Again, everything just points
to Christ. He is what saves us, He's who makes a way for us,
who makes a place for us, and He is glory. The very last line
lifts me up to glory because it lifts me to Thee. Glory is
where Christ is. We'll be preaching from Hebrews
today. Hebrews chapter 12, verses 14
through 29 is where I'll be reading from. Before we read, let's pray together. Our Father, we come to you asking
for blessing. That you bless this message and
bless our time together. We say this because you have
told us that you have promised to be with us in times like this.
And we trust in that promise. And we hang on that promise.
Because we are powerless without you to do anything worthwhile. So, Lord, we pray that you make
our time worthwhile. That it would be a blessing to
everyone involved, a blessing to all who hear it, that we would
be able to spend our time truly worshiping you. We pray the same
request for all of your men and all of your churches throughout
the world. We send special prayers and considerations
for the Terrell family. It's been a year. And we pray
for them that they continue to have your comfort and the peace
that is yours, that you promise your people. We just pray for all of them,
Lord, that they can feel your love, feel you surrounding them
in every time of trial and difficulty that they still, I'm sure, experience. We pray for all of our loved
ones in the same way. As we go through difficult times
in this world, Lord, we know that you've overcome this world.
You've overcome death, and it is nothing but victory for us,
because it's nothing but victory for you. We thank you, Lord, that we can
be found in you. There's no other place that we want to be. We
pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Again, Hebrews chapter
12, starting in verse 14. And I'll read through 29 to the
end of the chapter. Came across this message before
I start reading. It has been a year, this past
week exactly, since Joe passed. And I just wanted to mention
again how grateful I am that the Lord has given me and my
position so much of what Joe has done to look to. I have countless,
we all do, there's like 700 messages on Sermon Audio, Joe, and countless
radio messages and notes, and I turn to them constantly. Not because it's Joe, but because
I know it's the truth. Joe, I only heard the truth from
Joe for 37 years. And to have that assurity at
what I'm looking at and what I'm studying, outside of course
of studying the scriptures, to know that what I'm looking at
is the truth of Christ, because I have absolute confidence in
that. Just such a blessing. and a legacy that has been left
behind for us to use and to be able to look to, and it's just
something I'm very, very grateful for. So, this was one of his radio
messages that I came across, and that was kind of the basis
of where I started with this. And again, Hebrews 12, chapter
14. Make every effort to live in
peace with all men and to be holy. Without holiness, no one
will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses
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 as a single meal sold his inheritance
rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when
he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could bring
about no change of mind, though he sought the
blessing with tears. 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 would
be spoken to them because they could not bear what was commanded.
If even an animal touches that mountain, it must be stoned. The sight was so terrifying that
Moses said, I am trembling with fear. He's talking about Sinai,
Mount Sinai. But you have come to Mount Zion,
to the heavenly Jerusalem. the city of the living God, 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 to judge all men, to the spirits of righteous
men 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 that the removing of what can be shaken.
that has 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. Throughout the book of Hebrews
there are many many examples shown in which the new covenant
is different than the old covenant. This is a great example of looking
at Mount Sinai and Mount Zion or Calvary. But there is one thing as it
goes through the book of Hebrews to show us the difference between
the covenant of the law and the covenant of grace that doesn't
change. And that is God's holy nature. God doesn't change. The covenant did. The first covenant
was between man and God. Something unkeepable. Something
unreachable from man's perspective. The new covenant was actually
between Christ and God. There was no covenant made to
us or from us. There was no responsibility or
expectation put on us. It was all put on Christ. All
that was asked of us is to believe in Him, and that is a gift from
God. Faith is a gift from God. So there are no expectations, Goals need to be reached on our
behalf, from our perspective. So a great example of that is
by looking at Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, or Calvary. And so there's one thing that
did not change from covenant to covenant is that God's holy
nature. If you look at Hebrew 1229, the
very last verse, it says, our God also is a consuming fire. The same God who gave his law
from Sinai also spoke his gospel from Calvary. Our text from this morning is
a quote from Deuteronomy. It says that Moses was reaffirming
the law that had been given to the generation before as a warning
to the Jews not to violate that covenant with idolatry. Moses
said, for the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. About 1,500 years later, the
writer of Hebrews set forward a far superior new covenant of
grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. Far superior than the old covenant. And warns his readers to persevere
