So turn with me again to Leviticus chapter 16. Our study this morning resumes at verse 23. Just to very quickly set this up, over the last couple of weeks, we've been looking at the Lord's instructions to Aaron through Moses regarding the Day of Atonement, that one day a year when the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to make atonement, first for himself and his family, and then for the people of Israel. Most recently, we discussed what was known as the scapegoat. Aaron was to secure from the people two goats, one which would be the Lord's, the other which would be designated as the scapegoat. Now, which one was which? Well, that would be determined by the casting of lots. And again, if you're not familiar with what that is, it's just like rolling dice, flipping a coin. It wasn't gambling. It was a divinely appointed way to be able to discern God's will in things requiring that sort of thing. So they cast the lots. One of the goats was designated to be sacrificed to the Lord. The other would be sent out into the wilderness after having had the sins of the people laid upon its head. It would be sent out into the wilderness, which again is a beautiful picture of God's willingness to not remember or recall our sins. Once He forgives us, He casts our sin as far as the east is from the west, and He says, I will remember them no more. What a glorious picture, even in this scapegoat that would be sent out, never to be seen again. Well, as always, if you missed last week's message on all this, I'd encourage you to go to Sermon Audio, go to YouTube, and look at that particular message as you're able. Anyway, this brings us to verse 23. Verse 23. Where we read, then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place and shall leave them there. He shall bathe his body with water in a holy place and put on his clothes. forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make atonement for himself and for the people. Then he shall offer up in smoke the fat of the sin offering on the altar. The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body with water. Then afterward he shall come into the camp. But the bull of the sin offering, and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and And they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire. Then the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water. Then afterward he shall come into the camp. So once Aaron had finished his duties of sprinkling the blood of the sacrificial bull and goat where he was directed to put it, he was then to go into the tabernacle, which is probably into the holy place, not the Holy of Holies, but just outside the Holy of Holies. He was to go in there and change his clothes after bathing himself and then put on his normal priestly garb. At that point, he was to offer the burnt offering, which was mentioned back in verse 3, to make atonement for Himself and for the people. This also included His offering up of the smoke from the fat of the offering. The one who had released the scapegoat into the wilderness was also to wash his clothes and his body before returning to the camp. Aaron was instructed then to take the carcasses of the bull and the goat that were sacrificed in the sin offering and take those outside the camp and make sure that they are burned up in the fire. The one doing the burning was then to wash his clothes and body before returning to the camp. Once again the writer of the Hebrews is helpful here. Look back at Hebrews 13, Hebrews 13 as I said last time The writer to the Hebrews does a really masterful job, certainly under divine inspiration, but he does a masterful job of filling in a lot of the holes that we have in terms of being able to understand these rituals, these ceremonies in the Old Covenant. And so here is no exception in verse 11 of Hebrews 13 we read this, 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. Hence, 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. Once again, I have to comment on just how beautiful this picture is. There are countless places in the Old Testament that carry these foreshadowings, these types these pictures of what would ultimately be fulfilled under the New Covenant. And this is no exception to that. The carcasses of the animals that were sacrificed were to be taken outside the camp. And you might ask, well why would that be? Why must they be taken outside the camp? And the answer is really simple. They were taken outside the camp because no one inside the camp wanted to be around the rotting carcasses of animals that had been used for sacrificial purposes. Rotting animals, even in accordance with other Mosaic law, you'll remember that to touch something that had died would render you ceremonially unclean. To even be in the presence of the carcasses of these dead animals would have been a detestable thing by the people. The people would have considered that one of the most unclean things imaginable, just to leave these carcasses laying around where they could be seen by other people. And so they're to be taken outside the city. And here's the thing, since we know, and this is the most fascinating aspect in all of this, and I want you to make a really strong mental note, if not a written note, about what I'm about to say. We know from Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 4 that it was never possible for the blood of bulls and goats to ever remove sin. It was never possible. It was a picture, it was a foreshadowing of that sacrifice that would make certain, not possible, but make certain the salvation of God's people. These sacrifices just pictured that or foreshadowed that. So with that in mind, I want you to understand that in another twist of divine irony, the real significance in all of