Those Who Live By Faith Move Toward Need, Not Comfort
Hebrews 13:12-14
Not long ago I received a letter from Julian Robles, in which he gave me a brief report on the progress of their work in Anapra and especially the new Bible Institute Class. In the letter, he also informed me that they had received threats over the phone from a local gang to either pay them what they want or face the consequences. Julian, of course, said “No” and then committed the situation to the Lord and waited to see what would happen. Thus, far nothing has happened and they continue to minister and take ground for the Lord. And as unsettling as the threat was to Julian and Beatrice, it was good for them because it caused them and the students at the Institute to renew their resolve to continue on full speed for the Lord even in the midst of a place that is becoming increasingly more dangerous for them to live and minister.
Hebrews is a book written to believers who were struggling and wrestling with a very similar type of situation that was requiring them to renew their resolve to continue moving forward full speed for Christ. But the problem was that for them the threats proved true and they had lost loved ones as well as homes and freedoms and were threatened with losing even more—and they were wondering if continuing to go full bore for Christ was worth all the loss. The struggle before them was simple—pursue Christ 100 % with no holding back so as to confront their culture with the Gospel and possibly lose everything near and dear to them or pursue Him in a politically and socially correct kind of way that really bothered no one and certainly didn’t upset anyone’s religious sensibilities and thus, incurred no loss. This is really what is going on in this Book of Hebrews and it is clearly seen in the last challenge of the Book where the writer exhorts them to sell out completely to Christ and His cause.
Look there with me at Hebrews 13:12-14.
The words don’t need a great deal of explanation do they? Just as Jesus had to leave the comforts, conveniences, and security of a life of safety inside the camp and go outside of all that in order to secure our salvation, the writer of Hebrews is exhorting these believers and us by extension to join Christ outside the security of our comforts, conveniences, and security to bear His reproach. In other words, we are being encouraged—strongly encouraged—to leave our socially respectable, politically correct, unoffensive to anybody, don’t rattle anyone’s cage, and don’t get anyone mad at you kind of Christianity to follow Christ outside of our comfort zones so as to take a bold and public stand with Him outside the security of our homes and church and in so doing—to bear His reproach. To put it yet another way—God is exhorting us to sell out completely for Christ and take our stand with Him where it is the toughest to do so—outside of the comfort of our Christian relationships, church friendships, and Christian families—and in those places where Christ is not honored, not esteemed, not loved, and not known.
The point of Hebrews 13:12-16 is loud and clear: As Christians who desire to make much of Christ, we should move toward need, not comfort because that is what Jesus did for us.
The central call to us is in verse 13: "So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach." That is, move toward where Jesus is, which is to move toward need, not comfort.
This command in verse 13 is based upon what Jesus did, which is summarized for us in Verse 12.
Jesus, work of saving us took place outside of the gate—that is the city of Jerusalem or it could even be referring to Heaven itself—since that is the place Jesus left in order to become our Incarnate Savior. In other words, the writer of Hebrews is simply saying that in order for Jesus to save us and set us apart for God—He had to move toward us and toward our need and toward our sin rather than toward comfort, convenience, security, and safety. And thus, the point of verse 13 is: that we who are professing to be followers of Christ should follow our Lord’s example - move toward His reproach, others’ needs, and not our own comfort.
This, I think, is what it means to be a Christian. Jesus said this same thing in Luke 9:23 when He said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." Being a Christian means following Jesus, and following Jesus means going with him to Calvary—outside the camp. And a big part of the reason for this is because “spiritual success flows down the river of sacrifice and suffering”.
Now please don’t misunderstand this text or me this morning. I don’t think this verse is telling us to necessarily give more, or pray more, or preach more, or send more books, or build more, or feed more, or clothe more, or comfort more—even those these things are all good and worthwhile and biblical things to do and should be done. No—this verse while recognizing that these kinds of things are good and worthy of Christian’s involvement—is not talking about these things.
