Sunday Morning Service (Hebrews 12:14-29)

Hebrews 12:14-29         

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“The Course Of Holiness” • 3.18.18 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service

Intro

- This book has provided a relentless theological assault upon the collective sense of the Jews who were listening. By this time, they more than likely agree that Jesus Christ is superior.

- But if He is superior, they wondered, "why are our lives so difficult?" "Why can't our family understand? Why aren't we victorious over the Roman regime? Why must we suffer?"

- Our author has offered them an inspired commentary, which we considered last week. The Christian life must be seen in the light of an athletic race. We must endure to the end.

- To do so, we must shed unneccessary weights and practices that hold us back and we must see the difficulties in life as a training tool in the hand of God for our benefit.

- Be singular in your efforts. Attend to the lane that you have been put in, in order that you might avoid injury, while also providing a path for the next runner after you!

- If that is our perspective, what is our present aim? What is our rule as we run? Our run is meant to be governed by the standard of holiness. What does that look like? Let's begin in verse 14.

Text

• Hebrews 12:14 : "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:" : When we consider the life that God requires from us, the particular race that we are to run, we are tempted to subscribe to goals that are quite lofty.

- Our author, conveying God's thoughts on the matter, relays a much more simple set of goals. "Pursue peace with people and holiness before God."

- This is written as a command in the present tense. God commands us to continually pursue peace with all people as well as to continually pursue holiness before God at the same time.

- Listen to some of the other translations of this word "pursue." "Work at" living in peace. (NLT) "Strive" for peace. (ESV) "Make every effort" to live in peace! (NIV)

- Each of these words reflect an attitude which requires personal determination on our part. It is our responsiblity to run swiftly toward the goal of living peaceably with everyone around us.

- What is this not saying? It is not saying that you need them to agree with you. Our author is not advocating that you have a familial type relationship. Just work at being at peace with them.

- Make it your aim to make others feel at ease around you. This applies inside as well as outside of the church. This is our goal with those that agree with us and those that do not.

- The former is admittedly an easier assignment. The second requires a far greater commitment. Both require work on our part and wisdom for our hearts.

- What about those that will not live in peace with you? You will find that there are times when peace between two people cannot be established.

- One may decide to remain at odds or even openly oppose you. Even in that circumstance, we are given the command to search for peaceful relations. Listen to the Apostle Paul's take.

• Romans 12:18 : "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." : It's interesting to me that these two commands are placed so near to each other.

- On the one hand, our relationships with our fellow men should be peaceful, but we must do so while pursuing holiness! We are not to violate either goal.

- Pursue peace with all men but never at the expense of pursuing a character that pleases God! Too often, we are guilty of neglecting the one while claiming the importance of the other!

- "If I'm to live at peace with all men, then I must agree with and endorse their sinful position." That misses the mark. Others say, "I can't agree with any man until they think like me!"

- May the Lord give you wisdom to see things differently by the power of His Spirit!

- Holiness does not require an "either/or" response. We are able to dwell among sinners and maintain a life that's pleasing to God. Just ask Jesus, who was able to navigate the waters!

- Our problem is that we lack an understanding of what holiness is. When something is "holy" or "sacred," we know that it is only to be used for certain occasions.

- I must learn what it means to pursue peace, but never to compromise my holy position! "I can support you this far and then for the sake of my conscience, I need to take my leave!"

- Please remember that this is God's command and as per heavenly policy, He never commands where He doesn't also empower!

- Each of us will continually learn as we walk in this world, but the consequence for a lack of holiness is quite staggering: Without a pursuit of holiness, we will not see God!

- A person whose life is not continually expressing holiness cannot hope to see God. There may be a secondary application to this that the author intends.

- How can a person see God in your life unless you are exhibiting a holy character? How can that person recognize the Lord without your character being conformed to His?

- Before we head into the next section, a Christian's race was never meant to be run in private! There are people that must see Jesus and that will only happen as you live before them!

- With that goal in mind, what attitudes and actions work against a holy life? Verse 15.

• Hebrews 12:15-17 : "looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears." : "Looking carefully" is taken from the word "episkopos," which means "one who oversees." It is both an office in the church and a work.

- We who are members of Christ's church must constantly look out for for one another.  Why? Because there is a concern that some might miss out on the grace of God.

- Think about what the author has been saying. These Hebrews have been living under the chastening, training hand of God. They have much to endure and much to follow the Lord in.

- These people need grace! Certainly, it must be the consistent message of the church that salvation is entirely afforded to any person by the grace of God!

- In this instance, however, the word "grace" denotes a gift of help. Nobody here should "fall short," to come in late to receive, the gift of God's help!

- Nobody can run their race without a signifcant portion of God's help given primarily through His Word or through His people, their fellow runners.

- How many come in ready to quit? They don't share or present themselves as having any difficulty because nobody wants to look "weak."

- That's why we need to look carefully to see if anyone needs the grace to continue on! That's why we must do more than simply show up regularly! We must be on the look out!

