Hebrews 3

Introduction

Hebrews 3:7 “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,”

Like last section, this section opens up with the word “wherefore.” An easy way to view “wherefore” is swinging door that swings back into the past and swings out into the future. (J Vernon Mcgee).ch.3:7 The door swings back to Hebrews 3:1: “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider…Christ Jesus.” If we took a brief survey of where we have been in the first 2 1/2 chapters of Hebrews, then we are to consider Jesus because He is greater than the prophets, angels and Moses. If we look at Hebrews 3:1-6, then we are to consider Jesus because He is “the Apostle and high priest of our profession,” He is “counted worthy of more glory than Moses,” and while Moses is a faithful servant to the Lord’s house, Jesus is the Son who owns His house.

Hebrews 3:7-19 tells the story of wherefore swinging out into the future. There is eternal danger if we fail to consider Christ Jesus. A. Barnes wrote regarding the word “consider.” “Attentively ponder all that is said of the Messiah. Think of his rank; his dignity; his holiness; his sufferings; his death; his resurrection, ascension, intercession. Think of him that you may see the claims to a holy life; that you may learn to bear trials; that you may be kept from apostasy.” (Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Hebrews 3:1) Considering Jesus does not mean viewing stories that resonate with your sense of purpose or value system but examining all the stories of Jesus, including the piercing and painful stories that are unpleasant and hard. Many people do not know that “Jesus talked about hell more than any other person in the Bible…(He) doesn’t only reference hell, he describes it in great detail. He says it is a place of eternal torment (Luke 16:23), of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43), where the worm does not die (Mark 9:48), where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret (Matt. 13:42), and from which there is no return, even to warn loved ones (Luke 16:19–31). He calls hell a place of ‘outer darkness’ (Matt. 25:30), comparing it to ‘Gehenna’ (Matt. 10:28), which was a trash dump outside the walls of Jerusalem where rubbish was burned and maggots abounded. Jesus talks about hell more than he talks about heaven, and describes it more vividly.” (Schmucker) We need to consider the whole Jesus.

In Hebrews 2:1-4, I mentioned there are five urgent warning throughout the Book of Hebrews. Each of the warnings come with serious consequences if the warning is not heeded. The first warning comes in Hebrews 2:1-4 as a parenthetical. That exhortation focused on those Jews who believed Jesus but had not committed to Him. They were going to church, but not saved by God’s grace. The consequences of failing to commit to the Gospel in Hebrews 2:1-4 is to have the offer of grace slip pass you.

The exhortation that begins in Hebrews 3:7 is an urgent warning for Jewish believers to consider Christ Jesus. The danger of not considering Him is being rejected from entering into rest. Christians will consider Jesus; they will persevere in their faith. Therefore, considering Jesus brings assurance to the believer who is going through a bad season. At the same time, there may be some who will not consider Jesus through the long haul. They are being warned failure to do so means unbelief or an uncommitted belief that can save no one. 1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”

Having morality is important; being a good neighbor is important; showing yourself a worthy worker is important; demonstrating a Semper Fidelis (always faithful) lifestyle is important; but none of these traits matter without Christ Jesus. Within human philosophy good people do inherit it eternal life but within theology, there is no good person (Romans 3:10: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one”). The only essential and effective way to enter rest is through an unadulterated biblical life-changing belief in Christ Jesus. Jesus said in John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Paul added in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The Apostle John amen’s the exclusivity of Jesus in 1 John 5:20: “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” Paul besought a person on the verge of suicide in Acts 16:31 to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

This morning, we will view the warning through the example and exhortation the writer gives us.

Example

Hebrews 3:7–11 “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)”

Between “wherefore” in verse 7 and “take heed” in verse 11, there is a parenthesis. The purpose of this parenthesis is to provide additional information that will better aid his readers understanding his point. There are three main points to within the parenthesis: the Holy Ghost, hear His voice, and Harden not your hearts.

