As we finish up this passage we want to briefly review what we covered last time. The key idea we see in this passage is strange and various “pseudo- Christian” teachings that abound neglect a key ingredient of the Christian faith: grace. The focus of this section is grace by which the believer has access to God. We saw the author wanted us to understand Christians are strengthened by grace not foods. We discussed at length the grace of God and its primary importance in the life of the Christian, not just for salvation but for every area of life.
We noted that the foreign teachings the author describes were those foreign to grace. The author focuses on those groups that look to spiritual benefit derived from some kind of ritual event. But the author rejects the teaching that there is any spiritual benefit in an ongoing sacrificial system from which these foods were derived. These ritual works they performed were not profitable to them spiritually.
We began to look at the second aspect of this passage that Christians have a spiritual altar at which to worship. We noted the author continued the contrast with actual physical ritual to the spiritual truth of the Gospel. Christian worship is itself set in opposition to a physical altar.
We mentioned that Christian worship does not have a physical altar. And we looked into the first of the five key characteristics of this altar of which Christians partake. The first characteristic describes its identity as the cross. The altar of which he is speaking is the cross upon which Jesus offered Himself as an offering for our sin. Again we have to see this in contrast to sheer physical terms. Though our altar can be described as the cross it is not just the wood upon which Jesus hung as if that itself becomes special. You miss the significance of it if you see it merely as a piece of wood. The significance of the cross, being our altar, is found in what was accomplished on it. Again, the grace imparted to us comes from the once for all offering of Jesus upon the cross, not the cross itself. Keeping this in mind we come to the second key characteristic of this altar.
B. It is exclusive
The second key characteristic of this altar of which Christians partake is that it is exclusive. The author says in verse 10, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.” The author is making contrast between the altar in Jerusalem on which the offerings to God were made and the cross. He describes their participation in a sacrificial meal as part of their worship. But the author excludes these people, who are relying on Old Testament type sacrifices (he excludes them) from true worship. Not everyone can worship God. There are those who have no right to participate in the worship of God because they reject the sacrifice of Christ. There is an exclusivity in the worship of God. Perhaps you have heard people say, “You worship God in the way you want and I’ll worship God in the way I want.” But this isn’t true. It is not about the way I want to worship or the way you want to worship. It is about the way God wants to be worshipped. Shouldn’t we consider His opinion in the matter? After all, it is His worship. God commands that He be worshipped according to His guidelines. Someone gave that line to Jesus when He was on earth. A Samaritan woman spoke to Him and said, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus told her that it wasn’t about this mountain or that mountain. But he said, “An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.” God doesn’t accept the worship of people who worship their own way, but people who worship in spirit and truth. What is acceptable worship to God? Who can come to Him? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.”
This is an exclusive claim to worship. Jesus came and proclaimed He was the Messiah of the world. And it is by Him the world must come to know God. When Peter was questioned by the rulers in his day, he said, “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
This exclusive claim has caused many to stumble. Why should God be so narrow in whom He allows to worship Him? In reality this is broad. He says that whoever will come to Him through Jesus Christ, He will not cast out. This is a broad promise. “Whoever” is as broad as you can be. Whoever will humble himself and acknowledge his need to repent and trust Christ as Savior will have eternal life.
C. It offers cleansing
The third key characteristic of this altar of which Christians partake is that it offers cleansing. In verses 11-12 the author says, “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
The author describes for us here how the Old Testament offering on the Day of Atonement was burned outside the camp (outside Jerusalem). He uses a metaphor, where he likens this Old Testament offering to what Jesus accomplished on the cross. If you remember, Jesus suffered outside the city of Jerusalem. By noting these two events together, the author has made a point of contact between the Yom Kippur sacrifice and Jesus by noting that both were taken outside the gate (or camp).
The reason the author says Jesus suffered outside the gate was to “sanctify the people through His own blood.” His sacrifice was the means by which cleansing or sanctification would come to His people.
These other OT offerings, as we saw in chapters 7-10, were inadequate for cleansing. The offering of Christ and the shedding of His blood were different than these animal sacrifices. The term sanctification means to make holy. We get our word saint from it. We could pronounce it “saint-ification.” Many today don’t realize all that Jesus has done by His sacrifice. Jesus not only forgave our sins by the shedding of His blood but He also made us completely righteous in the Father’s sight. He made us saints.
The New Testament describes everyone who calls upon Christ to save them as “saints.” This word doesn’t designate a person who is special or different from other believers. Every believer is a saint. The idea that someone becomes a saint because they have an especially holy life is a man made concept developed well past the days of the apostles.
It is interesting to note that Paul calls those to whom he wrote in Corinth, saints. As you read his first letter to the Corinthians you would say to yourself (if you used man’s criteria for judgment) these people certainly aren’t saints. They are divided over which apostle to follow. They take each other to court. They have misunderstandings about the resurrection.
