You have not come to a physical mountain…But you have come to Mount Zion [Hebrews 12:18, 22].
Last week I spoke about the author using the metaphor of two mountains, Mt.Sinairepresenting Jewish life under the law and Mt. Zion, whichis the destination and dwelling place of God and His people.
Notice when speaking about these two mountains the writer uses the same wording ‘you have come to’ twice…In the Greek the wording you have come to is all one word (προσέρχομαι (pros-er’-khom-ahee)) …in verse 18 he uses it in the negative (oὐ) …You have not come to…and in verse 22 he again uses the same verb…but in a more positive manner…You have come to.
This Greek word and the English translation of it is important for two reasons:
FIRST. it means to approach, to draw near…to come to visit or associate with… in the Septuagint the verb is used to describe the priests approaching God to perform their Levitical functions.
But…it was something they were only permitted to do once a year on the Day of Atonement…approaching God or being in God’s presence required the utmost reverence and only a few people ever experienced that…the analogy of Mt. Zion is referring to believers possessing the privilege of accessing God through Christ the Great High Priest any time we want.
Something about approaching God…some say that since God is a God of grace, we can approach Him “just as we are” …that’s the reason we can be casual and lackadaisical in our worship and come as we want because God is interested only in our hearts so our physical appearance before God is unimportant.
Others who emphasize the holiness of God take approaching God in a more serious manner…fearing God’s judgement if they fail to meet His requirements
…hence the need to have daily devotions
…going to church
…giving their offerings regularly
…contributing to the missions work of the church
…listening to sermons attentively
doing all the ‘things’ that puts them in a position to approach God because of what I have done.
Both of these approaches to God…even though they are well-intentioned…both fall short of understanding who God is and how we are to approach Him.
First…it’s important to think about why it’s even possible for us to come before God.
Ever since the Fall in the Garden mankind cannot approach God on his own because we all have fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23) …our sin means we are not worthy to relate…or to approach God even from a distance.
But…because of His grace God made the ultimate provision for sinful people to come near him…Christ’s death on the cross means we have access to God because Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that enables us to approach God…so… instead of earning God’s favor by our performance by doing things…we can delight in God’s favor because of the finished work of Christ at Calvary.
However…that does not mean we can approach God casually and carelessly like He’s our fishing buddy… He does not stop being holy and just…Christ’s sacrifice has given us a right standing before God but that does not give us a license to approach God in a casual and irresponsible manner.
Approaching God requires Consecration
Exodus 19 is the example of how we are to approach God…there were two things God told them to do.
Approaching God requires Reverence
God told Moses to keep their distance from the mountain…Moses was to set limits all around so that the people would not go up and touch the mountain… two things which can be said about God setting boundaries around the mountain:
Some argue that as Christians we’re not bound by those standards…that we’re free to be expressive…and even undignified in our worship…that we’re free to bring our…uninspired…lackadaisical…attempts of worship before God and not be afraid because God sees our worship through the eyes of His perfect Son.
That’s the reason people use to justify how they approach God…because we can now approach God different in the New Testament.
And if you’re preaching God’s Word…it’s OK to wear jeans…a T-shirt…or a shirt with the tail out…hey…we’re just identifying with the people even though God told His priests to appear before Him in presentable attire.
As New Testament Christians we are called “priests” (I Pet. 2:5, 9) …God established some strict clothing requirements for priests…passages that reference the manner in how they were to approach God should cause us to reflect on how we approach God…how we dress, and how we carry ourselves before others.
Our approach towards God should reflect gratitude…humility…love… reverence…and a repentant heart…in fact in every area of our life we should evaluate the attitude with which we approach God because approaching God whether in a casual lackadaisical manner or on the basis of performance shows that we have not understood Christ’s sacrifice and God’s holiness.
Approaching God requires being Serious
- Be wretched, mourn and weep – This speaks to taking sin seriously, of understanding that it was our sin that nailed Jesus on the cross and that to save us from our sins was the reason He died on the cross.
- Humble yourselves – this brings us to the heart of the matter. To be right with God demands humility.
Approaching God requires consecration…being set aside for the purpose God created you for…it requires reverence…being respectful of who God is…and it requires hating sin and taking sinning seriously.
SECONDLY…“you have come to” in the Greek is a perfect tense verb Here’s the importance in that…HEAR THIS…it’s referring to something that far too many people are confused about because the person in the pulpit is confused…or uninformed…or has insufficient intelligence leading to a misinterpretation regarding the phrase: You have come to.
Here’s the result…people go through their entire Christian lives worried about something that Scripture is specific on…something that has plagued the Church for 2000 years…the inability to correctly understand and interpret the wording You have come to. No one ever explained it…came to church on the right Sunday.
The wording “you have come to” in the Greek is a perfect tense verb…it’s stating action that has been completed at some specific point or time in the past with continuing results into the present.
At some time in the past you made a decision to trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior…that decision has continuing result into the present…you don’t need to continue to ask God to save you…you’re saved…what that means for Christians is…the future is already present.
It’s important to note that the author is speaking of a salvation already achieved … those who belong to Christ are already citizens of Mount Zion and have entered into a permanent place of eternal relationship with God.