First, “the Holy Ghost saith.” The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalms 95:7-11. He mentions in Hebrews 4:7 that David wrote that Psalm. Even though David wrote that Psalm, he was moved by the Holy Spirit with each letter he used. He penned the words, but the words he penned were the Holy Spirit’s. We see how this was done in 2 Peter 1:21: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” God, in His magnificent power, used the personality of Bible writers to dictate His words. Whether David in Psalms 95 or Paul in 1 Corinthians 1, they wrote God’s will and words to their audience. Garner-Howes notes: “Holy men of God were inspired, empowered, superintended by the Holy Spirit to prophesy and write, guarded by the Spirit from speaking or recording any error.” (Garner and J.C. Howes)

The Bible is God’s word to us. In the phrase “the Holy Ghost saith,” the verb “saith” is in the active voice and present tense. This means that the writer of Hebrews or David is not speaking to us but God Himself. The Holy Spirit is directly warning “holy brethren of the heavenly calling.” The verb tense is “present.” I believe that I mentioned in an earlier sermon regarding the significance of the Greek present tense verb. Our English word “saith” comes from a Greek present tense verb. The present tense does not just mean in the moment, but includes continuous action or habitual action, which often reflects a lifestyle. (Administration, “Greek Quick Reference Guide | Precept Austin”) The central principle to glean from this is the Holy Spirit was not just speaking to David’s or the writer of Hebrews’ audience; He speaks to all audiences, in every age, and culture. Truth never becomes outdated, irrelevant or archaic. The words written two thousand years and beyond have as much God-life in them, as when they were first spoken and written.

The phrase “the Holy Ghost saith” is rare. The closest to this phrase is in Acts 21:11: “And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.” Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:1: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”

The Bible being God’s word was already an assumed truth based on 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Paul did not write this to give Timothy a new truth but a truth that was already accepted and believed. Therefore, God moved David and the writer of Hebrews to use this phrase to stir His audience. I knew a pastor who was not a shouter but a few times during his sermon, he would shout. The purpose of him doing this was to get his audience attention on a particularly important truth. God does the same thing in Hebrews 3:7. He wants to remind His audience who wrote this and to focus their attention on a very important truth.

“The Holy Ghost saith” reminds God’s audience (to include us), His words are authoritative, are answers and we are accountable. In the Sitcom Hogan’s Heroes there was a sergeant of the Stalag (a German prisoner of war camp during World War 2). His name was Shutlz. His catchphrase was: “I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing!” He said this when he heard Colonel Hogan and his fellow prisoner discuss espionage or escape. If he did not hear, see or know, then he would not be accountable to their plans. Seeing that we know the Bible is God’s word, we cannot use the same tactic as Sergeant Shultz. Even if we declare, “I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing,” we are still accountable to God. Paul says in Romans 14:12: “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Second, we need to hear His voice. Hebrews 3:7: “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice.” There are many people, ideas, and movements that are vying for our audience. They want us to hear their voice. There are news agencies, podcasts, social media, movements, clubs, political parties, entertainment, etc. all wanting our allegiance. Yet, the voice that should rise above all other voices, which has more authority than those voices, and is more consequential is God’s word. His voice is the voice we need to hear! This voice is not through dreams, visions, an inner voice, feelings, or emotions, but God’s revealed word. “We serve a speaking God who talks to his people throughout the Bible.” (Wilson)

Notice their is urgency in hearing the word. The Holy Spirit says “today.” There is no guarantee of tomorrow. Paul quotes Isaiah 49:8 in 2 Corinthians 6:2: “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation).” Hear Him today because you do not know what will happen tomorrow.

In addition to urgency, their is uncertainty that they would hear the word. He writes: “If ye will hear his voice.” As I mentioned previously, there are three conditional classes associated with “if.” The first class assumes the condition is true. For example, 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Paul assumes the Corinthians were in Christ Jesus; therefore, did change. However, in Hebrews 3:7, the condition is third class, which does not assume the condition to be true. He was not convince they would hear the Lord’s voice and harden their hearts. The writer hoped they would respond positively but did not know if they would. His audience created an environment where he was concerned about their faith.

I dislike preaching funerals of people who confessed Christianity, but did not live Christianity. You preach as if they were saved, but with uncertainty in your own heart that they were saved. My concerns over their faith resulted from their lack of providing proof of their deliverance. The writer is concerned that some of “the holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling” are possibly unsaved and is not convinced or assuming they will hear the voice of God.

Third, Harden not your hearts. Hebrews 3:7–12: “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”

Hardening your heart is the opposite of hearing His voice. There is not a middle ground; you are either hearing His voice or hardening your heart; you are either reading His word or hardening your heart. The difference between hardening and hearing is your heart. There are so many reasons we give as to why we do not read the Bible: I am too busy, the Bible is too difficult to read, I already know what the Bible says, etc. Yet, the Holy Spirit says your heart is hardened towards my word.

