Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” - Hebrews 12:14-29
"Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" The first part of that sentence seems harmless: "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone..." If it says "make every effort" and I tried really hard to get along with people, then haven't I met my obligations? And if they are still mad at me, what can I do? I mean, I tried hard right and they didn't respond so if we aren't at peace, it isn't my fault. Right?
Even the second part of the sentence seems pretty tame: "be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." It is easy to read holiness as being a good person and we know that God requires that we are holy to be close to him. We know that we are supposed to follow the rules and act like God would expect of us.
So what's the big deal?
Holiness isn't just a warm and fuzzy. It actually can be scary. The author goes back to Old Testament, when Moses and the people of Israel were learning about God and he said they need to treat him differently. Getting close to God was like getting close to fire. That's why they had to be careful getting close to the mountain of the presence of God, so they wouldn't die.
Fire heats and it purifies, it also consumes and scorches. You have to respect it or you get burned. While we don't come to a literal mountain where God is dwelling, we are still trying to come close to God through Jesus. Treating God like he is our buddy is to relate to him unrealistically. It is unrealistic to treat God like our peer. He is not our buddy. It is foolish to treat God like someone we bargain with. He needs nothing from us and we have no leverage. It is foolish to treat God like a person. He is not at risk of dying nor is he confined to the limits of a physical body. When we say God is holy, we are saying that he is fundamentally different from us, in being and in character. Assumptions about him can lead us fatally astray. We have to respect God the way we respect fire: good, powerful and at the same time dangerous to be on the wrong side of.
This very fire that we rely on and are grateful for cannot be underestimated and trivialized like a Christmas card or an Easter basket. It cannot be ignored or set aside. "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”" Lord, don't allow yourself to be trivialized in my sight.
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