The Two Mountains

INTRODUCTION

Dismiss K—3rd graders // Open to Hebrews 12 When we were in Oregon, one of the things we wanted to see was Mt. Hood. So, Monday morning before my meetings, we started the hour-long drive from Portland up the mountain. As we climbed higher, we realized it had snowed! It was beautiful—but as we went farther, flashing signs appeared: “Snow tires and chains required.” Suddenly, what looked inviting became intimidating.

In Hebrews 12:18–29, the author shows us two mountains—two encounters with God—that reveal a similar contrast. One mountain terrifies; the other welcomes. One mountain is about law; the other about grace.

Hebrews 12:18–21 “For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.””

So, in these verses, the author of Hebrews is pointing back to the OT and to Mt. Sinai. Many of you know the story of Israel’s history, but I think it’s good for us to remind ourselves of this particular part of their story because it will help us see the author’s point.

Remember—God’s people—the Hebrews—were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years. God raised up a leader named Moses who led them out of slavery in Egypt…through the Red Sea…and then God told them to travel to a mountain that He would lead them to.

Exodus 19 — Mt. Sinai…the people come near the mountain…BUT…DESCRIBE…Moses goes up FOR THEM…the giving of the Law…establishment of the Mosaic Covenant.

And, here’s why the author is telling us this…Apart from Jesus, this is your relationship to God. You’re guilty of breaking God’s Law. On your own, apart from Christ, you stand condemned under the righteousness and justice of God. It’s what we all deserve because “there are none righteous, no not one…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

1) Apart from Christ, the mountain (presence) of God brings fear and alienation to condemned sinners.

Mt. Sinai doesn’t sound very inviting, does it? Very welcoming? In fact, the people responded—“yeah, we’re not going up there...Moses you take this one…you go ahead and die up there…we’re good”

Why? Because the awesome presence of the Holy God is terrifying to sinners. Sinful man cannot stand in the presence of the Holy One. The horrible presence of our sin in the awesome presence of His holiness requires justice. And, it’s a terrifying thing to stand condemned before God. In fact…the author has already said in Hebrews 10:31 “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

It’s not just terrifying…it’s alienating. It’s not just that you don’t WANT to come near…you CAN’T come near. And, what comes from the mountain simply adds to this—the Law. The Law is crushing. The Law demands righteousness and justice. It demands righteousness from us—and we can’t live up to the Laws demands—and at the same time it requires justice towards sinners for breaking the Law.

GOSPEL

Apart from Christ, the mountain (presence) of God brings fear and alienation to condemned sinners.

Hebrews 12:22–24 “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, 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, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”

2) In Christ, the mountain (presence) of God brings joy and welcome to redeemed sinners.

The author, here, contrasts the terror of Mt. Sinai with the joy of Mt. Zion. What is Mt. Zion?

In the Old Testament, Mount Zion was first and foremost a physical place. In the days of King David, Mount Zion belonged first to a people called the Jebusites. When David became King, he ended up capturing Mount Zion, which was also known as Jerusalem. Then later he moved the Ark of the Covenant to Mount Zion, where it rested.

So, after David dies his son Solomon becomes king. Solomon built the temple on Mount Zion. SO, Zion became the symbolic meeting place between heaven and earth—where God dwelt among his people. So, when the author of Hebrews points to Mt. Zion, he has in mind the meeting place between God and his people, but he's no longer thinking of some earthly place or physical place any longer. After all, he already told us back in verse 18 that this mountain to which we have come, unlike Sinai, is a mountain that cannot be touched. Then here he calls the mountain to which we have come, the City of the Living God and the Heavenly Jerusalem.

This is the same home that Abraham, back in chapter 11, was looking forward to all the days of his earthly sojourn. The home that our author previously called the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. It's not a place that we can point to on a map. It's not a physical place we can touch, but make no mistake about it, it's just as real as Sinai.

So what does he tell us about this heavenly Zion to which we come? Well, he tells us that this is a place with innumerable angels in festal gathering. That is so many angels that they cannot be counted standing before the throne of God in worship. Right away, we hear just how different this mountain is than Mount Sinai. Because you see, back in the Book of Deuteronomy, as Moses is reflecting on his experience of Sinai, he writes that at Sinai when Israel was standing before the mountain, there were actually a myriad of angels on the mountain. But at Sinai, God's people didn't come close to actually see those angels. These weren’t joyful, festal angels…these were terrifying. But, here in Zion, we're told that we join with the myriad of worshiping angels in the city of God. We are with them and they are with us.

We also come, our author tells us, to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven and the spirits of the righteous made perfect. Now, these references are references that are loaded with significance, but in essence, they describe for us the one church, the one people of God, spanning both Old Testament and New Testament. Typically theologians in speaking about different aspects of the one church, the one people of God, use these terms the visible church and the invisible church.

The “visible church” refers to the church here on Earth, those believers all around the world who right now are engaged in the race that is the Christian life. That's us. We are the visible church. The invisible church refers to all of those Old Testament and New Testament believers who have finished the race and who now rest in heaven and glory.

