Hebrews 13:12: Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without (outside) the gate.
We are sanctified (set apart) by the blood. We were bought and paid for by the blood. We were then seated in heaven, in Christ, having been totally delivered by the One who created us. It is finished!
In the Old Testament, however, nothing was finished. Back then, animal sacrifices were burned outside the camp of Israel (Leviticus 16:27). In like manner, Jesus suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem in order that He might sanctify the people of God. His blood has entirely sanctified and cleansed us before the Father. Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:11). He is our peace offering, our burnt offering, our meal offering, and our sin offering. There’s nothing in Christ’s sacrifice that should be out of it and nothing out of it that should be in it. It is complete, and we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10).
Furthermore, Leviticus 4:4 addresses the sinner saying; “And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.”
Notice, this verse does not tell the fallen sinner to do penance and be miserable for 40 days to atone for his sin. He is not told to go away and be depressed for four weeks in order to pay his debt. He is not given any sanctification techniques. He is not told to bang His head against the wall and then to go fast, pray and whip his back for another month to pay for what he did. No, the sinner is simply told to bring the “bullock without blemish” before the Lord.
Now to New Testamentize this. The Father does not endorse penance programs; He endorses the gospel. As believers, no matter who or what we are, or what we have done, when we sin, fall and fail, we don’t enter into self-punishment mode. No amount of self-flagellation will help. We are already sanctified and set apart by that one great work which happened outside of us 2000 years ago. We simply, by faith, on the basis of Calvary, bring Christ to the Father and discover instant restoration before God.
In the New Testament, we have a better mediator than they had in the Old (Hebrews 7:22; Hebrews 8:6). His name is Christ Jesus and He is sufficient. It is, therefore, a shame to take Him for granted. It’s a shame to think that He is anything less than all and in all (Colossians 3:11). No matter how badly you feel about your sin, present Christ to the Father.
Let me ask, as a sinner, when you get on your knees, do you present yourself? No! If you are schooled in the gospel, you present Christ. We come to the Father in Jesus’ name. By the way, “In Jesus’ name” is not merely a little formula that we attach to our prayers. No indeed! When we pray in Jesus name, we are pleading the merits of the Son and all that His shed blood has gained and guaranteed for us. We are declaring that He, Jesus, is our only and sufficient qualification for being there before the Father.
We read; “By one offering He has perfected for ever those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). Jesus did what the Old Testament sacrifices could never do. He perfected us! Everything essential to the salvation of the individual is included in this one great gift of Christ, which the believing sinner receives, by faith in Christ. Every believer fits the category of, “Those that are sanctified.” To lessen Christ’s accomplishments on our behalf and to insist on a certain level of personal piety to qualify us to talk to the Father is to go back to the Law.
Leviticus 4:6 says the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord. This points towards the perfection of the New Covenant. Jesus Christ has finished and perfected the work for us. He has sanctified and set us apart unto God by His blood. Every one of our sins has been purged by His blood and taken away. We are His sanctified possession.
And that’s the Gospel Truth!