The Sermon Notes of Harold Buls On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia Text from Hebrews 12:18-25 Trinity VI 1. Hebrews 12:1-13 warns us not to rebel against God when we are chastened by Him. Verses 14-17 and 25-29 continue that warning and encouragement. Verses 18-24 could be considered a grand parenthesis in this warning section, verses 12-29. These verses speak of the proper motivation of the Christian. It is not the fear and dread which the children of Israel experienced at Mt. Sinai but rather the joy and confidence experienced by those who have approached Mt. Zion. The Law threatens us and shows us our sins. The Gospel comforts us and covers our sins. The Gospel makes us loyal and faithful to the Lord and causes us to run the race of life as we ought run it. This section comprises two sentences: verses 18-21 and verses 22-24. Both begin with the verb "you have approached." "For" is explanatory. It introduces the reason for which we do _not_ endure. It is answered by the word "however" in verse 22. The word "Sinai" is not mentioned here but is plainly implicit in the text. The details of verses 18-21 are taken from Deuteronomy 4 and 5 and Exodus 19 and 20. The seven details mentioned here in verses 18-19 are attendant to the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. The Mosaic Law involved also the ceremonial law which is called the "elements of the world" in Galatians and Colossians. This law not only reminded the people that they were sinful but also contained shadows of the Gospel which were to be fulfilled in Christ Jesus. This law tended toward the physical, tangible and touchable. The Temple in Jerusalem was a tangible thing. It was a shadow of the Christ Who was to come. When He said to His enemies: "Destroy this temple" etc., He meant Himself as the fulfillment of the Temple. The Sabbath was a temporary thing. It denoted rest. It was fulfilled in Christ and therefore is no more. The writer of verse 18 in our text says: "You have not approached that which can be touched." Now there follow four items which were attendant to the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai: the blazing fire, darkness, gloom and storm. The writer is not saying that the people of the Old Covenant had nothing but the Sinaitic Covenant. We know from chapter 11 that they had more than that. They had also the Abrahamitic Covenant. The Sinaitic Covenant is the Law of God. The Abrahamitic Covenant is the Gospel of God. The former shows us our sin. The latter shows us the grace of God. The former condemns. The latter comforts. Israel lived in the time of promise, we, in time of fulfillment. 2. Verse 19: When the people heard the sound of the trumpet and God Himself speaking they became terrified and asked that nothing more be said. This is how man reacts to the Law of God. See Galatians 3:19-24; 4:1-3. The writer of our text says: "You have approached more than that." Verses 20-21 explain verse 19. The point is that the Law threatens punishment. It holds out no hope of salvation. Moses was a highly privileged man but verse 21 tells us that he trembled and was exceedingly afraid when God spoke to the people on Mt. Sinai. He was a sinner, saved by grace. 3. Verse 22 begins with Mt. Zion, the symbol of the Kingdom of God, the Gospel, which came to us through Jesus Christ. It is called the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. The writer is speaking about the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, both those on earth and those in heaven, Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 1:20. At Galatians 4:26, Paul calls it "The Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all." 4. Verse 23 clearly speaks of the inhabitants of heaven: those who are first- born because they are of Christ _the_ first-born, Colossians 1:15, those who are the elect of God (see Exodus 32:32; Psalm 69:28; Isaiah 4:3; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20), those for whom God judges, those just souls who have reached their goal. 5. Verse 24 speaks of Christ the Mediator Who fulfilled all. He was murdered but His blood does not cry for vengeance as does Abel's blood. His blood cleanses us from all sin and pleads for us before the throne of God in heaven. 6. In the wilderness Israel rejected this Mosaic Covenant and were lost. The writer asks: "How much greater won't your punishment be if you now reject the New Covenant of Jesus?" The Sermon Outline of Harold Buls On the Epistle Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia Text from Hebrews 12:18-25 Trinity VI THEME: Do Not Turn Away From Him Who Speaks From Heaven, verse 25 INTRODUCTION Hebrews was written during the Neronian persecutions. Christianity was forbidden but Judaism was permitted. Jews who had become Christians were tempted to return to Judaism and abandon Christ. This whole epistle says: DO NOT DO THAT. Our text comes to grips with this problem directly. It asks: "If Israel did not escape after refusing the voice that spoke on earth, how much more will we _not_ escape if we turn away from the voice which speaks from heaven?" I. ISRAEL TURNED AWAY FROM HIM WHO SPOKE ON EARTH, verses 18-21 A. Mt. Sinai is the symbol of the time of the law and promise. We know form the last four books of Moses that God gave the Covenant of the Law through Moses to Israel on Mt. Sinai. It comprised three kinds of law: moral, ceremonial and political. The moral law, the ten commandments, showed them their sin. The ceremonial law was the system of shadows which prefigured Christ. The political laws governed Israel as an earthly kingdom. Verses 18-21 show us how frightened Israel was when God spoke to them from the mountain. Even Moses was so afraid that he said: "I am full of fear and trembling." That is the moral law. Verse 18 mentions "that which can be touched." That hints at the ceremonial law, the law of ceremonies. For example: circumcision, sacrifices, the Temple, etc. These things pointed forward to Christ. B. But Israel did not see the fulfillment of what Mt. Sinai foretold. Galatians 3:23-25 reads: "But before faith (fulfillment) came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." The Mosaic Law and its era led people to Christ, the Savior. They believed the promises about Him. Jesus said of that time: "Many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it," Luke 10:24. David and Isaiah longer for the fulfillment but did not experience it. C. Israel lost everlasting life by turning away from the Mosaic Covenant in the desert. This was a great tragedy. But how much worse if we now turn away from Christ Who has fulfilled all!! II. LET US NOT TURN AWAY FORM HIM WHO SPEAKS TO US FROM HEAVEN, verse 22-24 A. Mt. Zion is the symbol of the time of fulfillment, verse 22. 1. It is the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, a festival host of myriads of heavenly angels. The book of Revelation gives us glimpses of this. It is not a forbidding scene as was Mt. Sinai. It is an inviting scene. By faith we are already citizens of heaven. By faith we are heirs of eternal life. 2. It is the throng of the heavenly, first-born elect of God. It is the throng of the heavenly justified people who have reached their goal. It is the presence of God Who judges in favor of the believer. This is what we call the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the church on earth and in heaven, Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 1:20. 3. It is the Mediator of the New Testament, Jesus, whose blood does not cry for vengeance as does Abel's but whose blood cries for our pardon and forgiveness. B. All of this we have approached by faith in Jesus. Jesus once said: "Everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required," Luke 12:48. Prophets and kings longed to see and hear what we see and hear. Our loss will be greater if we abandon this New Testament. Let us not be like the dog in the fable. He stood on a bridge with a piece of meat in his mouth. When he looked at his shadow in the river he let go to the meat he had, thinking that he would gain more. But by doing so he lost everything. CONCLUSION Only one thing is required of us and that is that we remain faithful unto death. let us never give up our faith and confession. ________________________________________________________________ This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg by Marilyn F. Gardner and is in the public domain by permission of Dr. Buls. You may freely distribute, copy or print this text. Please direct any comments or suggestions to: Rev. Robert E. Smith Walther Library Concordia Theological Seminary E-mail: bob_smith@ctsfw.edu Surface Mail: 6600 N. Clinton St., Ft. Wayne, IN 46825 USA Phone: (219) 452-2148 Fax: (219) 452-2126 ________________________________________________________________