this was not as much what happened to the sacrifices, but what was done with the carcasses. And this will completely be lost on you if you're not paying very close attention. Why would that be? Why is the emphasis on the carcasses here? Well, because they paint the real picture. These carcasses do a better job of painting the picture of Christ's atoning work than the sacrifices themselves. And I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but it's important that we begin to think this way because remember, where did Christ accomplish His work of atonement? Was it within the city? It was outside the city. He was sent outside the gates. He was taken to Golgotha, the place of the skull. Why? Because he was despised and rejected by men. In the same way that the carcasses were seen as detestable, the Lord Jesus Christ, by both the Romans and the hostile Jews of his day, he was seen as detestable, someone to be rejected. someone not to be believed, someone to be despised, and he was put to death accordingly. He was put to death as one accursed. The mode of his death was reserved exclusively for the worst criminals in society. It was meant to be the most humiliating, the most rejecting sort of death that anyone could ever experience. Christ was viewed with the same revulsion and distaste as were the dead bodies of those sacrificial animals. And don't miss what the writer of the Hebrews says by way of important exhortation. He says, hence, meaning from this point forward, 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. What city is the writer to the Hebrews seeking? Is he seeking a city here in America where we make things so godly and so good that the Lord is going to come back and rule in San Antonio, Texas, or Houston, or Dallas, or New York, or Chicago, or wherever he happens to choose to minister from? No. What city is he looking for? Well, it's clear from the rest of the New Testament, the writer of the Hebrews is looking for the same city that you and I should be looking for, and it's not here. It's the new Jerusalem. It's the Zion on high that we're looking for. As Jesus said repeatedly during his earthly ministry and the apostles repeated countless times, in this world believers will be persecuted. Why? Because this world is not our home. It's not our home and it astounds me It breaks my heart even that there is so much of a resurgence in this idea that, oh no, this is our home. Folks, if this is my home, in the words of John Ehrlich, that's not good. I don't care how good you can make it. There's nothing going to compare with the heavenly Jerusalem, with the new city that's been prepared for those who are beloved of Him. And because this world is not our home, we're to go outside the camp. Again, the illustration couldn't be clearer. Jesus is going outside the camp to be crucified as a common criminal was a foreshadowing in and of itself of the kind of reproach not only that he would face, but that we will face. And if we would find him and serve him as we ought, we won't find him in this city. We won't find him in this state. We won't find him in this country. We'll find him where? Outside the camp. And it's from there that we're to watch, pray, and long for the city which is to come. Peter says something similar. Look at 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter 3, 13 and 14. Peter takes it one step further, doesn't he? Peter says, forget the city. He says, but according to His promise, whose promise? The Lord's promise. We're looking for new heavens and a new earth. Well, what about this? Heavens and earth. Look, guys, I'm not talking, this is not rocket surgery here. Emmett was quick to come up to me last week and said, you know it's rocket science and brain surgery. Thank you Emmett, but I was trying to make a point using irony, right? None of this should catch us by surprise. None of this should be a mystery to us as many people want to make it. We're looking for a new heavens and new earth because this present heavens and earth, according to the end of the Bible I have, is going to one day go whoosh. It's gonna be rolled up like a scroll. Everything will burn up with a fervent heat. And then comes the new heaven and new earth in which, what does Peter say? In which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, notice he doesn't say if you look for these things. Peter's saying, you should be looking for these things. And as you're looking, since you're looking for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. We look for a new heavens and new earth in which Christ's righteousness will dwell. And while we're waiting, we're to be on our best behavior. We're to be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. And if you think that conflicts with your eschatology, wait until the next hour. I'm just warning you right now. Listen to what Spurgeon said. He said, it'd be a very pleasant thing if we could please men and please God too. if we could really make the best of both worlds and have the sweets of this and of the next also. But a warning cry arises from the pages of Holy Scripture, for the Word of God talks very differently from this. It talks about a straight and narrow way and about few that find it. It speaks of persecution, suffering, reproach, and contending, even unto blood, striving against sin. It talks about wrestling and fighting, struggling and witnessing. I hear my Savior say, not, I send you forth as sheep into the midst of green pastures, but like sheep in the midst of wolves. In a related statement, Spurgeon went on to say this, he said, do not look for a continuing city here. Do not build your nest on any one of the trees of earth, for they are all marked for the axe. And they will all have to come down and your