A Step into Glory

"Just inside the gate a place reserved for me

Book of Life, my name penned there by Calvary

Welcome like no other, tear drops wiped away

And on that day I get to stay inside the gate!"

These words to a song I recently heard blessed me so much as I thought of stepping inside the gates of heaven some day. My first thoughts were not of streets of gold and gates of pearl, but the divine glory that will be there because of Jesus presense! Another thought was the absolute joy of just being there. And I reveled in that glory.

Then I really listened to the first verse of this song and had a completely different emotion:

"In another time and place much more than fate

He took sins weight outside the gate

Love beyond all human thought of dignity

now welcomes me where I shouldn't be"

You see, I am not worthy on my own to go to heaven.  My sins could only be cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus.  So my emotion now includes sorrow for my sins, gratefulness for Jesus' taking my place on the cross and then joy because Jesus has become my Savior.  My Jesus suffered “outside the gate” so I could “step inside the gate”! Let me explain.

Hebrews 13:11-12, “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.” This gives us a picture of the Old Testament sacrifices performed by the priests that was a foreshadowing of the sacrifice Christ made for us “outside the camp” meaning the city of Jerusalem. Leviticus 16:27, “And the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp.”

The Old Testament sacrifices had to be repeated daily and the Day of Atonement took place once a year. Neither could take away our sins. But Jesus died on the cross of Calvary once for all.

Hebrews 10:10,11, “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet. 14, “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

Another picture of this is found in Numbers 13:1-25 where we learn about the Israelites' wondering in the land of Canaan for forty years. This was punishment for their lack of faith and God condemned a generation, except Caleb and Joshua, to die in that desert. During this time they carried around a Tabernacle which is a representation of the true heavenly Tabernacle. The priests offered sacrifices during this time also. The Day of Atonement was an event that took place only once a year, but the sin offering was a constant daily reminder of the seriousness of sin. The offense was so grave that the offering was burned outside the camp.
The Most Holy Place was where the priest would offer the blood from the animal sacrifice once a year. The common person couldn't step into this Most Holy Place. Jesus died outside the gate once for all so we can step into Heaven as a redeemed person/soul. On the day Jesus died on the cross, the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the people was torn from top to bottom signifying that we can enter into a relationship with Jesus, one on One!

Hebrews 10:19-23 “Since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great and high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful.”

Because of the shed blood of Jesus, all Christians have the hope of “stepping inside the gate” of heaven someday. What a glorious day that will be! To be able to sit at the feet of Jesus and worship and praise Him for His great sacrifice on the cross will be the ultimate prize. Our human concept of a prize is minimal when compared with what we find in Phillippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

As the songwriter* penned in the chorus of this song, “on that day I get to stay inside the gate!” We will spend an eternity with Jesus in Heaven! Romans 6:22, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

*Inside the Gate, written by Janene A Dubbeld and recorded by the Mark Dubbeld Family. You can find the CD, Live, Nothing But Praise, at this link: http://www.mjdubbeld.com/resources.