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True holiness is manifested in adoring worship, joyful, celebratory praise, loving God, serving God. And if there is one thing missing in the lives of God's people today, it's holiness of life and submission to His Word. Many Christians today are so caught up in Satan's world system that is in opposition to God that they can't even be distinguished from it; the way they look and act and talk, think. This is largely rooted in a cavalier attitude concerning the holiness of God. And of course, all of this trivial glory of the cross. Folks, you will never be amazed at God's grace until you're first amazed at your sin. The passage that we have before us dramatically underscores these truths. Because here, in Hebrews 12, we are going to see the stark contrast between the terrifying, unapproachable God that manifested himself at Mount Sinai - the one that judges sin - and the other part of our glorious God, the loving, approachable God of Mount Zion that forgives sin.

The great theme of this passage to the early Hebrew believers, and to all Christians today, is simply this, don't go back to Judaism. Don't go back to the law. That's what the writer has been saying all along. Don't go back to the Old Covenant law. Don't go back to Mount Sinai, because there you will hear the stipulations of a holy God that you can never possibly obey. There you will find terror and judgment and wrath. Instead of that, come to the New Covenant that has replaced the Old, the new covenant of God's grace. Come to Mount Zion, and there you will find forgiveness and righteousness and eternal life. So this morning, as we look at this text, I'd like to look at it under three headings. First, we will see the terrifying judgment of Mount Sinai. Secondly, we will see the exhilarating joy of Mount Zion, and finally, the sobering warning of Jesus Christ.

Now we know, according to Scripture, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And so God revealed himself at Mount Sinai to help us learn what it is to fear him. And this is described in verses 18 through 21 here at the beginning of this text, as the writer, once again, warns the Hebrew believers and those that were considering Christianity not to go back to Judaism because of the persecution that they were experiencing, but rather reminding them of something infinitely more dangerous than the persecution that would come from man, and that is the judgment that could come from a holy God. So notice what he says, beginning in verse 18 of Hebrews 12,

"For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,

"and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them.

"For they could not bear the command, 'If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.'

"And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, 'I am full of fear and trembling.'"

So here, dear friends, we see, first of all, the terrifying judgment of Mount Sinai. In Exodus 19 we read how this terrorizing event was one in which God spoke to Moses in the giving of the law in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, where the children of Israel had been about 11 months by this time. And we know, according to Scripture, that God called Moses up to the mountain where he spoke to him regarding what to say to the people. And it's interesting, he used three titles regarding his people, the people of Israel. He called them "my treasured possession." He called them "a kingdom of priests" and "a holy nation." But all of that was contingent upon them being obedient as a covenant keeping nation. So Moses heard what the Lord had to say, he went down to the people and reported all that the Lord had commanded him, and beginning in verse nine of Exodus 19, we read this,

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.' Then Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

"The LORD also said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments;

"'and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai, in the sight of all the people.

"'You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, "Beware that you do not go up on the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

"'"No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether beast or man he shall not live." When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.'

"So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people, and they washed their garments.

"He said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman.'

"So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

"And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

"When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.

"The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, 'Go down, warn the people so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.

"'Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, or else the LORD will break out against them.'

"Moses said to the LORD, 'The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You warned us, saying, "Set bounds about the mountain and consecrate it."

"Then the Lord said to him, 'Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; and do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, or He will break forth upon them.'

"So Moses went down to the people and told them."

And essentially what he told them were the 10 Commandments. God made it very clear, did he not, that sinful man cannot approach a holy God; nor would they even want to in that condition. God is to be feared. God is holy. He is a God who will judge all who violate even a single statute. His law demands absolute, total perfection. For we, as a sinful people, that's utterly unattainable. Imagine what it would have been like to be there. I like to put myself in those positions. I've been in that region of the world before. It's a frightening place, but we read here that the people were terrorized with fear. Later on in chapter 20, verse 18, we read that,

"All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance.

"Then they said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.'

"Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin.’”

By the way, what a testimony against all of these phony claims of people going and talking and swimming with God and Jesus and having water fights and all of these silly things that people do. People were basically saying, "We're doomed. There is no way we can possibly fulfill such righteous standards. So what are we going to do?"

