Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

God the consuming fire.

Hebrews 12v28-29 “…  let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’ ” (NIV)

Often in Christian teaching there are things which appear on the surface to be contradictory, but in practice need to be held together. One example is here in Hebrews 12.

In verses 18-21, the writer compares our interaction with God with Israel’s experience at Sinai in the book of Exodus, saying, “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire … The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, ‘I am trembling with fear.’”

And then, in what seems to be a contrast, the writer continues v22-24, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God .. to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant …”.

But we find that the writer does not bring out a contrast of opposites, but of degree, (v25) “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape then they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?” If you thought God interacting through Moses at Sinai was awe-inspiring and needed to be obeyed, how much more awe-inspiring is God interacting through Jesus who came from heaven.

In the verse we started with, the writer considers that if there was reason for Moses-followers to worship God in an acceptable way, how much more reason is there for us as Jesus-followers to worship in a way of reverence and awe. Is this talking about the style of songs that we sing or the way that we pray? Well, Hebrews makes no reference to praying or singing at this point. Rather he continues with ‘love each other’ (13v1), ‘be hospitable’(13v2), ‘be sexually pure’ (13v4), and ‘be content’ (13v5). This is exactly in tune with Paul when he writes in Romans 12v1, “In view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable act of worship.” Or take the prophet writing in Amos 5v23-24 “Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never failing stream.”

Is my life a reasonable act of worship to God given what he has done for me?

With love and blessing,

Roland