According to our author here, the Zion to which we come, is a mountain occupied by both the visible church and the invisible church. It's a mountain filled with believers all around the world. Believers who worship right now with us in Kenya and Czech Republic, in Portland, Oregon and all around the world. But it's also filled with believers from the Old Testament and New Testament who have already died and gone to be with the Lord. Together on Zion, we have come as both the visible church and the inivisble church in worship, and specifically to God, the judge of all.

Now, as soon as we come across that reference to God as judge, that may make us stop in our tracks for a moment and think, hold on, that sounds a lot like Sinai. We've already heard that back at Sinai, you can't approach this God who is judge. So how is it that we can approach this one God on Zion, but not on Sinai? Well, the answer to this question comes in verse 24, where we hear that Zion stands out, because on this mountain is Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant and the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Already but not yet…

3) This gospel demands a response.

We’re confronted with this truth…apart from Christ, we stand before God guilty and condemned but, through Christ, we are invited and welcomed into the joy and love of God. There is no neutrality. Every human being must make a decision—stand in rebellion and fear at Sinai or enter in the joy of Zion.

Hebrews 12:25–29 “See that you do not refuse him who is speaking.

If you choose to reject the Lordship of Jesus, if you refuse to repent of your sin and give your life to Jesus, you’re not rejecting me…a preacher or the church…you’re rejecting HIM…and He is speaking to you today.

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. 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.” 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.

There is coming a day of judgment.

What is the response?

A) Receive God’s grace through Jesus

Let me take you to a scene from The Pilgrim’s Progress. Christian has just fled the City of Destruction, carrying the crushing weight of sin on his back. A man named Mr. Worldly Wiseman tells him, “You don’t need to go to the narrow gate—just climb that hill called Morality. A man named Legality can help you.”

But as Christian begins to climb, the hill grows steeper, darker, and begins to shake. Lightning flashes, and he fears he’ll be crushed. That hill, Bunyan says, was Mount Sinai—the mountain of law. Christian discovered what every sinner must learn: the Law can expose your burden, but it can’t remove it.

Then Evangelist finds him and points him back to the true path—to Zion, to the cross. There, Christian’s burden finally rolls away. The Law showed his guilt; grace set him free.

That’s the very contrast Hebrews shows us—at Sinai, we tremble before God’s holiness; at Zion, we rejoice in His mercy. At Sinai there is fear, guilt, and condemnation. At Zion there is forgiveness, joy, and a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

There’s a second response…

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, for our God is a consuming fire.”

B) Respond with gratitude in worship

We are citizens of this city…Mt. Zion, the city of God, the kingdom that cannot be shaken. Everything else will be shaken…the heavens and the earth…the wicked…and the city of God, alone, will remain.

Worship is our response to the grace of a Holy God.

How do we respond with gratitude and thanksgiving for this grace that we have received? We offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe.

And, so, believers, here’s our application—our “so what?” Why does this matter in my life this week?

Our Corporate Worship Edmund Clowney puts it like this. He says, quote, "In corporate worship, we rise by faith to enter the heavenly assembly of the saints and angels. We join in a very real way, the praises of heaven." Listen, if this description of Zion is the reality of our worship, our worship right now, as we speak, then that has to affect our attitude, our posture and our expectations. It means that when we come together, we bring the best of ourselves. That when we come together, that we come with the same diligence and focus that many of us apply to our own vocations throughout the week. It means—and listen—I’m not trying to be legalistic or a stick in the mud—but it means that if we anticipate or get more excited about going to Tuscaloosa or Auburn or Troy on game day than we are about coming here to worship with the people of God, then it means we don’t understand what it means to be citizens of Zion. It means that we take this time seriously, that we feel the weight and gravitas of what this is, and that we humble ourselves enough to let the one we approach through his word and spirit actually work on us and change us. So let me ask you this. Where is your mind right now? Yes. You're physically here. I see you. How many times have you checked your phone in the last hour? Scrolled through social media? You’re here, but are you actually engaged in what we're doing or are your thoughts instead drifting to things like what you’ve got to do this afternoon/this week? Check the posture of our hearts and the attentiveness of our minds and asking whether or not they are fitted in the moment for the heavenly worship in which we have come.

Our Personal Worship

“Acceptable worship, reverence, awe, consuming fire.”

“Our God is a consuming fire.” This means two things—1) God is jealous; 2) God is holy

1) God is Jealous…what does this mean? It means that God wants ALL of you. His Lordship demands every area of your life. So, is there an area of your life that you aren’t surrendering to His Lordship?

I’m reminded of Abraham—Genesis 21 —“me and the boy are going to WORSHIP.”

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

2) God is holy

Be holy—just as your Father in heaven is holy. Acceptable worship is pursuing holiness in every area of my life.

We live as priests. God told the Hebrew people at Sinai…I am going to make you a kingdom OF PRIESTS. But, because of their sin, they became a kingdom WITH PRIESTS.

Now, by the blood of Jesus, we live as those who have access—worshipping and serving our God in His kingdom, in His city. Acceptable worship?

Because Christ has brought us from the terror of Sinai to the joy of Zion, we must worship God with reverence, gratitude, and awe.

MAIN POINT: Because Christ has brought us from the terror of Sinai to the joy of Zion, we must worship God with reverence, gratitude, and awe.