The Danger of Unbelief Part I

INTRODUCTION

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Thursday is Valentine’s Day! How many of would admit you don’t really care about celebrating Valentine’s Day? (Be careful!) I know it’s perceived by some as a made-up holiday fostered by Greeting Card companies who want to make money. I know it can be a challenging day for “singles” who desire to be married or for those of you who have “lost” a sweetheart to divorce or death. I know there are a few hopeless romantics (like myself) who take advantage of the opportunity to express their love to the love of their life.

I always enjoyed Valentine’s Day in elementary schools because we spent time decorating our white sacks with hearts (I’m not artistic so mine was a hot mess), hung them on the wall in the front of the classroom, and exchanged valentine cards. I think I was more interested in the cards with candy than the girls who gave them to me. If you’re celebrating this week I hope you have a great time. If you want an idea a card or poem is always good. I found a few to help you with yours.

· Valentine Card with a heart: Mom: Thank you for feeding me food so I won’t die. (Sweet)

· Robin is Red, DarkWing is blue, Rhyming is hard – “I’m Batman.” (my son)

· Roses are red, violets are blue, even though you have selective hearing, I still love you.

Perhaps for some of you, Valentine’s Day is about getting the courage to ask a girl on a date. Some guys decide to go with “pick up” lines. (Sample). Just a friendly word of warning – I’m not sure that’s the best approach but it might work – I would caution against it.

Need

Sometimes we need a friendly word of warning, spoken out of love and in the interest of others, to help someone avoid trouble or peril. Perhaps you can think of someone who gave you a word of warning that helped you avoid danger or disaster. Warnings are important and vastly needed in our lives. We need them for Valentine pick up lines and even more so for our life of faith.

Today we return to our series in HEBREWS: “Encountering the Greatness of Jesus. Our prayer is that as we “encounter” the greatness of Jesus revealed in Hebrews would be experienced in our lives. The book of HEBREWS was written to Jewish Christians who were being tempted to return to their old way of life under Judaism but the penman exhorts them to “persevere” because Jesus is Greater than the Old Covenant. Please join me in praying that we “encounter the greatness of Jesus” and “experience the greatness of Jesus” as a result of our time in HEBREWS. Up to this point we’ve learned that Jesus is greater than the prophets, greater than angels, an greater than Moses. Last week Pastor Jake walked us through the opening section of Hebrews Chapter 3 and prompted us to consider that Jesus is greater than Moses – declaring that Jesus is the Greatest Of All Time Emmanuel Eternal – so today as we continue with the them that Jesus is greater than Moses we encounter the second warning passage of the book. In Chapter 2 we were warned about “The Danger of Drifting” from the gospel (Jesus). Today is part one of a warning about “The Danger of Unbelief.”

Preview

If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, turn/scroll to Hebrews Chapter 3. . Today we consider a pressing warning about “The Danger of Unbelief.” Before we dig in let’s briefly review the approaches to the five warning passages in the book of Hebrews. The interpretation of the warning passages has been debated through church history. The primary differences of opinion/interpretation is “who” these warning passages address in the letter.

· Hypothetical arguments (idle threat) – not a true warning but the OT examples cited show the real threat

· Believers - Turn back you will lose their salvation

· Unbelievers (mixed audience) – warnings aimed at unsaved and if they drift back to Judaism it proves they were never saved

· Loss of blessings – not loss of salvation or proof they never had salvation but loss of blessings (invite God’s discipline, loss of future reward, and loss of blessings like maturity in Jesus.

Many Christians disagree on these points in love and respect. I see three of them that have merit (hypothetical, mere professors/unbelievers, and loss of blessing) but see them as warnings addressed to true believers (Jewish Christians) in danger of losing present and future blessing for going back to Judaism. In we considered a warning about “the danger of drifting” away from the gospel (Jesus) which can be avoided by “paying more attention to what we’ve heard so that we will not drift away.” Today we come to the second warning about “The Danger of Unbelief.” “The Danger of Unbelief.”

The second warning about “The Danger of Unbelief” extends from which we will cover in two parts—today we tackle Part I as we cover —and then we’ll come back next week to pick up Part 2 in . So let’s set our hearts and minds to considering “The Danger of Unbelief” by taking a closer look at where we will see “A Tragic Illustration” (3:7-11), two “Urgent Exhortations” (3:12-14), and a “Sober Reminder” (3:15-19).

