HEBREWS: “A Greater Kingdom (Hebrews 12:18 - 13:6)" | 12/10/23
Hebrews 12:18 - 13:6 | 12/10/23 | Will DuVal
Well, we are rapidly approaching the END of our sermon series this fall walking through the book of HEBREWS together - just 2 Sundays left! As always, I pray this series has been even HALF the blessing to you as it has been to me; I know I have been SO edified throughout it.
But since, God willing, this time next week I will be on a giant floating hotel, halfway to Cozumel, on a little pre-Christmas cruise with my family, this is my LAST SUNDAY with you in Hebrews; and Pastor Thad will get to close out ch13 with you next week.
But I told him that I wanted the honor of doing our series RECAP, this week. I always find it helpful in concluding a book to take a brief look BACK, and remind ourselves of where we’ve been, and the big picture takeaways the author has desired to LEAVE us with at each step of the way. So, having spent the past 16 weeks now unpacking these 11 ½ chapters thus far, here is your 15 min summary of the book of Hebrews, and its overarching message that JESUS is GREATER:
Week 1: We began with the acknowledgment that Jesus is the greater WORD.
1) He is God’s FINAL Word - God formerly spoke through the prophets, through Creation, through our consciences; but NOW, God has spoken to us CONCLUSIVELY - once-and-for-ALL - through His SON. JESUS is God’s mic drop.
2) He is God’s DESERVING Word - he is the rightful “heir of all things”.
3) Jesus is God’s POWERFUL Word - the one THROUGH whom God “created the UNIVERSE”, and the one who SUSTAINS it all as well.
4) Jesus is God’s EMBODIED Word - “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature”.
5) He is God’s SAVING word - Jesus “made PURIFICATION for our sins” by dying on the cross in our place. And NOW,
6) Jesus is God’s REIGNING word - he is seated “at the right hand of the Majesty on high”, ruling OVER all creation.
And THAT was all just the first 3 VERSES!
But then in Week 2: he told us that Jesus is a greater HEAVENLY BEING; he’s greater than the ANGELS. Because…
1) Jesus inherited a greater NAME; God calls JESUS his “SON”.
2) Jesus possesses a greater AUTHORITY than the angels.
3) Jesus brings us a greater MESSAGE; angels brought the LAW, but Jesus brought SALVATION! Therefore…
4) Jesus has received a greater EXALTATION; he is “crowned with ALL glory and honor. (2:9)
And 5) Jesus now offers us a greater GRACE; he “tasted death” for us, so that we don’t HAVE to. That’s why…
Week 3: Jesus is our greater SAVIOR.
1) He saves us from ALIENATION - We now enjoy a greater COMMUNION with God because of Jesus’ greater SUFFERING on our behalf.
2) Jesus saves us from AFFLICTION - We now enjoy a greater DELIVERANCE because of Jesus’ greater SACRIFICE. Jesus delivers us from 1) the enslavement of the devil, 2) the authority of death, 3) the penalty of our sin, and 4) the power of temptations.
By 1) his Incarnation, he took on flesh for us 2) his Temptation, he became LIKE us in EVERY way, yet without sin, 3) his Excruciation, he SUFFERED in our place, 4) his Expiration, Jesus even DIED for us; to bring us 5) PROPITIATION - Jesus satisfied God’s wrath against our sin. Such that NOW,
3) Jesus saves us from AIMLESSNESS. We enjoy a greater CALLING and purpose because of Jesus’ greater FAITHFULNESS to us.
-
Weeks 4 & 5: Jesus is our greater TEST & REST. But before we can enjoy Jesus’ greater REST (i.e., eternal joy in HEAVEN one day), we must first endure God’s TEST (i.e., temporary PAIN here in this earthly WILDERNESS); no PAIN, no GAIN. And in chs 3 & 4, we received SIX tips for passing the test, and then six ADDITIONAL tips for entering God’s rest:
1) We must hear God’s voice and soften our hearts.
2) We need to remember God’s mighty works and HUMBLE ourselves under His sovereign will.
3) We must follow God’s ways and carefully watch our steps.
4) We heed God’s people and we beware our own SIN.
5) We must remember God’s SON and fasten our hope to HIM… for the LONG HAUL. We only know that “we have come to share in Christ, IF [and ONLY if] we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (v14). And we DO that…
6) by knowing God’s WORD and APPLYING it to our lives.
