Sermons from the Epistle to the Hebrews

A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken

Hebrews 12:25-29

December 2, 2001

This week will commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the twelfth week since the terrorist attacks on America. Sixty years have confirmed that brief events can shake our world. Squeeze into that time the World War II, the Korean conflict, the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli wars, the upheavals in Eastern Europe, multiplied civil wars in the Balkans and throughout the African continent. Add to it devastating earthquakes in South America, India, China, and San Francisco, and Hurricanes Betsy, Camille, Frederick, Hugo, and Andrew, along with their counterpart Typhoons in the Philippines, Japan, and Bangladesh, and the local floods and tornadoes. Need I add famines in Asia and Africa, the global outbreak of diseases, and political instability of untold horror in more countries than any of us can name? And now we are at war with a strange but real enemy-terrorism-that takes odd shapes and redefines warfare.

Here is the point: one event after another has shaken our world, because the nature of the visible world is shaky. What we are witnessing foreshadows a cataclysmic shaking of creation that will ultimately leave one thing that cannot be shaken-the Kingdom of God. Our lives are to be ordered and defined by our relationship to the unshakeable kingdom of God. If you are part of this unshakeable kingdom then you will endure whatever threatens your way. What is this unshakeable kingdom like?

I. Kingdom authority

The first century audience, facing great oppression and persecution, needed to be reminded that this world was not their final home. They lived in the Roman Empire but were part of a Kingdom that would make Rome appear to be a speck of dust in the universe. So our writer contrasts the kingdoms of this world with the kingdom of our God. Only the kingdom of God can stand forever because it exists upon the authority of its Eternal King. The basis for the unshakeable kingdom is found in its King.

1. Real King

We've all watched with interest these days the conference being held in Bonn, Germany to decide the political fate of Afghanistan. Some talk through the past weeks has suggested returning the exiled King Mohammed Zahir Shah to his throne. Political observers admit that this is only symbolic, that the king would serve as a titular head of a government that he would have no power to control. But when we refer to the King who rules over the eternal kingdom, we are not speaking of a titular head, a symbolic monarch like that found in the United Kingdom. We are referring to one who exercises kingly authority in the minute details of his kingdom.

To see this, I call your attention to the pronouns of our text. They speak volumes. "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking." Can we escape "Him who warns from heaven"? "And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven." The pronouns are used majestically, describing a real King who is active in ruling his kingdom. He speaks, He warns, He shakes, He promises, He removes, He gives, and He consumes. He does not idly pass the centuries upon a celestial throne that has no concern for the smallest details of his people. But He actively engages His might to carry out His purposes in His kingdom.

The verb tenses help us at this point. "Him who is speaking," does not simply refer to something in the past, but it has an ongoing, present reality. Just as the present tense was used in 12:19 referring to the reverberating voice of God in the ears of those at Mt. Sinai, what he has spoken through His Son continues to call for our constant response (1:1-3). The gospel keeps on speaking! Those who would be part of the divine kingdom continue listening to the gospel, finding it to be meat and drink, discovering direction and purpose, and the deepest satisfaction in life. "Warned them on earth," with the amplification, "Him who warns from heaven," is again a present tense verb, demonstrating that the divine warning of judgment against sin and disobedience continues. We must never get the idea that the God of the Old Testament was one who warned and the God of the New Testament is different, never warning, only empathizing and consoling. The same God is revealed in both testaments! His warnings demonstrate both his attitude toward sin and his mercy to sinners, calling for sinners to repent and follow after him, whether in Old or New Testaments.

"He has promised," a yet future shaking of heaven and earth, reminds us that the Lord's authority over the universe has never waned. His promises have been made and will be kept (thus the perfect middle indicative verb showing this). His authority continues in the future shaking "not only the earth, but also the heaven." The reality of his promises is just as sure as his perfect character. So when we begin to despair under the weight of the world's opposition or trials or vexations, let us remember that our King actively works in his kingdom.

2. Righteous King

The scenes depicted for us reveal ones of judgment. "For if those did not escape [that is escape the judgment of God spoken through his warning at Sinai] when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven" (pointing particularly to the revelation of God through Christ and his gospel). We are taken back to the Israelites that confessed their allegiance to the Lord, only to balk and rebel and disobey at virtually every turn. I believe the ancient pastor has in mind those Israelites that heard the Lord speak from Sinai, who saw the power of God displayed in mighty ways, and yet "whose bodies fell in the wilderness" due to unbelief (3:17-19). God had spoken. They decided to refuse Him who warned them (either a reference to Moses' mediatorial warnings, or more likely, the voice of God speaking from the cloudy mountain-12:19). And "they did not escape." He warns from the lesser to the greater. If those hearing from Sinai did not escape divine judgment, how much greater accountability for judgment will we have who have heard from Zion-the gospel of Jesus Christ? "Much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven," he warns.