I) THE DANGER OF UNBELIEF

Today’s warning about “The Danger/Warning of Unbelief” is a part of the larger declaration that Jesus is superior to Moses. The truth that Jesus is “greater” than Moses prompted the penman to issue a second warning and a call to action. In this section the penman once again reveals his concern for the Jewish Christians who were being tempted to turn from Jesus and return to Judaism (pressure and persecution). The penman’s warning reveals the danger of turning away from Jesus and exhorts them to persevere in their commitment – it’s a pressing warning for us – and teaches us how to safeguard our lives from unbelief so we will avoid the severe consequences of unbelief. Let’s walk through this together.

A) A Tragic Illustration revealing the Danger of Unbelief (3:7-11)

We begin with “A Tragic OT Illustration of Unbelief” that warns us about the danger of unbelief. Let’s read this Tragic OT Illustration of Unbelief (Read ). This OT illustration of unbelief is used to encourage his readers to persevere in Jesus. Since Jesus is greater than Moses they must be warned about the danger of disobeying Jesus out of a hard-heart of unbelief.

You’ll notice immediately that the bulk of this text is “indented,” “italicized,” or in “bold” in your Bible. Why? (Share) Yes – this marks that the penman is quoting a section of the OT. Since this letter (word of exhortation) was addressed to Jewish Christians the book is filled with OT quotations. We’ve seen dozens of OT quotes already in the first three chapters of the book. We also note that the penman highlights the divine origin of the OT Scriptures by declaring “The Holy Spirit says” followed by quotation of . All Scripture is “God-breathed” (OT and NT) so what David penned originated by the Holy Spirit. The penman takes his readers back to time when Moses was leading the people of Israel by quoting . The quotation highlights a tragic time in the life of Israel when they rebelled during their wilderness wanderings after being delivered from slavery in Egypt. The penman of Hebrews takes us back to which will take us back to tragic events that happened in the life of God’s people after being delivered from slavery in Egypt.

has two main sections, an invitation to worship Yahweh (95:1-6), followed by the

call to trust and obey Him instead of living with a hard heart like Israel did in the past (95:7-11). King David called the people in his day to not be like their ancestors who had rebelled during their wilderness wanderings—"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts

as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your

ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did”—David warned the present generation of God’s people to not be like the previous generation of God’s people who put Him to test by their hard-hearted disobedience from a heart of unbelief even though Yahweh continued to lead and provide for them in amazing ways for forty years while they wandered in the wilderness.

David exhorted the people of his day, if you hear God’s voice don’t harden your hearts and refuse to listen to Him like the generation before you, for that generation “heard” Yahweh’s voice but responded with hard-hearted rebellion. David exhorted God’s people in his generation to not become “stubborn” and “obstinate” to God’s voice/truth. David didn’t want God’s people in his day to “test” and “try” Yahweh like their forefathers had done in the past. The rebellion mentioned in refers to tragic events recorded in and .

Keep your finger/marker in Hebrews and turn back to . In God’s people (generations before the people being addressed in ) were journeying through the wilderness, they had been freed from slavery in Egpyt, and were on their way to the land of Canaan that God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. Just a short time ago God’s people had been powerfully delivered from slavery in Egypt by crossing the Red Sea, and God was going to lead them to the Promised land of Canaan. During His deliverance of Israel He graced them with His presence—guiding them with a cloud by day and a fire by night—up to the time when He split the Red Sea open allowing them to cross before closing it up to drown the Egyptian chariots that were chasing them to bring them back into captivity. As a result they were praising God but that was quickly replaced with grumbling and unbelief. highlights one of these events found in . In the congregation of Israel journeyed through the wilderness before camping at a place called Rephidim, but there was a problem, this place had no water. A good water supply is a vital part of every good campsite. When this happened the people rose up and “quarreled” with Moses. Moses’ response was “Why are you testing God?” The people continued to grumble against Moses, blaming him for bringing them from Egypt to kill them all in the desert. God graciously provided water from a rock through their leader Moses but he named the place “Massah” (quarrel) and “Meribah” (testing). (Read ) And just so we understand, this type of hard-hearted unbelief & lack of trust in God that happened in was nothing new in the lives of God’s people. If you go back and look at Israel’s journey before this event they grumbled against Moses and tested God. As they traveled the people questioned God’s plan, complaining about the water supply, and expressing a desire to go back to bondage in Egypt. God graciously provided sweet water to drink but a few days later doubted God’s plan and provision for their lives, grumbling against Moses, but God graciously blessed them with manna and quail. So a pattern began on their journey of the people failing to trust in the Lord’s plans and provisions and yet He graciously provided for them in amazing ways. All along the way you read about Israel’s grumbling, discontentment, and rebellion—people with hard hearts—people refusing to trust and obey God that had graciously provided for them over and over again. Israel’s testing of the Lord was not limited to “Meribah” and Massah.” The people of Israel tested the Lord many times during the wilderness wanderings.

