Saints are not perfect. Saints still sin. Saints have the “old man” who seeks to hinder the “new man” from shining. Thus we need to be reminded of the need to listen to God. He will chasten His children. He desires to bless man but He cannot bless sin. He requires obedience from His child/ren. It is wise to listen to Him and not challenge Him. He cannot be pushed around.
God gave Moses great authority. He showed the nation of Israel that it was unwise to challenge Moses’ leadership. Moses spoke the Word of God, but Moses was still a man. God made sure the people understood the importance of listening to him.
It is extremely unwise to disobey God Who shows us that the blood of Jesus Christ is in Heaven. This is not an animal sacrifice. This is the blood of the eternal Son of God, that was shed for you and I. It is wrong to speak against that authority.
When God spoke to Moses on the mount, the mount shook. It did not cause a landslide. God was not destructive. He can make things shake without them falling apart. He is often shaking different parts of the earth in our time. He is allowing the earth’s topography to be changed with that shaking. However, in reference to our text, the Mount shook to remind the people of the power and authority of the LORD.
It was extremely foolish to despise the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. The nation of Israel suffered much due to their corruption of God’s commands. How much worse to despise the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood. The Catholics and many other groups do despise that and they are under God’s condemnation. There is a further shaking coming. That shaking will destroy the present heaven and earth. There will be new heavens and a new earth created at that time.
In verse 27 we are again reminded that this coming shaking will come in a similar manner to the former shaking. When God shakes the heaven and the earth, it will only affect those things that can be shaken. The kingdom of God cannot be shaken. It is firm. As our text reads, those things that cannot be shaken will remain. That will also include the third Heaven where God dwells.
In verse 28 we are further reminded of the privileged place of true saints. We will receive that heavenly kingdom — the Kingdom of God, which cannot be moved. God’s way of salvation is firm. The souls of the Old Testament saints were safe in Abraham’s bosom until the Lord Jesus Christ moved them from there into heaven. The souls of the New Testament saints are also safe in heaven. The kingdom of God is not affected by the sin of the world. No sin can enter into that heavenly kingdom. The Millennial kingdom will be a type of that, but sin will still exist in the Millennium. However, in the Kingdom of God, there is no sin.
We are challenged to draw from God’s grace, without which we cannot serve God. We are saved to serve God and we need to do so in an acceptable way. That is with reverence and godly fear. The emergent church philosophy does not fit that standard. The New Evangelical philosophy does not fit that standard. The ecumenical movement does not fit that standard either. We must submit to God’s standard. We can know that standard if we take God at His Word. There is no need to be deceived. There are many today who are in grave danger because they have chosen to accept a humanistic approach to God’s standard.
We need a godly fear. This is speaking to true, born again Christians. We need a holy reverence for God. We need to understand that He is not a jokester. He does not waste words. He is holy and He is righteous. We can approach Him through the Lord Jesus Christ. However, we must understand that what He says is what He means and what He means is what He expects. Every true child of God can draw nigh to God and be given the power to serve Him faithfully. He promises to be with His child.
God directed the writer to end this chapter with a further reminder that our God is a consuming fire. The true God wants all to know Him as God and Saviour. He provided salvation through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That blood is able to save anyone and all people. It is important to believe God’s definition of salvation, rather than the deceptive definitions of the pseudo saved. God does not rob us of anything. He blesses His true child with so much. It is important to know Him and to serve Him faithfully.
Pastor Bartel