Avoid Strange Teaching and Be Strengthened by Grace

I like that. I pray that we can not only sing it, but I pray we can live it yet not I But Christ in me. I'll tell you that's the secret To the spirit-filled life yet not I but Christ in me that reminds me It's been a while since I have preached on What it means to be spirit-filled and to live the spirit-filled life. That's what I need to come to soon Soon. Well, if you would take your Bible turn back to Hebrews chapter 13 I did say in our scripture reading will be in verses 9 to 12. Now.

I will reference quite a few other scripture I would encourage you to write those down and make those a part of your study But last week we saw how the author of the book made a shift in This closing section of his letter remember now He is writing to a local congregation. This is a letter written to a church And he finished up calling these believers to live out these six demonstrations of Christian love in verses 1 to 6 And he called them to a spiritual exercise Next that they needed he called them to remember their past spiritual leaders But this was not some kind of a sentimental or casual remembering They were to remember the Spiritual leaders they had in their early days those who had evangelized them and taught them the Word of God in God's ways but more He called them to carefully consider their manner of living in the outcome of their faith the outcome of their lives Then he called them to follow their example of life and faith They were to imitate their faith they were to imitate their life of faith that they lived with them But he didn't stop with their past spiritual leaders the author reminded them that Christ Jesus was their Savior and Lord and that he was actually and truly the unchangeable God And just like the Apostle Paul followed the example of Christ his Lord They were to do the same they were to see Christ their Lord as their supreme leader and the reason and a motivation for living the life of faith now church remember our Responsibility here.

I called you to an exercise and I especially called you men to lead out I called you to make a list of your past spiritual leaders to consider their faith in the outcome of their lives Maybe you put some things on paper. Maybe you maybe you make some columns Maybe you note some things you can imitate and some things you cannot even the things that are negative we can learn from Now remember elders I'm speaking to me. I'm speaking to you.

This is a tall order for us This is a very serious and sobering call for me and for you we as leaders are to be men Spiritual leaders that are worthy of imitation and example remember elders Our church is watching us and there's a warning here Church, listen, there's a warning here Do not necessarily look for spiritual leaders to imitate that you cannot see feel and touch Do not look to imitate spiritual leaders that you cannot go to lunch with Don't look for spiritual leaders to imitate that you cannot go into their home You can't see them how they raise their children how they handle their money how they handle life's problems How they handle church problems Paul Washer can't be the spiritual leader you imitate Now he can bless you and help you.

I Don't mean to bring up anything negative from the past, but I must hear There was a time in the life of our church we had some they wanted to follow folks like Bodie Balcom They wanted to imitate folks that wrote books But they didn't want to look and listen to their pastor and imitate the example that was before them. That doesn't work That doesn't work Now at this time we come to a section of teaching that can seem disconnected from verse 7 and 8 But really this all goes together.

I'll explain it In verse 7 and 8 the author was reminding them that their spiritual leaders had Evangelized them and taught them the Word of God and God's ways Simply their past spiritual leaders not only led them to salvation in Christ But they established them in the faith in Christ and in sound doctrine And starting in verse 9 he takes the next logical step He called them not to be led astray by the various kinds of strange and false teaching that they were facing He reminded them that the only way they would be strengthened and further established in their lives was to be strengthened and further established in grace and in Christ and Christ was their altar not some altar where an animal was slain Christ was and is Sufficient to save and to sanctify not some animal Sacrifice now this leads me to the title of our message to me verses 9 to 12 are all about avoiding strange teaching It's right there in the text and being strengthened by grace right there in the text.

That's the title avoid strange teaching and Be strengthened by grace Avoid strange teaching and be strengthened by grace now Let's read our verses and then I will explain how we will divide them verse 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teaching For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace not by foods Which have not benefited those devoted to them We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places By the high priest as a sacrifice for sin.