The quotation of highlights another tragic event in the lives of God’s people-- “That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”—this declaration of Yahweh’s anger and subsequent consequence for His people’s hard-hearted rebellion refers to the events that took place at Kadesh Barnea recorded in Number 13-14. In spies were sent investigate the Promised land (Canaan). The group returned and reported that the land was flowing with “milk and honey” and “fruit” (13:27). The land was also a well-defended city and there were large people living in the land (Amalekites). Caleb declared “Let’s go take the land! We will be able to conquer the land” but some of the others spies complained and said “We cannot defeat the people because they are stronger than us. We men who were giants – we were like grasshoppers to them!” The people of Israel complained at this report and declared we should have died in Egypt. Let’s go back to Egypt! Why did the Lord lead us out to die in Canaan? Let’s appoint a leader to lead us back to Egypt” (14:4). Joshua and Caleb tried to inspire the faith of the people—“the land is exceedingly good and if the Lord delights in us he will bring us into the land and give it to us” (14:8) but to no avail. The community threatened to stone them – their hearts rebelled out of unbelief - The hearts of God’s people were hardened by unbelief. The people did not believe God could defeat the people and give them the land that He had promised to Abraham. Apparently, the God who can part the Red Sea to deliver them from Egypt cannot defeat the mighty people and lead them into Canaan. God’s not up to the task of taking on giants, 5’10 Egyptians are no problem for God, but a 7’ guy is too much for God to handle. God became very angry at the people and threatened to strike them with pestilence but Moses interceded on behalf of the rebellious Israelites. Moses reminded Yahweh of His covenant promise to Abraham and His reputation among the nations as a God who is “slow to anger, abounding in love, and forgiving the people of their iniquity.” God forgave them but there would be consequences for their hard-hearted unbelief. God declared that this generation would wander in the wilderness for 40 years – the entire generation would die off and not enter the promised land – only Joshua and Caleb would enter the land of Canaan. The quotation of highlights the serious consequence of their hard-hearted unbelief and disobedience—“they will never enter my rest”—the hard-hearted unbelief that caused the people Israel to “go astray” had a severe consequence. God’s righteous anger brought discipline to His people as He declared that they would never “enter my rest.” The “rest” for the people of that day was entering into the Promised Land of Canaan. As a result of their hard-hearted unbelief, entrance into the rest of Canaan would be denied to them, and an entire generation of people would die wondering in the wilderness. Joshua and Caleb would enter the rest but those who possessed hard-hearts of unbelief would not enter the place of rest in Canaan.

With that as a backdrop turn back to . The penman quoted as a tragic illustration of unbelief to warn the readers of his day about the danger of living their lives in hard-hearted rebellion. The penman wanted the Jewish Christians to not be like the generation of old whose rebellion tested the Lord and resulted in God’s discipline. The people who rebelled did not get to enjoy the blessed rest of Canaan. The Jewish Christians should see this Tragic OT Illustration of unbelief as a warning to them as well. Since they had “heard God’s voice” who has spoken through Jesus who is greater than Moses, if they respond to God’s voice in hard-hearted unbelief they too would face the serious consequence of divine discipline as well.

APPLICATION

The “Tragic Illustration revealing the Danger of Unbelief” reminds us that we can learn from the mistakes of others. The people of Israel in that day served as an example to the Jewish Christians in the first century and to as well. Sometimes in life we learn lessons from the lives of others. Many times they are positive examples for us to follow. We can glean valuable lessons from the lives of others—sometimes they teach us practical skills like “how” to change a tire, “how” to prepare for a job interview, “how” to balance a checkbook—and we can learn positive traits like how to treat others and how to follow Jesus by observing the way they live their lives.