Then in part 2, ch4, we discovered how we enter God’s REST, made available to us in Christ; we must:
1) Most importantly, Listen to God’s invitation and BELIEVE IT in our hearts. ch4 said, “We who have BELIEVED enter [Christ’s] rest” (v3).
2) We need to observe God’s example and fear our disobedience.
3) We must understand God’s promise and stop our spiritual striving. “Whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works” - there is no good work that WE can do that will grant us entrance into Heaven’s rest. Rather, we rest in Christ’s FINISHED work for us on the CROSS.
4) We discipline our faith by submitting to God’s word.
5) We remember God’s surveillance and consider the ACCOUNT we will one day give to him. And FINALLY…
6) We trust in CHRIST and we CHERISH our salvation in Him.
In Week 6: we praised Jesus, our greater HIGH PRIEST.
“We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without SIN. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:15-16). Aaron’s priesthood was imperfect, because AARON was imperfect! He was a sinner. But “being made perfect, [Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (5:9).
Week 7: Jesus accomplishes within us a greater spiritual MATURITY. Chs 5 & 6 called us to GROW UP! And offered us 7 spiritual growth hormones for doing so:
#1- We must take instruction. LISTEN to God’s word.
#2- We also need to TEACH. You grow twice as fast by teaching others.
3) We need to HUNGER for the MEAT of God’s word, not just the milk. To grow you’ve gotta EAT, but to EAT, ya gotta HUNGER.
4) We grow by having our faith TESTED. “The testing of our faith produces steadfastness… that [we] may be complete, lacking in nothing” (Jam 1:2-4).
5) To grow, we must TRAIN. We need our “powers of discernment TRAINED by constant practice.”
6) We must TRUSS, REINFORCE our faith, by building ONTO the foundation we have already laid in the GOSPEL.
And finally, 7) we grow by TRUSTING in Christ. HE is the master architect; unless HE builds our faith, we labor in vain.
Week 8: Jesus offers us a Greater ASSURANCE. Ch6 raised these 3 MASSIVE questions of faith: 1) Can we LOSE our salvation? 2) Can we BE SURE of our salvation? And 3) Can we REST in our salvation? And then it answered those questions: 1) “NO!”, 2) “YES!”, and 3) “No AND Yes!”, respectively.
1) We CANNOT lose our salvation, yet we are warned to “beware our backsliding”.
2) We CAN be sure of our salvation, namely, by “checking our CROP”.
And 3) we do NOT simply rest idly in our salvation, on the ONE hand; rather we “confirm our confidence” by “working OUT our salvation”. And yet at the SAME time, we CAN rest in our salvation, knowing that it is GOD who works HIS GIFT of faith in and through our lives. And we can REST in his GRACE.
Week 9: Jesus established a greater PRIESTHOOD. He is a priest after the order of MELCHIZEDEK, SUPERIOR to the OT Levitical priesthood because…
1) Jesus is also a KING. He doesn’t just clean up after our sin, he also leads us in RIGHTEOUSNESS.
2) The old priests were TEMPORARY; Jesus’ priesthood is PERMANENT.
3) And it is PERFECT - “if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood… what further need would there have been for another priest to arise”. But to be reconciled to a perfect God, we needed to be PERFECTLY forgiven. And only Jesus could do it.
4) He is INDESTRUCTIBLE. “He always lives to make intercession for [us].” (7:25) We now have a permanent advocate, a full-time DEFENSE attorney, in the courtroom of heaven: Jesus Christ, the righteous. And…
5) His priesthood is SALVIFIC. Only JESUS is “able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (7:25).
Week 10: Jesus established a greater COVENANT. A greater PROMISE of relationship with God for us.
The NEW covenant of GRACE under JESUS is better than the OLD covenant of the LAW under Moses for 5 reasons:
1) It conveys a greater POWER; unlike the Law, Jesus actually has the power to make us PERFECT, such that now we can “draw near to God.” (7:19)
2) The new covenant IS a better PROMISE; namely, the promise of
3) Jesus’ PRIESTLY intercession on our behalf; Jesus offered God both a better RIGHTEOUSNESS, and a better SACRIFICE (his OWN perfect blood). Which PURCHASED for us…
4) A greater PEACE with God. Jesus restores us to intimate, personal, secure relationship with our heavenly Father. And then he assures us that this peace will LAST with…
5) A greater PERMANENCE. The old covenant is obsolete. But JESUS’ covenant endures FOREVER.