They are burned outside the camp So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people Through his own blood now out of these verses. I see four points of teaching First a warning against strange teaching right there in verse 9 Second a call to be strengthened by grace not religious rituals again. That's in verse 9 Third the reminder of their altar in Christ in verse 10 fourth and last That Jesus sacrifice was and is sufficient to save and sanctify verses 11 and 12, so let's get started number one I want us to see the warning against strange teaching now This is at the beginning of verse 9 in the end of verse 9 the warning against strange Teaching the English Standard says do not be led away by diverse and strange teaching now the second part of the verse Not by foods Which have not benefited those devoted to them And I want to get at this by looking at first the warning and then the explanation so first the warning The English Standard says do not be led away by diverse and strange teaching the New American the Legacy Standard Bible says varied and strange teaching and This diverse are varied Diverse are varied.

It means various or various sorts. It can even mean multicolored This word strange here. It means foreigner or stranger in this case It's not speaking of a strange or foreign person But of something that is strange or foreign this would be teaching obviously so this is a warning against Foreign or strange teaching or various kinds and types of strange teaching The author was calling these believers and the church now not to be led away by various kinds of strange teaching But notice that this was a warning that involved action They were not to be flat-footed here in the warning they were to be wide awake and they were to take the necessary actions He called them not to be led away by these things The New American says carried away and this is very obvious.

It's kind of simple. It means what it says But the construction of the language has a bearing on the warning and it shows us the action to be taken Place here. This is in the present tense, which means that it's not some kind of a hypothetical danger But a present and active danger some point out that some in the church were being led astray by this strange teaching So the warning don't be led astray now by various kinds of strange strange doctrine and teaching It was right in front of them. Some were being affected some were not some were being carried away sadly Now a question here How did they know what was strange teaching? I?

Mean, how did they know what was foreign? What was strange? How did they know what to avoid? Well, it's rather simple they have been taught correct doctrine remember now they were to be continually

their former spiritual leaders who evangelized them and taught them the gospel in the Word of God. They were to remember not only those men and their manner of living and the outcome of their faith in life, but they were to also remember what they had been taught. Verses 7 to 8 are connected to what we have here. So they were to remember and embrace the gospel in the Word of God from their former leaders who taught them well and to run from the strange doctrine that some were putting before them and some were being carried away by these foreign doctrines. And look church, this happens all the time in our life, all the time in our day.

Many professing Christians in solid churches, healthy churches, with solid healthy doctrine, they're carried away by strange teaching all the time. I've seen folks be under a solid pastor, a church with solid teaching for 20 years, and some strange new doctrine, some charismatic new leader come along and they're just carried away, carried away. I've seen folks be raised in a godly home, parents who taught them the Word of God accurately and truly from birth, even before.

And then all of a sudden, maybe in their college years or even later in their adult years, some strange new teaching comes along, some charismatic new leader comes along and they're carried away, they're carried away. Sadly that's happened here. Now I want to preface what I'm going to say. Not all who have left our church have left for bad doctrine. That's not what I'm saying. But there have been people in the life of our church, they've been here even for a period of time, and they've chosen to reject solid, healthy, biblical teaching and doctrine that has been qualified by years and years of solid Baptist Church history.

They have rejected that. They have rejected that for some strange teaching. But let me show you something, church. Just live a little while. Time always tells the truth. Time always reveals the truth with people. Just sit back and live a little while. But what was this foreign teaching the author was addressing? Now there's some debate here. So second the explanation, and I will point out the debate. The author points to what is strange at the end of verse 9. Look back at the end of verse 9. I'll read the first part again. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teaching, not by foods which have not benefited those devoted to them.

Now among scholars there is some debate about what the author is referring to here with foods. But it seems that the context of the letter and the teaching really shows us what the author had in mind. And we see this more to me in the verses as we continue. But to me it seems best to believe that in referencing the foods and being devoted to foods, the author was referring to the dietary laws, rules, and rituals associated with the Old Covenant in Judaism. And basically this is what you had in those Old Testament dietary laws and rituals.

