Outside the Gate: A Study of the Letter to the Hebrews

According to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Christians are always to be on the move. Christians are to go voluntarily into a kind of exile and to become strangers and sojourners on this earth while doing God’s will "outside the gate" of the mainstream society. Inspired by Hebrews 13:12-14, Bishop Sano examines this theme and its meaning for the original audience and Christians today.

This seven-chapter book can be used for individual study but is also an excellent study for Sunday school classes and small groups. Each chapter is divided into three major parts based on the original meaning of Hebrews, an application section with discussion questions, and activities for the group.

Roy I. Sano was born in 1931 to immigrant parents from Japan. He completed his undergraduate studies at UCLA, and his basic theological training at Union Theological Seminary, 1957, in New York City. After receiving a masters degree from the Graduate Theological Union in 1968, Roy completed his Ph. D. at Claremont Graduate University, 1972, Claremont, California. He became a chaplain and taught at Mills College, Oakland, California, 1969 1975. He was Professor of Theology at Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, when he was elected a Bishop in The United Methodist Church in 1984. Dr. Sano is married to Kathleen Thomas Sano and lives in Oakland, California.