Hebrews - No Turning Back

The people to whom the epistle of Hebrews was written were in danger of going back. Like the Jews of the Old Testament, they wanted to go back to the old life. Remember now, he was writing to Hebrew Christians. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

He contrasts two mountains: Mount Zion and Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai speaks of the law of God, the judgment of God, the wrath of God. It speaks of the awesomeness of God. And Mount Zion speaks of the grace of God and the glory of God. Let’s read Hebrews 12:18-21.

"For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a spear: and so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)"

Now, there's the first mountain, Mount Sinai. Now he moves to Mount Zion in Hebrews 12:22-24.

"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

What a contrast here. Now you'll notice in Hebrews 12:18-21 that the writer gives three reminders about this Sinai experience. He's referring back to Exodus 19. First, he reminds us of what they saw, Hebrews 12:18. Then he reminds us of what they heard, Hebrews 12:19-20. And then he reminds us of what they felt in Hebrews 12:21.

Now, why does he do this? Because in the rest of this chapter, he picks up those three reminders and develops them. Hebrews 12:18, he reminds us of what they saw, and then in Hebrews 12:22-24, he reminds us of what we see in heaven. We see this by faith.

He reminds us of what they heard, Hebrews 12:19-20, and then in Hebrews 12:25-27, he reminds us of what we must hear. Notice Hebrews 12:25, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh." Then in Hebrews 12:21, he reminded them of what they felt. Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." He picks this up in Hebrews 12:28-29 and reminds us of what we should feel. We may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Now, Hebrews 12:18, reminder number one: he reminds us of what they saw. "For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched." That is, we as Christians are not like the Jews camping at a mountain that we can see and feel and touch. Our mountain, our Mount Zion, is a heavenly mountain. "A mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest."

Now, what did they see at Mount Sinai? Well, let's turn back to Exodus 19 and get the full report from Moses. Exodus 19:9.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.

And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice."

I would have you to know that must have been some experience. Now, what did they see? Well, number one, they saw a mountain. But they were not able to go up that mountain. God came down. God set boundaries around the mountain.

To a Jew, a mountain would typify that which was solid and dependable. It also stood for that which was unapproachable, that which was difficult to overcome. A mountain—Mount Sinai. And they saw a mountain and the boundaries around it. They saw fire. They saw a storm, darkness and clouds and a whirlwind. Now, they saw all of this.

What was God saying? God was saying, "Keep your distance. I am a holy God. You cannot approach me." It was a picture of terror, not of grace. A picture of fear. You see, if you're going to go back to Egypt, which is what the Jews often wanted to do, you've got to go past Mount Sinai. Many people want to go back into law.

Now, God started the Hebrew nation at Mount Sinai. That was the beginning; it wasn't the ending. He didn't keep them there. He said, "Let's move now." And they moved from Mount Sinai to Mount Calvary. And at Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ died and fulfilled all of the law and brought all of us to that place where we can, by faith, be born again.

Now, what did they hear? Hebrews 12:19-20. Well, they heard the sound of a trumpet and it got louder and louder. When you read Numbers 10, you discover that God used the trumpets to call an assembly, to announce a war, or to announce special times and seasons. The blowing of the trumpet meant pay attention, listen, authority. Something is going on.

Now, they heard the sound of the trumpet, they heard the voice of words, and they said, "We do not want to hear God speak. Don't let us hear the voice of God." They begged off; that's what the word "entreated" means in Hebrews 12:19. They begged off and said, "Please, we don't want to hear the Word of God." But you see, in Hebrews 12:25, God says to us, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh." You’d better hear the Word of God. In fact, the theme of the book of Hebrews is "God has spoken; how will you respond to His Word?"

When Moses went up on the mountain, he would listen to God and then he would come down and report it to the people. They said, "Please, you go up." Deuteronomy 5:27, "Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us." They heard the voice of God and didn't want to listen. You see, this is legalism. The legalist says, "Oh, I want to know about the greatness of God, but don't let me get too close. You be my leader. You tell me what to do."

What is the purpose of the Christian life? To run the race and to win the prize and to glorify the Lord and to draw near to Him. They heard the voice of God and didn't want to listen. A lot of people are that way today. They get all of their spiritual truth secondhand from somebody else. They do not draw near to God alone.

I don't know where you live; I don't live at Mount Sinai where there are boundaries and storms and lightnings and thunders. I live at Mount Zion where I can come and draw near to God. I do not want to live under the terror of law because my Savior has died for me and set me free from that bondage.

Now, what did they feel? Hebrews 12:21, even Moses. Moses, the great lawgiver; Moses, the marvelous man of God said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." This whole situation was one of fear and trembling and terror. God has now written His law in our hearts. And because the law is written in our hearts, we no longer need this kind of fear and trembling.

Now, there ought to be reverence. Don't worry about that. We're not talking about lawlessness or apostasy or anarchy. No, the reverential loving fear that a child has for the father or mother, that a servant has for the master. He's saying here, don't live on Mount Sinai. There was fear and terror, so much so that even Moses trembled.

The question today is, where are we living? Are you living at Mount Sinai, letting somebody else come and give you God's Word, or do you approach God yourself and let Him teach you? Are you living day by day under a dark cloud of fear and trembling? Are you worried about what God may have planned for you? I trust that you'll move away from Mount Sinai, move to Mount Zion, and learn to run the race, depending wholly on the grace of God.

Now, in Hebrews 12:18-24, the writer is contrasting Mount Sinai, the law, with Mount Zion, the grace of God, the gospel. And he describes the heavenly city in Hebrews 12:22-24. Let's read these verses.

"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."