Week 11, ch9: Jesus is our greater SACRIFICE. We see a lot of repetition here, for emphasis:
The OT sacrifices of bulls and goats were 1) EARTHLY, 2) ENDLESS, 3) EXCLUSIVE, and 4) ERRONEOUS. But JESUS’ sacrifice blesses us with:
1) A greater ACCESS to God
2) A greater REDEMPTION.
3) A greater HOLINESS.
4) A greater INHERITANCE - eternal life in heaven. Because of…
5) A greater PURIFICATION,
6) A greater VICTORY, and
7) A greater HOPE, of Christ’s RETURN, to make all things NEW.
Week 12: Jesus offers us a greater SANCTIFICATION, a greater HOLINESS. Ch10 asked and answered 4 key questions about sanctification:
1) Why do we NEED it?
2) How do we GET it?
3) What does it BRING us? And
4) How do we LIVE it out?
1) We NEED sanctification because we are SINNERS, who need purging, purifying, and perfecting.
2) We GET sanctification through JESUS, who FULFILLED God’s Law for us, FORGAVE our lawlessness on the cross, and then FINISHED our sanctification - “by a single offering he has perfected [us] for all time.”
And 3) this Sanctification now BRINGS us 4 massive rewards: 1) God’s PRESENCE within us (the Holy Spirit); 2) God’s PARDON for sin; 3) a PATH to God (we now “have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us” (10:19)); and 4) we now have a PRIEST before God.
Therefore, 4) we LIVE OUT sanctification by 1) communing confidently with God; 2) being washed spiritually; 3) being washed symbolically, as well, baptism; 4) we believe steadfastly; 5) we EDIFY others intentionally (“let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds”!); 6) we WORSHIP CORPORATELY (don’t forsake the assembly, gathering with the CHURCH); and 7) we ENCOURAGE one another urgently, to hold fast to Christ.
Week 13 was Jesus’ greater WARNING. He admonishes us to EXTIRPATE sin, and to ENDURE suffering.
We exterminate our sin by: 1) remaining VIGILANT; 2) reflecting on HELL; 3) treasuring CHRIST; 4) obeying the SPIRIT; 5) and fearing GOD.
And we endure suffering by: 1) remembering our HOPE; 2) Supporting one another as a spiritual FAMILY; 3) Trusting our INHERITANCE in the life to COME; 4) Building our spiritual STAMINA, for when the going gets tough; and 5) REFUSING to shrink back; NO- we PRESS ON by FAITH.
And as encouragement in our race of faith, in…
Weeks 14 and 15, we took a tour of the “HALL of Faith” in ch11, with its great exemplars of faith, and we unpacked what EACH of them has to teach US about this greater faith that Jesus has won for us. Faith is: 1) Righteous, 2) PLEASING to God; 3) Hard-working; 4) Trusting; 5) Hopeful; 6) it is REALLY trusting; 7) REALLY hopeful; 8) it’s COURAGEOUS; 9) OBEDIENT; 10) it makes us BOTH MIGHTY, AND 11) AFFLICTED; but MOST importantly, it is BY faith that we are SAVED! NONE of the OT faithful got to receive the REWARD of their faith; but we now have, because we’ve got JESUS! And salvation in Him.
Finally, LAST week, in ch12, we were cheered on to a greater ENDURANCE in this marathon of faith we’re running, as the author of Hebrews - our COACH - offered us 15 tips for spiritual endurance; we must: 1) embrace encouragement; 2) discard distractions; 3) slay our sin; 4) pace for perseverance; 5) fixate on faith’s founder and finisher, Jesus; 6) remember our reward; 7) Consider Christ; 8) Delight in our Dad’s Discipline; 9) Fix our Form; 10) Pursue Peace; 11) Have at Holiness; 12) Give Grace; 13) Uproot Unkindness; 14) Purge Porneia; 15) Repeatedly REPENT, when we inevitably fall short, of this high, high calling to godliness.
And ALL of that brings us, now, to ch12, v18, and a passage that serves in many respects as the CULMINATION - the GLORIOUS, EPIC climax - of everything we just recapped, as the author of Hebrews, our spiritual tour guide, now leads us right up to the foot of Mount ZION, and reminds us of the greater KINGDOM we now belong to, if indeed, we belong to CHRIST.