But why can he say in 1:2, “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours?” Why does He say they are saints by calling? He answers this at the end of chapter 1. “By [God’s] doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” By virtue of the fact that they have been saved by God, placed into Christ Jesus, they have received Christ’s righteousness and are therefore saints in God’s sight. They didn’t have to wait a number of years after their death to be designated a saint. They didn’t need a show of support from other church members to be designated as a saint. They didn’t have to perform a miracle to be called a saint. These are man made criteria, not biblical criteria. It is interesting to note how casually this term is used in the New Testament. In the closing verse of this letter, which we will cover shortly, the author says, “greet all the saints.” He isn’t asking them to go to their tombs and say, “hi” for him is he?
In 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul called the Corinthians to live in a holy manner because God has already declared them to be saints. Christianity isn’t striving to be something God wants you to be. Christianity is living out what God has said you are. And Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf has cleansed us. His people have been sanctified by His own blood through faith in Him. This is what directs us to God’s grace. Christ has accomplished salvation and sanctification for us. Let us therefore live in it by faith. There is nothing for us to do but believe His promises found in His Word.
There is cleansing that is available at the cross. This is the altar we have before which we worship but it is not a physical altar.
D. It carries reproach and disgrace
The fourth key characteristic of this altar (the cross) of which we partake is that it carries reproach and disgrace. In verses 12-13 the author says, Jesus “suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” The cross, our altar, is a symbol of shame and cursedness. In Galatians, Paul notes that Jesus took the curse of the Law upon Himself that had rested on us. In chapter 3:13 he says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’” The reproach of the cross is found in the fact that we serve a Savior who was crucified. The cross was an instrument of punishment in the Roman world. And hanging someone on a tree (or cross) was one of the most disgraceful things that could happen to a person. So much so that a Roman citizen could not be punished in this way. The senate considered this too degrading a punishment.
And yet today many try to make the cross seem less offensive. The shedding of blood is removed from Christian songs. Crosses are gilded and turned into jewelry as if it were a bauble instead of an instrument of torture and reproach. We back down from speaking to people about the cross lest we should receive the reproach of Christ. This is the very issue with which the author was dealing. Instead of hiding the shameful aspects of Christianity (the cross) and seeking to have a dignified religion we must, instead, bear His reproach.
The author calls for us to “go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” Will you take a stand for Him? Sometimes we must even bear His reproach from other believers. Jesus died for our sin and we must take a stand against worldliness and ungodliness. When we say we are not going to watch this or listen to that or go here because it promotes immorality or a worldly mindset (it is sad to say) that other Christians will reproach us for being “legalistic.” Unfortunately these “Christians” cannot see the plethora of passages that speak of avoiding worldly chatter, worldly conduct, and the love of the world system.” We are certainly to be in the world but clearly not of it.
We are to bear the reproach of the cross. Proclaiming the folly of a cross that saves is what brings reproach. That God should use something so debased, so disgraceful as the cross to bring people to salvation causes those whose pride cannot bear it to reproach us, we who bring this message. It is still a message of shame, a message that speaks of the awful consequences of sin. It is not a message for the high and mighty. It is a message for those who would humble themselves. And if you wish to follow the Savior who died upon a cross for you then you should be willing to bear His reproach. So follow Him outside the camp. Understand the cost of following the Savior. Do not think that you can follow One who was despised and rejected by men and escape such rejection yourself. But does it matter if we are rejected by men if we are accepted by God? And this brings us to the next key characteristic of this altar of which we partake.
E. It points to eternal life
The fifth key characteristic of this altar of which we partake is that it points to eternal life. The author says, “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”
What the author wants us to see is that the cross is not about prestige here and now. Our worship at the altar of the cross points to eternal life because the prestige we seek is found in the city to which we are going. Whoever is seeking his fame and fortune here for personal gain and glory has not found life in the sacrifice of Christ.
The cross may bring reproach now but it points to the eternal life that awaits those who have faith in Jesus Christ. The author says that the lasting city is not to be found here. The lasting city is not on this present earth. The cross points to a city that is to come. So which is it you want? Reproach now and glory later or glory now and reproach later. The author wants us to understand that if you seek to follow the way of the cross you will not be big in the world’s eyes. For as you proclaim the crucified Messiah those who love their sin will mock you for it. But the author reminds us. It’s ok. For our lasting city is not here. We will find a real city and real life as we follow the cross that leads to God. It calls for perseverance. Don’t give up following Jesus outside the gate.
III. Christians Are Commanded to Offer up Spiritual Sacrifices
The third and final aspect the author describes for us in this passage is that Christians are commanded to offer up spiritual sacrifices. In this, we see why the altar of which the author speaks is a spiritual altar and not a physical one. These sacrifices are not like the ones the priests offered up under the Old Testament economy. The New Testament priesthood of every believer gives us the responsibility to offer up sacrifices. Every one of us is required to offer sacrifices because of our position as priests before God. They are spiritual sacrifices.
In verses 15&16 the author describes these sacrifices. He says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” He notes two features about these sacrifices.
A. The nature of the sacrifices
The first feature of these sacrifices the author discusses is the nature of the sacrifices. What are these sacrifices like? In discussing the nature of the sacrifices, he gives two descriptions of them.
