Be Allured by the Unshakable Kingdom (Hebrews 12:18-29)

I’m old enough to remember the first days of Facebook. I’m old enough to remember it causing me problems with my faith. The first days of Facebook were the first days I was out of college, and doing unpaid work for UCCF, and Facebook caused me a problem. There on my newsfeed every day were kids I’d gone to high school and college with. They seemed to have everything. I was leading Bible studies with college kids, and living in a bedroom barely larger than a closet. And it was hard.

I wonder if that’s the battle some of you are facing right now. You’re saved, and you know in your heart of hearts that selling out and totally committing to Jesus is the right thing to do, but you’re afraid. What if I miss out? What if I never get to drive a great car? What if I never make as much money as my friends, what if the Lord calls me to be single for the rest of my life? what if I miss out. That was the fears the Jews had as well. They feared that if they committed to Christ, they would miss out. They feared that they would miss out on their religious heritage if they gave their lives to Jesus. you can’t blame them, because the Jewish heritage is a great one, but in these verses the author shows them, and us, that there is nothing on Earth that compares to giving Christ all of your life. Not a single thing.

The author begins by reminding his readers that the law brings fear. Look at verses 18-21 with me. This is a retelling of the giving of the law from Exodus 19 and 20. This law giving was so traumatic, it was so scary to come face to face with God that even Moses trembled with fear. Look at the words used to describe what was happening. A blazing fire, darkness and gloom, loud trumpets, and a voice that the Hebrews couldn’t bare to hear. This is scary stuff. The author tells the Hebrews that there’ll lose nothing by coming to Christ, because the giving of the law was so terrifying.

Not because there’s anything wrong with the law. The OT law comes from God, and is good and holy and true. The reason the law is so scary, is because it shows us our sin. The law is a mirror that shows us how messed up we are, and that’s scary. The more you read the OT, the more your hearts should long for Jesus. No one could keep the law, no one was good enough. There is no human effort good enough to save you. None. All your good works, all your hard work, all your religious activity is just storing up more wrath, unless you come to Jesus.

Imagine hearing the voice of God, speaking from a mountain that’s covered in the loudest, darkest, most terrifying thunderstorm you’ve ever seen. Imagine being told that if even an animal touched the mountain, it would be stoned. Come to Jesus, says the author, the law only brought you fear.

But the Gospel brings life, look at verses 22-25 with me. Aren’t they some wonderful verses. The intention of the author is clear here, he wants to show us, as clearly as he can, that we’ll lose nothing if we commit our lives to Jesus. All through the Bible, Jesus calls us away from sin and towards Him. He doesn’t do this by simply telling us that sin is evil and deadly, although He does do that, but by telling us that He is better. Hosea tells us that He allures us, He draws us away from the other things that distract us so easily, and He brings us to Him.

Look at what we come to. We come not to terrible thunderstorms and a loud voice, but to Zion, to the Kingdom of Heaven. We come to God Himself. We come to the reality and not the picture. Imagine your summer vacation, you’re at the beach, by the ocean. You’re not simply sitting next to a postcard and pretending are you? You’re really there. Next to the real beach, the postcard is nothing. And that’s what the author is saying here. We come to God, not to Moses, or the law, or the Temple, we come to God Himself. When we pray, we know God hears, when we read the Bible, we know God is speaking. Come to God, he says, put down the picture.

And we come by the blood of Jesus, which speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. When Cain killed his brother, God told him that Abel’s blood cried out against Him for condemnation, but now God tells us that Jesus’ blood calls out to us for righteousness. We are counted righteous because Jesus shed His blood for us. He gave everything for us, why would we hold back giving Him everything He asks for. If He shed His blood for you, He will never let you down, never cause you to miss out on anything that you need.

Finally we see the application of this chapter, in verses 25-29. The Kingdom should be received. Look at those verses with me.

Don’t refuse, says the author. This has been his plea throughout the book. He’s told his readers to cast of sin, to not harden our hearts, not he says, don’t refuse. Don’t refuse the open hand of God that offers you life. If people didn’t escape from a warning that came from Earth, how will we escape a warning that comes from heaven. Right now, this moment, from His Word, God offers those of you who aren’t saved salvation. He says now is the time, don’t delay, now if your chance, don’t waste it. Be saved. You won’t always have this opportunity. Right now, God offers those of you who are holding out the chance to be all in. he says don’t waste your life chasing lesser dreams, don’t waste your life holding out for something better than what Jesus has for you. There is nothing better!

There’s no escape anywhere from this God. Verses 26 and 27 tell us that He shakes the Earth and the Heavens, and that what can be shaken will be shaken. There’s nowhere you can go on Earth to hide from God, so run to Him while He may be found.

And worship Him acceptably. Some commentators argue that’s what the next chapter is about, what acceptable worship looks like. We worship God with reverence and awe, we’re grateful and we’re amazed by His love. We know He is the judge of the whole world, and so we honour Him rightly. We’re warned He is a consuming fire. This is one of the harshest warnings in the whole book. God is a consuming fire, so make sure your life won’t be burnt up when the fire blazes, make sure your life is made of what pleases God.

See in this passage that following God with all your heart, for all your life, is always worth it. Don’t hold out waiting for something better, because it simply isn’t there.