Would you STAND… Hebrews ch12, v18 - ch13, v6… the word of the Lord:
“For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Ch13 now: Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?””
[This is the word of God… SEATED…]
This passage tells us THREE IMPORTANT THINGS about what it means to BELONG to God’s Kingdom:
#1 - For starters, the passage depicts in vivid imagery our Kingdom ADOPTION: how it is that we BECOME God’s Kingdom people. (12:18-24)
He starts by taking us back, in vv18-21, to the foot of MOUNT SINAI. This is a scene that MOST of you should REMEMBER, from our study of the book of Exodus this past spring, in particular, chs 19 & 20, when shortly after the Israelites had escaped Egypt, God brought them to Mt. Sinai for their formal ADOPTION ceremony as his old covenant people. In a similar way, the author of Hebrews says, God is NOW bringing US to Mt. ZION for OUR adoption ceremony as his NEW covenant people. But he draws a stark CONTRAST between the two ceremonies. SEVEN contrasts, actually.
Don’t forget the context here: Hebrews was written to a church full of Jewish converts to Christianity, who were being tempted to FALL AWAY from Christ, back to their old JUDAISM, under threat of persecution. So the author, their PASTOR, who is writing them this LETTER, draws this contrast here to show them one more time, how much BETTER JESUS is than the Mosaic LAW. How much better it is to be part of God’s NEW Kingdom people than it was to be part of the OLD Kingdom. And he symbolizes ALL of that with these two MOUNTAINS, and by painting a picture for them of how much BETTER Mount ZION is than Mount SINAI.
And before you tune this out as just some ancient history lesson, or some weird, obscure geography lesson, let me assure you: his message here, this sermon illustration he offers us, is FOR YOU. Because everyone in this room this morning is trying to get to God via ONE of these two mountains: you are either counting on reaching God by means of your own righteousness, by following God’s LAW. Or you are counting on God reaching down to YOU by means of HIS SON, CHRIST’S righteousness, that you receive by GRACE, as a GIFT.
Let’s look at the two mountains; 7 contrasts:
SINAI: was Tangible / it was earthly (God brought Israel, back in Exodus 19, for their adoption ceremony, to “what may be touched”; a physical mountain)
But Mount ZION: is Spiritual / and heavenly (v22 anticipates “the heavenly Jerusalem”)
Deut. 33:2 informs us that when God delivered the Law on Mt. SINAI, there were “ten thousands” of angels there to celebrate.
But when we arrive at Mount ZION: we find “INNUMERABLE angels” - they can’t even be COUNTED!
The arrival of the Law at SINAI: was a FEARful occasion (v18 reminds us of the “fire and darkness and gloom and tempest… [v21 says it was] so terrifying, even Moses said, “I tremble with fear.””)
But OUR arrival at Mount ZION: is a JOYful occasion (a “festal gathering”, v22 calls it.)
At SINAI: God’s Kingdom people received Unbearable Commands; that is literally how the LAW is described here in v20, in the Greek: “Unbearable Commands”... they could not endure the order that was given”.
But at ZION: God’s Kingdom people NOW receive the Imputed Righteousness of Christ - we receive GRACE; we join “the spirits of the righteous made perfect”)
“To run and work the Law commands
Yet gives me neither feet nor hands;
But better news the gospel brings;
It bids me FLY, and gives me WINGS.” (John Bunyan)
At SINAI: God hung a giant “KEEP OUT” sign - “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned”, he had warned them.
But at ZION: God puts out the “WELCOME HOME” mat, because WE now join “the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven”. “STAY AWAY” at Sinai; “COME ON IN” at Zion; God now invites us to draw NEAR to Him.
SINAI’s Mediator was MOSES. Not bad.
ZION’s is JESUS. Infinitely BETTER.
At SINAI: God gave his Kingdom people the OLD covenant, represented - v24 - by the blood of ABEL, that cries out: “Justice must be SATISFIED!”, because the Law was all about JUSTICE!
But at ZION: God now offers us his NEW and BETTER covenant, ratified by the blood of JESUS, that cries out: “Justice HAS BEEN satisfied!” (David Guzik, “Jesus Judge of All”)
Friends: don’t you see why coming to God via Mt. Zion is so much BETTER than coming to Him via Mt. Sinai? Because you’ll never REACH Him via Mt. Sinai! You’ll never REACH Heaven, climbing the religious LADDER of your own good WORKS - the Bible says “the Law brings WRATH” - Rom 4:15 - and “DEATH” - 2 Cor 3:6.