They were put into place by God, and they were good for a time, and they were to distinguish his people from all of the peoples of the world. The rules and rituals about certain foods were meant to distinguish God's people as a holy people separated from sin, separated from the sinful people of the world. Again those were good, those were appropriate for those times. One thing that is interesting, some scholars speculate that this diverse and strange teaching about foods went beyond the Old Covenant dietary laws.

And it pointed to the many traveling philosophers who were teaching many strange doctrines that contradicted the Apostles teachings. Later on Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 verse 30 saying, from among you, from your own selves, will arise men speaking twisted things to draw the disciples away after them. In Galatians 1, 6 to 7, he rebuked the Galatians saying, I am astonished that you were so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

And we see the same thing with the book of Colossians. Paul warned that church and those believers to avoid being taken captive by strange teaching. Now it is possible, yes, that this strange teaching in verse 9 went beyond the Old Covenant. It is possible that this went beyond Judaism. But I personally, I believe the strange teaching the author was warning them to avoid was returning to Judaism, life under the Old Covenant, life under those Old Covenant rules, regulations, and rituals. That was their context. And the later verses seem to point to that as well.

So to me, these diverse and strange teachings centered on those Old Covenant dietary laws, rituals, and regulations. There were false teachers among them or around them. They were affecting them. They were propagating various doctrines about foods and food laws that they said would bring them about spiritual good in the heart and the life. Again, remember their context. These believers had all come out of Judaism. They had come out of the Old Covenant. And remember what those former spiritual leaders had done and taught them. Those former spiritual leaders evangelized them out of Judaism, out of the Old Covenant.

And they taught them that Jesus was the fulfillment of everything in the old. And those food laws were fulfilled in Christ. They taught them that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God of the old. And they instituted them in the new. So the author was calling these believers now in this church not to allow themselves to be taken away by various strange teaching and teachers that they were facing. And this was a real danger because it seems that some were being carried away. And he was reminding them that those Old Testament food rituals and regulations did them no internal spiritual good.

I love what William McDonnell says here and I'm quoting him. A man might be ceremonially clean and yet filled with hatred and hypocrisy. That is what the author was reminding them. Right here in verse 9 he was saying you can obey all those food laws. You can obey all those food rituals but that will have no effect on you on the inside. On the inside. And look folks there are two lessons here. First of all there are no new doctrines. We have the complete revelation of God in Christ before us in the copy of God's Word. Of course there are divisions in the true church on earth. Second level divisions, third level, fourth level, and so on.

But there are no new doctrines. There are no new revelations to be discovered. It's all right here. And when someone comes along and they say I found something new. I found something new. Especially when they say I found something new that no one else has found. You better run for the hills. Run for the hills. Because there's nothing new. It's all right here. And church history shows us that as well. It certainly is a barometer for those things. And then second, there are always some who are prone to externals. Folks you need to recognize this.

There are always some, and I'm talking about genuine believers now, they are drawn to, they are attracted to, trying to live out the Christian life through rules, legalisms, do's and don'ts. And look they are struggling to leave grace and to return to law. So the warning against foreign teaching. Next number two. The call to be strengthened by grace, not religious rituals. The call to be strengthened by grace, not religious rituals. We see this in the middle of the verse. Look back at your copy. The English Standard, the New American, read the same. For it is good, it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace.

The Amplified says, for it is good for the heart to be established and strengthened by grace. Now this is fairly straightforward, but notice the emphasis is on heart and grace. Heart and grace. The Amplified, for it is good for the heart to be established and strengthened by grace. So first, the heart.

Now in one sense, this word here, heart, refers to the organ or the heart that pumps blood throughout the body. But that's not what the author has in mind here. I think that's obvious. But this word heart here, this can speak of the entirety of the person. This can refer to the very center of one's life and being, both the physical, emotional, and spiritual. Mayers defines this saying, the soul or mind, and this is the seat of the thoughts, the passions, the desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors. So the heart that the author was referring to here is the very center and the totality of the person's being.