For the Jews Mt. Sinai was a physical mountain…a piece of rock…BUT…for us Mt. Zion is something we have already attained…we possess it…our heavenly possession of Mt Zion has been achieved because of our belief in Jesus …we are already in possession of things that will one day be ours in the future.
All of that is contained in the single word in the Greek “you have come to”. It defines our permanent status…our position before God is secure.
Beginning in [12:22], the writer of Hebrews describes five groups of people who occupy Mount Zion.
The first group of occupants are the “myriads of angels.”
The term ‘myriads’ means innumerable…an indefinitely great number which cannot be counted…they are introduced here because they are the usual accompaniment of angels that serve God.
Second group is “the general assembly and church of the firstborn“
In Hebrews 12:23, the entire church comprised of both Jewish and non-Jewish believers is called the “church of the firstborn.” …Paul in [Romans 8:29] uses “firstborn” in the same manner…not indicating a literal birth, as in human families but being in God’s Family by virtue of Him being our Redeemer.
We collectively are the Church of the Firstborn…it is through our faith in Christ’s sacrificial work on the Cross and His Resurrection that our names are “enrolled in heaven” …and because of that we are privileged to be called the “Church of the Firstborn.”
We enjoy all the rights and privileges of a firstborn child of God…we are registered citizens of heaven who have been made perfect [23] because of Jesus.
This makes for a nice sermon topic…makes people feel good and secure…it’s supposed to…people like to know that God has included them to be eternally a part of His heavenly family…but the writers of the New Testament…led by the Holy Spirit, always include a part of God’s character that seems less than loving…it’s to make people think regarding their fellowship with God.
For people today who think they’ve been doing fine all their live without Jesus …might want to reevaluate that…for Christians who believe they are enrolled in Heaven and live a lifestyle of disobedience…might want to reevaluate your standing in Christ especially with regards to eternity.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we are enrolled in heaven…that’s good…but…what is notable about this verse is how the twin themes of salvation and judgment are constantly intertwined.
In verse 23 He mentions that God is the Judge of all…this is not the side of God people in America want to hear about…and I’m not here this morning to preach Hell and damnation…because that’s not what God has inspired me to preach.
BUT…God knows all things…He knows all our thoughts…our motives…our arrogance…our humility…and our faith…He is the Judge of all…Psalm 94 reflects His omniscience of knowing everything about everybody.
Lord, 2 You are the judge of us all;
3 How much longer will the wicked be glad?
4 How much longer will criminals be proud
and boast about their crimes?
5 They crush your people,
they oppress those who belong to you.
6 They kill widows and orphans,
and murder the strangers who live in our land.
7 They say, “The Lord does not see us;
the God of Israel does not notice.”
8 take notice you senseless ones
When will you ever learn?
23 He will punish them for their wickedness
and destroy them for their sins;
The third occupant in Mount Zion is “God, the Judge of all.”
God the Father, in His role as Judge actively judges people to determine their eternal abode…thus His title, “Judge of All.”
The immediate reaction is God can’t hold me accountable for something I don’t know anything about…and you’re right…He doesn’t.
No one will be judged for knowledge they don’t have…for instance God is not going to ask you to explain the Hypostatic Union theory of how Jesus is both divine and human…God’s fair.
However, we will be judged according to what knowledge we do have…let me expand on that.
For those who attend church…even rarely but maybe for years and have never made a commitment to Jesus…here’s how this works.
For the person who for years comes to church to please his wife…and for years sits patiently in the pew waiting for church to end…all the while hearing what is being preached…but still refuses to believe in Christ…they will be held accountable for everything they heard…for all those years.
There are very few people especially in America…who don’t have the opportunity of hearing the Gospel preached…people will be judged on that.
The fourth group of occupants are “the spirits of the righteous made perfect.”
These are the Old Testament faithful, who the writer of Hebrews so beautifully describes in Hebrews 11…these believers are called “spirits” because they have not yet received their resurrected bodies.
The fifth occupant is “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant.“
It is not our works that saves us…it is God and God alone…the only works that justify us are the works of Christ…His death on the Cross.
So how is it that the Old Testament saints are justified without ever knowing Jesus? …because old covenant believers placed their faith in Yahweh alone to save them, and He did so by applying the work of Christ on them without them ever knowing who Jesus was.
God could do this because from an eternal perspective, the work was already done…believers who lived before the time of Christ benefited from His work just as we do even though they did not clearly understand how the promised Messiah would bring salvation as we understand it today.
From a timeless, heavenly perspective, the eternal blessings of the new covenant were guaranteed to God’s people because the final sacrifice was foreordained… something God beforehand decreed (Acts 2:23; 3:18; 1 Peter 1:20) would happen.
Do you see all that encompasses the statement…you have come to…see the complexity in what the author is attempting to convey regarding the person and work of Jesus’s ministry?
God has made an eternal promise to us…one that includes spending eternity with Him without fear of having it taken away…but at the same time emphasizing the importance of accountability…that our enrollment in heaven gives us the freedom to live on this earth does not come without restraints and limitation.