Sometimes we learn from the negative examples of others as well! I’ve been in a situation where I’ve learned “what not to do” or “how not to live” from the lives of others. I’ve learned about “how” I wanted to be a dad by observing someone and say “I know I don’t want to be like him.” I’ve learned about “leadership” by observing/serving with others and gleaning “I know what not to do” by the way they led others. I’ve learned “how I want to communicate with others” by watching bad examples of communication. Anyone else? That’s the case here in . The tragic illustration of Israel’s unbelief is an example to us—their life teaches us how not to live—and warns us about the serious danger (severe consequence) of living a life of unbelief. The Jewish Christians were given this tragic illustration in the hopes they would learn from their negative example. Will we learn from their tragic example?

B) The Urgent Exhortations to SafeGuard Against Unbelief (3:12-14)

The “Tragic Illustration” (3:7-11) from the OT is quickly followed by two “Urgent Exhortations” (3:12-19) that serve as a safeguard against unbelief. (Read )

Right on the heels of this tragic illustration of Israel’s past comes two urgent exhortations (imperative commands) given to the Jewish Christians so they will not follow in the footsteps of their OT ancestors. The Tragic Illustration from the OT highlights the danger (serious consequences) of unbelief (not entering God’s rest) led the penman to call the Jewish Christians to action. The two-fold exhortation was given to the Jewish Christians to teach them “how” to avoid living a life of unbelief that would have severe consequences. It’s a call to action for us as well. The “Urgent Exhortations” are a safeguard against unbelief – teaching us “how” to avoid the serious consequences of living a life of unbelief.

1) Keep watch over your own heart (3:12)

How can we avoid living a life of unbelief that results in God’s discipline/judgment? First, Keep Watch Over Your Own Heart.” “Keep Watch Over Your Own Heart.” We find this exhortation in —"See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God” (3:12)—the Jewish Christians were exhorted his “brothers and sisters” (fellow believers) to keep watch over their own hearts in order to guard against living a life of unbelief that would lead them to turn away from the living God (Jesus). The exhortation reveals the penman’s concern that his Jewish brothers and sisters were in danger of possessing an unbelieving heart like their ancestors did while Moses was leading them to the land of Canaan.

“Keep watch over your own heart.” The penman warned his reader’s about following in the footsteps of the hard-hearted Israelite’s. The phrase “See to it” (NIV – NET) is also translated “Take care” (NASB – ESV)—it comes from the Greek word “blepo” (present, active, imperative) which literally means “see” and used figuratively here to mean “watch out for; beware of, take careful notice of, or pay attention” to their own hearts so that none of them will possess a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. The Jewish Christians were “see to it” that their own lives were not being lived with a sinful, unbelieving heart like their OT ancestors. The penman reveals that a sinful, unbelieving heart will lead them to “turn away” (forsake) from the living God. The act of “turning away, forsaking, or falling away” (aphistamai) denotes “abandoning one’s relationship,” “dissociation from something or someone” or “desertion.” The act is closely related to the act of apostasy—a deliberate, decisive departure from identifying with Jesus—for the Jewish Christians were being tempted turn away from their identification with Jesus and return to Judaism due to pressure and persecution. The Jewish Christians were called to keep watch over their own hearts so they would not possess evil, unbelieving heart—for this is what caused the large congregation of Israelite’s to rebel against Moses in order to return to the land of Egypt—and it was this type of heart that could cause any one in their midst to “dissociate” from Jesus and return to Judaism.

APPLICATION

How’s your heart this morning? Are you actively keeping watch over your heart? Maybe that seems odd or like a waste of time? Perhaps you don’t think much about your heart because you’re distracted and consumed by other things? Is there anything more important than keeping watch over our own hearts?

· – “Above all, guard your heart for from it springs the issues of life.”

It’s wise to guard your heart. Guarding your heart must be a priority that takes precedence over “all.” Guarding your heart should take precedent over your vocation, your hobbies, sports, binging your favorite Netflix show, politics, pleasure, chores, projects, good grades, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and whatever else you do on your phone (“Words with Friends”)! We don’t pay enough attention to our own hearts. It’s as if we’re too distracted, too uncomfortable with silent reflection, to insecure because we don’t know what to do, or too afraid of what we might find.