But friends JESUS came, he came DOWN from Heaven, to bring us MERCY and LIFE, ETERNAL life.
You remember what God said at ISRAEL’s adoption ceremony, in Exodus 19? He said, “if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, THEN you shall be… to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (19:5-6) If you’ll just OBEY me, then I’ll be your God, and you’ll be my people. Who knew that one little two-letter word could be so MASSIVE, and DAMNING: “IF”.
But do you remember what God says at OUR adoption ceremony, in the NEW Testament? “To all who received [JESUS], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God, 13 who were born, not of… the will of man, but of God.” (Jn 1:12-13) “If you’ll just RECEIVE my SON, just believe in HIM, then you’ll be my people”; who knew that “IF” could be so LIBERATING! So SIMPLE - not 613 “unbearable” commands; just 1 glorious invitation: BELIEVE! Trust in CHRIST, and be saved. As a matter of fact, you could ARGUE there’s not even an “IF” AT ALL, because we’re born again NOT by “the will of man” - we’ve got FAR less to do with our salvation than we’d probably like to think; no, friends: we are born again ONLY by the will of GOD - it is God’s free, gracious, sovereign ELECTION ALONE that can save us, such that He gets ALL the credit!
And yet we know: Yes, God must CALL us; but friends the Bible is clear: we must RESPOND. v25 is gonna WARN us: “See that you do not refuse him”; don’t reject JESUS! If he’s CALLING you, you need to RESPOND, in FAITH - “whosoever BELIEVES in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” - that’s how we become God’s Kingdom people… that’s how we get ADOPTED… we’ve gotta BELIEVE!
Listen: if you want to join the “assembly of the FIRSTBORN who are enrolled in HEAVEN” - and you SHOULD! The firstborn gets a DOUBLE portion of the inheritance. And God promises that because of our UNION with Christ - God’s firstborn - that we are now CO-heirs with Christ; we stand to inherit it ALL - heaven and EARTH will be ours! There are no second or third or fourth-borns in God’s kingdom; we are ALL firstborns in Christ.
But here’s the thing: God doesn’t have GRAND-children. (E. Stanley Jones) Your parents’ faith + $1.50 might buy you a small cup of coffee outside the gates of heaven, but that’s ALL it’ll buy you. Friends, when God asks you one day, “Why should I let you into Heaven?”, if the first three words out of your mouth are “Because my parents…” then you’re in TROUBLE! God doesn’t have grandkids - YOU’VE got to be adopted! YOU’VE got to join His Kingdom! Which means YOU’VE got to trust in JESUS!
#2 now - is his Kingdom ADMONITION: that we BEWARE our Kingdom exclusion. (12:25-29)
If point #1 - ADOPTION - was God’s invitation to BECOME his Kingdom people, now point #2 - ADMONITION - is God’s WARNING that we BEWARE Kingdom EXCLUSION. He says:
“See that you do not refuse him who is speaking… [don’t] reject him who warns [you] from heaven.”
Who’s the author TALKING about here? Not HIMSELF - he’s not in HEAVEN. He’s talking about JESUS! Don’t refuse… reject HIM!
And now he argues why NOT, with his fifth and final “warning passage” in this book:
In ch2, he warned us “we must pay much closer attention to [this GOSPEL message] we have heard”, because if the ISRAELITES were punished for disobeying God’s offer of salvation through MOSES, “how shall we escape if we neglect a[n even] GREAT[er] salvation”, now offered to us in CHRIST?! (2:1-3)
Similarly, in ch10, he warned us “Anyone who set aside the law of Moses die[d] without mercy… How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of GOD, and has profaned [HIS] blood” (10:28-29).
This is called an “a fortiori” argument; literally: “from the stronger”, where you “draw upon existing confidence in a proposition to argue in favor of a second proposition that is held to be implicit in, and even more certain than, the first.” (wikipedia.com)
God is JUST. He doesn’t just give us laws with “no teeth”, just nice “suggestions”. No, friends, you can COUNT on God holding us ACCOUNTABLE to His word. That is a “certain proposition” that we can have “confidence” in!
