Title Let's go outside the English language
Contents
“Oh, by the grace of God”
There is a book that I read deeply in 1981 when I was studying at Claremont Theological Seminary. “Christ Outside The Gate,” “Christ Outside the Gate,” by South American theologian Dr. Orland Costas. The author says that since Jesus also suffered outside the gates, we too must come to him outside the gates.
The Jews viewed the “English gate” as holy, and the “outside the English gate” as unclean and unclean. So that Jesus suffered outside the gates was cast out of the holy realm and understood as unclean and shameful. But Jesus suffered outside the camp in order to sanctify the people with his own blood. As a result, the gates that were previously considered holy were made unclean, and the ones outside the gates that were previously considered unclean were made holy. because
Because Christ was cast out of the camp and suffered outside the camp. Therefore, the author of the book of Hebrews is admonishing us not to remain in the old covenant and the domain of Judaism, but to go outside the new covenant and the gates of Christ.
1. Let's go beyond English. This means sharing in the suffering of Jesus.
Let's look at Hebrews 13:13-14. “Therefore, let us also come to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. Since there is no permanent city here, we are looking for what is to come.”
The writer of Hebrews suggested that we also go out of the gate, not to find anyone or anything in the world, but because Jesus, who suffered suffering, was outside the gate. That's why I said, "Let's go out to him outside the English language." That's right. Today, the place we must go to is Jesus outside the English language. Because only Jesus can sanctify us with His own blood. And because there is no permanent city in this world, only Jesus can bring us into the eternal heavenly city we are looking for.
This is the story of Elder Yeom Gwang Gwan-Jun (1875.4.13-1945.3.16). A patriot and martyr, his nickname is ‘Elijah of Korea’. Born in Yongbyon, Pyeongbuk, as the son of Toho, he became ill physically and mentally due to debauchery. Realizing the futility of life, he studied not only Buddhism but also Sicheongyo for three years to obtain peace of mind, but he could not find peace of mind. Go” and became a Christian. Believing that becoming a doctor is the most humane way to live and the way to live for Jesus, he practiced medicine and opened the Cross Clinic to evangelize to patients. As a result, the cost of the drug was higher than the cost of treatment.
In 1935 he received a special revelation. “Who will shed blood for me?” “I will shed.” “Yes? Then you will become my cross soldier.”
On September 9, 1938, right after the general meeting of the Presbyterian Church decided to visit the shrine, Elder Park Gwan-jun was determined to be martyred and wrote the following poem, clearly expressing his refusal to visit the shrine.
“There is death once in a lifetime, so how can you not die when you die? You died when you died alone, so though you died, you did not die from the scourge. If the hour of death comes and you do not die, the joy of living will not be as high as death Jesus died for me, so I will die for him.”
On March 22, 1939, Elder Park entered the auditorium of the Imperial Japanese Parliament with Ms. Ahn Yi-suk, who was a teacher at Boseong Girls' School, and Park Young-chan, the son of the elder, who is currently attending a Japanese seminary. And when he was about to enact and pass the “Religious Association Act, which allows all religions to be practiced with the approval of the Japanese Empire,” he leapt like lightning and threw a large envelope down into the Capitol downstairs and shouted, “I am a missionary of Jehovah God . Inside the envelope were five items. The third item was a warning: “If the Religion Act is passed and the government takes control of religion, God will wrath and bring genius to Japan.”
He was imprisoned in the spring of 1941 for treason against the emperor, and from January 1, 1945, he began a 70-day fast and prayer. On March 10, the 70th day of fasting, I heard a voice saying, “Tomorrow, go out and teach the Bible for three days, and then come before God.” And the next day, he came out on bail, and after 3 days, “Our country will come to pass according to the words of Isaiah 11:10-16. Let's all keep our faith well until the end, and let's meet in the future glorious kingdom of heaven.” And he passed away singing the hymn, “The bright way to heaven is before me.”
2. Let's go beyond English. This means offering sacrifices that are pleasing to God.
Let's look at Hebrews 13:15-16. “Therefore, let us always offer sacrifices of praise to God through Jesus. These are the fruits of lips that testify to their name. Just do not forget to do good and to share. God is pleased with such sacrifices.”
The writer of Hebrews asked us to go out of the gate not to offer the Old Testament Jewish sacrifice, but to offer a sacrifice pleasing to God. This is because Jesus became the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) outside the gates.
According to Leviticus 16:8-10, Aaron the priest had to offer one of the two goats as a sin offering for the Lord and the other for Azazel into the wilderness. Here, ‘Azazel’ is a compound word of the word ‘goat’ and the word ‘sent out’, and it means the sacrifice sent to the wilderness to take away all the sins of the people. This shows that the sacrifices pleasing to God are not only “for the Lord” but also “in order to take away the sins of the people.”
When we come to Jesus outside the gates, we devote our lives to the presence of Jesus who suffered for us. Therefore, the true worship that the author emphasizes is to always offer a sacrifice of praise and thanks to God through Jesus who suffered outside the gates. Moreover, it emphasizes that the sacrifice that pleases God is to live a life of sharing and serving through good deeds and alms. That's right. The sacrifices we have to offer to God must be accompanied by good deeds and alms in addition to the sacrifices of thanks and praise. This is because the sacrifice of praise without the actual act of loving others is nothing but an incomplete sacrifice.
Last Sunday, our church delivered an emergency relief donation of 37.4 million won to the Haiti earthquake refugees. I would like to deliver today's relief offering for orphans in North Korea. I believe that God will accept it as a sacrifice that pleases him.
Dr. Olad Costas warns that the growth of churches that do not go outside the English language is just 'obesity'. He also recommended that the growth of the church that goes beyond the English language is ‘incarnational growth’. A church with obesity is not a healthy church. A healthy church is a member that goes beyond the English language. I sincerely pray in the name of the Lord that you will come to God outside the gate by participating in the suffering of Jesus and offering the sacrifice that God provides.
“Only for the Glory of God”