in this covenant by saying at the end the very exact same thing
that Moses said, for our God is also a consuming fire. Moses referring to the law, 1,500
years later the writer of Hebrews referring to grace, both ended
with, our God is a consuming fire. That is not something you hear
very often in 2025. Most translations actually leave
out the word also, even though it appears in the Greek text,
and it's important, because by using the word also, Hebrews
is saying that the God of the gospel of grace is just as much
of a consuming fire as the God of Sinai's law. Under both covenants,
old and new, we have the same reason for fearing the displeasure
and wrath of God. He is a consuming fire. Under the old covenant, God's
fiery nature was used to frighten people, basically, into not sinning. In the new covenant, God's fiery
nature is used to warn us from departing the only place of safety
in the midst of his divine fury, which is Jesus Christ. In chapter two, verse two of
Hebrews, we find the same lesson. It says, for since the message
declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression
or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape
if we neglect such a great salvation? In Hebrews 10.31, the scriptures
say, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God. So let's make two general observations
about the text, Our God is a Consuming Fire. General observations, first of
all, Our God is a Consuming Fire, fire has some beneficial characteristics. First one, fire can warm us when
we are cold. I imagine everyone has experienced
a lovely fire on a winter day. I know Katie likes to have the
fireplace on through June. Some people love them. But this scripture does not say
our God is a warm and comforting fire. It uses a word that's terrifying.
It's consuming fire. Fire can illuminate dark places. Jesus is the light of the world.
So that might make sense. John 18, I am the light of the
world. Or John 8, sorry. Whosoever follows me will never
walk in darkness. But our text does not say that
God is an enlightening fire. It says he is a consuming fire. It seems that the religious generation
that we live in now, and I don't think it's necessarily new to
2025, but the idea of fearing God is all but lost. In our day, atheism has become
a pretty big thing. Not that it wasn't always, but
it seems like they're much more confident in being able to talk
about it now. Like, there's nothing wrong with being an atheist. They're becoming bolder, more
accepted as they declare that there's no God. And there's certainly
no fear of God before their eyes if they don't believe there is
one. And it really isn't that different from atheism to modern
Christianity. There is no fear of God in modern
Christianity. God is no longer a consuming
fire. Have you heard that in modern
churches? He's barely a glowing ember.
There's nothing dangerous about him. People approach God like he's
a harmless grandpa, spouting God loves you at every
corner of life. T-shirts, billboards, God loves
you. He wants so badly to save you. Does that sound like a consuming
fire? That sounds like a weakling who
just wants people to come to church. That is not God. I am certain of two things, that
whenever a professing Christian becomes careless about sinning,
it is evident they do not fear the Lord. no matter how correct
or God-honoring the doctrine is. Now, obviously, sinning happens
constantly. But if you never fear the Lord,
become completely unconcerned about your sin, well, that in itself is a concern. It says, by mercy and truth,
iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the Lord, men depart
from evil. Proverbs 16. Also, any time a
professed Christian or church becomes careless with the truth,
whenever they think it is of little consequence what a person
believes, and I know that sounds silly, but it's common. It is little consequence to modern
beliefs what people actually believe. It is evidence that they do not
fear the Lord. Whenever they are bashful about
the truth or withhold even a tiny bit of it to not offend others
or to not offend those in their pews for fear of them not coming
back. or to make church more attractive,
more appealing, to get more butts in the seats. That's what so
much of this ends up being about. God is a consuming fire. People
don't want to hear that. So we have to be careful. We
don't want people to stop coming. We don't want to step on any
toes. Our God is a consuming fire and
that is the truth. To step away from that is to
no longer fear God. To step away from that is to
step away from the gospel. And I know that sounds weird,
too. How can a consuming fire mean grace? Well, it does. Give me a couple minutes. But
to step away from that basic truth of God being a consuming
fire means you are stepping away from the salvation that is found
in Jesus Christ. You cannot lose that truth and
hold on to the real truth. Our God is a consuming fire fully
and completely deserving of fear. Whom should fear God? Who else
should we fear? He rules everything. There is nothing else, no one
else worth fearing. other than the one who rules
over everything, who has the power to do whatever
he wants. All of heaven and earth are under
his rule. Whom else should we fear? So whenever they are bashful
about any amount of the truth in order to not offend or to
make what they say more appealing, it is evidence that they do not
fear the Lord. Second, our God is a consuming
fire, and fire consumes. Once a fire has consumed a thing,
there is no way to restore it. If you burn a log, there are
two things that can never happen. You can never restore that log
from the ashes. You can never burn that log again. Now what sort of things would
move people to depart from Christ and risk exposing themselves
