Christ is.  Jesus is outside the camp!  If you’re a Christian, your place is with Him!  As you move and have your being established by Him, the camp will more and more become unaccepting and at times even a hostile environment. The moment you became a Christian, spiritually speaking your eviction notice was activated. For it was at that very moment when you believed that Jesus is The Christ, when you became a new creation in Him (2nd Corinth 5:17), that you were relocated and the world ceased to be your true home.  At that moment your identity changed, your eternal destination changed, and all things became new!  At that moment, whether you realized it or not, there were some things, some behaviors, and some people in your present, who in the future would be destined to become a part of your past.  As you begin to “put on Christ daily,” quickly changing in some areas and slowly transforming in others, the most comfortable and familiar places will begin to shift and rearrange. The more you unabashedly proclaim your newfound faith and begin living in accordance with the Word of God, the more you’ll experience a pulling away of certain family members and friends. The more you take a stand on your convictions, the more you’ll see that some of your peeps have decided they no longer wish to keep company with you. The sanctification process is real! But take heart, you’re in good company. Jesus knows what it’s like to be outside the camp!

Notice the scripture above states that believers are to “go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.”  It starts by saying that Jesus suffered outside the gate.  In the Old Testament the children of Israel, God’s chosen people, were given strict instructions on what was permitted to remain with them inside the camp.  Basically anything that would defile them was to be taken out and destroyed or temporarily kept outside the camp until it was clean. It makes sense that Jesus would be crucified outside the gates because although He lived a sinless life, on that cross He would take on the sin of the world. On the the cross He took on our wretchedness so HE could offer us HIS righteousness in exchange. With His death and resurrection there would no longer be a need for burnt offerings and sacrifices foreshadowing what was to come. The Sacrificial Lamb of God had now come and He did exactly what He said He would do! He paid the price in full for your sins and mine. From that point on we need only to BELIEVE.

Inside the camp is no longer where it’s happening!  The place for us to be is outside the camp! Before I go on, please know it’s not my intention to spiritualize or read something into the scripture above that’s not there.  I believe this passage is very plain. It says what it says. It says we are to go to Jesus-and He’s outside the camp-as we also bear His reproach. I know what the camp represented in the Old Testament, but now I have to ask, what is the camp in the context of this passage? What was “the camp” when this was written so we can know what is the camp for us today?  Is it a holy sanctified place full of people set apart for God’s special purposes?  Hmmm-I don’t think so.  If it were why would believers need to go out from it?  So I’m going to take a jab at it and say perhaps “the camp” today is a reference to the places that has been infiltrated and polluted by sin. Like the world and its system of works: man doing what he wants to do, the way he wants to do it-even when it comes to attempting to know and worship God (works instead of grace; religion instead of relationship). I’m thinking the camp must be all those things we are to leave behind, those things that have the ability to pull us back into our old way of life. All the things that would like to keep us from going forth to Jesus-like the world, our flesh, and the devil. If we’re to accomplish our purpose in Christ, all three of these need to be left in our dust!

If our hearts are in the right place with the Lord, this shouldn’t be so difficult.  When we set our hearts on things above an immediate schism occurs that will brand us as “outsiders.” You can bank on it- the world won’t want us when we’ve decided to fully follow Christ. The world won’t embrace our commitment not to compromise our belief’s and values. The world won’t put up with us standing on the authority of Scripture. The world won’t accept our acknowledgment of sin’s existence and our rejection of sin itself.  Sometimes we actually get kicked out of the camp! Yet like Christ even when we are cast out and rejected by them we are still to sacrificially love and serve them.

Speaking of loving them…have you ever considered the cost of not wanting to bear the reproach of Christ? Have you ever thought about what happens when Christians are determined not to be reviled by the world?  When we let our flesh have it’s way and give in to our desire to be accepted we find our selves having to compromise who we are in Christ. The more we camouflage ourselves for the sake of fitting in, the more carnal we will become.  And guess who will be absolutely thrilled about that?  You got it-the devil! He knows if he can get us distracted with the things of the world he will deter and disarm us from our effectiveness in the world for Christ.  We will not win others to Christ when we look and behave just as they do.  We will not win others to The Lord if they see no testimony for Him.  We will not win others to Christ when we’re too busy winning others to ourselves. If we become boggled down with our concern of what others think of us and how we’re received we won’t: share the Gospel; speak the truth in love; or live a life which reflects the love and power of Christ to others.  When it comes to this issue there is no such thing as a neutral ground. When we grieve The Holy Spirit and suppress the work HE wants to do in and through us we will find ourselves sinking under the weight of all the things we’re taking in from the world.  Whether we’re aware of it or not, it’s an act of selfishness to want so badly to be embraced by the world that we compromise our faith. Your desire to be accepted by the world could negatively affect their desire to be accepted into the family of God. The sacrifice of rejection is needed to impact the world!

If you’re a follower of Christ and you’re struggling in this area, ask the Lord to help you “come out from among them and be ye separate (2nd Corinth 6:17).” This doesn’t mean we don’t work inside the camp-we do, it’s our place of ministry.  What it means is that “inside the camp” is not our home.  It’s not the place we find rest, it’s not the place we find true fellowship and intimacy, it’s not the place we belong.  Our home is with Jesus. Everyday before entering the camp we must be prepared and equipped by Him (in order to take Him with us) and everyday when we leave the camp we return to Him to be refreshed and restored for the next day.  If we linger inside the camp too long we will begin to make ourselves at home.

Look at what the writer of Hebrews says above-we are to be okay with being “outside the camp” because HE’s outside the camp.  We’re to be okay with not being embraced by the masses because HE too was rejected by the masses.  We’re to be okay with the rejection and reproach-so much so that we bear it willingly.  Jesus died as an outsider so He could save those on the inside.  The very people you love and want to point to Christ are often times the ones who will push you away and persecute you. Well, guess what? Based on the scripture above we need to be completely okay with that. In fact, if there’s no reproach there’s probably no outreach for The Lord going on. If you’re a follower of Christ and you’re being either rejected or persecuted for your faith it’s important to know that Jesus knows from experience what that feels like (HE knows more than we could ever imagine). Jesus was persecuted and rejected and yet HE “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Get this! You were meant to be “outside the camp!” You were meant to be apart from the world: “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15: 18-19  You see I told you our identity is in Christ!

HEART TO HEART: EMBRACE BEING AN OUTSIDER BECAUSE JESUS LIVES INSIDE OF YOU!