Two Mountains

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Mark 8:36

D.L. MOODY
O that we would wake up to the thought of what it is to be lost! The world has been rocked to sleep by Satan who is going up and down telling people it doesn’t mean anything. I believe in the old-fashioned heaven and hell. Christ came down to save us from a terrible hell, and any man who is cast down to hell from here must go in the full blaze of the gospel and over the mangled body of the Son of God.
We hear of a man who has lost his health, and we sympathize with him, and we say it is very sad. Our hearts are drawn out to sympathy. Here is another man who has lost his wealth, and we say, “That is very sad.” Here is another man who has lost his reputation, his standing among men. “That is sadder still,” we say. We know what it is to lose health and wealth and reputation, but what is the loss of all these things compared with the loss of the soul?

ERWIN LUTZER
All forms of contemporary spirituality say humanity is essentially good. Many believe they are the judge of their own soul. But we are lawbreakers. In Exodus 19, God told the people to consecrate themselves at Mount Sinai where God revealed Himself. But they couldn’t even touch the edge of the mountain without perishing. In other words, God was emphasizing His holiness against humanity’s sinfulness.
Thank God for Christ who mediates between us and God; He stands in for us, having been made sin on our behalf. Within us is nothing good. Our faith must be in Jesus, and were it not for His grace, we would be banished from His presence forever. Unless we see ourselves as lawbreakers, we will never rely on the One who kept the law perfectly. We cannot understand Calvary until we understand Mount Sinai. Sinai shows us the great sinners we are, and Calvary shows us God’s great grace. And as Moody said, what a tragedy for a soul to be lost.

PRAYER
Father, I am a needy sinner, please draw my soul to you.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How does understanding God in the Old Testament help you understand Him in the New?

What does Christ’s work on the cross mean for you?