A Biblical Mountain WalkSample

Yesterday we visited Mount Sinai as the first biblical mountain and saw how God gave His people the Ten Commandments. These are Laws that still apply today. Not just for Israel, but for everyone.

To ponder:

The Law shows us that no one can ever meet God's requirements. We all fail. It shows us that our sins have great consequences. We read in James 2, verse 10, that even if we commit just one sin, we are still guilty of breaking all of the commandments! For by sinning, no matter how little, we have broken God's Law and so are Law breakers. That carries a severe penalty. In the letter to the Romans, in the New Testament, we read that we therefore ‘miss the glory of God’ and deserve the death penalty.

That is serious. Very serious.

But... fortunately, our walk does not have to finish at Mount Sinai. Today we will walk on to our second mountain. Actually, it is no more than a little hill close to Jerusalem: Golgotha.

To read:

You can read what happened at Golgotha in John 19 verses 16 to 30.

The cross of Jesus is a symbol that most people are familiar with. However, the reason that cross was there is sadly less well known.

It was at this place that Jesus, the perfect and eternal Son of God, received the punishment we deserved. We have all broken God's holy Law, countless times, which we read about yesterday. After all, who has never lied, stolen anything, cursed, slandered others or had wrong thoughts?

We are all guilty, and God must punish our guilt. But... out of His love for you and me, He punished Jesus in place of us. The punishment is death. Jesus gave his life so we could go free, unpunished. The last thing He said was: ‘It is finished!’ That means that the penalty was paid in full. As a result, whoever admits their guilt and trusts Jesus, that has indeed paid it all, is completely and forever forgiven!

Golgotha is a terrible mountain. It shows how terrible sin is because it demanded such a high price. Golgotha is the only mountain where we can get rid of our guilt. Only, if you have admitted your guilt and trusted that Jesus really paid for you, can you journey further with us to our final mountain tomorrow.

Finally, read this beautiful verse in John 5:24:

‘Truly, I assure you, whoever listens to what I say and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life. There will be no judgement on him; he has already passed from death to life.’