- We need to be concerned about our fellow brothers and sisters, in order to help guard against bitterness. We have to look beyond the superficial to the root level!

- The Christian road is difficult and those that miss out on God's grace often give into bitterness, which isn't a slow growing plant. It's an out of control weed!

- Once it grows in the heart of a brother or a sister, that bitter root rarely stays isolated! Soon the entire body is damaged and defiled, spoiled, by it! One bitter soul tends to discover another!

- The church was to watch for these subtle signs as well as the more overt signs of sin.

- Bitterness will defile the church and so will sexual immorality. Sexual immorality biblically is any sexual expression outside of the bonds of legally tendered, heterosexual marriage.

- As for profanity, it is far more than the language you'd consider profane.

- It's a person without any consciousness of God and thus, lives a life outside of righteous boundaries. Esau is a perfect example.

- The birthright in the ancient world was connected to spiritual authority. The one who held the birthright was responsible to lead the family in the Lord. Esau had no concern for such things.

- He did however want "the blessing," which was concerned with the financial inheritance. He wanted the stuff, but he didn't want the responsibility to live before the Lord!

- He was happy to part with his birthright for a cup of stew and only wanted a blessing after he had been rejected. How many attempt to dwell in the Kingdom with the same attitude?

- Many want to claim the blessing of God upon their life, but they have no desire to live under God's authority! It doesn't work that way and the church is to stand against that notion!

- When Esau cried before Isaac, he didn't cry because of his condition before God. He cried because he did not get the blessing that is intended for the one with a birthright!

- Do you hear the message that God is giving the Hebrews? Don't let unholiness be the aim of your life? There is no blessing for those that will not first assume the spiritual responsibility!

- We are called to holiness and that choice means that we seek out our brothers when they need help.

- We guard the hearts of those who are downtrodden and we confront those that refuse to conform to God's established standard for behavior. Verse 18.

• Hebrews 12:18-22 : "For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: 'And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.' And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, 'I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.')" : Our author is reminding them of the importance of pursuing holiness and being careful not to allow unholiness in their midst.

- He recalls to their minds the scene which took place when their ancestors reached Mt. Sinai. - Exodus 19 records the full account. It took Israel three months to reach the area and three days to prepare themselves to meet the Lord.

- Thebase of the mountain was off limits to everything on penalty of death!

- On that third day, the Lord descended and our author describes an apocalyptic scene.

- The mountain before them was suddenly ablaze with fire! Everything else was blackened and dark before their eyes. Imagine the sight and consider the sound!

- A great windstorm arose in their ears, mixed in with the sound of a trumpet. Exodus 19:19 tells us that the trumpet sound grew progressively louder!

- As terrifying as all of that was, it was then that they heard the voice of Almighty God!

- At that time, you didn't have Joe Hebrew standing up in the back, trying to get to the front, to "give God a piece of his mind!" It's amazing how bold we think we are!

- In fact, the Hebrew people "begged," the language indicating that they actually kept begging not to hear the unfiltered voice of the Lord! It was too much for them! They couldn't take it!

- Consider these words: "They couldn't endure what was commanded." The idea conveys the carrying of a burden.  

- They didn't have the strength to carry the burden associated with that single commandment of the Lord! They knew that to get close to the mountain brought death. The archers were ready!

- It seems however, that at least mentally, they couldn't handle the reality that this one commandment brought upon their lives! And it's not as if Moses was doing much better!

- Moses admits in Deuteronomy 9:19 that even he could not stand it for the terror that he felt! That's their fearless leader friends! That's the man that all of Israel held in near reverence!

- He trembled in fear before the Lord! Thankfully, this is not the mountain that you and I have come before! We have been invited to a much more beautiful mountain. Verse 22.

• Hebrews 12:22-25a : "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you do not refuse Him who speaks." : Hebrews, you have made your journey to Mount Zion, the city of the living God and His uncountable angelic horde!

- The real beauty of the call to Mount Zion is that this is where the mass gathering of all the members of the Hall of Faith are gathered! This is the church of the firstborn!

- The author is telling us that all who inhabit the halls of heaven are treated as firstborn children! They are all the symbol of God's strength and the recipients of a double portion inheritance!

- I love this next part. We aren't just going to drop in. This is no accident! We are expected! There is a registry! We are enrolled! That word is written in such a way that it conveys finality.

- They who have been enrolled in the past will always and ever be enrolled in heaven!

- We are coming to where God, the Judge of all, dwells and where His righteous ones have completed their journey! Sinful men who have become justified men have become glorified men!

- Those that died holding onto their faith, have risen in the presence of God, never again to consider the sufferings that have just passed!

- They all died in weakness but awoke in a new body that will never, in any way, lose it's strength! And the first person that they cast their eyes upon is Jesus!

- Jesus, the Mediator, the go-between, the arbiter of this new covenant, whose blood speaks a superior word to that of Abel's! This is a very strange verse. What does Abel's blood speak of?

