It doesn’t matter who you have become or what you have done. You can start all over. This is the gospel. This is the only gospel. There is not alternative to match this gospel. It must not be refused.
“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? 26 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.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12 v 25-27)
Contrasting what happened on Mount Sinai (the Law was given that couldn’t be kept) and Mount Zion (the cross of grace that Christ completed for us) the author tells the community that they must not refuse this gospel. Why? Read the verses again and here are 3 reasons:-
- It is God who is speaking this gospel. This is not just a treaty of words but the truth of what He has done for the whole world. The gospel also carries a warning. Everyone knows John 3:16 but v18 is as important, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” If we are warned on a daily basis that another firm are recalling a certain product so do not eat and do not use then how much more if God is warning us?
- The consequences of refusing the voice of the gospel from Mount Zion will be greater than that of the voice of the Law from Mount Sinai. Their ancestors refused to go into the land God had promised and suffered the consequences. They wandered into the desert and never came out of it. They died there because they refused to enter. Those who refuse this gospel will face a greater consequence. Eternal punishment is real. Someone told me the other day they didn’t believe in it as if the New Testament is all pleasure and the Old Testament is all punishment. Talk to Ananias and Sapphira about that! If you refuse the Mount of Grace then there is only the Mount of Law left.
- The only way to survive the judgment is to hold on to the gospel. Only Joshua and Caleb survived the desert, they were the unshakeable ones. Those who hold to the gospel will survive the shaking. God will once more shake the earth but this time also heaven. Mount Zion shook Mount Sinai and everything that it represented: the Law and the sacrifices. Gospel-carriers will remain standing and will not be condemned but will be commended for their life.
This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ must not be refused.
Missions Paul 