Look at the verse again. Note what it says: “So, let us go . . .” It is not talking about sending anything—it is talking about us going. As Keith Green used to say: “Instead of sending a check—send you!” And note who and where He is we are to go: “to Him outside the camp”
In other words, if you want to really get close to the Lord and really experience Him and His power and His comforting and guiding hand in your life—you need to be moving away from your toys, your treasures, your comforts, and your risk-free safe zones to where Christ is and desires to be made known by you—and that will always be in the midst of people’s need to know Him.
Note too that the verse tells you how and when you will know that you are moving toward Jesus and away from your comforts—it is when you are “bearing His reproach”
In other words, Jesus is not calling us from comfort and security and convenience to more comfort, security, and safety. He is calling us to bear His reproach—which is very uncomfortable.
The camp for Israel was the place of safety—not only from danger but also from sin and becoming rendered unclean. Outside the camp was where the unclean animal carcases and refuse were to be buried. So outside the camp there was potential danger and the risk of uncleanness. The camp was comfortable and safe and clean and sacred. So when he says to us, "Let us go forth to him outside the camp," he probably means, "Let's go outside the place of comfort and safety and religious sanctuary; and let's join Jesus in the risky places, the dangerous places, the dirty places, the places that will cost us something."
Another way of putting it is, "Let your light so shine before men"—before lost and needy men outside the camp, not just in the ease and comfort of your church and your home. The light should shine in the dark. And it's dark outside the camp.
Listen, what I want you to see is that this verse is talking about something radical and it is nothing less than the radical call of Jesus to join him on the Calvary road - to go outside the camp and bear His reproach with him.
For some of you who are not married, maybe the call of Jesus to move toward need and not comfort is a call to utterly devoted singleness for the sake of greater service to Christ. Or maybe it's a call to be married to the kind of person who is strong enough and radical enough to go outside the camp with you and suffer beside you, and to maximize your lives together for the good of others instead of sinking into the sinkhole of pursuing material comfort that many marriages are made of.
Maybe it’s a call to start gaining work experience and education that would enable you to work in a country that while closed to Christianity is not closed to Christians who have the skills they need and more importantly the Gospel they desperately and unknowingly need.
Maybe, instead of dreaming about your first car or for some of you—your third or fourth new car—you should be dreaming about moving to a place and a people where you don't need a car - because there aren't any roads, and no churches and no Christians.
Maybe it’s a passion to get involved with a support group and use every opportunity God provides you with to point the members to Christ.
Maybe it’s a commitment to share your faith with someone next week who you know is not a believer.
Maybe it’s a decision to get involved in a ministry to prisoners in jail (see Pat Beady for the details) or to mothers considering abortion at the pregnancy center her in Edgewood.
Or it could be that it’s a decision to give your life to reach an Unreached people group with the Gospel by going to a closed Muslim country where there are no other known Christians and who like Dallas Washer an ABWE missionary would say: “I have but one candle of life to burn and would rather burn it out where people are dying in darkness than in a land which is flooded with lights.”
Whatever your spiritual passion is—let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach because that is what Jesus is calling us to do here in this passage because that is exactly what He did for us. He died to sanctify the people, which means He died to make us different than the rest of the world, to make us holy and loving and radical and risk-taking and utterly captivated by another destiny than this world offers. And that destiny is seen in verse 14.
Listen Jesus did not die to make Edgewood or your backyard or your house in this age a paradise.
He died so that we would be willing to stop trying to make our private lives a paradise on earth and see that everything we have in this life that is of a material nature will not last. And that the only thing that we will have once we die and leave this earth is what we have invested in Heaven through our service to Christ and specifically that service which requires us to move from our comforts and convenience to people’s need and the bearing of Christ’s reproach. And you see, this is what motivates Christians to quit living for this world. Christians who leave their comforts to pursue Christ outside the camp and thus bear His reproach don’t do it because they are crazy or like to suffer or find great pleasure in pain and being made fun of—No, they do it because they “are seeking a city which is to come." Look at Verse 14: "Here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come." Our motive for going outside the camp - toward need, not comfort, bearing reproach, caring about the people - is because there is a city coming, "the city of the living God" (Hebrews 12:22). It is better than what this age offers and it will last forever, and best of all, God will be there, in undiminished and visible glory (Hebrews 12:23).