This is the entire person. This encompasses the mind, the soul, the strength, all of their being. Let's look at this word grace. Now technically, grace simply means grace. This speaks of goodwill. This speaks of bestowing favor. This speaks of kindness, even loving kindness. But here the author was referring to much more than simply goodwill, favor, and loving kindness. It is clear the author was and is referring to God and the grace of God. He is referring to the goodwill, the favor, the loving kindness of God. And many times in this letter, the author referred to the grace of God, the grace of God.

In chapter 2 verse 9, in chapter 4 verse 16, in chapter 10 verse 19, he references the grace of God. Listen to chapter 4 verse 16 in the Amplified. He says, let us with privilege approach the throne of grace. That is the throne of God's gracious favor. So notice what is at the center of this verse. The heart of man, the totality of the person, the heart, the mind, the soul, the strength in the person, and the loving grace and favor and goodness of God. Now notice the call. Now notice the command here. He called them to be strengthened. This means to be established. This means to make firm, to make sure, to be made strong and stronger.

That's why the Amplified uses the word established and strengthened. So this is the call. He called them to be established and strengthened more and more in their heart, in their mind, in their soul, their entire being, in God and in the loving grace and favor of God. And this was a call not to attempt to be strengthened and established in foods, food rituals, laws and regulations. So this is the call. He was calling them to be strengthened and established spiritually and in all parts of who they were in grace, in God, in the grace of God, and not to attempt to be strengthened through any kind of external spiritual ritual or rule.

Now why the command? Why does he give them this call? It's because the author knew that foods, externals, external rituals and laws could never benefit or affect the inside of the man. Loosely quoting Kenneth Woust here, he says the author knew that the old covenant ceremonial observances emphasized externalism and that can never purify a man's heart.

And I add to that by saying the author knew that God, the loving grace of God, and personally experiencing the grace of God in the heart, soul and mind could and can change the inside of the man and strengthen and establish the man more and more, more and more, more and more in Christian maturity and the grace of God. Again, listen to the amplified. I'm reading from the middle of the verse and the end of the verse. For it is good for the heart to be established and strengthened. How? By grace and not by foods, rules of diet and ritualistic meals, which bring no benefit or spiritual growth to those who observe them.

So notice the call, church, to be strengthened and established by God, by grace, by and in the loving grace of God, not through anything that's external. And look, church, notice what this internal spiritual strengthening from God and the grace of God produces in the life. I got this from Albert Barnes and I'm just loosely quoting him. Three things. This produces a firm, a stable, this strong inner character. Church, look at your pastor. Spiritually and spiritually. If you are struggling with weakness, you are not being strengthened in your inner character by the goodness and the grace of God and it's not God's fault.

There's an altar that you're not going to. We'll get there. This also produces a love and a grace and a kindness and a graciousness towards others, especially when they're struggling in suffering. Folks, listen to me. Look at your pastor. If you are not grace-filled, kind, and gracious towards others, especially the brethren now, then you are not strong and established in the grace of God yourself. You show me a believer who is strong in the grace of God, they will be gracious towards others, especially the brethren. This provides a strength of firmness and a peace and an assurance in trials and tribulations through the trial.

Look, you show me a Christian that's struggling. They're drowning in trial and tribulation. They are not strong in the grace of God. It's not God's fault. There's an altar you're not going to. We're going to get to. Church, there's a question I want you to ponder here. Do we need to be strengthened and established more and more by grace, by God, by the loving grace of God more than we know? So the call to be strengthened by grace. Next number three, the reminder of their altar in Christ. A reminder of their altar in Christ. Now this is in verse 10, but before we get to the verse, I want to point out something that we see here.