nest too if you have built upon them. Our holy faith makes us a separated people because our Lord in whom we trust was separated and covered with reproach for our sakes. Mere going out from society is nothing. Going forth to Him is the great matter. With joy do we follow Him into the place of separation, expecting soon to dwell with Him forever." You're not going to find Christ in the here and now on this fallen earth. You're going to find Him when you go out to meet Him outside the camp. when you abandon this present reality and instead focus intently on the glories that await us as his children. You know, this is not a very popular teaching these days, strangely. More often than not, pastors wanting to be encouraging even if it means sacrificing the truth in some cases. Pastors sometimes get pragmatic and they get to be compromising in their approach and they suppress the all-important truth about genuine Christianity, which is that the blessings of salvation simply cannot be realized without the disgrace of Jesus' cross. In fact, this was not even a popular teaching during Paul's day. 1 Corinthians 1, go ahead and turn there. 1 Corinthians 1, verse 22. Very well-known passage, or should be. Paul said, Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we, we who? Well, since there's no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free man, barbarian or Scythian, Paul's saying, we who are one in Christ. Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ glorified. No. We preach Christ resurrected. No? No, I mean that's important too, right? We preach Christ crucified. In other words, our main emphasis in our preaching is that Christ was crucified. And he even acknowledges a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." We preach the tragedy of the cross. We preach the heinous act of hatred and revulsion that placed Him on that cross, and aren't we grateful for that? I've said it before, I'll say it again, the most despicable thing that man has ever perpetrated upon his fellow man, the death of Christ, the crucifixion of Christ, is the most glorious thing for the believer to consider. If it hadn't been for that, you know, I said it's not glorified, it's not resurrected, those things are important, certainly, but none of that happens without the crucifixion. None of that happens without the shed blood of the Lamb to make atonement for you and me. To Timothy in 2 Timothy 3 12. What is Paul right? All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Until such time as they take matters into their own hands and they make the world a better place and then that persecution will stop. And please, again, before you come after me and say, well, you're poking me in the eye, you're stepping on my toes. I don't know whose toes I'm stepping on right now. If I'm stepping on your toes, it's because you're wrong. All who desire to live godly in Christ will be persecuted. Until when? Until he says enough. and comes in glory on the cloud, separating the wheat from the chaff, separating the sheep from the goats, and declares at that moment, it's done. Yes, hallelujah. Jesus himself made it clear that following him means rejection by this world. What did he say to his disciples in John 15? John 15, 18, and 19. And by the way, these passages, again, I'm making such a strong emphasis here because these passages don't have an expiration date short of the second coming of Christ. This is the way things are going to be. John 15, 18, and 19. If the world hates you, Know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. The world hates you because you're not like them. And any attempt, any ism out there that seeks to make us more like them, I reject out of hand. What fellowship has light with darkness? That's another axiomatic thing that Jesus says, there is no fellowship light and darkness. What's the only thing that can create fellowship between light and darkness? Well, that's if those in the dark through the regenerative power of the Holy spirit, not through my efforts, not through your efforts. through the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, as it pleases God in His divine, sovereign, eternal plan of redemption, for that person to be redeemed by the grace of God, there's how you reconcile light and dark, because the dark becomes light at that point. At that point, that person becomes a new creation in Christ. That is the way. That's the only way. If anything's gonna change in this city, in this state, in this country, in this world, it will all be because God Himself is pleased to bring the revival that He alone can bring, both individually in the hearts of those dead in trespasses and sins, and then the ripple effect of that, which is true of all revivals throughout history, is that there's a culture created from that revival, but it all begins with His work. It all begins with the revival that only he is able to bring about. Until then, Jesus says, just know and be content that they hate you like they hated me. If you would serve the Lord most effectively, According to this picture we have in Leviticus, if you would serve the Lord most effectively, you're not going to do that by rearranging or redesigning the camp. You're not going to do that by having one foot in the world and the other foot in Christ. The only way to find and serve Him is to meet Him outside the camp. Christianity has always been intended to be and will always be a counter-cultural phenomenon. We will always be swimming upstream against the flow of sinful humanity until the Lord Himself intervenes to take us to our real home. And let me be clear on this. Again, look at John 17. John 17. Verses 14 through 19. In this part of his high priestly prayer, Jesus is praying specifically for you and me. And