to the consuming fire of God? In the case of people from whom
this book of Hebrews is actually specifically written, it's persecution
because of the truth. The Jews were the first persecutors
of Christ's church. They were particularly fierce
in persecuting other Jews who believed in the message of the
gospel. So their persecution could range from simple shunning,
to taking of their property, to beatings, even death, which
is actually the case for Stephen. The recipients of this book were
suffering such things, and the result was that some of them
were trying to avoid this persecution by disassociating themselves
from the church. They were trying to be secret
believers. claiming to believe Christ while
refusing to suffer such reproach with the people of God by pretending
to be faithful Jews. They were saying that one could
go unto Jesus without going outside the camp. Note what Hebrews 10.25 says
about that. It says, Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage
each one another and all the more as you see that day approaching. Another reason people could depart
from Christ, and I know you can't depart from Christ, I'll get
there. But another reason people could
depart is risk exposing themselves, and risk exposing themselves
to the consuming fire of God. Some depart Christ for pleasure.
Happens to all of us. Every one of us. over and over
and over. Not everyone who falls to the
temptation of a sinful pleasure has forsaken Christ. But it is
written in scripture that in our conscious that one cannot
pursue sinful pleasures and Christ at the same time. It says in
Hebrews 11, Moses chose to be mistreated along with the people
of God rather than to enjoy pleasures of sin for a short time. We are a pleasure saturated society. And it would be very easy for
us to get caught up in that. And it is very easy for us to
get caught up in that. But for some pleasures of this
world are forbidden. Satan has used these traps to
snare many who profess to believe Christ. Little by little they
give themselves to this pursuit of this pleasure a little bit
more and a little bit more until they're fully ensnared. Some depart and risk this consuming
fire of God for riches. Paul says, for the love of money
is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have
wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Many will someday die and be buried in a very, very nice casket. and probably have an above average
headstone. And that will mean nothing to
them at that point. And they will go meet God, who
is a consuming fire. We could go on to mention all
kinds of things that people are willing to forsake Christ over.
Worldly religion, love for people, a host of things that the devil
uses. But what is common to them, at
the end of their lives, such people will leave this world
to go meet a God who is a consuming fire. There is not a believer here
who has not felt the pull of every one of these temptations. and I shouldn't felt the poles
because it happens over and over daily by the minute. In fact, you've fallen to them
significantly enough to become alarmed. I'm sure we've all been
there where you actually become alarmed with yourself. can become very, very heavy. That alarm is what our text is
for. That alarm, our God, is a consuming
fire. That alarm is exactly what our
text raises. lets us keep in the forefront
of our minds the soul-sobering truth that God is a consuming
fire, both on Mount Sinai and on Calvary. Now, whenever we say anything
regarding departing from Christ, we can expect that someone will
object and say, do you believe that once a person is saved that
he isn't saved forever? Of course they are. We believe
that. The scriptures tell us that is
a fact. The scriptures teach that as
an absolute truth, but it also teaches that those truly regenerated
by the Spirit of God never quit believing the gospel. For the
Spirit of God never quits working in them to keep believing the
gospel. We cannot continue to believe
on our own just as much as we could never begin to believe
on our own. So just as much as the Spirit
works in you as a believer to believe this plain truth that
is impossible to believe without the work of the Spirit, to continue
to believe it is just as much a work of the Spirit. We can't
continue to believe the truth on my own, neither can you. If
God ever stopped giving us that, we would quit immediately. I know that's true because it
tells us that, and I know that's true because I know me. And it's gross what we're capable
of. And the only reason we don't
do the things that we're fully capable of is because God hasn't
given us enough leash to go there. One of the ways that the Spirit
of the Lord works in us to persevere our belief in Him is by instilling
in us a healthy fear of God. And that is exactly what the
writer of Hebrews here is urging us, to fear the Lord because
He is still, right now, a consuming fire. Now let us consider for a moment
another revelation of this same truth. This is in Lamentations
1, a prophecy foreshadowing of Christ's suffering. It said,
Is it nothing to you, all of you who pass by, look around
and see, is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted
on me, that the Lord brought on me in the days of his fierce
anger? From high, on high, he sent fire, and he sent it down
into my bones. As God the Son, Jesus, climbed
Mount Calvary, God the consuming fire met him there. If the cross tells us nothing,
it tells us It shows us the absolute fact
and truth that God is, in fact, a consuming fire. Every frightening truth that
God revealed on Sinai is also revealed on Calvary. And much of the truth of God
displayed in the cross is terribly frightening. and sobering. Mount Sinai was frightening.
