DAY #328: Hebrews 12:18-13:25

This passage again contrasts the old and new covenants by contrasting the earthly Mount Sinai and the heavenly Mount Zion. As the Israelites were camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, God was preparing the nation for receiving his Ten Commandments. God commanded that no one, not even an animal, should touch the mountain under penalty of death (Exodus 19:12-13). The fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind describe the awesome scene on the mountain, for God himself descended there to speak with Moses (Exodus 19:18-21).

A blazing fire engulfed the top half of the mountain; this illustrated the Lord’s presence. The loud trumpet blast came from the mountain and caused the people to tremble. They begged God to stop speaking. The fear caused the people to beg that Moses be the lone mediator. They thought they would die if God were to speak directly to them.

The old covenant, with its display of God’s awesome power, still was not superior to what God had planned in the new covenant. The old covenant caused only fear from the people; they begged that they would not have to approach God themselves. God, in turn, did not allow them to approach him. God has offered something new. Returning to this old way would be foolish.

Instead of coming to a threatening mountain of fear and death, you have come to Mount Zion. Mount Zion represents a new community and a new relationship with God, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Here believers live with God and can worship him without reserve. In this city, thousands of angels in joyful assembly continually worship God. The new Jerusalem is the future dwelling of the people of God. All Christians will have a new citizenship in God’s future Kingdom. Everything will be new, pure, and secure.

Christians do not enter a covenant in which someone like Moses must go up the mountain to meet with God. Rather, we have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children. The assembly means the church or congregation, referring to the gathering of believers who have been called out by God for the special purpose of loving, obeying, and worshiping him. We are no longer separated from the angels, but join them in praising God. All believers are God’s firstborn, for all are promised his inheritance.

The only access to God is through Jesus Christ, who is “the way” (John 14:6). This new covenant far surpasses the old covenant; no person who understood the new covenant could ever intelligently choose to revert to the old way. We come to the sprinkled blood because through it alone can we receive God’s gracious forgiveness.

If people refuse to follow God’s new covenant, they reject his plan. But more than the plan, they reject God himself. To do so is final and tragic, so the writer again warns his readers: See to it that you obey God, the one who is speaking to you.

Eventually the world will crumble, and only God’s Kingdom will last. Those who follow Christ are part of this unshakable Kingdom, and they will withstand the shaking, sifting, and burning. When we feel unsure about the future, we can take confidence from these verses. No matter what happens here, our future is built on a solid foundation that cannot be destroyed. Don’t put your confidence in what will be destroyed; instead, build your life on Christ and his unshakable Kingdom.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

I read today's passage and there is so much to take in. What God has spoken to my heart today is the issue of Eternal Security. At COV, we believe God's word is irrevocably clear about Eternal Security. Read the passages below. I pray they bring comfort to your soul.

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Romans 8:1 (NIV)

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

John 10:27-29 (NIV)

The point is simple; if we can't do anything to earn our salvation, and we can't - Ephesians 2:8-9 - then we can't do anything to lose our salvation.