Sewing Up the Curtain
Annual Business Meeting
Feb 15th, 2025
Scripture: Exodus 20:21
“The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.”
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INTRODUCTION: A FAMILIAR MOMENT WITH AN UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH
Looking out at our church family, we have a lot of history seen in the experience of our members.
Some were alive before there was television, or electricity here in Trempealeau County.
Some of us only had three TV channels growing up. Or a dial that spun our antenna around in a circle to catch the signal.
Some of us are Generation X- grew up latch-key kids and learned to navigate life on our own.
Others, never knew an existence without this thing called the internet, or social media, or 24/7 access to anything you’d ever want to know.
One of the things I found fascinating when the internet came out were discussion forums. I quickly become a moderator and administrator of a forum called theology review, in which I moderated arguments between people of all Christian theological persuasions.
Calvinists
Arminians
Orthrodox
Catholic
Every flavor of protestant.
I loved doing it, because it sharpened my ability to really understand what I believe, and why I believe it.
That discipline is called “Apologetics”. It means to defend our faith- using the bible, logic, and dialectics to show people the truth about Jesus.
I’m going to use that discipline this morning in discussing our relationship with God, and the differences between religion, and relationship.
We begin in Exodus.
When most people think of Exodus chapter 20, they immediately think of the Ten Commandments. Stone tablets. Rules. Moral law. God’s expectations.
But verse 21—tells us something far more revealing, but not about God, but about us.
After God speaks—after He reveals Himself, His holiness, His moral law, and His will—the people do something unexpected.
“The people stood far off…”
Pause
“The people stood far off…”
They don’t rush forward.
They don’t lean in.
They don’t ask for more.
They step back.
I’ve always considered this to be one of the most tragic accounts in the bible, as it reveals the spiritual condition of humanity.
Because these people, after witnessing all of these miraculous, incredible, and mind-blowing signs say, in essence:
“Moses—you go. You hear from God. Then tell us what He says.”
But let’s be fair, this is not a moment of rebellion.
This is a moment of fear.
And that distinction matters—because fear often disguises itself as reverence.
Let’s read the verse in context- this is right after God revealed the 10 commandments
Exodus 20:18 All the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain surrounded by smoke. When the people saw it they trembled and stood at a distance. 19 “You speak to us, and we will listen,” they said to Moses, “but don’t let God speak to us, or we will die.”
20 Moses responded to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, so that you will fear him and will not sin.” 21 And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.
Prayer
I mentioned a moment ago, I think verse 21 is one of the most tragic verses of the entire bible.
Because it represents a human condition that keeps us from living a victorious and intimate life with God
We prefer God on our terms.
That is the definition of religion- making God fit into a box that we are comfortable with.
Let’s explore that thought this morning
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POINT 1: GOD DREW NEAR—THE PEOPLE BACKED AWAY
Let’s be clear about what’s happening at Sinai.
God is not distant here.
God is not hidden.
God is not withholding.
God comes down.
The fire.
The cloud.
The voice.
This is God initiating relationship.
The people’s response is telling:
They are not necessarily saying, “We reject You.”
They say, “We’re afraid of being this close.”
So they instead choose distance.
And they delegate the intimacy to Moses.
They ask for a mediator not because God demanded one—but because they couldn’t bear proximity.
And here’s the key insight:
God did not create distance-HE came close. Human fear created the distance.
This is the first great example of what I’ll call delegated spirituality—
letting someone else do the dangerous work of being close to God.
There is a consequence of that delegated spirituality though- it produces religion where relationship is being called for.
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POINT 2: RELIGION IS BORN RIGHT HERE
This moment at Sinai is the birthplace of a pattern that will repeat itself over and over again.
When God draws near, humans often respond by building systems to keep Him at a manageable distance.
Rules feel safer than relationship.
Structure feels safer than presence.
Obedience-at-arm’s-length feels safer than intimacy.
So Israel says:
“Give us commandments—but don’t speak to us anymore.”
In other words:
“We’ll obey… just don’t be so close.”
That’s religion.
Religion doesn’t reject God.
Religion tries to manage God.
And that instinct is alive and well today.
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POINT 3: MOSES MODELS THE BETTER RESPONSE
Now look at the contrast in this verse.
“The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.”
Moses does not deny God’s holiness.
He doesn’t trivialize the fear.
He doesn’t pretend God is safe.
He simply accepts God’s invitation to draw near, and trusts God enough to move toward Him anyway.
I want you to notice this detail:
God is not in the sunshine.
God is not in clarity.
God is not in comfort.
God is in the darkness.
Which tells us something uncomfortable but true:
Drawing near to God often means stepping into mystery, not control.
Religion wants certainty.
Relationship requires trust.
Moses walks into the dark not because he understands everything—but because he believes God is good.
Unfortunately, this fear didn’t end at Sinai- it continually reappears throughout biblical history.
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POINT 4: THIS SAME SIN REPEATS THROUGH HISTORY
Fast forward.
The Temple is built.
The Holy of Holies exists.
A curtain separates God from the people.
In fact, Only one man may approach God Once a year.
And only with blood.
And again—The distance becomes normalized.
Then something extraordinary happens.
God does not send another prophet.
God does not add more rules.