But how much MORE so, then, can we be confident that God will not spare us for neglecting, “trampling underfoot”, refusing, rejecting JESUS, His own SON!
We have rules in our house. If you come over to my house, and you don’t take your shoes off at the front door, you don’t say “Please” and “Thank you” at the dinner table, you interrupt me while I’m talking, you use “potty language”... I’m gonna be OFFENDED.
But if you mistreat one of my KIDS… Even IGNORE them - “neglect”, “refuse” them - if THEY’RE trying to tell you a story and you blow THEM off - “how much MORE offended”… how much LESS LIKELY do you think I am to EVER invite you back again?!
[Btw - if we’ve only invited you over ONCE, or NEVER, I promise that wasn’t a passive-aggressive JAB at you; we’re good. It’s just a big church. 🙂]
But do you see the author’s point? He makes the same kind of a fortiori argument here in vv25-27; he makes THREE “lesser to greater” arguments here, for not rejecting JESUS:
1) Jesus has greater CLOUT than Moses. Remember: we’re picturing Israel assembled there at the foot of Mt. Sinai. And now he says in v25: “if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth”. That was MOSES. Moses was God’s appointed messenger, sent to WARN the people against disobeying God’s LAW. But he was just a MAN, like THEM. v25 goes on: “much less will we escape if we reject him who warns [us] from heaven.” Jesus is GOD. And AS such, he now reigns with ALL authority from his throne in HEAVEN. You wouldn’t refuse an EARTHLY king; how much LESS a HEAVENLY, OMNIPOTENT One?! Greater CLOUT.
2) There will be a greater CONSEQUENCE, for rejecting Jesus. V26: “At that time [at SINAI, in Exodus 20] God’s voice shook the earth” - remember, the whole MOUNTAIN was trembling! - “but now he has promised [in Haggai 2:6, God foretold through the prophet HAGGAI the coming day of judgment when], “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” Reject THE LAW, and the earth might just split in two and swallow you up, like it did Korah’s family. But reject JESUS, friends, and your hope of ever finding a footing in HEAVEN will be lost.
But Haggai wasn’t just speaking METAPHORICALLY about God shaking heaven; he’s LITERALLY gonna do it one day!
Isaiah 13:13 - God declares “I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place…
in the day of [my] fierce anger.”
The NT confirms as much; 2 Peter 3:10 - “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved…”
WHY? V27 here tells us: God “indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.”
Jesus has greater CLOUT. Reject him at greater CONSEQUENCE. But RECEIVE him and you will enjoy #3 - the greater CREATION. God has promised to one day get rid of THIS universe, that has been RAVAGED by the effects of SIN and DEATH, in order that He might make a NEW heaven and a NEW earth, with NO more sickness or sadness, where we can enjoy perfect fellowship with God and one another FOREVER.
But friends, if you want to enjoy God’s new creation, you’ve got to BE a new creation! Paul’s words have got to be true of YOU: that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor 5:17) Is that true of you? Have you been ADOPTED into God’s Kingdom people?
If NOT, you need to BEWARE your Kingdom exclusion, and receive Christ today.
For those who HAVE, he highlights now the 3 proper responses of those who have “received” this GREATER “kingdom”; “a kingdom that cannot be shaken”:
1) GRATITUDE. v28 says, “let us be grateful for receiving [such] a kingdom”. We Christians ought to be the most GRATEFUL, least grumbly people on earth, regardless of our circumstances, because we know how our story ENDS, our ETERNAL destination: we are HEAVEN-bound. We are destined for “a kingdom that cannot be shaken”.
2) Our second response, in light of ALL that God has done for us, adopting us as his new Kingdom people, at the cost of the life of His own SON on the cross… is to WORSHIP. V28: “let us offer to God acceptable worship”. We cheapen worship when we relegate it to 15 minutes of singing on Sunday morning; No - WORSHIP literally means to “assign worth”. And friends, we’re doing that CONSTANTLY. With every thought, impulse, action we are assigning WORTH to some-ONE or some-THING. So his exhortation is: let it be GOD! What else, who else, even comes CLOSE to being WORTHY?! Measuring UP against him?! Sure, take your WIFE out for a nice dinner on her birthday - assign her that WORTH - but give the LORD your whole heart, mind, soul and STRENGTH! He alone deserves it ALL!
And our THIRD response - gratitude… worship… and 3) FEAR. He says, WORSHIP God “with reverence and awe [the Greek word - deilos - means FEAR; WHY??] for our God is a consuming fire.”