We have seen this pattern over and over in Hebrews. We saw it in Hebrews 10:34 where the Christians moved toward need and not comfort by visiting prisoners. When it cost them their property, they rejoiced, because as the passage says, "you knew that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one". You see, they were seeking a city which is to come, not comfort and paradise on earth. So they moved toward need, not comfort.
We saw it in 11:25-26 where Moses moved toward need, not comfort, "choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Why? By what power? Verse 26 says, "Because he was looking to the reward" - that is, he was looking for the city which is to come.
We saw it in 12:2 where Jesus moved toward need, not comfort, when he "endured the cross and despised the shame." How? By what power? Verse 2 says it was because of the joy set before him. That is, he looked to the city which is to come.
So the point of Hebrews 13:14 is confirmed again and again: Christ did not die to make this world—or our homes or our lives—a paradise. He died so that we would be willing to stop trying to make our lives paradise on earth - both in the city and in the country, and instead go with Jesus outside the camp of comfort and familiarity and security to where the needs are and where he also says, today—if you die—you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).
We move toward need, not comfort, because we look for a city which is to come. Radical confidence in a glorious future with God is what Christ died to produce. And when it takes hold of you, you will go with Jesus toward need, not comfort.
My prayer this morning is that we would be a people who want to do something radically different with our lives than just make a decent living, enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, play it safe, and never move to do anything that would unsettle and upset our version of the American dream.
When I turned 50 last month, I recorded some of my musings on what that meant for me. One of the thoughts I recorded sums up to a large degree what I think it means to live by faith and move toward Jesus outside the comforts of the camp:
"Life should NOT be a play-it-safe journey to the grave with the intention of leaving behind a hefty bank account, lots of toys and no broken bones but rather a skid in sideways--an empty wallet in one hand--God's Word in the other—my body thoroughly used up, totally worn out making much of Jesus and screaming, "Wow, What a Ride."
I think this sums up pretty well what the passage is teaching and I hope we will all take it to heart.
CONCLUSION
The thought that Christians are only called to live and work where it is safe is really not a biblical thought. Biblical thinking proceeds on the assumption that we are all called to follow Jesus outside the camp where there is reproach and danger. It may be the risk of ostracism and scorn at your work. It may be the risk of rejection and exclusion at school. It may be the pain of misunderstanding from an unbelieving relative whom you are trying to share Christ with.
It can be the risk of making a fellow church member angry with you because you care enough to confront them about some blatant and destructive sin issue in their life. Or it may be the far greater risks of prison and persecution as a missionary to a country that is closed to the Gospel.
This way of thinking—this willingness to go outside the camp of comfort and security in order to make much of Christ is a strange mentality in the world and even in many churches. It is not natural because so many see their treasures and pleasures as being here on this earth rather than in Heaven. But you know what, the pleasures, comforts, and conveniences of earth cannot compare to the pleasures of Heaven.
But it takes faith to believe that and start living for what’s real and lasting over what is not.
As we close, look with me at 1 Corinthians 15:32. If Christianity is not true and there is no resurrection and we all just die and turn into dirt and that’s it, then it would be better to eat, drink, and live for all the earthly treasure you can while you can. Joining Christ outside the camp and suffering for Him would make no sense whatsoever. But—if Christianity is true and there is a resurrection of the dead and a judgment seat of Christ where we will be rewarded for our sacrifice, suffering, and inconveniences in making much of Christ—it would better for us to join Christ outside the camp and bear His reproach as we move toward people’s great need of Christ, rather than our comfort.
Let’s pray.
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