In verse 9, we were dealing with the spiritual and experiential. Think about that. The author was calling these believers not to look to external religious regulations to strengthen them spiritually, but to look to God, but to look to a relationship with God, but to look to the loving grace of God to strengthen them. This is nothing tangible. This is spiritual and experiential. Well it's the same in verse 10. Although we will see that the author was referring to a personal altar, even a Christian altar, this was not a physical altar. This is figurative language. And just like in verse 9, this is very spiritual and very experiential in nature.

Now before we get into what the altar is, let's look at what it's not. First of all, this is not the altar of the Jewish tabernacle or temple. That altar was for animal sacrifices, and nowhere in the book of Hebrews, nor the rest of the New Testament, are Christian believers called to go to that altar where they sacrificed animals. The opposite was the case. Second, this is not an altar in heaven. The author was not somehow speaking of a figurative altar in heaven. He never mentions an altar in heaven. So how do we know what this altar is in verse 10?

It is best to understand this altar in the context of verse 9 in the rest of the book of Hebrews. So back to verse 9, and this leads me to a question. What is the greatest symbol, the greatest demonstration of the grace of God? Think about this now, church. What was and what is the greatest symbol, the greatest demonstration of the grace of God? The cross. The cross and Christ's sacrifice on the cross is the greatest symbol and demonstration of the grace of God. Romans 5 says, but God shows us his love for us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

And on top of that, one of the most repeated, the most important themes the author of the book of Hebrews covers is Christ's once and for all sacrifice for sin. Chapter 10 verse 12 says, but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. So for the author here, this altar is the cross on which Jesus gave himself.

as a sacrifice for sin to God now before we get into some application I want to expound on this song notice the author tells us this altar is inclusive and exclusive let me restate that the author tells us this altar of Christ is inclusive and exclusive first the altar is inclusive the author says we have an altar we have an altar and this means that all who have been born again have gone to the altar of the cross of the Lord Jesus all who are born again have gone to the cross they've gone to the altar of the cross in repentance and faith and this is for all true Christians whether they are Baptist Presbyterians Methodist non-denominational

charismatics all any and all throughout church history past present and future who have been born again I thought about it like this lots of times we humanize heaven it's a danger with that the very center of heaven is Jesus now it ain't about us I hate to hurt your feelings you're probably not going to be fishing in the Crystal Sea sometimes we talk about seeing grandma and mom and dad and all that and maybe I'm humanizing it a little but I think about all of the different believers that we will meet in heaven they will probably look at us and say you know I've always thought you Baptist were kind of strange this is an inclusive altar second

this is an exclusive altar this altar is limited in that only those who have savingly believed in Christ and come and the author says specifically that those Jews now who are still bound to and under the Old Covenant they have no right to eat at the altar of Christ so this is inclusive all who have been born again and exclusive now one more thing here notice this word right right the verse says we have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat this word right here it's a technical term in the original and in their day it was used in their courts and court system to speak of that which is right and it carries with it

the idea of right even authority so notice what we have here church the believer has the right the authority to come to the altar of Christ because they have come in and through his blood Ephesians 2 13 says but now Christ Jesus but now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near how by the blood of Christ but those still in Judaism those who still serve in the temple those being served in the temple did not have the right to come to the altar of Christ because they were rejecting him as the Messiah of God they were still trying to get to God through the blood of an animal through animal sacrifices not through Jesus now

before we move on I want us to see that to me we have three altars in the Christian life at church I really want you to perk up here because I think we miss some things here throughout our journey together first we have the altar of salvation this is the altar of the cross we come to that altar one time when we come to Christ in repentance and faith when we come to that moment in time when we savingly believe in Christ when we come to the salvation altar we come like Isaac in Genesis 22 we are bound on the altar of God in repentance in faith the old person is slain in the new person gets up off of that altar to live for Christ we see this

expressed in Galatians 220 Paul says I have been crucified with Christ past tense it is no longer I who live past tense but Christ who lives within me present tense and the life I now live in the flesh present tense I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me now look church look where this altar is it is in the past for us it is in our past it is when we came to saving faith in Christ and I can tell you how I went to the altar of the cross one February night of 1989 I went to the altar of the cross and I died the old Chris died there and a new Chris walked away second we have the altar of sanctification this is the

