Outside The Gates

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #131ap Re-Written 11APR09

Save Me Today—Part Forty Two: Outside The Gates

by rev dave c

Hebrews 13:11, The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased (NIV).

The New Testament describes three primary aspects of a Disciple’s daily sacrifices with which God is pleased. These are RIGHTEOUS LIVING (our reasonable act of worship; Ro 12;1&2)—THANKFUL PRAISE (our spiritual communication of God’s goodness; He 13:15)—GOOD DEEDS (demonstrations of God’s love in our material existence; Heb. 13:16). It must be said again and again for all of our benefit that in no way does any sacrifice on the part of any Believer lead to, or add to, salvation for anyone, including that Believer. Only Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the Cross has the power to cleanse us of our sins, grant us forgiveness, and open the door to eternal life with the Son of God through the Holy Spirit and in the presence of God the Father. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ep 2:8-10).

The acceptable sacrifices of righteous living, of thankful praise, and of good deeds are accomplished through Obedience—Sharing—Giving. While most people have at least an intuitive knowledge of what it means to be obedient to the laws of God and man, the Scriptural differences between sharing and giving may not be quite so apparent. Basically to share means “to divide up, loan out, or hold jointly;” whereas to give means “to surrender ownership.” There is a distinct difference between my sharing my candy bar with you, and my giving you my candy bar.

In Malachi 3:8 God talks about the tithe and the offering where the Hebrew words literally mean a tenth and a sacrifice, respectively. The tithe was used to maintain the Temple, the storehouse, and the lives of the Levitical priests. Because the Temple was the center of the Hebrew culture, tithes were not “gifts,” rather the tenth was a sharing with the expectation of getting something in return. In a word, they were like taxes paid for the common good. On the other hand, offerings were a giving up of something valuable above and beyond the tithe with no expectation of return in other than a spiritual sense.

When I share my time, my resources, and my interest with my family and friends, within a personal context or within the Church, I am retaining some sense of ownership in that I know I will also share in the common good. This is the realm of commitment that suggests that I still own directly, or indirectly, what I am sharing and I can adjust my decisions to share or withhold as I view situations. If I am to give, it must be a surrendering over of something—as in, it is no longer mine—without expectation of material or rational reward from other people. Jesus makes this point perfectly clear in Matthew 6:1-4: "Be careful not to do your `acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NIV). Sharing is ‘good-work’ sacrifices that fulfill obligations—Giving is ‘good-work’ sacrifices beyond any expectation for return.

Hebrews 13:11-16, quoted above, references the Old Testament sacrificial system where the lamb was slaughtered inside the confines of the Tabernacle, but the body was burned “outside the camp.” In the same way, Jesus was led outside the city walls so that His body could be destroyed outside the gates. When we are admonished, Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore, we are being told that although we need to fulfill our sacrificial duties within the structure of the Church (sharing), it is just as important that we go outside the Church to fulfill our sacrificial duties within the realm of the world (giving).

This principle is demonstrated in Christ’s reprimand of the Pharisees, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former (Mt 23:23). “Jesus, beginning with my own life, I ask you to help us work toward fulfilling our obligated commitments, but I also ask that you open our eyes and soften our hearts toward those who are outside our camp, outside our gates, and outside our churches. Teach us to be the surrendered sacrifice that is Your Body, Your Bride, and Your Church. In Your holy name, amen.”

[JohnDB]

Interesting way of looking at it...

But as a keyholder of the Kingdom...kinda a non issue. It comes by natural reaction.