Hebrews 13:7-167Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 8Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. 9Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. 10We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. 15By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. 16But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (Hebrews 13:7‑16)
Part 5
“Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.”
Yes, it is a place of reproach; and always will be. I believe that God intended the name of His beloved Son to be connected with reproach in this world, since man rejected Him and cast Him out. God has as much as said,
“Now, if you want to follow Him in that world, you will have to understand that the world cast Him out; and you will have to become identified with a rejected man.”
Then how good to get Verse 14 before the soul. Dear young person, get before your soul that,
“Here have we no continuing city.”
I know that that is in direct collision with what is all about you. I know that is all out of tune with what you hear in the world. If you read the world’s periodicals—magazines, editorials—you will find that this is in direct contradiction with the whole thing.
The world’s cry is that we are building a bigger and better world; if we are building automobiles, we are building them bigger and better; if we are building buildings, we are building them bigger and better. The whole thought of today is to build for the future, to build to endure. I have seen on Packards: “Built for eternity”—those are man’s thoughts, while the Word of God says,
“Here have we no continuing city.”
The viewpoint you take is going to make a tremendous difference with you; if you are living for another world, if you are expecting the coming one, it is going to make a difference in the way you build, in the sacrifices you make; you are going to count the cost of what you are about to engage upon and perhaps you are going to question—using a not very elegant proverb—whether the game is worth the candle. I hope you do.
Here have we Christians no continuing city, but we seek one to come, or, we seek “the coming one.” God has a city, a metropolis, a home; it is the coming one which you and I are about to step into and who knows how soon? Who knows how many steps are ahead of you? Who knows whether a hundred or only a dozen are yet before you, before you find yourself gathered into that coming city? If you knew that you were only a dozen steps hence, how little you would value things that you are staking high by now!
Another translation of verse 15 reads:
“By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of the lips confessing His name.” Ah, that is what we need, “confessing His name” “the fruit of our lips confessing His name.”
Yes, we confess that Name to God, and that is a sweet savor unto Him. Then we confess that Name to a hostile world, and that is what brings on to us the reproach, and likewise the joy and satisfaction that we are bearing reproach for Christ. That is our privilege; if I can present it to you as a privilege; a blessed, precious privilege.
Here is the recipe for a happy Christian life: Walking in communion and dependence and obedience to the blessed Lord. It is going all the way through. It is going on unto Him, it is confessing His Name.
What do we gain in hiding His Name? You and I have hidden the name of Christ in times past; I have; I have covered it up when I had a chance to confess it. I confess with shame that I have earned nothing in hiding the Name of Christ except a sense of disappointment, of remorse in my soul, a sense of shame, that I, poor, miserable wretch; worm of the dust, had been ashamed to confess the Name of my blessed Lord.
In closing, let us touch on verse 16:
“To do good and to communicate of your substance forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (N. T.)
I think, generally speaking, that side of things will take care of itself if the other side is in healthy condition. But God says, “Don’t forget it; don’t forget the pocketbook side of things.” It is in the Word. But, O! the first and foremost thing, the glory of Christ in your life! That is God’s side of things, in confessing that blessed Name; and that is the secret of Christian happiness.
(Concluded)