altar that we live by each day each year from the very time we are converted until we die or the Lord comes back and we see this daily this altar of sanctification in the life of Abraham this exemplified in him all throughout the book of Genesis in chapter 12 13 22 we see where Abraham built an altar and he worshiped at that altar and sometimes he came back to those old altars now you may say pastor I think you're wrong there you may say pastor for Abraham those altars were altars of worship that's right but those altars were a part of Abraham's walk with God those altars and those times of worship were a part of his sanctification and we see

this ongoing worship and sanctification expressed in the life of Paul in Galatians 2 20 again the verse I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live past tense but Christ who lives within me present tense in the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in a son of God present tense he's speaking of the present tense walking with the Lord who loved me and gave himself for me and Paul is saying the same thing even more clearly in Romans 12 1 where he says we are to be living sacrifices for God but notice now this altar is past present and future we look back at the altar of our sanctification in our past where we've walked

with the Lord we've gone to that altar throughout the years we have it now as we walk to the Lord with the Lord we go to the altar of sanctification and we'll have that in our future so for us as we walk with God we should have an altar a place a time we should have an altar at our lives where we worship where we work out our salvation in sanctification with fear and trembling third altar we have the altar of the Lord's Supper some scholars say this altar in verse 10 can refer to the supper but when we partake in the supper we are coming to an altar in a sense we are coming in worship we are coming with thankful hearts we are coming

remembering Christ's sacrifice on the cross our personal salvation so to me the Lord's Supper is a type of altar for worship and for remembrance folks I came from a Baptist way of doing ministry where we abuse the altar we had altar calls emotional altar calls well I push back from that and I'll be honest with you this week I thought about it quite a lot I may have over corrected I may have over corrected look folks here's what I'm getting at there is a time when your pastor should teach you God's Word declare to you God's Word and even apply God's Word and he should call you to come to that salvation altar wherever it may be come to that

salvation altar and take what you've seen in the scripture what the Lord is working out in you and you worship God there you die there and you get up from that altar to live it out how is your altar of sanctification how is your altar of sanctification do you have regular times do you have a place when crisis comes do you go to that altar do you do it when you feel good when you don't feel good do you do it when it's only hard when things are good we should have an altar of sanctification where we go before the Lord we die afresh in a new we surrender our lives to the Lord we worship and when we take what we're studying and what God's doing

in our lives and we live it out actually there should be calluses on our knees from being at the altar of the Lord so this is what I call you to do each time you're in small group and you take that lesson each time you're on a Wednesday night

Sunday morning, each time you hear the Word of God, let's take that and let's go to the altar of the Lord. We've gone to the altar of the cross in the past, but we go to the altar of the Lord regularly, daily, in our sanctification. Otherwise, we can be hearers of the Word and not doers. Last, number four. The reminder that Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient to save. The reminder for this church and these believers that Jesus' sacrifice was and is sufficient to save.

Now, to me, this is more evidence that the author had those old covenant food regulations and laws in mind in verse 9, because clearly, he has old covenant things in mind here in verse 11 and 12. Now, let's read the verses 11 and 12. For 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, outside the camp, outside the city in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Now, this is what I will do with these two verses.

I will explain what verse 11 is all about, how Jesus in verse 12 relate to these animals being burned outside of the camp, and this will lead us really to the point the author is making here. Simply, verse 11. This is all about the day of atonement. As we have seen in previous chapters of the book of Hebrews, the author wrote about the day of atonement, which is when the high priest sacrificed a bull and a goat, and he took that blood into the Holy of Holies, into the inner sanctuary of the temple or the tabernacle.