Now, let me digress for just a moment, because sometimes we forget some of these great truths, especially in the Old Testament. Let me remind you of the features of God's law. First of all, there is what we might call a two-fold summarization of God's law, and that is simply this that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and love our neighbor as ourself. That's kind of the core, all right? And then there is a 10-fold summarization, which is called the Decalogue, or the 10 Commandments. Sometimes they're called The Tablets of Stone. This was the Mosaic law given to Moses here on Mount Sinai. It's also called the Old Covenant. And if you keep the covenant, God will bless you. If you violate any part of it, he will curse you. And that ten-fold summarization can be broken down into three parts. Essentially the first three laws speak of how to love God perfectly. And then in the middle, you have the Sabbath, and then the final - the last three - you see how to love your neighbor, and so forth; you see how it's broken all down. So you have the 10-fold summarization, and then you have what's called the manifold law, the words of the Covenant according to Exodus 24:7; and you can see that in the entire Book of Leviticus, where you have all of these detailed expansions of all that God wanted the people to do. And all of this was written down, and it was placed in a receptacle on the side of the Ark of the Covenant. And of course, inside the Ark of the Covenant were the actual tablets of stone.

Deuteronomy 31 verse 16, God says, "Take this book of the law and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God." And here's why, "that it may remain there as a witness against you." You see, the purpose of the Law was to expose sin, "a witness against you." He wanted to expose sin so that he would drive us to the Savior. And any breach of the law, any violation, meant that you broke the whole law, and the consequence was death. And so this was extremely oppressive. In fact, when Paul examined his life against the Law, you'll recall in Romans 7:9, he said "sin became alive and I died." In other words, when I see God's righteousness, I just see my sin; it's like everywhere, and I realize that I'm doomed. It killed me, in essence, is what he says. And why is that? Well, again, because the law revealed the depths of his sinfulness, of our sinfulness. It raises the standard so high that Paul knew he was guilty before a holy God, as are we all.  All his religious accomplishments, all of his pride, all of that was reduced to ashes, and frankly, it will have the same effect on any person who honestly evaluates the holiness of God in contrast to their own sin.

 In Matthew chapter 22 and verse 36 one of the Pharisees asked Jesus, "'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?' And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Now, friends who among us can say that we've perfectly fulfilled either one of those laws?

Remember the story of Nicodemus? Nicodemus is the greatest Pharisee of the Pharisee of his day; he kept the law fastidiously. No one outranked him in terms of his ability to keep the law. The great teacher of Israel. He comes to Jesus, and what does he ask Jesus? Essentially, "Jesus, how can I get into the kingdom?" You see, even he knew that he couldn't keep the law. And it's interesting, Jesus said, well, you know, if you'll just do this and this and stop doing this and that, you'll make the cut. What did Jesus tell him? "You must be born again." You see, the point of Hebrews is simply this dear friends: don't return to Sinai. Don't go back to Judaism. The sight was so terrible, verse 21 of Hebrews 12, he says that, "'I am full of fear and trembling.'" That's what Moses said, the idea of just disintegrating. You don't want to go back to Judaism and the standard of God's law in the Old Covenant.

In Galatians, chapter three and verse 10, the apostle Paul says,

“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written,

"Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law to perform them.

"'Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'The righteous man shall live by'"...

...works. No he "shall live by faith." Salvation is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.

So this leads us to the second section of our text. We've seen the terrifying judgment of Mount Sinai. Now look at the contrast, the exhilarating joy of Mount Zion, beginning in verse 22, "But you have come to Mount Zion." You see, bear in mind now, Sinai represented God's Law in the Old Covenant, Zion represents God's grace in the New Covenant.

Let me give you a little historical context of Mount Zion. Mount Zion became the place of God's dwelling, and it happened on the heels of a season in Israel where they were corrupt beyond ability to even express. Degradation had taken over the land. The priesthood was corrupt, their king that they wanted appointed for them, Saul, was corrupt; and it's interesting after Saul and his sons were killed in battle, all of Israel fled from the Philistines. They abandoned the cities of Israel. They just left it. The Philistines came in, and they found Saul and his three sons that had fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head, they took his armor - stripped him of his armor - and put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth; and then they fastened Saul's headless, naked body, along with all of his sons, on the wall of Beit She'an. You can go there to this day and see where that happened. Folks, it was in this season of shame and degradation that God raised up his servant David to be the mediatorial ruler of his earthly kingdom in Israel. We read about that in Second Samuel five. And it's fascinating in that history, as soon as David became king of Israel, the first thing he did was go to a place called Jerusalem, the stronghold of Zion, to route the Jebusites who taunted David, who taunted all of Israel, saying that even our weak and our feeble can protect us from you. In verse nine of Second Samuel five, we read, "And David lived in the stronghold and called it the City of David. And David became greater and greater; for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him." And then it's interesting, if you read your history in the Old Testament, all of the Philistines gather together to somehow get David off that mountain, destroy the Israelites, and God gave the Israelites victory over them.

