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Hebrews 12:18
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16 lest there be any afornicator or profane person like Esau, bwho for one morsel of food sold his birthright.  
17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was arejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.  

The Glorious Company

18 For you have not come1 to athe mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and2 darkness and tempest,  
19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it abegged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.  
20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: a“And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned1 or shot with an arrow.”  
21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, a“I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.”)  
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
23 to the1 general assembly and church of athe firstborn bwho are registered in heaven, to God cthe Judge of all, to the spirits of just men dmade perfect,  
24 to Jesus athe Mediator of the new covenant, and to bthe blood of sprinkling that speaks better things cthan that of Abel.  

Hear the Heavenly Voice

25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For aif they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,  
26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, a“Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”  
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
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What Does Hebrews 12:18 Mean?

God's calling places obligations upon us that we have no excuse to refuse. Though He accepted Israel's refusal at Mount Sinai, He cannot accept ours, because we have been cleansed internally to be acceptable. We cannot claim unacceptability, since He, not we ourselves, accomplished this cleansing. Through it, He placed us in a position where refusal is not an option. While we could be hardheaded and stiff-necked, saying No, no one in his right mind would refuse the privilege God has given us.




Hebrews 12:18-26

We have no excuse for refusing the obligations that God's calling puts us under. God clearly accepted Israel's refusal at Mount Sinai, but He cannot accept ours, because we have been cleansed internally to be acceptable. We cannot claim to be unacceptable because He has cleansed us. Not we ourselves, He did it. By doing so, He put us into a position where we cannot refuse. Sure, we can be hardheaded and stiff-necked and say "No." But no one in his right mind will refuse the privilege that God has given us.

John W. Ritenbaugh
New Covenant Priesthood (Part One)

Related Topics: Cleansing | Cleansing by the Power of God | Cleansing by the Word of God | Cleansing, Internal | Internal Cleansing | Israel's Refusal at Mount Sinai | New Covenant Priesthood | Refusing Obligations of God's Calling


 
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