The author wrote about these things in chapter 5, verse 3, chapter 7, verse 27, chapter 9, verse 7, and of course, we see the full account of these things in the book of Leviticus. This is why it would be good for us to study Leviticus, especially chapter 16. And this is what was taking place. Those animals were slain as a sin offering for the people, but the meat from those animals that were sacrificed on the day of atonement were not to be eaten as was the case with other sacrifices. The carcasses of those animals from the day of atonement were burned outside of the camp according to Leviticus 16, 27.

Those carcasses were to be totally consumed and destroyed by fire. But let's look at what this has to do with Jesus. Look at verse 12 again. So, Jesus also suffered, we know that's the cross, outside the gate, outside the walls, outside the city of Jerusalem in order to sanctify the people through his blood. Now, it is clear that the author was presenting the day of atonement as a shadow and a type of the atoning work of Christ on the cross. The parallel and the comparison is unmistakable. And this is what he was saying.

Just like those animals were sacrificed and burned up outside the camp, Jesus suffered and died on the cross outside the camp. Now, question. Did Jesus die inside of the city of Jerusalem? Somebody's already given us the answer. No. Jesus died outside of the city. John 19, 16 to 20 tells us he died outside the city at a place called the Skull. But this is where the similarities finally come to an end. Whereas the blood from those animal sacrifices temporarily appeased the wrath of God for the sin of man, the blood of Jesus permanently satisfied the wrath of God for his people. I want to restate that because you've got to get it.

Whereas the blood from those animal sacrifices temporarily appeased the wrath of God, temporarily satisfied the wrath of God for a time for the sin of the people, the blood of Jesus permanently satisfied the wrath of God for his people. Hebrews 10, 11 says, and every priest stands daily at his service offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But in verse 10, he says, we have been sanctified or saved through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. See the difference? Notice the author says that Jesus suffered outside of the city, but notice why he suffered. Go back to verse 12.

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate, outside of the city. Why? In order to sanctify the people through his own blood. And this word sanctify here is not speaking of the progressive sanctification of the believer in their walk with God. This word sanctify here, it means to separate, it means to set apart, it means to separate and set apart to God and unto God. This is what is called positional sanctification. This takes place at conversion. The one who confesses Christ and is saved, they are positionally set apart, consecrated to God. The Bible scholar, Tom Schreiner, captures this well saying, for Jesus' blood sanctified the people.

They were placed into the realm of the holy through his sacrifice. Now at this point, I want to point out something that many mention. The author tells us that Jesus suffered and died outside of the gate, outside of the city, which speaks to one vital truth. Jesus died outside of the gate because his death could not fit within Judaism and the entire system of Judaism. Let me restate that. Jesus died outside of the city gate because his death could not fit within Judaism and the entire system of Judaism.

Leon Maher says this, and I'm quoting, it was the fact that he died as he did, died the death of a criminal on a cross, a death completely outside all that the camp of Judaism could embrace that brought salvation. And not only could Jesus' death not fit in Judaism and the entire old covenant system, Hebrews 19, 9 says that the death of Jesus did away with it all. He did away with it all to establish the new. Now notice what this meant for the Jews in that day and what it means for us.

For those Jews in that day to be saved, they had to leave the camp of Judaism and go outside of the city to embrace Christ, his death, and the shame and scorn of his death on the cross to be saved. Some Jews were willing, some Jews were not. Some Jews stayed in the camp. They stayed with Judaism. They stayed with the temple. They stayed with the temple sacrifices. They stayed with the religion that had been passed down to them for generations. But some Jews left it all and they went outside of the city to be identified with a seeming criminal who died in shame. Notice what this means for us. We must be willing to leave the camp we are in.

Your system of religion and thought, your family religion, your pride, your religion, your religious performance, really in totality all of who you are. We must be willing to abandon our camp, our city, our religion, our family, our life, and we must be willing to go outside of the city to a place of shame and death and blood and embrace the suffering and the death of Christ and die to be saved. It's the same for those Jews as it is for us. And those of you who are born again, you remember how God took you outside of the city to that altar of the cross. Have you gone to the cross in repentance and faith? Are you still holding on?