Don’t forget - it’s the SAME GOD on the top of BOTH mountains. God didn’t change, friends, from the Old Testament to the New; that’s Marcionism. We settled that heresy 1700 years ago in the church. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If you’ve bought the lie that God USED to be angry and vengeful but NOW he’s all cuddles and rainbows, then you need to reread vv25-27 above: God actually reserves his GREATEST wrath, his HARSHEST judgment, for those TODAY who would reject JESUS.
“Our God is a consuming fire”; so we WORSHIP him accordingly, with REVERENCE.
Which leaves us with point #3 - Kingdom ACTIONS:
Once we have been ADOPTED and BECOME God’s Kingdom people…
Having been ADMONISHED to BEWARE Kingdom exclusion…
How ought we now to ACT… to LIVE?
We ought to BEHAVE with Kingdom obedience. (13:1-6)
I know I didn’t save a lot of time for these 6 important verses, and their EIGHT important exhortations to us. But to be honest, I’m not sure how much EXPOSITION is really REQUIRED here; they’re fairly straightforward.
3a: Love Others - “Let brotherly love continue.” Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (Jn 13:35)
3b: Welcome Strangers - “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers”; I love the Greek word for hospitality - philoxenia - it literally means “to love a STRANGER like a brother”. Treat foreigners like FAMILY. Now, depending on how you treat your FAMILY, he might wanna REVISE that to say, “treat them BETTER THAN you treat your family,” but that just means you’ve neglected his FIRST exhortation to LOVE one another.
When he says that BY welcoming strangers “some have entertained angels unawares,” he probably has ABRAHAM in mind, and Genesis 18. But Jesus gives us an even GREATER reason to do so: we could be entertaining HIM! He says that when we feed people, clothe them, welcome them… “as you did it to one of the least of these… you did it to me.’” (Matt 25:40) Which brings us to…
3c: Visit the Hurting - “Remember those in prison… and those who are mistreated”. CARE for them. Meet their practical - physical AND emotional - needs.
3d: Respect Marriage - “Let marriage be held in honor among all”. Christians don’t treat marriage like PAGANS do: as a “necessary evil”. We don’t seek to “sow our wild oats” as long as we can, delaying marriage and kids as long as possible, so as not to stifle our FUN; No - we recognize marriage for the beautiful GIFT of GOD that it is. Which means we also…
3e: Flee Immorality - “let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” We covered this LAST week - we “purge porneia”. We…
3f: Avoid Materialism - “Keep your life free from love of money”; MONEY in and of itself is FINE. But it is DANGEROUS. Because the LOVE of money is the “root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim 6:10). If you know that’s an IDOL for you, your safest bet is to just go sell all your possessions, like Jesus invited the rich young ruler to, and be FREED from your enslavement to STUFF. INSTEAD, you ought to…
3g: Cultivate Contentment - “be content with what[ever] you [DO] have”. If you can’t learn to be content with a little, you’ll NEVER be content, no matter how much you have. Contentment is a state of MIND, not a state of circumstance. Be like Paul: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. [And what was the SECRET? To Paul’s CONTENTMENT? Answer: every Christian’s favorite verse to take out of context…] 13 I can do all things through [CHRIST] who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:11-13) I can be content, as long as I’ve got JESUS. HE will give me the strength I need to keep going. Christ is ENOUGH for me. Lastly…
3h: Have PEACE - “for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear;
what can man do to me?””
In giving us his Holy Spirit, Jesus comforted us with this beautiful reassurance: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you… Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (Jn 14:27)
You don’t HAVE to be, Christian. Because your God will never leave you or forsake you. He is your strong HELPER.
CONCLUSION: Love Others - Welcome Strangers - Visit the Hurting - Respect Marriage - Flee Immorality - Avoid Materialism - Cultivate Contentment - and Have Peace. It’s just that SIMPLE.
Now, it’s not EASY, is it? To behave with Kingdom obedience at every turn. There’s a BIG DIFFERENCE between SIMPLE and EASY. God’s expectations for his Kingdom people’s behavior are SIMPLE. But because they’re not always EASY, because we ALL sin, and fall short of the glory of God, thank GOD that we have an ALWAYS faithful SAVIOR, in Jesus. No “ifs”, “ands” or “buts” about it.
Amen.