Hebrews 3

Review

We have been learning that Jesus had to become a man, a human being, in order to pay for our sins through His death on the cross.

The New King James Version Chapter 2

17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

So is it possible to “tempt” God? When we consider the nature of God and His Divine attributes: Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence and add to that God has no sin-nature it is beyond my understanding.

This is a theological mystery that is tied on in the reality of Christ’s dual nature. The God Man. The answer to the question is that Christ was tempted because that is what the Word tells us.

Read Ch 3

The Faithful One

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.[fn]

We begin, with therefore, meaning what? What is about to be said is built on the foundation of what was said previously. Which is that Jesus Christ, the Creator of all that ever will be, became a real flesh and blood man, suffered and died for payment for our sins and now lives forever as our “merciful and faithful” High Priest, and willingly offers help to all who are tempted in this life and that seek His help.

He calls us: holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,

holy means to be set apart so we are a people set apart for His service. Partakers of the heavenly calling refers to the fact that true Christ Followers have the HS living within them and they know they are of another place, heaven.

Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

Consider the Apostle: We don’t often apply this word to Jesus, but He is our Apostle. The ancient Greek word translated apostle really means something like ambassador.

The ancient Greek word translated consider is katanoein: “It does not mean simply to look at or to notice a thing. Anyone can look at a thing or even notice it without really seeing it. The word means to fix the attention on something in such a way that its inner meaning, the lesson it is designed to teach, may be learned.” (Barclay)

The message is plain: consider this. Consider that God loves you so much He sent the ultimate Messenger, Christ Jesus. Consider also how important it is for you to pay attention to God’s ultimate Apostle, who is Christ Jesus.

High Priest - Consider that God loves you so much to give you such a great High Priest. His Beloved Son.

Of our confession - Christianity is a confession made with both the mouth and with our lives.

So what is our Confession? What do you believe? Elevator speech?

Who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.

What does it mean to be faithful? God is a faithful loyal God.

How should that make us feel in regard to His promises?

The writer here begins to contrast Moses, their hero, to Jesus.

vs 3 as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses,

The ancient Rabbis considered Moses to be the greatest man ever, greater than the angels. The writer to the Hebrews does nothing to criticize Moses, but he looks at Moses in his proper relation to Jesus.

Why? he answers the question with: inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house,

This is great point that is lost on evolutionists. Every house has a builder. And Jesus Christ is the builder of the house. Moses was a faithful servant within the house.

The ancient Rabbis considered Moses to be the greatest man ever, greater than the angels. The writer to the Hebrews does nothing to criticize Moses, but he looks at Moses in his proper relation to Jesus.

Whose house we are if we hold fast: We are a part of Jesus’ household if we hold fast. The writer to the Hebrews is encouraging those who felt like turning back, helping them to hold fast by explaining the benefits of continuing on with Jesus.

see  Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

if we Hold Fast -True commitment to Jesus is demonstrated over the long term, not just in an initial burst. We trust that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ ().

Firm till the end - is not in the earliest manuscripts.

see  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

How can we know if someone is a true believer? We can’t. We see indications but ultimately we won’t know until the end. That’s why we are not judge anyone. That is God’s job.

Don’t harden your heart

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ “

Here the writer pleads with his Hebrew brethren with a familiar example from the OT from .

What is his plea? Don’t allow your hearts to become hardened.

Just as the Spirit speaks in many ways, there are also several ways we can harden our heart. Can you think of any?

Some harden their hearts by relapsing into their old indifference.

Some harden their hearts by unbelief.

Some harden their hearts by asking for more signs.

Some harden their hearts by presuming upon the mercy of God.

Some harden their hearts by ignoring God’s voice.

Paul tell Timothy in  speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,

At some point we can no longer feel shame or guilt and we become eternally lost.

Notice he says “Today”. Right now is the moment God is most interested in. Not tomorrow. When He calls we must answer as there may not be a tomorrow.

As in the rebellion, in the day of trial: What is he referring to?

See ,

And saw My works forty years - This warning in Hebrews was written about forty years after the Jews’ initial rejection of Jesus. God’s wrath was quickly coming upon the Jewish people who rejected Jesus, and would culminate with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem.

Vs 12 - 15 Warning

Beware, 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 “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

Notice how we can become hardened, through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin paints a fake or false reality for your flesh. See

Perseverance is required.

an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;

Can a true believer depart fro the living God?

“Unbelief is not inability to understand, but unwillingness to trust... it is the will, not the intelligence, that is involved.” (Newell)

On unbelief Spurgeon wrote: “Did I not hear someone say, ‘Ah, sir, I have been trying to believefor years.’ Terrible words! They make the case still worse. Imagine that after I had made a statement, a man should declare that he did not believe me, in fact, he could not believe me though he would like to do so. I should feel aggrieved certainly; but it would make matters worse if he added, ‘In fact I have been for years trying to believe you, and I cannot do it.’ What does he mean by that? What can he mean but that I am so incorrigibly false, and such a confirmed liar, that though he would like to give me some credit, he really cannot do it? With all the effort he can make in my favour, he finds it quite beyond his power to believe me? Now, a man who says, ‘I have been trying to believe in God,’ in reality says just that with regard to the Most High.” (Spurgeon)

What do you suppose the write means by “Exhort one another” in regard to the deceitfulness of sin?

Vs 16 - 19 Unbelief will keep you out

For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

This is a severe warning, How many died in the wilderness? all, why? Unbelief. Think of what the witnessed.

All the plagues in Egypt, the Red Sea, The rock, the Quail, the Earth opening up, etc..

They would not enter His rest: 11 times in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, the Book of Hebrews speaks of entering rest. That rest will be deeply detailed in the next chapter. But here, the key to entering rest is revealed: belief.