Refusing the Grace of God.
By Joe Mack Cherry
I. Introduction
A. The Pull of the Old Law
1. Many of the first century Jewish converts struggled with the freedom that the New Law provided.
2. Grace was a foreign concept to these people; the law was strict, rigid, and it had been a way of life for them since it was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, as recorded in Ex. 19.
3. The passage heading for our text today reads “Warning Against Refusing God”.
B. Text Overview Heb. 12:14-29
1. The writer calls for the pursuit of peace and holiness among members.
2. He commands that no one loses or fails the grace of God.
a. This comes as a command.
b. The responsibility is to self and others as we will see.
3. Refusing God’s grace will lead to sin.
a. Sexual immorality
b. The Sins of Esau
4. He compares and contrasts the Mosaic Law and the Gospel.
5. He warns against refusing God.
II. Vss 14-17
A. Peace with Others
1. Mt 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.”
2. Make every effort (NIV)
3. Pursue (NKJV)
a. This indicates action.
b. This commands that we go out of our way to bring peace.
c. In order to do this, we must put aside selfish inclinations and seek the betterment of the individual(s) in the body of Christ.
• I Cor. 13:5 – “love is not self-seeking.”
• Gal. 5:22 – Speaks about the fruits of the Spirit against which there is no law. Peace, Patience, Kindness are included in these.
4. In Gal. 5:20-21 we find sins that do not promote peace.
a. Discord - strife, constant contention, incessant wrangling, usually expresses itself in backbiting and gossip.
b. Selfish ambitions - acting in a way that considers no one but oneself. No room for growth.
c. Dissensions - holding on to a self-serving opinion; gives reference to becoming a self-mercenary. Fighting for the sake of being right in regard to matters not pertaining to salvation. This is the opposite of the teachings of Rom. 12. where we are told consider the weaker brother.
d. Factions – dissentions arising from a difference in opinion or aims; this happened in the Corinthian church - I Cor. 1:12. Today we might call them church cliques.
e. Look at the sins that are mentioned almost in the same breath:
Sexual immorality, hatred, fits of rage, witchcraft, envy.
B. Peace and Holiness
1. Peace – Gr. this word is used to indicate a wholeness or oneness among all the essential parts.
2. Holiness – some versions use “sanctification” (set apart to be like Christ)
a. Def. – consecrated to God’s service and strive to conform to all things that are God’s will.
b. Christ would never compromise truth.
c. Being more Christ-like means seeking peace or putting others first.
d. We are a peculiar people. (We are God’s children and we should act accordingly.) I Pet. 2:9
3. These two are partners, if they become separated one of two things happen:
a. We compromise truth to retain peace or
b. We focus only on holiness and sacrifice peace. Legalism is the outcome of this scenario.
• The younger converts may become discouraged at legalistic squabbles.
• Forcing issues can cause problems.
C. See that no one losses the grace of God!
1. Gen. 4:9 – Cain says to God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
2. Vs. 15 answers this question for us.
a. NIV - See that no man misses the grace of God.
b. NKJV - See that no man falls short of the grace of God.
c. KJ – See that no man fails the grace of God.
3. This passage concerns itself with what we do with God’s grace; not what we incorrectly think we do to deserve it. With grace comes responsibility to God and others.
4. William Barclay says the phrase could also be translated, failing to keep up with the grace of God.
a. God’s grace moves past the pain of atoned sins.
b. II Pet. 3:19 - We are told to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Grace is not stagnant! If we do not grow in grace, it can lose its power in our lives and we’ll see in a minute where this leads us.
5. We need to put others first! In Rom. 9:3, Paul says that he would himself be accursed of Christ if his Jewish brethren would believe.
a. Souls are important and are lost without grace.
b. Our own desires or thoughts (again on matters not concerning salvation) should not push others away from God.
c. Legalism has sent many converts out the back door with the mindset that they could never be good enough.
6. The rising up of Bitter roots poison many.
a. There are those who constantly complain about everything.
b. There are those who profess Christianity but their heart isn’t in it.
c. There are new converts who fall back into their old way of life. In this passage, it is referring to those who were returning to Judaism.
d. We need to remember that we must be careful not to quickly cast one of these out. Remember the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares? Mt. 13:30
• We must try to lead those back who are lagging behind in grace. Here is where it takes love and patience to persevere leading someone back.
• Being aware and in tune with God’s grace helps us to keep the faith.
D. Grace lavishes us with wonderful gifts.
1. Eph. 2:8 – “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God.” This is a covenant or promise sealed with the blood of Christ. We are guaranteed blessing as children of God. What are some? Jesus speaks of numerous rewards.
a. I Cor. 10:12 – tells us that we can fall from this grace.
b. Grace is not to be taken for grant it or used as a license to sin!
• Rom. 6:1
• Jude 1:4
2. When we allow grace to move out of our hearts, sin moves to take its place!
3. Sexually immoral
a. I Cor. 6:18 – It is a sin against our own body.
b. I Cor 3:16 & I Cor. 6:19-20
4. In vss 16-17 – The writer brings this to light by referring to Esau. He took lightly the grace that God extended to the oldest son. This included both spiritual and temporal blessings. The bible said Esau despised his birthright.
a. He had an inherent right to the priesthood.
b. He was to receive a double portion of the inheritance.
c. He was to rule his brethren.
d. Through him the line of Abraham that led to Christ was to come.
e. He was to receive all the blessing regarding the covenant with Abraham and God.
5. Esau begged for the blessing that Isaac gave Jacob but it was to no avail. Denying oneself the grace of God is a deadly thing, spiritually speaking for anyone.
