Hebrews 12, 18 through 21, want to do some background for us. The author is once again coming back to the very clear connection to the main point of the book, which is not falling back into a dependence upon the law. Why would it be a huge mistake to depend on the law for salvation? Well, number one, to clear it up. No one was saved through obedience to the law. It was not the means to salvation and is not the means to salvation. Number two, everyone at all times has been saved through faith. Before the Messiah came, people were saved by looking forward to the Messiah, depending on the promises of God about the coming Messiah. Number three, what is the point of the law? It is a moral guide to look to for living for God. It points out the sin of mankind. It makes our sin known. It points us to Christ who kept it perfectly. It was the mark by which he fulfilled all righteousness and perfection. And verse 18 says this, for you have not come to a mountain that can be touched. This points out the physical aspect of the law. This new grace which we have come to in Christ is not physical. There are many religions which overemphasize locations and physical items, but thankfully true salvation is dependent upon a person, not a place or thing. That person, of course, is Jesus Christ. And to a blazing fire and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, So judgment, an unapproachable presence of God, this holy, holy, holy God to the Lord God Almighty, Isaiah, man of God, cried out, woe is me for I'm a man undone. He was confronted by God and declared that he was doomed. Yeah, verse 19. And to a blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words, which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them, for they could not bear the command. If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. Side note, this is taken from Exodus 20. So if you have the time, go ahead and read Exodus 20. There was such a careful rule and preparation and separation that it caused the people to greatly fear as they were faced with the presence of God. But it did not cause a heart change, as this people would not obey and rebel and worship false gods. Verse 21, And so terrible was the sight that Moses himself said, I am full of fear and trembling. So Moses, who stood before Pharaoh, He himself alongside of Isaiah when confronted with God's presence and his holiness, he trembled. This is the glory and power of our God, his unique excellence. So if we are dependent upon the law for our salvation, we stand absolutely hopeless and utter foolish ignorance of God's holiness. Luther had some incredible commitments. He became a monk and he saw God's holiness in scripture. He almost froze to death, starved, and would spend such countless hours in confession, simply confessing the sins of yesterday that it drove his teachers mad and caused them to question his sanity. One teacher is believed to declare, Luther, go do something sinful so you can come back here and actually confess something worth confessing. Why? Because Luther had an acute understanding of the holiness of God and how far he fell short. So if you are depending on the law and you do not understand the holiness of God. You cannot live up to God's standard, and that is why we need Christ. And 2 Corinthians 3 verse 4 says it very clearly, for such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God. Who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life but if the ministry of death in letters engraved on stones came with glory so that the sons of israel could not look intently at the face of moses because of the glory of his face fading as it was death comes from the law life comes from god's grace from grace so do not live according to the law to find your hope Find your hope in Jesus and his righteousness alone. Do not hold confidence in your law-keeping. Find your surety in Jesus' fulfillment of the law. Trust in Jesus alone, holding fast to the confession of faith.