The danger of unbelief should prompt us to keep watch over our own hearts. We must keep watch over our hearts to ensure we aren’t living with a sinful, unbelieving heart that will cause us to turn away from Jesus. When was the last time you took time to consider the condition of your heart? How much time do you spend each day keeping watch over your own heart? Zero! We must consistently keep watch over our own heart so we won’t turn away from following Jesus.

Let’s get practical! What could this look like? It could be as simple as spending a few minutes each day checking your heart “unbelief”—is there any place in your heart you’re failing to trust God, any place in your heart where you are failing to obey God, any place in your heart where your heart where hard-hearted unbelief exists and is tempting you to turn away from following Jesus—then spending a few minutes confessing it, repenting of it, and guarding against it taking root in your heart in the future. I hope you’ll leave here today with a renewed desire and commitment to “Keep watch over your own heart” in order to safeguard your life against unbelief and avoid the serious consequences of unbelief.

I don’t want you reputation to become someone who “drifted away” from the gospel and “turned away” from following Jesus. We all know of people who were once passionate followers of Jesus who are now no longer following Jesus – they are apathetic, disconnected from a local church, and doing their own thing. There are a lot of reasons this happens—unmet expectations, disappointment with God, suffering, being hurt by another Christian, believing lies over the truth, and the list goes on and on—but God’s word reveals that failure to keep watch over their own hearts to safeguard it from unbelief is certainly a primary cause of them turning away from following Jesus. Keep watch over your own heart so that you won’t possess an unbelieving heart that will cause you to turn away from following Jesus.

2) Encourage one another daily (3:13-14)

The first exhortation called the Jewish Christians to “Keep Watch over their own Hearts” so they would not turn away from the living God (dissociate from Jesus and return to Judaism). Keeping watch over their own hearts would ensure that they did not live a life of unbelief. We find a second exhortation that reveals “how” to avoid living a life of unbelief that had severe consequences. They must “Keep watch over their own Hearts” and “Encourage One Another Daily.” The second exhortation called the Jewish Christians to “Encourage One Another Daily”—"But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (3:13)—the second exhortation called the Jewish Christians to a life of mutual encouragement.

The first exhortation was a call to be vigilant—the call to keep watch over their own hearts so they would not turn away from the living God (Jesus)—the second exhortation was a call for personal encouragement of one another. The Jewish Christians were instructed to mutually encourage one another every single day! I hope you didn’t miss that very important word in the text—“encourage one another daily”—daily encouragement is vital in the Christian life! Daily encouragement of one another will help ensure our hearts won’t be “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Our hearts can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Sin is deceitful. Sin misleads us. Sin causes deception. Sin will cause us to have wrong views/beliefs about truth. A lack of encouragement can make our hearts more susceptible to being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin!

The call to "encourage one another daily as long as it is called Today” brings back to mind the quotation of (“Today if you hear His voice don’t harden your hearts”). The time reference of “Today” reveals the urgency of encouraging one another daily. The Jewish Christians must make the most of every present opportunity to encourage one another so they would not turn away from Jesus. The Jewish Christians were called to encourage one another daily while had the opportunity to listen to what He is speaking through Jesus. The practice of daily mutual encouragement during their times of pressure, trial, and persecution would keep their hearts from being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and stoke the embers of their faithful allegiance to Christ. A congregation that daily encourages one another daily will keep hearts from being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and promote ongoing perseverance in the faith. Daily encouragement would help them to maintain heart of obedience and sensitivity to God’s voice. This challenge will be repeated again in . (). The daily encouragement from one another is sure protection from the spiritual hardening that comes from sin’s deceitfulness.

In the penman explains the need for the warning and the connection between daily encouragement and perseverance—“(For) We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end” (3:14)—the penman reminded his readers of their “union” (fellowship) with Christ that is made clearly evident by holding firmly to their original conviction to the very end. This is one of the strong arguments for seeing these “warning statements” being addressed to unbelievers who have only “professed faith.” In that regard this conditional statement reveals that their “failure to hold on to their confidence until the very end would prove they were not true believers. And yet this warning was addressed to “brothers and sisters” (3:12) and there are other NT passages addressed to believers that call them to persevere to the end (, , , , & ). The penman has declared as a true statement “We have come to share in Christ” – the fellowship began the moment we put our faith in Jesus (original conviction or confidence) – but they must continue to hold tightly to their initial confidence until the end. The penman returns to the necessity of perseverance in their lives as undeniable proof that they are “partakers” or “sharers” in Christ! Perseverance in Jesus is proof of their union with Him. We don’t “become” united with Christ by our faithfulness but our faithfulness is proof of our union with Him. Thus the need to “heed this warning” and “encourage one another daily so their hearts would not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. God has done the work of salvation in Jesus but we must “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” () and “make our calling sure” (Romans) by “keeping watch over our own hearts” and “encouraging one another daily” so that we’ll persevere in our confidence in Jesus.

