“Who May Ascend into the Hill of the Lord?”
Throughout the Old Testament, and especially in the Psalms, the mountains are portrayed as the dwelling place of God. “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4).
I underlined these verses in my Bible when I was a teenager. I committed myself to trying very hard to keep my hands clean and my heart pure. I aspired to tell the truth at all times. I believed this commitment would give me entrance to the holy place of the Lord and entrance to God’s blessing. I didn’t know how long it would take to feel that I had arrived at the top of the mountain. Maybe a lifetime.
Little did I know at the time that reliance on my self-effort to ascend the mountain was a futile exercise. It also wasn’t necessary.
When I believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, my hands were made clean and my heart was made pure, right then and there. Jesus’ new covenant arrangement with me made me clean, pure, holy, and forgiven.
When Peter returned from preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, he affirmed, “God made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9).
“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).
“Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:22).
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).
And finally, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). This beatitude was a prophecy from Jesus regarding what was coming to us under the new covenant. A pure heart isn’t a goal to aim for. You have a pure heart because Jesus gave you a new righteous heart. Look back at our opening verse. The “pure heart” requirement of Psalm 24? It has been fully met by our faith in Jesus.
You do not need to “become” these things. You ARE these things. You HAVE clean hands and a pure heart as a gift of grace from Jesus.
This is such a beautiful promise of the new covenant. There is no mountain to climb to reach the Lord’s presence. He came to us. He lived among us. And when we believed His gospel message, He came to live IN us. There is no mountain to climb! Why? Because the minute you believed the gospel, He whisked you straight to the top of the mountain to dwell forever in His presence.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7).
Many believe that the Christian life begins at the base of the mountain. We accept Christ and then begin an arduous journey of finding our way up the mountain. We see the Christian life as a struggle to maintain our righteousness as we climb toward God’s acceptance, approval, and blessing. When we are doing well (keeping our hands clean and our heart pure), we are making progress. When we are doing poorly, we slide back down part of the mountain and have to begin that portion again. Always striving. Never arriving.
But I have good news for you. No, GREAT news for you! At your moment of salvation, you went straight to the top of the mountain! We started the Christian life already on top of the “hill of the Lord.” No climbing required. You are already “seated with Him in the heavenly places.” Maturing? Yes! Climbing? No! As we mature, we learn how to live out of our pure heart and clean hands. We learn to tell the truth in keeping with our new identity as a Spirit-infused child of God. But these efforts are not the means to reach God’s presence. You are already there. How? By the blood of Jesus.
“Therefore, brothers, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19). It is really that simple. You started this journey called the Christian life already at the top of God’s holy mountain because the blood of Jesus placed you there.
Please look closely at this powerful and beautiful answer to our Psalm 24 question. Question: “And who may stand in His holy place?” (Psalm 24:3). New covenant answer: “We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).
We are the “who.” The holy place of God’s presence is the “where.” We are the ones “who may stand in His holy place.” We are the “who” by the precious blood of Jesus. Thank you Jesus!!!