 |
| Our God is a Consuming Fire |
Third Day, an Atlanta based Christian rock band, released Consuming Fire on their first CD back in 1996. The lyrics reveal an interpretation of Hebrews chapter 12:18-29.
Send you spirit, Savior
Rescue from the mire
Show Your servant favor
Yesterday was the day that I was alone
Now I'm in the presence of Almighty God
[Chorus:]
and yes our God, He is a consuming fire
And the flames burn down deep in my soul
Yes our God He is a consuming fire
He reaches inside and He melts down this
cold heart of stone.
When we think of God, we have lots of ideas. The church has played up love and compassion, mercy and tolerance as the character of God of recent decades. And these are true attributes. I would agree that love is God's pure and universal attribute.
Here's a problem, though. We don't realize how powerful love is. We think in terms of softness, gentleness, politeness, and peacefulness. God can be tender-hearted toward His wayward people and patient. His is celebrated as long-suffering, meaning that He suffers His painful disappointment at our sins of omission (that which we know we should do, but don't do it) and commission (That which we do, but should not). God waits with patience for us to repent, but God suffers pain in His patient waiting.
The book of Hebrews reveals how God has forgiven us, once for all, in the blood of His Son. The writer also warns the church to live godly lives, not to continue living sinfully. Once you've been set free from your captors, don't live like you still are under you're captors' control. Instead live, since you are free, as a grateful servant of the Lord who rescued you.
For if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy “on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who have spurned the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:26-31)
The New Testament is unanimous on the subject. We are going to be held accountable to God. We will answer for how we have chosen to live.
For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. (2nd Corinthians 5:10)
The writer of Hebrews is writing to... well... Hebrews. These Jewish Christians needed encouragement to remain faithful to Christ and not fall away by the pressure of Jews who rejected Jesus as the Christ. They would recognize the scripture he continually quotes throughout, because Jews are taught at a young age to revere the word of God. IN Hebrews 12, the author refers to the theophany at Mt Sinai from Exodus 19. He describes the appearance of God to Israel in frightening terms, just as it is describes in Exodus. The Lord's presence shakes the earth and shakes the people, too. His awesome presence caused them great fear.
Think of it this way. Imagine space walking high above the earth's atmosphere. The vastness of space and the sense of vulnerability is overwhelming. Watch the film Gravity and you'll understand what I mean. People are in awe of the Grand Canyon or the Swiss Alps, but imagine standing in the presence of Almighty God who created the entire universe! God made His presence visible to the Israelites in cloud and smoke, earthquake and peals of lightning and thunder. The people heard God's voice and swore that they would die if they ever experienced that again.
The idea of dying in from the sheer radiance of God's holiness comes up from time to time in the Old Testament. Jacob, when he realized he encountered God, during the wrestling match with the stranger, he was amazed he survived.
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. (Genesis 32:30-31)
Encountering God should make a visible change. Jacob limped. The Christian lives free to serve the Lord. The encounter with the holy presence of God shakes us to the core as the creator begins His new creation in our hearts.
The author of Hebrews states that just as God shook the earth at His appearance as Sinai, God will shake the heavens and the earth "Yet once more."
This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:27)
God's holiness will shake out that which can be shaken to dust. All that is not eternal will fall away. The spirit survives. The spiritual life is where everlasting life is found. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom. If we would enter the kingdom and enjoy the King's grace and glorious riches, we need to leave behind the shakable, the created things. Our hearts need to turn away from the world and turn toward God.
As we worship, let us remember the holiness of God is awesome beyond awesome. Our sanctuaries and temples do not hold God, nor do their beauty even come close to capturing His radiance. They only point in the direction of the reality. They point to the everlasting beauty and glory of God.
Our God is a consuming fire. Don't resist His Holy Spirit in your life. He will shake you loose from everything that holds you captive to this fading world. Come before Him with reverence and awe! You are in the presence of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the creator of heaven and earth. Act accordingly, because you belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
No comments:
Post a Comment