Then in chapter six of Second Samuel, we read how David goes to Kirjath-jearim, and he rescues the Ark of the Covenant that had been there. That's a little mountain about 10 miles west of Jerusalem. He gets the Ark of the Covenant; he brings it to Jerusalem. Then in chapter seven, we read how God makes an unconditional, irrevocable covenant with David to bless him in his posterity; the ultimate fulfillment which will come at Christ's second advent, when he establishes his millennial kingdom on earth and fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. That of course, being the consummating bridge between human history and the eternal state; a time when the glory of God and of the Lamb will replace the sun and the moon as sources of, according to Isaiah 24 verse 23 "Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts will reign on," guess where, "Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and His glory will be before his elders." But my point with all of this, folks, is to remind you, as the writer of Hebrews was reminding these Jewish people of the history of the season in which all of this happened, when the Lord came and by his grace and mercy, rescued his people and chose Mount Zion to be his special dwelling place on Earth. Psalm 76 verse two, "His tabernacle is in Salem. His dwelling place also is in Zion." The term is essentially synonymous. Psalm 132 verse 13, "For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation. This is My resting place forever. Here I will dwell for I have desired it."

Now, later on, on Mount Moriah, which is right there in the same area, you'll recall Solomon built that magnificent temple, and there he housed the Ark of the Covenant. Remember, the glory of God came down in such a magnificent way, and eventually Mount Zion became synonymous with Jerusalem, the city of David. It's also called the "City of God" in Scripture; the place where God would ultimately bring salvation to all who trust in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 87 says, "The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob." So beloved don't miss the contrast here. Sinai was a barren, fruitless wilderness. It was called in Scripture, "a howling desert"; a place without food, a place without water. What an incredible picture of unregenerate man whose life is barren and fruitless, who cannot even remain alive apart from God's grace.

As we look at Scripture, we see that all that man is and all that man does is fundamentally offensive to a holy God. Because of our sin nature, we have an innate inability to conform to the moral character and desires of God. So God has to do something, not only to forgive us, but also to impute to us a righteousness beyond our own, so that someday we can come into his presence. But Mount Zion was so different. It was in a land flowing with milk and honey, a lush area, a perfect picture of God's promised land, right? A little foretaste of heaven. A place that was purchased and possessed and preserved by God himself. At Mount Sinai, God revealed his infinite holiness and his justice and his terrifying majesty to expose man's sin and misery and guilt and death as they stood convicted other to the sentence of the law; unable to approach a holy God. And at Mount Zion, we see that God also revealed his infinite holiness, justice and terrifying majesty, when in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, he suffered and died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. You see, dear friends, it was at the cross where justice and mercy came together. It is the place where Jesus, the Son of God, came to make atonement for sin. You remember when Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn asunder, the people were suddenly allowed access into the very presence the Holy of Holies, symbolizing the priesthood of the believer. We no longer need priests. We have a high priest, and it is Christ Jesus, our Lord. Zion is the city of redeeming grace, the City of Light. In Psalm 50 and verse two, we read, "Out of Zion the perfection of beauty God has shown forth." You see, dear friends, Zion represents the New Covenant. It represents the heavenly Jerusalem. It represents that place that Abraham was looking for. Remember, in Hebrews 11 verse 10, he was looking for the city "which has foundations whose architect and builder is God." So this is the ultimate land of promise that every believer looks for.

At Mount Sinai, God came down, and he stayed for just a moment, so to speak. But at Mount Zion, he dwells forever, and the redeemed will be with him, because, according to the Lord's words in Luke 10, our names are recorded in heaven. Our names are recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life, Revelation 21, verse 27. We are part of the church of the firstborn, as the writer says here, who are enrolled in heaven; and how tragic to think that so many, some, even in my own family, are still standing at the foot of Sinai, condemned in need of mercy that is so readily available at Zion.

So in contrast with the terrifying judgment of Mount Sinai, we see the exhilarating joy of Mount Zion. Look at Hebrews 12, verse 22, he says, "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels." Verse 23, "to the general assembly," which is another reference to the myriads of angels that gathered now in celebratory praise; something they could not do when they appeared with God at Mount Sinai. Remember the angels appeared with him at Mount Sinai, 1000s and 1000s and 1000s of them at the giving of the Law.