Are you still holding on to the religion you've inherited, the religion you've created? Have you gone outside of the city and left it all and gone to the cross and died with Christ? Have you? That's the only way you'll be saved. It was the same for those Jews. It's the same for us today. As I finish, I want to read verse 12 and 13. Next week, we'll pick up the verse 12 and we'll go to verse 16, Lord willing. Verse 12 and 13, I'd like you to look at it in your copy. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his blood. Therefore, therefore...

let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. Look folks the only way is if you go outside to the cross. And look church, look at how all of this ties into verse 9. All those who have been truly saved have left the city of external religious works. They have gone outside that city to the place of shame and death and blood. We have gone to Christ, to his death and his blood. We've been saved. We've been sanctified. We've been set apart unto God. And because we have gone outside of the city to Christ, we can avoid strange teaching. We can be strengthened. How? By God, by grace, and by the grace of God. Because we know God.

And we're not trying to get to God through some ritual. We know God. Again, this is all about avoid strange teaching and be strengthened by grace. Now I want to quickly close, and you need this more than you know, by connecting this to verse 7 and 8. Church, look at your pastor. Saints, look at your pastor. Listen close. You can consider, you can imitate and follow your pastor and leaders here at Grace Life Church. Are we perfect? No. You're not either. None of us are. Praise God for a Savior who was and is. You can consider, imitate, and follow your pastor and leaders here at Grace Life Church.

I've been living before you for 15 years, some of you 20 and 30. Learn from your past leaders, yes. Remember now, make that list. Oh, I want you to learn from your past leaders, the good and the bad and the ugly and everything in between. But church, I say this humbly, and I do not want to act like we've got God in the box. We don't. That's not what I mean. Look what God's given you here. Look what God's given you here. God's given you leaders that you can look to, and not just me and not just the elders. God is raising up other lay leaders that you can look to and you can imitate and follow.

The other day, I was talking with one of the elders, and I wasn't complaining. I was making an observation. And I said to one of the elders, I said, you know, our folks don't call me a lot. I interact with you, meet with you, talk with you, that kind of stuff. And I said to him, I said, I hear our men meeting with other men, talking with other men, going and meeting other men, and he stopped me. He said, Pastor, that means our church is healthy. You can't disciple everybody. You're not supposed to disciple everybody. God is raising up others who will minister to and disciple others. Now, I'm here.

You can have my phone number and come to my house. I'll meet you anytime. But what was he pointing out? God is raising up others besides the elders that you can look to and follow and imitate. That is a sign of a healthy local church. And I want to add to all of this, I will protect you from strange teachers and strange teaching. I will work my fingers to the bone, and if I don't know, I'll go to the Word and I'll find out. I will protect you. There's going to be strange teaching after strange teacher that'll come along. I will protect you, and our other elders will.

If we had some kind of a theological crisis, I could communicate to our elders and say, men, we got to meet up here at 10 o'clock. We might stay till 12 or 1 o'clock, but we got to sort this out. They'll be here. And on top of that, we can all be a people who do not look for externals to save and sanctify. We can be a people who live at the altar of Christ. Remember that sanctifying altar? We can live at the altar of Christ, experiencing and growing in His grace. And look, church, the best environment to do all that is in a local church. Last night when I left our trunk retreat to go home, I saw a bunch of teenagers running around.

They didn't look like they were really up to no good, but it looked like they could get close. And I thought, they're really not in a safe place. You would all agree that a gang of teenagers at 1030 running the streets are not in a safe place. My father-in-law said nothing good happens after 10 o'clock anyway. Those teenagers would have been safer at home. Folks, this is my point. The safest place for you to be strengthened in the grace of God is in a healthy local church, and God has given us one. Not perfect, no. Reasonably healthy, yes. Acceptably healthy, yes. So avoid strange teaching and be strengthened by grace. Let's pray.