The example the writer gives is the Israelites 40 year wilderness debacle. The Lord references this segment in Israel’s history as a time of provocation. Numbers 14:22–23 gives us a snapshot of this time: “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:”

Not only did they provoke the Lord but there was a particular day they “tempted” or tested the Lord. Exodus 17:7 records this day: “And he (Moses) called the name of the place (where water came from a rock) Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?”

God’s testimony of these wicked Jews was: They always err, did not know His ways, and swore in HIs wrath that they would not enter the rest. The sad reality is these Jews were delivered from the oppression of Egypt but never from sin. Consider the middle testimony: “(they) did not know His ways.” The word for “know” speaks of intimacy or experience. The issue was not they did not intellectual know the Lord’s way but never embraced His way. As a result, they only possible expectation was God’s wrath instead of His rest.

Exhortation

Hebrews 3:12–19; “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Once I understand the parenthesis, I set it aside so that I can understand the main point. As a result of his call to consider Jesus, we need to “take heed.” The phrase “take heed” means among other thoughts “beware.” This is how the same word for “take heed” is translated in Philippians 3:2: “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” He gives us the reasons to “take heed” or “beware.” We must consider Jesus, if we do not, then it means our hearts are evil and we are departing from the living God.

First, if you do not consider Jesus; if you are not gazing at Jesus, then you have an evil heart of unbelief. The writer’s focus is on confessing “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling” without being possessors. They show their empty profession by not heeding the warning to consider Jesus. He describes the heart as “evil.” There is nothing good in their heart. Their heart has never been washed in the blood and cleansed from sin. Instead of believing with the heart that God sent His Son Jesus to be lifted up on Calvary, they have intellectualized this belief with their mind.

The Lord said to Israel in Jeremiah 2:13: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” It is a great evil to depart from the living God for something that is dead. The comparison is a red meat loving hungry man turning from a filet minion to air to satisfied his hunger. You are leaving someone who is real for something that is not real.

The question to ask is how do we “take heed” or “beware” so that we do not prove our faith is dead? The writer gives us the answer in Hebrews 3:13: “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Christians need to be faithful fellowshipping with other Christians, not for shop talk, but exhorting one another from the scriptures. “Exhort” means “to invite, invoke, implore, or console.”

How does this keep us considering Jesus? I will give two answers. First, Hebrews 10:25: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Our passion related to Jesus’ second coming. Baseball is my favorite sport. My curse is being a Cincinnati Reds fan. I begin the season, as many other fans, believing all things are possible. However, respective of their losing ways, with two months left in the season, I am looking forward to football season. My consideration has shifted from baseball to football. Now I glance at baseball but consider football. Exhorting one another with the scriptures reminds us that we are on the winning team. The championship is ours. Jesus is coming to claim victory.

Second, Proverbs 27:17: “Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Christians exhorting one another sharpens our faith and walk. The most important asset I have for my friends is God’s word. Mercy, compassion, rebuke, and love flow from God’s word not separate from God’s word.

If we are not exhorting one another today, then we are in danger of being “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” That is to say, we are in danger of being tricked by sin that we are ok when the opposite is true. I have been amazed at the number of people who live outside of the church but are so convinced they are saved. Their lives are not within a community of believers where exhorting takes place but they know without a doubt that they are Christians. The Holy Spirit says that you have hardened your hearts “through the deceitfulness of sin.”

You cannot overhype the importance of exhorting one another. Consider the church in Jerusalem in Acts 2:46–47: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” They experienced one level of revival after another. It was not easier for them to congregate daily; many would have walked miles each way. I am not saying this to you, but to me: “What will it have to take to want to spend time everyday with God’s people around His word. Sadly, there should not be much motivation. Every time a confessed believer falls off the rails, should be all the motivation we need to congregate more, not less.

In verses 14-15, the writer explains further verse Hebrews 3:13: “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:14–15: “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” We exhort one another daily because we have been made by grace to be partakers of Christ, and this shows that we are holding “the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.”

Why is the charge to exhort one another daily? It only takes “today” to harden your heart, which turns into a lifestyle, just like most of the Israelites in the wilderness.

Conclusion

You cannot amplify to high the seriousness of the warning. The writer repeats his quote of David in Hebrews 3:16–19: “For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Most of the adults whom the Lord freed from slavery died in the wilderness because they provoked Him, grieved Him, sinned and had unbelief. However, a few adults bucked the trend by delighting in the Lord, blessing the Lord, living righteously, and believing God’s words over their ways. In particular, we know of two: Caleb and Joshua.

Today, prove that you are a Caleb and Joshua by considering Jesus every day of your life, instead of mainstream Christianity, which proves they are unfit for heaven.