God alone is righteous enough to demand our obedience to his perfect law, for it is a reflection of his moral perfections. Created in his image, we have the moral responsibility before God to follow after him in every respect. Righteousness that characterizes him ought to characterize all humanity. But we have rebelled against him! His righteousness demands legal retribution for our sin, and so he speaks and warns and shakes the very foundations of our existence, calling attention to the stark reality, "for our God is a consuming fire." Our God has not changed. The God of Sinai is the God of Zion-the God who commanded obedience to his law provides the only means of righteousness through his Son. To "refuse Him who is speaking," demands that you meet him, not as the welcoming Father but as the Righteous Judge. We bow in thanksgiving and worship before him, or we discover him to be "a consuming fire."

This might go against the common portrait of God in our day but it stands true to his holy nature. Righteousness demands justice-or else it is not righteousness. Justice is measured against the size and scope of the offense against righteousness. To refuse to obey the law of God meets with the certain consequences of judgment; but to hear the gospel, and know the gospel as God's only remedy for man's sinfulness and answer to his judgment, and yet to refuse Him who is speaking through the gospel, calls for greater judgment. That is precisely where the shoe fits the foot. Those who were contemplating backing away from the gospel that they had professed were only ensuring greater judgment for refusing the wondrous gospel of Christ. What are you doing with the gospel of Jesus Christ?

3. Ruling King

If you have ever been in an earthquake, the feeling of complete helplessness never quite leaves you. A dozen years ago when I was attending a seminar at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, I was studying while sitting on my bed in a small apartment. Suddenly, the whole building began to shake! I came out of the bed, and out of the apartment in record speed! An earthquake, centered about 20 miles from Pasadena, had rocked the area at a mild 4.5 Richter scale shake. The earth trembled and no one could do anything to quell it.

The earth trembled at Sinai: "the whole mountain quaked violently" (Ex 19:18). Matthew tells us that the same happened at Zion when our Lord was crucified: "and the earth shook and the rocks were split" (Matt 27:51). "And His voice shook the earth then." The Lord governs his creation. The trembling of the earth now, foreshadows a yet future time spoken of so often in Scripture: "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven." John speaks of it in Revelation.

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. The kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Rev 6:12-17).

The time will come when everything that can be shaken by divine judgment will be shaken, as the Governor of the universe will exercise his kingly rule by defending his kingdom from every oppressor, rebel, deceiver, fake, and enemy. Only those who have submitted to his rule through faith in Christ will stand unshaken. John Owen reminds us, "If you lay any stone in the whole building that advanceth itself against his septre, he will shake all again. Dig you never so deep, build you never so high, it shall be shaken" [Works of John Owen, VIII, 278]. Will our King's authority shake you?

II. Kingdom qualities

For those whose rest is in Christ and His death on the cross, who have drawn near to God through Christ alone, "we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken." But what is this kingdom? It is much larger than a place, for it describes the rule of Christ over our lives, a rule that lasts forever. Its dimensions exceed the kingdoms of this world in time and space; it is spiritual now, and will be consummated by the bodily resurrection of all the saints one day. Its enemies will be vanquished, and all will be made a footstool for the feet of King Jesus. "All the present states of the world are cemented together by antichristian lime," wrote John Owen [257]; they will not last but Christ's kingdom endures.

1. Eternal stability

It is very easy to hold tightly the things of the world. Everything from family to houses to jobs to financial security to country to possessions has a range of value in our lives. Some of the first century audience was clinging to the old traditions of the Levitical sacrificial system. Some held to their Jewish heritage as being of greatest value. But the earth was trembling beneath the feet of this church. The things that some tenaciously held for security in life would crumble beneath the tremor of persecution. What would stand forever? For that matter, what will stand forever in your life? The reasoning and twisted religion of the first generation out of the Exodus "did not escape" when judgment shook everything they held dear. Ironically, having spurned the word preached through Moses they thought that all would be well in their lives. But their neglect of the eternal word of God cost them everything (4:1-11).

That is where our writer is heading. He wanted his recipients to understand that to cling to anything other than the sufficiency of Jesus Christ in their salvation would leave them hopeless in the Day of Judgment. "This expression, 'Yet once more,' denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken [referring to the things of the this world that have no eternal value, yet which clamor for our devotion], as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain." All of the Levitical system, all of the substitutes for faith in Christ, all of the vain worship of human traditions, all of the careful systematizing of religion apart from faith in Christ, all of the temporal things that we assign so much value, all of it will be shaken and removed one day. The kingdom of God consists of that which remains. Having been purified and made acceptable through the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, everything that remains passes through the consuming fire of divine judgment in perfect stability. And so "we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken," a kingdom that is both internal/invisible and external/visible. Internally, "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14:17). Externally, the kingdom is displayed through the church of Jesus Christ, with the gospel keys of the kingdom being proclaimed as a testimony of having been called out of darkness into the light (Matt 16:18-19; I Pet 2:9-10). Are you part of this eternally stable kingdom?

2. Exclusive subjects

The kingdom is exclusive. We live in a day where "inclusive language" is politically correct. To dare state publicly that everyone is not going to heaven meets with ridicule and disdain. To agree with the Apostle Paul, "Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, not homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God," may not pass the muster of politically correct language, but it is the certain truth of God (I Cor 6:9-10). The kingdom of God is exclusive: it belongs only to those who have been born into it by regeneration, and have trusted in the only means for entry, the bloody death of Jesus Christ. Here it is described by the simple phrase, "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken." To "receive a kingdom" implies that it is not a kingdom-earned or a kingdom-deserved or a kingdom-merited or a kingdom-by nationality. The kingdom is received as a gift of God through Christ. The kingdom belongs to those who humble themselves as little children, and gladly receive the provisions of Christ as one's only standing before God (Matt 18:3-4; 19:13-14). "Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven," our Lord declared. The message of Hebrews stresses the solitary way to God through Jesus Christ alone. Have you entered the kingdom through Christ?

3. Exalted Sovereign

To be in the kingdom is to live under the King's sovereign rule. The responsibilities that follow are unto an exalted Sovereign. "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe." To whom belong our gratitude, and our worship, and our deepest reverence? It is to "God" our Sovereign. It is not a system of religion we worship, or else we are not part of the kingdom. It is not mere morality that we pursue. It is not the favor of men that delight us. As exclusive members of an eternal kingdom, all of life-and eternity-is to magnify our King! Do you recognize the Lord as Sovereign King of your life?

III. Kingdom responsibilities

This passage culminates the argument for the superiority and sufficiency of Jesus Christ; and it does so by summarizing kingdom responsibilities in a three-fold fashion.

1. Heed Him

After contrasting the inadequacies of Sinai with the eternal sufficiency of Zion (the Law contrasted with the Gospel), our ancient pastor exhorts, "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking" [literally, who continues speaking, i.e., through the gospel]. "See to it" translates one word, Look, See, Beware. The term beckons us to pay heed to Jesus Christ and his gospel. We cannot treat the gospel with contempt or disrespect or neglect and get away with it. If a failure to heed the law brought immediate judgment, neglecting the gospel brings eternal judgment.

What each of you must face this morning is this: are you trusting in what cannot be shaken or what will crumble under divine judgment? Do you worship Christ alone or do you really love the world more than Christ? Are you listening to the gospel or are you doing your best to ignore it? "See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking." To heed Him is to place your trust in Christ, to give yourself to obedience to Him, to passionately follow Him. Are you heeding Jesus Christ?

2. Thank Him

Gratitude follows heeding the gospel in kingdom responsibilities. "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude." Since the kingdom is not only future, but also present, then our gratitude must be a constant part of our lives. Paul capsules it in I Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." These were believers facing persecution and much uncertainty as the Roman Empire began to aim its attacks upon them. But the Roman Empire would one day crumble-as it has already done, but the kingdom that you receive as a believer lasts forever. So "let us show gratitude!"

In the early 5^th century, John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople faithfully expounded the Scriptures. When his preaching offended the ungodly queen, she had him condemned and banished for life to foreign soil. No more preaching, no more friends, no more homeland, yet his last words reflect a life of gratitude to God for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, "Glory to God for all things!"

You do not have reason to complain when you have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Complaint mirrors the kingdom of this age, a love for the things that are perishing, and a neglect of the eternal. Complaining denies the sovereign rule of Christ, and exhibits a heart mired in idolatry toward the world. Have you received a kingdom that cannot be shaken? Then "let us show gratitude!"

3. Worship Him

It follows that gratitude gives way to worship: "Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe." The grand aim of our lives, the highest calling, the apex of redemption centers on worshiping our God! Prayer is for this life, and so is witnessing and preaching and teaching and administrating Christian work. But worship is for eternity. The present tense of "we may offer," once again reminds us that worship never stops [the word is a technical term for worship and service in the temple]. It is "acceptable" or well pleasing to the Lord when done out of a heart of gratitude for having received from the Lord an unshakeable kingdom. Worship is responsive to what the Lord has done in our lives, and what he has revealed to us through Scripture concerning himself.

We worship with our lives-as living sacrifices offered on His altar (Rom 12:1). We worship through our lips-offering sacrifices of praise to God, "the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name" (Heb 13:15). We "offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ"-as the holy priesthood of his kingdom (I Pet 2:4-5). We worship "with reverence and awe"-for the Lord is the righteous, ruling Sovereign of the kingdom he has given to us.

Do you take seriously the worship of the Lord? It will show up in the way you prepare for the grandest moment of your week-the corporate worship of the Body. If worship means little to you it is likely because of ingratitude in your heart. Ingratitude finds its roots in a failure to heed the gospel. So, "see to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking." God has spoken through His Son, have you listened?

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