all who will believe as a result of our witness. He says to the father, I've given them your word and the world has hated them. Why? Because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world. but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I've also sent them into the world. For their sakes, I sanctify myself that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth." Notice how Jesus keeps using that phrase, not of the world. What's he mean by that? Jesus of all people recognizes that we who believe his children For us this temporal world is no longer our home But as he also prays while we are in this temporal world We need to remember that he has sent us to accomplish something And what's that? He has sent us into this world to wage war against the governmental systems of the world in hopes that change might come to pass. No. He sent us into the world to make as many friends as we can make before He returns. Have we been sent to simply sit idly by and do nothing to redeem that time that we've been given between this temporal life and eternity? What has He sent us for? Absolutely. And what is His work? His work is that you and I would be about, out and about, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And Jesus even adds to that, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Jesus says there's gonna be an end to this age. And if you keep reading, you'll find out that the end of this age is pretty frightening, at least for the unbeliever. I have to chuckle it. I've used this term before, and again, I hope you haven't used this, but people who believe these things, I don't know if you know this or not, but people who believe this type of thing are being ridiculed circles today. This is known, just for your information, this is known as loser theology. Because this promotes the idea that we are not ultimately victorious in the here and now. Riddle me this though, if you're of the mindset that preaching about the catastrophic end times destruction of this current heavens and earth and the replacing of that with a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells and Christ the King rules from on high in a very real substantial way not just spiritually as he's ruling and reigning now but in a real parousia in his presence among us if you think that's a loser theology then you didn't read the first part of the book How could that be a loser theology when Christ has already won? I don't care how things turn out from this point. Christ has conquered sin and death. Christ has risen from the dead. And in doing so, he's declared to Satan himself, death no longer has any control over me or my people. Is that loser theology? How can it be when Paul said that we who believe are more than conquerors in Christ? It's biblical theology. Thank you very much. And again, some of you might be like, I don't agree with that. I don't think that's right. I don't think that's true. I don't care. I'm sorry. And I don't often say this, but I'm kind of jazzed right now about this. Kind of animated. No, I'm not gonna say it. I heard my wife's voice. She's sitting there even now, Tim. You've gone far enough. I can hear Pastor John now, too. I don't have an earbud, but I hear John saying, Tim, just calm down. Calm down, killer. But I am passionate about truth. And the truth of God's Word is that Christ has won the victory, and we are more than conquerors in Him. And there's coming a day, whether it be like my mother's death on Wednesday morning when she was ushered into the glorious presence of her Savior, there's coming a day when you and I, that's the only thing that should matter. And here's the other thing. While I wait as a believer on this earth for the Lord to take me home, my mission is to grab as many of you as I can and put you under my arms and drag you there with me. That's biblical evangelism. My mission is to tell others the good news about salvation in Jesus Christ. Not the good news of everything Trump's doing. Amen. Trump may be our President, but Jesus is King. How we lose sight of that. I think it was comical how the Lord reminded us all of that this past week when He appointed Paula White to be the pastrix, the impastor in the White House. Oh, but we're so winning. No. If you don't know who Paula White is, never mind. But God. Christ has sent us into the world armed with the truth to replicate ourselves. If the Holy Spirit should be pleased to have us duplicate ourselves and replicate ourselves among our fellow Imago Dei, We are to be doing that. Till when? Till we die or till he comes home, comes back to take us home. I know some of you don't really care for John Piper that much anymore, but John Piper's a good guy sometimes, you know, most of the time I would say. He said this, he said, his summons is our sending. We're sent into the world on mission for gospel advance through disciple-making. Jesus' true followers have not only been crucified to the world, but also raised to new life and sent back in to free others. We've been rescued from the darkness and given the light, not merely to flee the darkness, but to guide our steps as we go back in to rescue others. That's good. How faithfully are you serving? your king in this regard. I hear a lot of talk about theological nuances. I hear a lot of talk about this ism and that ism and this direction and that direction and this disagreement and that disagreement and this pejorative and that pejorative, this ad hominem attack and that ad hominem attack. Folks, that's not our business. Our business is to be going out into the world and drawing people to Christ. And they'll know we're Christians by what? Our love for them and for one another. Are you being the salt and light that you've been called and equipped to be? Are you proclaiming Christ wherever and whenever he affords you the opportunity to do so? Or is your intention to do other things is your focus on other peripheral. And I would add far less fruitful things. It's time for us all to move outside the camp because that's where Jesus is. So the next time you read about all the unpleasant and detestable things that took place outside the camp, remember that this is also where the Lord saw fit to accomplish his greatest work, at least from the happy perspective of those who believe. Well this brings us to verse 29 here in Leviticus 16. The Lord says to Moses, this shall be a permanent statute for you. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native or the alien who sojourns among you, for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you. You will be cleaned from all your sins before the Lord. Now stop there because we need to understand what's being talked about here. We can certainly understand easily enough the establishment of the Day of Atonement. The Israelites call this day Yom Kippur. It was to be observed on the tenth day of the seventh month. This month was known as Tishri on the Hebrew calendar. There were other feasts during the month of Tishri as well, the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Tabernacles. There's also No problem understanding that no work was to be done on this day. It was a sacred day. It was a Sabbath day. What's not easily understood, though, is the Lord saying, it's on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you. You will be cleaned from all your sins before the Lord. Now, how do we square that with what we read in Hebrews 10.4? In Hebrews 10 the writer says, it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to have ever removed sin. Here the Lord's saying, on this day of atonement, atonement will be made for you and it will cleanse you and you'll be cleansed of all your sins before the Lord. Who's correct? Did they work or didn't they work? Yes. For that split second, When that blood hit you in the forehead or wherever it happened to land on you, the blood of the atonement for that split nanosecond, you were cleansed. But then what happened? It might have hit you in the eye. And you're like, oh, beep, right? There goes your atonement. Till when? Till next year. You see the futility that's built into the whole system? Like we read in verses 1-3 of Hebrews 10, For the law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer year by year, make perfect to those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having been once cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins year by year. The Lord is simply saying to Moses here, tell Aaron that when all this goes down, these people will be cleansed from their sins in a purely symbolic, figurative way because they're still awaiting the ultimate sacrifice to come. I'm going to give them this reminder. Because if it were more than a reminder, if it actually worked, as the writer of the Hebrews said, they would never need to come back. Think about that. This Day of Atonement would not have been set apart as a statute, an annual observance, if it actually worked. Why? Because, I mean, I suppose subsequent generations of people would have to come and have their sins atoned for every year. But if it actually worked, then those who gathered this year would have their sins forgiven. They'd never need to come back in their lifetime. But that's not what happens. They have to come back year after year after year. And again, don't get me started on the errors of Roman Catholicism. in the Mass. They re-sacrifice Christ. Despite what they say, they re-sacrifice Christ each week by the offering up of, in the transubstantiation of the Eucharist, they offer up the real body and the real blood of Christ because in their way of thinking, in their works-based theology, they cannot recognize the efficacy of Christ's one sacrifice. They have to keep the people coming. they're still locked in this old covenant, sacerdotal, works-based mentality. The sacrifices made and applied on the Day of Atonement did cleanse the people from their sins, but that cleansing was one, only temporary. That is, until they committed their next sin. And two, it was ultimately a picture of Christ, who would, in fact, provide that permanent sacrifice. Continuing on in verses 31 through 34, this is very simple. It's to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you that you may humble your souls. It's a permanent statute. So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father's place shall make atonement. He shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the holy sanctuary. And he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting, and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the assembly. Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sins of Israel, for all their sins, once every year. And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so He did." Just as an aside, whenever you see that word permanent, it doesn't mean permanent, it just means for as long as this goes on. until something comes to replace it. Right? Which, again, was the glorious first appearance of Christ, God made flesh, who dwelt among us. Well, next Lord's Day, we'll pick up at chapter 17. Who knew that we could enjoy Leviticus to the extent that we are enjoying Leviticus. As I said at the very beginning of our study, we go into this with our eyes wide open and expecting the Holy Spirit to teach us things that we might not be able to see right on the surface. But again, things that are verifiable once the light of the new is shined on the old, the old comes to life in ways that we could never imagine. And I'm grateful for that as well.