We have also come now, he says, to the, "church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven." And indeed, we are heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ, who is the firstborn among many brethren, as Paul said in Romans eight. We have also come, "to God," he says, "the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect." You see, the Old Testament, saints could only look forward in anticipation to the ultimate forgiveness that God would give them through Christ's sacrifice and through his resurrection that would purchase their redemption. We can now look back and see it. And then he says also in verse 24, "and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel." You recall that the writer of Hebrews made reference to Abel in chapter 11 as one of the heroes of the faith. The reason why the sprinkled blood of Jesus is better than that of the blood of Abel is because Abel sacrifice, even though it was an obedient sacrifice, it did not have the ability to atone for sin. It just symbolized the death of Christ that would make full atonement for sin. You see, folks, because of all of this, our citizenship is in heaven.

You know, with all the chaos and corruption that we see in Washington, by the way, it gets on your nerves, doesn't it? I mean, I can't hardly watch the news anymore. It is so discouraging. And then when I see the moral free fall all around the world. I mean, even here in Nashville, I just find myself longing for heaven, don't you? Just longing for it; rejoicing in the fact that my citizenship is in Zion, in a heavenly Jerusalem. I remember being at the doctor not too long ago for a physical, and he was telling me, you know what great health I'm in. And I mean, he made this statement of saying, you know, "With your genetics and with your health, you're going to live to be a very old man." And I said, "Oh, please don't tell me that." Please don't tell me that. If that's what God wants, that's fine, but my point is, and I said something like this to him, "I'm ready to check out now." You know, the growing animosity between groups with competing social and political viewpoints is turning our country into a war zone. But folks, these conflicts that we see pale in comparison to the hatred that is growing towards Biblical Christianity. And why is this? Because we're not of this world, we're not of this world. We're aliens here. The world is Satan's evil system of sin acted out by humanity in opposition to God. We're not of this world, and I have to admit, I'm just homesick, aren't you? I'm just homesick. I don't fit in. You don't either, if you know and love Christ.

By the way, you'll either fit in with the world, or you'll fit in with Christ. You can't have both. We are to be salt and light. In Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, he said, we are to be salt and light. And Paul urged the Philippians to live righteously, so that according to Philippians two and verse 15, "You may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world." My, how I long for the New Jerusalem that will be illuminated by Christ Himself. Can you imagine that? Revelation 21 verse 23, "The city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its light and its lamp is the Lamb." Oh dear friends, the exhilarating joy of Mount Zion; one that animates our praise so that with the psalmist, we can say, "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation; the joy of the whole earth in Mount Zion and the far north, the city of the great king. God in her palaces, has made Himself known as a stronghold." Psalm 48 verses one through three. And how sad to think that maybe some of you are still standing at the foot of Mount Sinai in a howling wilderness, exposed to the judgment of a holy God, when you could be standing before the throne of grace in the majestic splendor of Zion.

Folks, if that is you, I just plead with you, as a minister of the gospel, to repent and believe in Christ, believe in the gospel. Come to Zion. John Owen, the 17th Century Puritan theologian at the University of Oxford, summarized this so perfectly. He said, believers, quote, "are so come to this city as to be inhabitants, free denizens, (which is another word for inhabitants), possessors of it, to whom all the rights, privileges and immunities of it do belong. And what is spoken of it in the Scripture is a ground of faith to them in a spring of consolation. For they may, with consolation, make application of what is so spoken to themselves in every condition. A city is the only place of rest, peace, safety and honor among men in this world. To all these in the spiritual sense, we are brought by the gospel. Whilst men are under the law, they are at Sinai. In a wilderness where is none of these things, the souls of sinners can find no place of rest or safety under the law. But we have all these things by the gospel: rest in Christ, peace with God, order in the communion of faith, safety and divine protection and honor in our relation to God in Christ." End quote.

So the writer helps us see the terrifying judgment of Mount Sinai in contrast to the exhilarating joy of Mount Zion. And then finally, the Lord gives us this sobering warning. Notice in verse 25, "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven." You see, when God came down to Mount Sinai he spoke to Moses, and to the people, with the sound of thunder, and he revealed his law to the people, and they were terrified - they were all terrified - but not all of them heeded what he said. Within a short period of time, they began to ignore his warnings, they spurned his law - you will recall your Old Testament history - it was in no time at Kadesh Barnea, they made and worshiped a golden calf. Can you imagine that? They even called it Yahweh. All in violation of God's command to "not have any other gods before You," other than me. And as a result of their persistent disobedience, God judged them, and they were not allowed to enter into The Promised Land, and they perished in the wilderness without hope, without forgiveness, without God.

