You've Been Warned

Introduction: A Warning from the King

Today's message comes from Hebrews 12:25-29, and it centers on a warning from the King and His kingdom:

"See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven... For our God is a consuming fire."

When people hear the phrase "our God is a consuming fire," they often get excited and celebrate. But that's probably because they don't understand what it means. When you truly grasp that our God is a consuming fire, it doesn't bring celebration—it brings sober-mindedness. One day His kingdom will come, and when things shake, we cannot say we have not been warned.

Two Mountains: Sinai and Zion

To understand this passage, we need the context of Hebrews 12:18-24. The writer describes a mountain of blazing fire, doom, darkness, and judgment—Mount Sinai, where God gave the Law. It was the mountain of "do this or don't do that or you will be judged." The mountain shook to show how serious God is about His word.

The people who heard that word went on to disobey it—making golden calves, complaining, challenging Moses. Judgment came: serpents, plagues, forty years in the wilderness, dying short of the promise. Why? Because they refused Him who was speaking.

The writer of Hebrews says, "Thank God you and I have not come to that mountain." I pity the person who is still trying every day to earn God's acceptance, wondering if they've done enough. I pity the person who thinks their good works might finally satisfy God's standard—because God's standard is absolute perfection, and He will accept nothing less.

"All your righteous acts are like filthy rags in front of a holy God. Even your good days are bad in comparison to what He asks you to do." (Isaiah 64:6)

If you're living in fear, hoping you've done enough, hoping your life hasn't gone too far—maybe you accepted Christ years ago but are struggling now, feeling like God has let you go—hear this: you are not at that mountain anymore.

We have come instead to Mount Zion (Hebrews 12:22)—the mountain of the new covenant, of grace, redemption, and forgiveness for all who accept Jesus Christ. It is the mountain that declares no one will be justified by the Law anymore, only by faith in Jesus Christ. It is the mountain of those enrolled by grace into the book of life, sprinkled by the blood of Jesus, which speaks something greater than the blood of Abel.

Do Not Refuse Him Who Speaks

Just as God spoke from Sinai, He also speaks a stark warning from Zion—not out of harshness, but because of His grace, mercy, and love in giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

"See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking." (Hebrews 12:25)

Hebrews 1:1-2 tells us that in these last days, God speaks through His Son. And what did Jesus say?

• "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
• "I am the door. Anyone who enters through Me will be saved."
• "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live even if he dies."
• "Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes on Him who sent Me will have eternal life and will not undergo judgment." (John 5:24)
• "Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)
• "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish." (John 3:16)

There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved except the name of Jesus Christ. See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks from this mountain.

Hebrews 10:28-29 makes the warning even clearer: those who set aside the Law of Moses died without mercy. How much more severe is the punishment for the one who tramples underfoot the Son of God and insults the Spirit of grace? Translation: you ain't seen nothing yet. God does not play when it comes to His Son, the sacrificial Lamb for all our sins.

The Great Shaking

"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 heavens." (Hebrews 12:26)

There is coming an absolute escalation. Back then, the shaking was local, physical, and temporary. But a day is coming when God will shake not just the earth but the whole universe—not just what's physical, but the spiritual and immaterial. Not temporarily, but eternally and permanently.

When that day comes, He will remove and dismantle every temporal, man-made, sinful, ungodly, twisted cultural fallacy, and He will only leave what is eternal, rooted in Christ, in His unshakable kingdom. Do not be one who gets shaken out. There will be no pity on that day—but right now is your window of grace to turn from your wicked ways and your self-righteous efforts and give your life to Jesus Christ.

This warning isn't only for the unsaved. It's also for the believer who thinks they can "pimp grace." As Paul said, we do not continue in sin so that grace may increase. Only the things that are unshakable will enter the new heavens and new earth of Revelation 21.

The Gold Miner's Pan

Consider a gold miner who dips his pan into the ground. The pan contains many things—dirt, debris, trash, and gold. He shakes the pan vigorously to rid it of everything except what is valuable and pure.

When Christ came, He dug for treasure, and He is only taking into His kingdom what is valuable, pure, and gold. Everything else will be shaken out.

So when your life is shaking, maybe God is doing you a favor before He shakes the universe. Maybe He's showing you that your money, your friends, your relationships, your career, your degrees, your house, your car, your status, your name—none of it can help you. He is preparing you for the shaking so you'll know what you're really living for.

Serving with Reverence and Awe

"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." (Hebrews 12:28)

This isn't the reluctant service we once gave our parents—provided everything, then asked to help, and we sucked our teeth about it. We have received an unshakable kingdom, and that gratitude should show in how we serve.

The Death Row Illustration

Imagine being on death row. Lethal injection is all you have to look forward to—heart racing, palms sweating, knowing there's nothing you can do but wait your turn. That was you and me, because the wages of sin is death, and we were next in line.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, made us alive together with Christ. He demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He took our place on that gurney. He never complained—He could have called a legion of angels, but instead He took death upon Himself, though He was perfectly righteous.

He has given us, by His life, an unshakable kingdom:

• This doesn't mean your life won't shake, but it does mean your salvation is secure.
• This doesn't mean you'll always be happy, but it does mean your joy is unmoved.
• This doesn't mean people will always treat you right, but it does mean Jesus's faithfulness will stand.
• This doesn't mean your body won't grow old, but it does mean your spirit will be renewed.
• This doesn't mean you won't die, but it does mean that on that day you will still live.

We are no longer on death row—so why does God have to beg us to serve, to give, to forgive, to share, to attend, to be kind? We should do these things simply because we are grateful.

The Consuming Fire

There's a final reason to serve with reverence and awe: "our God is a consuming fire." God will not be mocked or taken lightly.

In Deuteronomy 4, Moses warns the second generation of Israel, about to enter the Promised Land, not to act foolishly—because their God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. God sent His Son to be betrayed, mocked, and crucified by the very people He created. We don't get to simply waltz into His promise without a fire that reveals what needs to be consumed or refined.

1 Corinthians 3:13-15 tells us that believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and our lives will be revealed by fire.

"What the fire consumes, you will suffer loss. But what the fire does not consume, you will have your reward."

Unfortunately, many believers are living for what the fire will consume rather than what the fire will refine. God did not send His Son to save us from sin only so we could go back and play with things that burn. Many will enter the kingdom by grace "smelling like smoke" (1 Corinthians 3:15)—saved, yet having wasted so much.

At Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, we firmly believe in eternal security—nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:1). But as good as He is to give grace and bring us into His kingdom, a shaking and a fire are still approaching, and that fire will reveal how grateful or ungrateful we were.

As my mother used to tell me: "This life will soon pass, and only what you do for Christ will last."

Altar Call: Do Not Refuse Him

When the kingdom comes and the shaking happens, we will not be able to say we were not warned. So in these last few minutes, I don't want to give this message without inviting you to respond.

Do not refuse Him who is speaking. He spoke from Mount Sinai, and now He speaks from Mount Zion.

If you need to accept Christ, walk to the altar—run to the altar, crawl to the altar if you must. Do not refuse this moment. If you're already saved but know you're not living right, putting Christ second or third in your life, this is a moment for rededication. Come back to Christ, because the shaking and the fire are approaching. We are living in the last days, where the time has come to be grateful and to serve with reverence and awe.

Whether you need salvation today or you want to get right with God today—do not refuse Him.