Beware of Unbelief!

TEXT: Hebrews 3:7-19 (KJV)

ETS: Paul warns the Hebrew believers of the dangers of unbelief.

ESS: Failure to believe God can be costly.

OSS: Believers will choose to trust God in all things.

PQ: What harm is there in lacking faith?

UW: Points

TOPIC: “Beware of Unbelief!”

INTRODUCTION:

I.       A SOLUMN WARNING (V.7-9,12-15).

A.          Hear His voice (v.7).

1.      It is imperative that you hear His voice.

a)       God never says anything that is not important.

b)       Hearing His voice always carries the idea of heeding.

B.           Harden not your heart (v.7)

1.      Hardening the heart is foolish.

2.      Hardening the heart always brings swift and certain consequences.

a)       Pharaoh hardened his heart and was judged in the Red Sea.

b)       Israel hardened their hearts and wandered for 40 years in the wilderness.

C.     Heartfelt faith is necessary (v. 12).

1.      Unbelief is evil. (evil = πονηρός = in an ethical sense: evil wicked, bad. in a physical sense: diseased or blind.)

2.      Unbelief calls God a liar.

a)       Unbelief in Christ

(1 John 5:10)” He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son .”

b)       Unbelief in His promises

D.    Help one another through encouragement (v. 13)

1.      Exhort = παρακαλέω = to encourage, strengthen. exhorting and comforting and encouraging. to instruct, teach.

2.      Exhort one another “daily while it is called today”.

a)       Procrastinating can be devastating.

II.                A SHAMEFUL TESTIMONY (VS. 10).

A.    Grieving the heart of God (v.10a).

1.      The Lord can be grieved with our lives.

(Eph 4:30)  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  

a)       Grieved by our lack of faith.

b)       Grieved with our failure to obey.

c)       Grieved with our poor choices.

B.     Going astray continually from God (v.10b)

1.      Err = πλανάω = to go astray, wander, roam about to go astray, sin. ; to sever or fall away from the truth. To be led away into error and sin.

2.      The Israelites continually wandered from God.

a)       During the wilderness wanderings.

b)       After entering the promised land.

3.      We are proned to wander from Christ (Isa. 53:6).

C.     Growing willingly ignorant of God’s ways (v. 10c). (Rom. 1:25; Rom. 10:3)

1.      Choosing not to know God. (γινώσκω = to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of. to become acquainted with, to know.)

a)       He has done all he can to reveal himself to us.

(1)   Gave us the Bible.

(2)   Gave us his Son.

(3)   Gave us His Spirit.

III.       A STIFF PENALTY (VS. 11, 16-19).

A.     Wrath proclaimed by God (v.11).

1.      God proclaimed judgment in his wrath upon the unbelieving Israelites.

2.      God proclaims judgment upon those who refuse to believe today. (John 3:18).

B.     Wandering in the wilderness without direction (vs. 16-17).

1.      A lack of faith can be quite costly.

a)       It cost Israel as a whole 40 years of wandering in the desert.

b)       It cost those who were faithless their lives without experiencing God’s promise

                (Num. 26:64-65).

C.     Weariness without rest (vs. 18-19).

1.      The children of Israel experienced weariness in wandering, without the rest of the promised land.

2.      It can cost us weariness in wandering in this life, full of worry and toil, with no rest.

(Jer. 2:13; 18:12)

CONCLUSION: