Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
This New Testament is a covenant of the heart. Ceremonial form is not relevant to spiritual life. Jesus tried hard to make that point to his contemporaries (e.g. Mt. 5:21-48), but the resistance was strong, and professional ministers of his day frustrated his efforts to teach God's people constantly.
Uncle Joe had a way with getting to the point very quickly. His comment concerning the nature of the spiritual nature of the New Testament is a case in point. Responding to my father's sermon on the subject, he said with typical wit, "If you want to go back to Egypt, you are already there."
Uncle Joe knew that a person is where his heart is. God judges the heart, and that is why Solomon taught his son, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." And again, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
You are judged by what your heart desires to be. Until we understand that, we don't understand what Jesus accomplished on the cross and beyond.