Outside the Camp

by Rocky Fleming

Day 5: Going Forward

There is an old saying that I remember from my days in Mississippi that goes like this:  “If you ain’t moving forward, you is moving backwards.”  Of course this deep philosophy of a great mind was speaking of living in the past and not getting beyond hurts, pains, and our perceived past glories.  After all, it seems as we age in life, we tend to lose a true view of what it was really like in the past, and we tend to remember ourselves as nothing short of a superman in our younger days.  We also sometimes do not get out of past hang-ups and old ways of doing things, and it bogs us down.  

All regions of the country have their colloquial ways of expressing the same message.  I hear people from the Bronx often say, “Forget about it!!!”  It is the same message, but a little less friendly.  Beyond the wisdom of life that these messages speak to, is its application in theology for followers of Christ.  Here is how the Apostle Paul said it:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

I like Paul’s version, for it helps me understand that it is not only about moving forward in life, but it also gives me the reason that I can and should go forward and grasp that which Christ offers me.  To join Jesus outside the camp, which has been the theme of this series all week, we need to understand that we have been redeemed and equipped for living in a hostile environment.  That place is outside the camp, as represented in scripture.  Not only do we not avoid going to the place that represents our fears of being mistreated, misunderstood, and oppressed, we go there and thrive there for Christ is there, and it is there that we find freedom and joy as in no other place.  

It is strange but true, as those who live in oppressive societies will tell you that what they have found in Christ is far greater than what they have forfeited in that society.  It has been that way historically with the Church, and it is that way presently.  But it is this way because these people moved forward with Christ, and He shows up in a big way to a life that is abandoned to Him.  Why do they do this when many followers of Christ do not?  I think it is because those who do not, “ain’t moving forward” in their life as a Christian.

As we dissect the scriptures in 2 Corinthians, we see something consistent and encouraging.  It is the fact that we are cheered on to leave the old man behind and embrace the new man that Christ has redeemed.  We are told that our old man in us has been crucified with Christ.  This means he is dead and needs to be buried.  We are under no obligation to identify with that guy anymore and to process life through the old grid he once used in our life.  

But the problem we have with going forward is that we have not buried him.  He keeps showing up and making a mess of our life.  He says things and does things like the old guy, for we feel obligated to let him take charge, for after all, he was in charge before.  We forget the times in our life when he was in charge and the misery he led us to.  But here is the good news.  We are no longer obligated to listen to him or act on his impulses.  We have been given a new life that was bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus.  When we finally come to understand this, we will run into the adventure in life that Jesus invites us to, and you will never find what you are looking for in life until you join Him outside the camp.