God comes Himself.
Jesus is God drawing near again.
And how do the religious leaders respond?
They question HIM
They mock HIM
Their jealousy for the love of the people leads them to conspire against HIM
And manipulate the Romans to crucify HIM.
All of that, to protect their religious system.
Why? Why does religion do that?
Religion needs you at a distance, because religion is about control
Jesus on the other hand, came to destroy this man-made separation.
When Jesus is crucified, Scripture emphatically describes something:
The temple curtain- the physical barrier between the presence of God and humanity is torn—from top to bottom.
God tears it.
Not us. God
God is saying, once and for all:
“Stop backing away. I am not here to destroy you. I am here to restore you. I want to fix what was lost in the Garden of Eden- to dwell in intimacy with you.”
But here is the tragedy of the whole situation-
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POINT 5: THE TRAGEDY—WE KEEP SEWING THE CURTAIN BACK UP
Here’s the uncomfortable part.
Even after the curtain is torn, we are tempted to recreate distance.
We do it when:
• We turn grace into something that must be maintained
• We turn holiness into a scoreboard or a checksheet
• We keep God at arm’s length so He doesn’t interfere too much in our lives
• We prefer sermons over encounters
• Rules over presence
• And most tragically, Fear over love
That’s Exodus 20:21 all over again.
Different century.
Same instinct.
Why do we struggle with this? When does an obsession on Holiness actually detract from the God who wants us to have a relationship with HIM?
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POINT 6: WHY HOLINESS SYSTEMS STRUGGLE WITH GRACE
Let’s say this carefully—but honestly.
Holiness movements often begin with a good desire:
God is holy. Our lives should reflect Him.
That’s true.
But when holiness becomes something we earn, it quietly replaces relationship.
Because earned holiness:
• Can be measured
• Can be controlled
• Can be compared
• Can be enforced
• And in the end, produces human pride
But here is the thing- as Christians, we live by faith through Grace.
Grace tips religion on it’s head.
Grace destroys hierarchy.
Grace destroys boasting.
Grace destroys leverage.
But Scripture is unrelenting in this truth:
True holiness flows from intimacy, not from our works. (repeat)
Here is a mind blowing thought I’ve been living with recently-
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POINT 7: A TIMELESS GOD MAKES GRACE EVEN GREATER
I’ve shared with several of you a fascination with astrophysics and the nature of our reality.
Everyone has heard of Einstein and his famous formula of E=MC squared.
Honestly, most people don’t want to think about this stuff. Theories on spacetime, gravity, and dimensions are just not useful in our lives. I get that.
So This isn’t just me nerding out on science, it has direct applications here.
In order for God to be God, HE cannot be limited or constrained by HIS creation.
That includes time. Einstein showed us that 3 dimensional space (up down, left/right, forward, backwards) and time are interwoven with each other- that time is a dimension within itself. Relative to us on earth- as satellite orbiting the planet loose time every day…only a few milliseconds due to them moving fast and being further away from our gravity here on the ground.
It matters, especially for your GPS devices- if they didn’t correct for this, you’d be lost in a few weeks.
I say that to show that time itself is part of God’s creation, and not just consequence of it.
Let’s tie that together with the theology-
God exists outside of time—
if time itself is part of creation—
then God did not save you ignorantly.
God never has buyers remorse-
He doesn’t’ say, “I can’t believe I let that person into my kingdom only to have them act like that!”
God didn’t save a cleaned-up version of you.
God didn’t save a hopeful projection of you.
God saw:
• Every failure
• Every rebellion
• Every moment you’d be ashamed of
And saved you anyway. (repeat x2)
That’s not cheap grace.
That’s courageous love.
That shows that the Cross wasn’t a gamble.
It was a decision made with full knowledge.
And that truth doesn’t make holiness irrelevant—it makes obedience the natural a response and outflow of gratitude, not fear.
This is why
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POINT 8: WHY FEAR-BASED FAITH CAN NEVER TRANSFORM
Fear can modify behavior for a while.
Fear cannot change a heart.
When I drive long distances, I use WAZE as a GPS navigator. It shows traffic, direct, and even where the police are sitting doing speed enforcement.
So when that alert goes off, I make sure that my speed isn’t going to cause the officer to pull me over, because I’m afraid of getting a ticket.
But once I pass the police officer, I flip the cruise back to the original speed.
That’s a way of describing religion.
Religion says:
“Behave or else.”
Relationship says:
“Come close and be changed.”
We don’t obey to stay saved.
We obey because we are saved.
We don’t draw near because we’re worthy.
We draw near because we’re invited.
That was always God’s desire.
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CONCLUSION: THE QUESTION EXODUS 20:21 LEAVES US WITH
Exodus 20:21 does not ask whether God is holy.
That’s settled.
The question is simpler—and harder:
Will we stand far off…or will we draw near?
Will we let someone else go into the fire for us?
Or will we trust God enough to step toward Him ourselves?
Because the Gospel is not an invitation to distance.
It is an invitation to closeness.
Not fear-based obedience.
But relationship-driven transformation.
My friends-
The curtain is torn.
The way is open.
The presence is available.
The only question left is this:
Will we keep our distance—or finally come close?
Altar call.
Prayer for food and meeting.