Mount Calvary is actually more frightening. What he put on his
own perfect son. He withheld none. He withheld
nothing in regard to his consuming fire. Mount Sinai was wrath threatened. Mount Calvary was wrath executed. Mount Sinai was fire ignited.
Mount Calvary was fire consumed. But Calvary brings comfort by
the very same truth that Sinai used to bring fear. God is a
consuming fire. Now how can that be comforting?
How can the fact that our God is a consuming fire ever be made
into a comfort? The comfort of that truth lies
in the very nature of a consuming fire. When a fire runs out of fuel,
it goes out. And in Christ, God as a consuming
fire went out. As a consuming fire, God fell
upon the Lord Jesus and consumed him with divine wrath. And in Christ, those are very important words.
In Christ, God is no longer a consuming fire. But outside of Christ, God is
still a consuming fire. And that is why Hebrews warns
the people from departing Christ by reminding them God's fiery,
consuming nature is real. Joe told this story often, but
it's perfect for this. Back in the days of the pioneers
when they were like moving west over the country and there would
be a prairie fire. They would maneuver themselves
around the fire to go to the burnt part of the land. And on one occasion a family
stood on the burnt ground watching the fire and the little boy expressed
fear of the fire and the father said, don't worry son, we're
standing on burnt ground. And the fire cannot burn the
same ground twice. Just like the law we talked about
earlier, you consume anything with fire, it cannot be burnt
again. That consuming fire is so important
that that word is what's used. It's not an everlasting fire,
it's a consuming fire. Christ was the only one that
could finish what that fire consumed. Anyone else dies outside of Christ,
they will be burned forever because they don't have the righteousness
and the perfection to finish the fire. Only Christ could be
fully consumed because he was perfect. He could fully pay what
was in the debt that was owed. Christ is the burnt ground. In Christ, the consuming fire
has gone out. Our sins were burnt up, consumed. Our sins are consumed, unable
to be put back together. with Christ and as with all things
consumed, they can never be restored. Even more, we were consumed with
Christ. And all that old man consumed
with Christ can never be restored. Our old flesh can never be put
together. It is completely consumed in
Christ. If any man be in Christ, the
old things are passed away. We still live with them. We know
that. We still live with them until
our time here is over. But as far as God is concerned,
in Christ, all of your frailties, all of your weaknesses, all of
your sin, The body of death, the carcass that you carry around, gone, completely consumed, never
to be restored in Christ. All the things of old are passed
away burnt up and consumed because all things in Christ become new Brand-new perfectly clean Nothing to consume nothing to
burn And it's hard for us as it is
to grasp the fact that that is actually how we are viewed now.
Someday, we will see it that way. And as I get older, it sure makes
the end doesn't seem so bad. You know, as I see people passing
away in my life, I see What's left behind is just nothing but
this burnt embers and consumed leftovers of a fire. Gone forever,
blows away in the dust. All that's left at that point
is pure righteousness and love and perfection and worship of
the one who actually made all of those things happen. God is still a consuming fire.
But because of Christ, anyone in him is on burnt ground, safe forever from that consuming
fire. Our Father, we thank you once
again for just the beauty and simplicity of what this truth
is. We thank you that you've chosen
to show us this truth, and that you've worked somehow in these
cold, dead hearts to believe this truth, and that you've promised to never
let us stray. We lean on you for all of it,
Lord. We lean on you to believe and we lean on you to keep us.
We look to you for everything. We look to you, period. That
day when we leave this world and we come into glory, Lord,
we will look to you. We will look for you. We thank you, Jesus, for everything
you are, everything you've done for us. We pray this in your
perfect name, amen.