- When God confronted Cain after he had murdered his brother, He reported that Abel's blood spoke to Him from the ground. (Genesis 4:10)

- Throughout the Bible, the concept of "crying out" speaks of a call to God for justice. Certainly, that is what Abel's blood called out for.

- In that respect, Christ's blood speaks a much better word! He served the penalty of God's justice perfectly and eternally when He absorbed the wrath of God upon Himself on the cross!

- His blood speaks now to the world, the words of the gospel. The blood speaks of His mercy, forgiveness and grace, all of which are available to the infinitely ill-deserving!

- That is what He continues to speak to us today! Our author warns them, "Do not reject Him who speaks with the wonderfully warm and inviting words!"

- The same God that appeared to Israel at Mount Sinai is now calling us to join Him at Mount Zion! This is where we find our hope in holiness!

- We haven't been called to a mountain of fear leading to fear. We have been called to a mountain of hope and perfect love! That is the fuel for our holy race! Verse 25.

• Hebrews 12:25b-27 : "For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.' Now this, 'Yet once more,' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain." : Our author is setting up a pair of contrasting items. The people of God received the first covenant at Mount Sinai. They were impressed by Him, the refused to obey Him.

- Their story, as you recall, is fraught with unbelief in spite of the wonderful miracles that God presented to them. Religion, law possessing, did not effectively make them holy.

- In fact, it was 40 days later when they were caught in an idol worshipping frenzy by Moses when he descended from the mount! (Exodus 32)

- In spite of God's patience with Israel, eventually, these that had been given the law, experienced the judgment of God. That first generation died in the wilderness.

- You can take it further and speak of the generation of the Kings and the people of Israel that were sent into Babylonian exile. None who disobeyed God's covenant escaped His wrath.

- If that was God's response to those that received that "earthly" covenant, what will be the response if a heavenly covenant is rejected?

- God's voice shook the earth at that time and He promises to do that again, not only here, but in the heavens! What is He referring to? Please turn with me to Haggai 2.

- The context of this passage deals with the "building" of Zerubabel's temple. By all accounts, it was a humble rebuild or re-organization of the rubble that had been left by the Babylonians.

- What would you expect from a poor group of displaced nationals who are just returning from 70 years in Babylon? They were tasked with rebuilding the Temple and to their credit they got to it.

- But it wasn't glorious. Those that were old enough to remember Solomon's Temple looked upon this renovation with tears and not because they were happy! This had to be discouraging.

- This is when God speaks to His leader in Haggai 2.

• Haggai 2:3-9 : " Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’ 'For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.'" : Essentially, God is telling Zerubbabel that the work he is doing will outdo the work done for Solomon's temple because of who will visit this temple!

- Jesus, the Desire Of All Nations, will present Himself in this temple and His arrival will shake the foundations of Judaism forever! The use of this passage here is so full of irony.

- Remember that Herod had only recently restored their Temple, which rejected Jesus by virtue of it's continued sacrificial system!

- That temple must have seemed so permanent, but God is telling them that from the time that Jesus presented Himself in that Temple to the end of time, a rumbling and shaking has come!

- The presentation and subsequent rejection of the Messiah set a course for shaking that will literally culminate in the complete destruction of the known universe!

- Anything that you attach yourself to on this Earth, including that which is connected to Mount Sinai will be completely dislodged!

- For those that were listening to this, consider this further point of irony: Their Temple was about to be razed to the ground by Titus Vespasion. They are minutes away from that!

- If the source of your holiness cannot withstand the shaking of God, you had better find a more stable fountain!

- The only thing that that could apply to is that which exists in heaven, the covenant from Mount Zion! Verse 28.

• Hebrews 12:28,29 : "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." : Our author is telling his audience that those who are in Christ are currently receiving the unshakeable Kingdom!

- It's not a far off thing. The principles are growing within us by the intake and application of His Word! Our love for and loyalty to the King is growing by the day!

- Because that is the present reality, let us have the grace of God's help to serve Him in a manner that He finds pleasing, with respect and dread! Why? Because of who He is!

- He is a consuming fire! He is a devouring fire! Gratefully, in Christ, His holy fire of judgment has come to rest upon Christ.

- Only those outside of Christ will experience what it means to be consumed by God. For those inside Christ, that fire burns off the unholy parts of our lives and purifies us as we walk with Him.

Conclusion
- Our holy race is marked by peaceful relations with all men and a holy walk with God. Our holy help comes from the God of Mount Zion, from the city that cannot be shaken.

- Let me ask you: Are you serious about personal holiness? Are you concerned with the holiness of the family of God? Friends, our God is a consuming fire!

- He is our help and as we live in holiness, that fire is a benefit. If we choose not to live in holiness, that fire is there for another purpose!

- If your name is written in heaven, I join the author of Hebrews and the Holy Spirit in saying to you: Live your life like it!