III. Vss 18-24 – The Old Law vs. the New Testament Christianity.
A. The Old Law
1. Came upon a foreign “physical” mountain. Mt. Sinai
2. It came to inspire awe, terror, and power.
a. Anything (man or beast) that touched Mt. Sinai was to be stoned.
b. The words from God scared them so badly that the COI asked that God speak only to Moses.
c. Even Moses was afraid.
3. The Levites killed about 3,000 people when Moses came down the mountain the first time because they had made an idol out of gold shaped like a calf.
4. Yearly sacrifices rolled sins forward toward the cross and Christ.
5. The Old law was a covenant of dos and don’ts with no little to no tolerance for failure.
a. Eye for an eye
b. 21 Different sins required death under Old Testament Law
6. Heb. 10:1 It was the shadow of good things to come.
a. God never intended for the Jewish religion to last.
a.
B. The New Law
1. The new covenant comes from a spiritual Mt. Zion., the City of the Living God, and the heavenly Jerusalem.
a. These all depict the spiritual, unseen nature (Jo. 4:24 – God is a Spirit and we must worship Him in spirit)
b. The Old Law (for the COI) was confined to earth. Their acts worship and devotion were tied to works. i.e., sacrifices, rituals.
2. The physical Mt. Zion included Jerusalem.
3. It came with love, mercy, and grace in contrast to the Old Law.
4. We receive full forgiveness in the New Law.
5. We all have the opportunity to receive the inheritance promised so from an Old Testament perspective we are all First Born.
C. Other Comparisons and Contrasts
1. The great/general assembly – Only the COI, angels, and God were at Mt Sinai. The great number of believers (the Church) and inhabitants of heaven are included in the assembly. Let’s briefly look at them.
a. Angels.
• Psa. 68:17 tells us that there were 1,000’s of angels at Mt Sinai.
• Vs. 22 says they are innumerable in the new kingdom
• Angels are messengers that help us even unto this day.
b. The Church of the First Born
• These were/are names of those who have accepted Christ and are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Rev. 13:8
• The first born of the Israelites were recorded so as to assure their place in history and family affairs.
• The first born of the Israelites carried more significance and received things as we discussed earlier concerning Esau.
• We all receive the same blessing (salvation) through Jesus Christ.
• The passage suggests that the Church of the First Born is a separate entity but is part of the greater assembly.
c. God is the Judge of all.
• He has sovereign rule and complete authority.
• Coffman says that God Himself is the City of the Living God because he is the center of everything that goes on there, His throne is in the middle, and He is the light.
d. The Spirits of just men made perfect are those who have past on through death or like Enoch and Elijah who did not taste death have reached their heavenly abode.
e. Jesus Christ the Mediator of the New Covenant
• Both covenants were sealed with blood. The Old Law was of rams and goats. Ex 24:8 Moses sprinkled the blood on the COI. In the New Law Christians are figuratively sprinkled with the blood of Christ.
• Heb. 10:4 tells us that it was impossible for the blood of rams and goats to take away sins. The blood simply rolled them forward. The priest could offer sacrifices but they had no saving power.
• Only Christ’s blood could take away the sins of the world. Jo. 1:29 John the Baptist says of Christ, Behold, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.
• End of vs 24 The sprinkled blood of Christ speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. The original does not read “than the blood of Abel”, it just reads, “than Abel” according to Barnes. Both were martyrs but Christ was offered as a sacrifice. Abel was murdered for his sacrifice.
• Christ is also at the right hand of God today and will share the throne when earth passes away.
IV. Vss 25-29
A. Seriousness of Ignoring/Refusing God
1. Heb. 10:28-30 – Read
2. If God punished disobedience of Moses’ Law which He delivered on earth; how much more would He punish those under the New Law that had come in the grace and love from heaven.
a. Moses’ law was delivered on earth and every transgression was punished.
b. Christ’s law was delivered from heaven which offered grace.
c. How can we not expect a greater punishment if we turn from the grace of God?
d. Our offences today are against Christ.
A. The Voice of God Vs. 26-27
1. It shook the whole of Mt. Sinai.
2. It was His intention to deter them from sin with fear.
3. Read vs 27 – self explanatory
B. The Unshaken
1. Man virtually destroyed Jerusalem in AD 72 and the Jews were scattered.
2. The first time He spoke to Moses the earth shook. When he speaks again, He will shake both heaven and earth.
a. This is believed to be referring to the fall of Jerusalem.
b. The political and ecclesiastical end of the Jews occurred.
c. Some believe this is referring to the end of the earth.
2. The Gospel stood firm then and still stands firm today.
3. Vs 28 – The Kingdom of God is unshakeable.
C. Vs 29 – Our God is a consuming fire!
1. God hates sin, Christ’s blood purifies us.
2. Fire is also referenced as a purifier.
3. If we strive to live under God’s grace, His fire hyperbolically will remove our sins and they will be remembered no more.
4. If we refuse God and His grace his fire will destroy us.
V. Closing
Imaging giving someone a gift that you had planned to give for a long, long time.
Now, imagine that the recipient showed no appreciation or love to you for the gift.
How hurt would you be? Especially if the gift was something the recipient could never
give him/herself.
The Gospel and salvation is something we could never attain ourselves.
Good news is that I Pet. 1:19-20 tells us that Jesus (God’s son) was predestined to shed His blood for us, even before the foundation of the earth was laid.
Grace is the gift of salvation that also affords us forgiveness, mercy, and compassion.
We need to share this message and do all we can to make sure others know the real greatness of God’s grace and how without it we face a sad eternity.