APPLICATION

We must “Keep Watch Over our Own Heart” and “We must encourage one another daily.” We can’t underestimate the importance and power of mutual encouragement in the Christian life. We desperately need daily, mutual encouragement to safeguard us from the deceitfulness of sin and spur us on to faithfulness in Jesus.

Frankly, I don’t understand why we don’t live this out more in our lives. If I’m being honest I’m deeply convicted by this exhortation. It’s not that I don’t encourage people on a regular basis but I don’t do it daily. How about you? Why?! We know it’s important and it makes a difference in our lives. We all want encouragement and need encouragement—it’s way better than discouragement—if given the chance you want someone to encourage you instead of discourage you, right? I’m not talking about wanting or needing flattery or compliments, they are a form of encouragement, but can be a little uncomfortable receiving praise or feeling like we’re being buttered up. We all need and want encouragement—someone to come alongside us to cheer us on in the faith, giving us an appeal to keep on following, loving, and obeying Jesus, and verbally inspiring us to remain faithful to the Lord—and this mutual encouragement will safeguard us from being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

We need encouragement because our hearts can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Every day we face the threat of being hardened by sin’s deceit. We encounter the deceitfulness of sin every day—sin’s deception promotes that good is evil and evil is good, that God’s design for gender and sexuality is wrong, that created things will satisfy us more than our Creator, that our plan is better than God’s plan, that power and status is greater than humility and servanthood, that attacking our enemy is better than loving our enemy, that seeking vengeance is better than reconciliation, that greed is better than generosity, that sex is the most important part of a relationship, that “what we do” and “what you have” is more important than “who we are,” that success is better than faithfulness, that beauty is only about one’s outward appearance, that self-interest is better than selflessness, that being self-sufficient is better than being Savior-dependent, that greatness is measured by success instead of servanthood—the deceitfulness of sin will harden our hearts. The safeguard to being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin is daily mutual encouragement. We must encourage one another daily and be encouraged daily by others. We need the encouragement from others!

· Houdini

On March 10, 1904 the great escape artist Houdini was challenged to a contest by “The Illustrated Mirror” of London. The paper dared the showman to escape from a complex form of handcuffs with six locks on each cuff and none tumblers on each lock. Houdini took the challenge with thousands gathered at the London Hippodrome who gathered to see if he cold escape these bonds. After being handcuffed securely he ducked down into a box to struggle out of the site of the crowd. After 20 minutes Houdini popped out of the box, the gathering crowd roared their approval but quickly realized the handcuffs were still in place. Houdini smiled, asked for more light, and went back into the box. Fifteen more minutes passed and Houdini appeared a second time, the crowed cheered with enthusiasm, Houdini smiled and said “I just needed to flex my kness.” Down into the box he went. After about twenty minutes he came up again, taking a pocket knife from his vest, holding it with is teeth he slashed his coat to ribbons, freeing himself of the hot and heavy garment. Still handcuffed, he returned to the box. The crowd cheered him on! This time he only stayed in the box for ten minutes before he emerged a free man holding the cuffs in his hands. The crowed gave an extended ovation for the master of escape. Later a reporter asked Houdini why he kept popping out of the box when he was not yet free. He replied “I needed to hear the encouragement of the crowd.”

In our daily struggle with the deceitfulness of sin, we need the encouragement of our Christian community. We must come out of the solitude and into the light of Christian fellowship to hear the encouragement from our fellow believers. And we need to offer up daily encouragement to one another. One of the ways to give and receive daily encouragement is by getting connected to a class or small group. The relationships you develop with others in a small group will foster this daily, mutual encouragement in ways our “weekly” greeting time cannot produce. You can also use technology for encouragement – send a text, send a message via email or social media, pick up the phone and call, and certainly take advantage of face to face gatherings.

