Beware of Unbelief Hebrews 3:7-19

-Disbelief leads to disobedience and dismissal from God’s promised rest.

The final eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980 was not a sudden event. For two months prior to the massive blast—the most deadly and destructive in American history—earthquakes and volcanic activity signaled a major event was underway. Authorities had plenty of time to sound the alarm and warn those living nearby of the looming danger. Yet despite the seriousness of the threat, some people chose to disregard the warnings.

Probably the best known of those who refused to evacuate was Harry Randall Truman. The eighty-three year old man was the owner and caretaker at the Mount St. Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake. He had survived the sinking of his troop ship by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland during World War I, and he was not about to leave just because scientists thought there was danger. Truman told reporters, “I don't have any idea whether it will blow. But I don't believe it to the point that I'm going to pack up.” On May 18, 1980, Truman and his lodge were buried beneath 150 feet of mud and debris from the volcanic eruption. His body was never found.

I. Beware of the Sins of the Fathers vv. 7-11

For the first part of this letter, we have heard the author make a case over and over again about the superiority of Christ, over the angels, over the creation, and over Moses

Now, he is going to make his big point, by reminding us of a truth about the generations prior from Psalm 95: They failed in their obedience!

He begins with this reminder: The Spirit is speaking

This may seem unimportant, but it is not. This is not a matter of human opinion but it is the Word of the Lord on the matter

Not only is the Spirit speaking, but He is speaking to us, today. The truth here is timeless for both David and for us

He delivers a warning: Do not harden your hearts

We will talk about this a bit more later on, but it is clear that there is a volitional element here, a decision to not receive the instruction and promise of the Lord

This is especially a problem because the difficult day is a day of testing:

It reveals the genuineness of our faith

It reveals the incredible mercy of God

In the episode referenced in the Psalm, the people cried out to God for water

They failed the test through their grumbling and complaint

Moses failed the test by disregarding the Lord’s instruction

The Lord passed their test by providing what they needed in spite of themselves

However, the hardened hearts of the people had consequences

The people missed the Promised Land as a result of their failure to believe the Lord on the day of testing

Likewise, Moses missed the Promised Land here by failing to follow the Lord’s instructions to speak to the rock

We miss God’s intended blessings for us when we fail to believe Him and follow His instructions!

Important lessons are given by this alternation of the two ideas of faith and unbelief, obedience and disobedience. Disobedience is the root of unbelief. Unbelief is the mother of further disobedience. Faith is voluntary submission within a person's own power. If faith is not exercised, the true cause lies deeper than all intellectual reasons. It lies in the moral aversion of human will and in the pride of independence, which says, "who is Lord over us? Why should we have to depend on Jesus Christ?" As faith is obedience and submission, so faith breeds obedience, but unbelief leads on to higher-handed rebellion. With dreadful reciprocity of influence, the less one trusts, the more he disobeys; the more he disobeys, the less he trusts. 

Alexander Maclaren.

II. Beware of the Danger of an Unbelieving Heart vv. 12-15

Now the author applies this lesson to his context

We must consider our own hearts

It is entirely possible that we could have an evil and unbelieving heart

This is not morally neutral, it is evil

This unbelieving heart actively chooses not to believe what it understands to be true about the nature and character of God

How do we overcome the dangers of an unbelieving heart?

It is through mutual exhortation. We need encouragement from each other to continue in the faith

We need to remember the importance of “today”, because it is the only day that we have to be faithful in

We need to be wary of the deceitfulness of sin that will convince us that our unbelief and disobedience are ultimately harmless

When we continue in faithfulness to Jesus, we prove our share in Him. It reveals the genuineness of our faith

It turns out that the proof of our faith is not in how we start, but in how we finish

This ought to drive us to Jesus and not to ourselves!

We can get this wrong by taking this warning as a sign to “do better”

Instead, it is a reminder to recover our belief in Jesus!

Hosea 6:1–3

[1] “Come, let us return to the LORD;

for he has torn us, that he may heal us;

he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

[2] After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will raise us up,

that we may live before him.

[3] Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD;

his going out is sure as the dawn;

he will come to us as the showers,

as the spring rains that water the earth.” (ESV)

III. Beware of the Cost of Unbelief vv. 16-19

The passage closes with a series of questions about the identity of the unbelieving generation:

They made a good beginning of things in departing Egypt

They saw God’s mighty acts and His work for Israel

Truth be told, they were not ignorant of the Lord at all

However, they are the ones who sinned against God and were left to die in the wilderness

They are caught inbetween!

They were called out of Egypt but never made it to the Promised Land

As we seek to apply this truth, we need to take care

Is this a warning against losing our salvation: No

Is this written to the lost: No

I believe that there is a real danger in front of us:

We can be God’s people

We can be called out of slavery to sin

We can miss God’s intended rest and the blessings of obedience in our lives

It is not the loss of eternal life with God in heaven

It is a loss of the blessings of that life here on earth

At the root is a question of faith

Disbelief yields disobedience

Disobedience yields destruction

We have to examine ourselves and exhort each other to finish well!

The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique. The winner was not the runner who finished first. It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit. I want to run all the way with the flame of my torch still lit for Him.