A Gratitude For the Kingdom pt.1

Introduction:

There are those who believe that the God of the Old Testament is either a different God than the God of the New Testament or the God of the Old Testament evolved into the nicer and friendlier God in the New Testament.

The problem is that an infinite, perfect and eternal being is unchanging in the essence of His being. If He is infinite and perfect in His being the only essence that he could change into would be something other than perfect.

People like such ideas because such notions put God more on the level of the creature and make Him out to be more user friendly in light of the human condition. But the Old and new Testaments are both proclaiming the same God.

And as believers we can learn much from the Old Testament and the past. Look at verses 18-21:

I. The Lesson from the Past (18-21).

First it must be said that the Old Testament encounter which Hebrews refers to here is not the context for the New Testament believer. For this we should all be eternally grateful before God.

This encounter took place in Exodus 20:18-21 when God gave the ten commandments to His covenant people through Moses.

The experience was one that literally struck a Holy terror into the hearts of the Israelites because of all that they witnessed when God came down on to Mt. Sinai.

Mt. Sinai was wrapped in smoke and with thunder and lightning on display when Moses brought the people to the foot of the mountain to meet with God.

Scripture tells us that when God came down on the mountain the whole mountain “trembled greatly” and there was a sound of a great trumpet that got louder and louder.

Moses spoke to God and God answered in a voice of thunder. And the people were warned to ceremonially purify themselves and to not touch the mountain under penalty of death.

Now when this happened the people started having second thoughts when it came to hearing from God. The experience was so frightening they told Moses: “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19).

Moses told them that God was doing it to test them and revealing His awesome power to move them to be obedient out of fearful reverence of Him.

It was a terrifying experience that in the end did not do much of anything to deter the people from sin and inspire them to obedience. Because by Exodus 32 these same people are building a golden calf.

This event is what drove Moses to say, I tremble with fear because he was afraid that God would break forth in wrath on the people for their blatant idolatry.

There is a hostility that naturally exist between the infinite Holy perfection of the eternal God and the defiant depravity of sinful creatures.

And this is displayed over and over again in such distinct ways throughout the Bible. God is not a God who is tolerates sin. God upholds His righteousness without violating His infinite justice. And these examples of the righteous retribution of God’s wrath and manifestations of His terrifying power in Scripture are there for our good. They instruct us on the nature and character of God.

But this is what we, as believers, have not come to as the beginning of verse 18 reminds us. Verses 18-21 set up the background for a contrast to be made with the glory associated with our present spiritual reality. Look at verses 22-24.

II. The Glory of the Present (22-24).

We have come to a different mountain. We are not at the foot of Mt. Sinai but at the foot of Mt. Zion.

What is Mt. Zion? (Mormons believe it is in Utah).

Mount Zion is the Spiritual reference to the City of David. That has Messianic connotations to it as the place where the Messiah of God is enthroned (See II Samuel 5:7 and Psalm 2:6).

We then see that there are other terms that are used in reference to identify them with Mount Zion.

The City of the Living God; The Heavenly Jerusalem; The Festal Gathering of Innumerable Angels; The Assembly/Church of the Firstborn who are enrolled in Heaven.

There is a city that is not of this world that we have our citizenship in that Christ currently rules over as the Messiah of God. That is what we have come to.

This is the same city that Abraham was looking for as the fulfillment of the promises of God, as Hebrews 11:10 tells us: For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

This is the same city that will come down in the end as part of the inauguration of the final state in a new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21).

And verse Hebrews 12:22 says we have already come to it in our Spiritual citizenship and identity. But there is a relational dynamic with God included in it as well.

You have come to God as verse 23 says. Reconciliation has already come in the Spiritual sense in our relationship with God.

But there is more. You have come to the spirits of the righteous made perfect. Saints that have gone before us are with us in that same spiritual union as citizens of Zion.

And we have come to Jesus.

The one who is the mediator of a new covenant. Mediator denotes that the hostility between two parties has been dealt with. God hasn’t changed, He just dealt with our sin by pouring out His wrath on Christ instead of us.

And here it has been dealt with by His atoning blood being sprinkled. And it speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

This is probably referring to Abel’s sacrifice and not his own blood that was spilt when his brother Cain killed him.

I take it this way because Hebrews 11:4 says that Abel’s sacrifice that was made by faith still speaks. But Jesus sacrifice of Himself speaks a better word than Abel’s sacrifice.

This is due to the idea that Abel’s sacrifice pointed forward to when all blood sacrifice would be over because everything that those Old Testament sacrifices pointed to would be fulfilled in Christ.

Abel’s sacrifice pointed towards the fulfillment but Christ’s sacrifice was the fulfillment and it did something that an animal sacrifice could never do.

The blood of Christ could actually take away sin and remove the offense of hostility out of our midst and reconcile us to God.

Think about it Christian these Jewish believer’s that Hebrews is being written to would have know something about the Old Covenant under the Mosaic Law code. The glory of the Law being given on Sinai would have been considered to be one of the most glorious accounts in Judaism.

Everything they would have held dear in their former way of religious life was being put in contrast with the glory of their current place in Christ revealed in the New Covenant.

They had lost everything related to their cultural identity and Scripture is pointing them to the fullness of Christ as the glorious present in which they live.

This is the basis for their hope in the world and the basis for their eternal hope to come.

Christian it is Christ who is the basis of your place in the Kingdom of God. Christ has paid our debt in full and reconciled us to God as His covenant people.

It is this fullness revealed in the gospel that we live in and that we are to live in light of in this world. Like looking through a windshield of a car at the world as you drive in it.

The gospel of grace is our theological windshield by which we look at everything else in the world.

And in doing so we are repeatedly reminded Christian, that this world is not our home.

And yet the discomforts of this life and the despair we have because of them tell the story that we may not always have our hope rooted in the right place.

One of the reasons why we have trials in this life is because we may at times be tempted to think that this life and it’s blessings are of greater value than what we have in Christ. And nothing could be farther from the truth.

Just think Christian, if all we had was the Law and our performance to justify ourselves before a Holy God where would we be? We would be at the foot of Mount Sinai shaking in our boots.

Conclusion

This is why I never get tired of preaching the gospel. Because the gospel is the means by which the sinner is transformed into the “righteous made perfect” by the mediator of the New Covenant.

When Job was in the depth of his misery and agony in his life, as most of your know he had lost it all with the exception of his life. His wealth and health had been taken from him.

It is chapter Job chapter 9 where Job ponders the greatness of almighty God in light of his own misery as a fallen man. He pondered things like “how can a man be right before God” (9:2).

Jobs dilemma is that God was not a man as he was. There is no mediator between us, who might lay his hand on us both (9:32-33).

The very thing that job wanted in the depth of His despair is something that Christ has done and is doing for us Christian. That is exactly why Hebrews is telling these suffering Christians these theological truths. For there can be no joy in in the midst of trials if there is no hope outside of this world that ensures us that God is with us and He has a purpose in them for our eternal good.

The cares of this world may have you against the ropes today. You may even feel like you are Job today because of the suffering and the trials you find yourself in today.

Maybe the trial is in your battle with sin itself and you feel so distant from God.

Christian there is a mediator who has one hand on you and one on God. And His blood speaks a better word than any of the ceremonial sacrifices in the history of the Old Testament.

Come to grace confess your sin and rest in the provision of God.

Unbeliever this same gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope you need. Believe the gospel.

Let’s pray!