But now, once again, God has spoken to us, not from Sinai, but from Zion through his Son. Remember, in Hebrews chapter one, we read verses one and two that, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days, has spoken to us in His Son." You see, under Judaism, the Father spoke through his prophets. Under Christianity, he speaks in, and by, his own beloved son; and yet millions continue to ignore him. They "refuse," as the text says here in Hebrews 12, "they refuse Him who is speaking." Notice it's in the present tense. It's not like he spoke once, and that's it. He continues to speak. He's speaking right now through his servant. He speaks through the gospel. He speaks through his Holy Spirit. He speaks through the community of his people who were to go and make disciples. The point that he's making here is this: if the unbelievers in the wilderness were punished when they ignored God, when he spoke from earthly Sinai, how much more will they be punished those who have had the privilege of seeing the incarnate Christ and having his word? How much more will they be held accountable for ignoring that ongoing message that comes from heavenly Zion.

The writer of Hebrews, then makes this chilling warning in verse 26 he says, "And his voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.'" This is a quotation from the prophet Haggai, chapter two and verse six. He says then, in verse 27, "This expression, 'Yet once more,' denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things." In other words, all of the physical universe, as we know it, is going to one day be destroyed. He goes on to say, "so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." In other words, only the great eternal spiritual realities which cannot be shaken or removed will remain when this happens. Those things pertaining to, for example, our quote, "inheritance," (1 Peter 1:4 and following), "which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you all of this will remain." He went on to say, "We are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Peter even went on to describe what the writer of Hebrews is saying here when he says, "removing of those things which can be shaken as of created things." You remember in Second Peter, chapter three, and verse 10, and in verse 12, he says this, verse 10, he says, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief." That's a metaphor. It speaks of God's judgment that will come unexpectedly, suddenly, with disastrous consequences. God's patience is one day going to run out, and the last of those that he has given to his Son will be saved. The delay will be over. The opportunity for repentance will be gone. And he went on to say, "in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up."

This dear friend, speaks of disintegration. It speaks of un-creation of the universe, the creator and the sustainer, who currently prevents all of the atoms from splitting apart, will no longer do so. In fact, Jesus said in his Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 verse 35 that "heaven and earth will pass away." Peter says it will pass away with a roar. This is a onomatopoeic word, which means it's a word whose sound is its meaning. So the term "roar" here in the original language is whizzing type of word. It's an explosive sound, and frankly, it speaks of a sound that we have never heard, the sound of atoms splitting apart because all matter is going to disintegrate. He says, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Peter went on to say in verse 12, "the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat." Folks, why is that? Because God hates sin, and this physical universe has been polluted by sin, therefore he must uncreate it and recreate a new heaven and a new earth, where those who he has purified by his saving grace will live eternally in the presence of his glory, worshiping him forever. Folks, a day is coming when all the scoffing, all of the ridicule, all of the mockery will cease. I was talking with my dear wife about that this morning. My heart's just so burdened for so many people that I know that just mock the gospel; and I know what's going to happen to them unless they repent. A day will come that if they don't repent, it will be too late.

Back to Hebrews 12, verse 28, "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken," here's what we need to do, "let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire." Given all this, dear friends, why would anybody want to return to Sinai right? Why not come to Mount Zion? Why subject yourself to the judgment and wrath of a holy God when you can experience his mercy and his grace. And so I plead with you once again, if you've never come to Zion, come to Zion today, right? Acknowledge your sin, ask Christ to save you, and by his grace he will. And you will experience the grace and the love of God, rather than his condemnation and his wrath.

The gospel is incredible, isn't it? This is just one aspect of it. We celebrate the gospel. I hope all of you are looking forward, as I am, to the Reformation Preaching Conference. We've got a poster up here. I guess that's John Calvin's, maybe his college picture, I'm not sure. I would imagine that style is coming back in vogue today, but this is 500 years since the gospel was rescued from the heresies of Roman Catholicism, and the gospel still needs to be rescued. It's being hijacked everywhere you turn, and I just celebrate the gospel. What a joy it is to be able to preach it and to live it. And I pray that that will be your heart as well. Amen. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for these eternal truths. I pray that we will be able to grasp them intellectually, but more importantly, that we will be able to live them wholeheartedly to the praise of your glory; that we might enjoy the fullness of your love for us as your people, debtors to your mercy, debtors to your grace. And finally, Lord, again, I plead with you that you will move upon the heart of those that do not know you. I pray that today they will run to the cross and confess Christ Jesus as Lord, the Son of God, who died in their stead and rose again and is coming again. I commit them to you. We thank you. We give you praise in Jesus' name, Amen.