Title Do not disobey (Hebrews 12:18-29)
Today's text tells us why we must walk this step of faith. In verse 25, he warns, "Beware that you do not disobey him who has spoken to you," while telling us who the speaker is, what the Word is, and what we hope for. However, there are God's terrifying warnings, but the more certain reason we cannot forsake our faith in Christ is because of the hope He has given us. Let's read verse 28 together.
"Therefore, since we are given a kingdom that cannot be shaken..." Do you believe? The world is changing. It shakes. Even the 500-year-old government of the Joseon Dynasty was shaken and shaken. The Soviet Union also collapsed. However, if you believe that the kingdom of our God is a kingdom that will not be shaken, a country that will not be shaken forever, please say Amen. It is said that the kingdom of God does not shake. Because God the King is eternal, unshaken. He said that he has received this eternal kingdom, a kingdom that will not be shaken. If you believe that you have received this kingdom, please say Amen. If so, I believe that we, the people of that country, should not be shaken. If our hope is not shaken, our faith will not be shaken. If you have hope, you can persevere.
Today's text shows a majestic and majestic scene like watching the movie of the Ten Commandments, but it speaks of something more majestic inside. Judging from the content, he is telling us that we should obey God and live a life of faith that pleases God by contrasting the law and the gospel, the Old and New Testaments, the old covenant and the new covenant, and the earth and heaven.
So, what about us today in the New Testament age?
What we have come to is that it is different from when we received the law in verses 18-21.
Hebrews 12:18 The place to which you have come is not a burning mountain, and black clouds, and darkness, and a storm, and the sound of a trumpet, and the sound of talking, which you have come to, but those who heard it begged that no more be spoken, for when even an animal comes to the mountain, it is stoned Because they could not bear the command that said, "I am very afraid," Moses said, "I am very afraid and trembling," because what they saw was so terrifying.
But we do know that in the Old Testament, when Moses received the law from Mount Sinai and came down, they swore to keep the word that was proclaimed, but after a few days Moses went up to Mount Sinai again, they made a golden calf and committed the sin of worshiping idols. committed The word to build the tabernacle is proclaimed. Why does Israel need a tabernacle? There is no salvation through the law. It speaks of Christ in the tabernacle, and that Israel sinned when they were receiving the law. How is it that when life received the law, it was so fearful and trembling that it was taken and sworn, but it was not enough. Please believe that there is no salvation for man without the redemption of Christ. This is the gospel that tells about God's plan to save lives, but it is about whether people who are living a religious life today are worse off than they are under the laws of the Old Testament.
The place where the church was completed today is the kingdom of heaven. There is God who is the judge of all people, and there is the spirit of the righteous who have been perfected. Also, the kingdom of heaven is where Jesus Christ, the mediator of the new covenant, and those who have received the ransom he sowed enter.
They contrast the Old and New Testaments. If the Old Testament era is Mt. Sinai of the visible world, the New Testament is telling us that it is an invisible spiritual mountain, that is, Mt. Zion ruled by God in heaven. If the Old Testament law is carnal, the New Testament gospel is spiritual. Just as when Moses received the law, the scene was majestic and terrifying, so at the moment when he received the gospel of the New Testament, the heavenly Jerusalem was far greater than the magnificence of the Old Testament, the assembly of ten million angels and the firstborn, God the judge, and the mediator of the new covenant. It is speaking of Jesus Christ and His blood. How can we enter the kingdom of heaven where Mount Zion, the city of Jerusalem, the general assembly of the firstborn, the church is completed, and the spirits of the righteous are gathered in this way? Here, in Exodus 4:22, God called Israel the firstborn, and when the firstborn was used in the singular, it was applied to Christ (Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:6). What he did is that they can be said to be the chosen ones of God who inherit the faith in union with Christ.
The world changes (2 Peter 3:7). You can see the world is changing rapidly. We live in uncertain times. However, please believe that the kingdom of God will never change for eternity and eternity. We have become citizens of the unchanging heaven even when heaven and earth pass away.