Outside the Camp.

     Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
     So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
     For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.
                                 Hebrews 13:12-14 NASB

     The epistle to the Hebrews was written to encourage early Christians to remain faithful to Christ. They faced severe pressure from friends and family to return to Judaism, and no doubt, for many, the temptation to give in would have been strong. In this book, Christ is shown to be the reality of the Old Testament types and shadows. To turn from Him, and to go back to the sacrificial system, was to leave Christianity altogether. They were encouraged in the above passage to go outside the camp, and suffer the reproach of Christ. Outside the camp was the garbage dump; the place where the animal carcasses were dumped (Hebrews 13:11). In other words, they would face rejection, reproach, and even persecution for the name of Christ. They must not return to what they had come out of.
     True Christians today are faced with a similar situation. We see a wicked world plunging deeper into moral filth today. There seems to be no shame, as men cast off what little restraint seems to be left.
     Not only has this moral decline increased in the world, it has also invaded the professing Church as well. Here is where things get tough for those who would follow Christ. There are those who draw a line. In their eyes, sin is sin, and they will not compromise. They refuse to partake in it, they refuse to tolerate it, and refuse to excuse it. This puts them at odds with multitudes of professing believers who blindly coddle sin in the name of Christian love.
     To stand up for truth in many churches today will get you labeled as judgmental, a hater, a legalist, and extreme. You will bring rejection upon yourself if you call sin what it really is, and call men to repent. In our tolerant modern theology, it is better to be "politically correct" than to be Biblically correct.
     The temptation is there, just as it has always been, to give in, to compromise, to be just like everyone else. This admonition in Hebrews is for us as well. Let us draw that line in the sand. There can be no compromise, no settling down in a lukewarm religion. We must go outside the camp with Jesus, bearing His reproach. This earth, with all of its ways is temporal. We are looking for the city which is to come.