What will you do in the coming week to daily encourage one another? How will you “cheer on” others so our hearts aren’t hardened by the deceitfulness of sin? How will “call” others to remain faithful to Jesus each day?

C) A Sober Reminder about the Serious Danger of Unbelief (3:15-19)

We’ve considered “The Tragic Illustration about the Danger of Unbelief” (3:7-11), “The Urgent Exhortations to Avoid Unbelief” (3:12-14), and now conclude with “A Sober Reminder about the Consequences of Unbelief.” (Read )

The two-fold exhortation to the Jewish Christians (to us) to “Keep watch over our own hearts” and “encourage one another daily” are followed by “A Sober Reminder of the Consequences of Unbelief.” Hebrews Chapter 3 concludes with this “Sober Reminder of the Consequences of Unbelief”—" As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief”—the penman returns to the quotation to remind the Jewish Christians about the serious consequences of unbelief. The penman applied the call of to the Jewish Christians—“Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion”—the quotation stressed the urgency for the Jewish Christians to “listen” to what God has spoken through Jesus and not harden their hearts like the people of God did during the rebellion in the wilderness. Failing to “listen” to what God has spoken in Jesus would have serious consequences.

The penman reminded the Jewish Christians what happened to their ancestors when they refused to listen to what God was speaking through Moses. We find an onslaught of questions that reminded the Jewish Christians how God dealt with His people when they refused to listen to what God was speaking through Moses due to their heart of unbelief. These questions take us back to the life of rebellion and unbelief in the lives of God’s people after being delivered from Egypt. I love the unique use of these questions. Notice a question is asked followed by the answer to that question in the form of another question.

· Who were they who heard and rebelled?

· Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? – Yes! After being freed from the slaver in Egypt through Moses, God’s people heard Him speak but rebelled out of a heart of unbelief.

· And with whom was he angry for forty years?

· Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? – Yes! The sinful rebellion and unbelief of God’s people resulted in God’s judgment and they died during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

· And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? – God vowed that the people who possessed a heart of unbelief would never enter His rest in the promised land of Canaan.

The questions led to one final declaration—" So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief—highlighting the serious consequence of living a life of unbelief. The penman reminded the Jewish Christians that God’s anger and judgment fell upon the Israelite’s who possessed an unbelieving and disobedient heart—they died in the wilderness and did not enter the His rest in Canaan (Promised Land)—the Jewish Christians were reminded that consequence of unbelief was severe. The illustration and reminder of Israel’s discipline for unbelief is another argument from lesser to greater—if the consequence for unbelief for God’s people led by Moses was severe—would it not be even more severe for God’s people led by Jesus who is greater than Moses.

APPLICATION

Reminders are very helpful although many times they are not received well. I’ll be honest, I’m not always happy and receptive when Dana reminds me to empty the dishwasher. I’m not sure she’s always happy when I remind her to fasten her seat belt when we get in the car – sadly my reminder is more about avoiding the “beeping alarm” than her own safety. Reminders can annoy or frustrate us.

Reminders can also help us, especially when they warn us of impending danger, and that’s the case in the closing section of . The Jewish Christians were reminded of the serious danger of living a life of unbelief—it results in God’s discipline—and can keep us from enjoying the blessing of his rest. We’ll address the availability of God’s rest for us in Chapter 4 next week.

Let’s not be annoyed or frustrated by this reminder about the serious danger of living a life of unbelief. The reminder warns us of the danger and calls us to not live a life of unbelief like God’s people did during their journey to the Promised Land. The reminder of danger should motivate us to listen to and believe in what God has spoken in Jesus because Jesus is greater than Moses.

CONCLUSION

Refresh

Warnings are an important part of our lives. Sometimes we need to be warned about using “cheesy pick up lines” for Valentine’s day. It might not go well!.

Renew

Sometimes we need to be warned about our inappropriate attitude or actions. Sometimes we need to be warned about the “danger of drifting” from Jesus. Sometimes we need to be warned about the danger of living a life of unbelief that causes us to disobey God and turn way from JesusWe find that warning here in .

Restate

Today we learn from a negative example. The tragic illustration warns us about the danger of living a life of unbelief. Let’s hear the warning. Let’s heed the urgent exhortations to safeguard our lives from a life of unbelief.

· Keep Watch over your own heart so you won’t turn away from the living God (Jesus)

· Encourage one another daily so you won’t be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.