Nothing To Fear

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. . . . “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!” Exodus 20:18, 20

GOD HAD JUST COME DOWN on Mount Sinai to give his law to his people, and the earth shook with the force. The Israelites who gathered at the foot of the mountain could see in the inscribed tablets that God demanded their total allegiance. They could also see in the fire and smoke the judgment that awaited lawbreakers. If they came near the mountain, they would die, so they were understandably afraid.

God wanted them to know that he had rescued them. But he also wanted them to know that he is not a domesticated deity. He is a good God, and he is also a dangerous God. As his mediator, Moses told them that the Lord had given them this law not to destroy them, but so they could develop a life of glad obedience to him. This law that revealed the goodness of God was being given so that they might share in his goodness.

God has told us what to do. But there’s a problem. We can’t do it! If we were able to keep the law, we could be saved by it. But since we cannot keep it, we can only be condemned by it. Fortunately, we have a better mediator than Moses and have received a better covenant than the old covenant. “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins” (Romans 8:3).

In the book of Hebrews, we learn that we who live under the new covenant don’t approach God at Mount Sinai like his people did in Moses’ day. We go to a different mountain —Mount Zion. Zion is where Jesus reigns now at the right hand of the Father, who is still ablaze in holiness and abundant in mercy. Because of Christ’s finished work, we can approach God with nothing to fear and everything to gain.

God, you are a consuming fire. You are pure and holy, and you demand perfection. The day will come when ________ will stand before you. Oh, how my heart yearns for him to be ready for that day by taking hold of Christ as his mediator, by standing before you covered in Christ’s perfect record of obedience.