Now, from these verses, Hebrews 12:22-24, let’s consider the elements, the various elements that make up the heavenly city and find out how they encourage us to keep going when the going is tough. Remember now, we are in God's gymnasium. He is disciplining us and preparing us for life and for eternity. And one reason that the athlete keeps on going is he wants to reach the goal; he wants to reach the prize.

Now, you and I are not going to get to heaven by our efforts. We are going to heaven because of the blood of Jesus Christ. We've trusted Him as our Savior and He is going to take us to heaven. What are the elements involved in the heavenly city? Well, in Hebrews 12:22, we have a company of angels, an innumerable company of angels. Not a race of angels; angels are not a race, they're a company.

Now, what does this have to do with my running the race? Well, the angels are my assistants. I don't know if you knew that or not. Every believer has the assistant, the ministry of the angels to help him in his daily work. I don't understand all about this, but I think when we get to heaven, we're going to find out how much the angels did for us. Perhaps you remember that story about Elisha and his servant; it's recorded in 2 Kings 6.

The servant was very frightened when he saw the enemy army surrounding the city. And so Elisha prayed and said, "Lord, open his eyes." And God did open the eyes of the servant, and he looked and he saw a great host, the heavenly host of God's army surrounding the soldiers that were surrounding the city. And he realized that Elisha was speaking the truth when he said, "There are more who are for us and more who are with us than with them."

I again don't totally understand how this works. All I know is that there are multiplied myriads of angels who do the bidding of the Lord to take care of His children. Now, that encourages me. Be of good courage today. Keep running the race. Don't give up, because one day you're going to be in heaven and you're going to meet those angels, and right now they are helping you.

Secondly, not only do we have a company of angels, but we have the church: "To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven." Now here we have a fourfold description of God's church. First of all, they are a celebrating people.

This word "assembly" means a festive gathering such as the Old Testament Jewish feasts or in Greece and Rome the gatherings for the games, the Olympic Games. It’s a picture of a great host of people rejoicing at the races, watching the men as they run the race and win and bring glory to their city.

We are a celebrating people, a called-out people. The "general assembly and church," says Hebrews 12:23. The word "church" means a called-out people, ecclesia. God has called us out from the world and those whom He calls, He takes care of and He’s going to see to it that we reach the heavenly city.

I'm glad in my heart that God has called me. I didn't deserve it; I still don't deserve it. I've done nothing before or since my conversion to deserve all of His goodness. All I know is I'm one of His people, and one of these days I'm going to be in heaven celebrating at the throne of God.

God has His citizens' role in heaven and we're going to make it to glory. "Our citizenship is in heaven," wrote Paul in Philippians 3:20. Well, heaven is a motivation because if we belong to the church, the true church, the body of Jesus Christ, the called-out people of God, we're going to be in heaven one day at a great festive gathering, joyfully celebrating the victory at the throne of God.

The third element in the heavenly city is of course God, Hebrews 12:23, "And to God the Judge of all." Now, why would he talk about a judge? Well, he is reminding them that someday our works will be judged. He’s reminding us that when we get to heaven, though we go to heaven by the grace of God through faith, the reward that we receive in heaven depends upon faithfulness, depending on the grace of God to help us serve Him. Hebrews 12:28, "Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably."

I want to serve God acceptably. He’s the judge of all, but this judge of all is my Father. That’s the beautiful thing. I'm one of His firstborn. I'm not afraid of the judge when the judge is my Father.

No man has seen God at any time. We're going to see God, see the glory of God. His name is going to be given to us. We're going to share His home. Calvary has made it possible for us. There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. We're going to meet God, the judge of all.

There’s a fourth element: "The spirits of just men made perfect." I think he's talking here about the Old Testament saints. We read in Hebrews 11:39-40, "And these all these Old Testament saints, some of whom are described in Hebrews 11, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise that is, the thing that was promised, the city: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." In other words, when we get to glory, the Old Testament saints and the New Testament saints are going to join together in praising and glorifying the Lord.

Now, the point I think he’s making is this: the Old Testament saints are going to make it. He describes some of them in Hebrews 11. If you had known some of these people personally, you might not think they would ever make it, but he's saying, "Look, when you get to heaven, you'll find Abraham made it even though he stumbled and fell; David made it; Gideon made it." You keep on running the race because God is going to enable you to win the crown.

The fifth element of course is our Lord Jesus: "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant." Jesus Christ is our example. Hebrews 12:2, "Looking unto Jesus." He made it. How did He do it? "Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross." Not only is He our example, He is our enabler. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. And He who starts the good work is the only one who can complete it, Philippians 1:6.

He’s the mediator of that covenant and today He mediates the blessing of God to us. He represents us before God, and we can come to God through Him. Jesus Christ is in heaven and He made it. He won the race. "Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross."

Finally, the last element involved: "The blood of sprinkling." Now when Moses established the old covenant at Mount Sinai, he sprinkled the blood on the people and he sprinkled the blood on the book of the covenant. We have been sprinkled by the blood, the blood of sprinkling, the blood of Jesus, "that speaketh better things than that of Abel." This takes us back to Genesis 4 where Abel’s blood cried out from the earth because Cain had slain him.

Now just work backwards now. You’ve come and you’ve trusted Jesus Christ. You’ve been cleansed by the blood. He is the mediator of the new covenant. You are in the family; you’re one of the firstborn. And one day you’re going to make it to the throne of God by the grace of God.

So my friend, be encouraged. Just be encouraged today. Just run the race with endurance. Keep your eye on the goal. Heaven is not just your destination; heaven ought to be your motivation. And when you get discouraged, just smile and say, "Thank you, Lord. I’m going to heaven."