1. They are through Christ
The first description of these sacrifices is that they are through Christ. In verse 15 he says, “Through Him then, let us…offer.” The only way a believer can offer up a spiritual sacrifice, the only way to serve God, is through Jesus Christ. When a person becomes a believer they do not have access to God through their own merit but on account of the merit of Jesus Christ. Peter mentions this in his first letter. In chapter 2, verse 5 he says, “you also…are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We do not do this in our own strength. We do not serve God through our ability or our righteousness. Peter tells us that the sacrifices are “acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
James Torrance says in his book, Worship, Community and the Triune God of Grace, “God does not accept us because we have offered worthy worship. In his love, he accepts us freely in the person of his beloved Son. It is he who in our name and on our behalf, in our humanity, has made one offering to the Father which alone is acceptable to God for all humanity, for all nations, for all times.”
Our acceptance before the Father has been provided for us in the person of Jesus Christ. We are accepted by God in Christ Jesus. And God Himself has prepared our service to Him beforehand that we might walk in it. Serve God, offer up spiritual sacrifices in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It is only through Him that we can.
2. They are ongoing
The second description of the nature of these sacrifices is that they are ongoing. In verse 15 he says, “let us continually offer up a sacrifice.” This isn’t something that is a one time or limited event. It is an ongoing condition of our lives as believers. We are to continually offer up a sacrifice. This calls for a life of dedication to the Lord. We are called to offer ongoing sacrifices to God.
We must understand that each one of us, as believers in Christ, is a priest to God. Because of this we must see it as our responsibility to offer up these spiritual sacrifices continually. What is interesting to note is that God calls for our service always. There is no retirement in Christianity. Oh we may slow down but our Master never gives us leave while we are still here. We are to offer these sacrifices of which the author speaks until our final breath. Let us not seek retirement in the calling to which He calls every believer as His priest.
B. The sacrifices consist in
The next feature the author notes is what the sacrifices consist in. Of what are these sacrifices made? What are the sacrifices? He tells us that the sacrifices consist in three things.
1. Thanksgiving
The first sacrifice consists in thanksgiving. In verse 15 he says, “Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” What is interesting about this offering the author mentions is that the term “sacrifice of praise” occurs in Leviticus 7:12. There, it refers to the voluntary offering (not required for sin). In fact, it could not be offered by the worshipper until the offering for sin had been made (Guthrie 441). This thanksgiving offering is given by the believer in gratitude for forgiveness, not in order to receive cleansing from sin.
As we mentioned in the last section it is the cross that offers cleansing, and now we are able to give the voluntary offering of praise or thanksgiving because we have had our sin washed by the blood of the lamb. The author makes it clear there is no longer a need for a sin offering. It has been accomplished by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and now we simply offer thanksgiving for this cleansing.
So this ongoing praise and thanksgiving we are to give to God is primarily out of gratitude for His working in us for salvation. We must continually remember what it is that Christ has done for us. If we do not continue to thank God for His precious provision of salvation we will forget the great price He paid for us in bringing us this full and free salvation. This is why we are to offer thanks continually for our salvation.
2. Good works
Then in verse 16, the author mentions two other sacrifices, “with which God is well pleased.” First he says that we must not neglect performing good works (Don’t neglect doing good). The Scripture says that we as believers ought to be zealous for good works. We never do these good works to be justified by God but good works should follow our faith. If God has truly saved us and regenerated us then as new creations in Christ we ought to seek to do good so others might see the change God has made in us. And as they see this change they might desire to know Him too.
Paul says this in his letter to Titus. “Christ Jesus…gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” We, more than anyone else, should seek to do good to others because of what God has done for us. And we ought to do so for the purpose of bringing people to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
If God has worked such a good work in you through the grace of Jesus Christ then is there really enough that we can do to show our gratitude toward Him?
3. Sharing
The final sacrifice, he mentions, consists in sharing. We should look for opportunities to share with others. Such sharing falls under the category of doing good but it is a subset of doing good. The author is being more specific. Why should we share what we have with others? As believers in Christ we have been given so much by the Lord. I am not speaking of material things, though we could add this to the list. The Scripture says we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We have been given God’s righteousness. We have been given peace with Him. There is Spirit-filled joy and grace in Christ.
Look at the example of the early church. Now I am not recommending some type of commune kind of living but look at the spirit of sharing with which the early church was imbued. In Acts 4:32-37, Luke gives us this picture. “The congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them…for there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.”
We see that the believers sincerely looked for opportunities to meet needs among other believers. They saw how God graciously saved them and they sought to live out God’s life in them.
The apostle Paul notes another reason we need to share as God has blessed us. He tells us that sharing is the opposite of stealing. The apostle Paul notes in Ephesians 4:28, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.” He tells us that we do not cease being thieves when we start working. We stop being things when we start sharing. Look for opportunities to share with others that you might offer the sacrifices that are pleasing to God.
As we consider this passage we must realize that God’s grace alone saves, sustains and strengthens us to live a righteous life in Christ. Do not look to ritual or other manmade teachings to grow spiritually. Do not be led astray by teachings that are foreign to grace. Be led by God’s grace found in His Son through His Word.