Excuseless

Introduction

Have you ever found yourself breaking a rule simply to test the boundaries and see if the punishment is actually as bad as you’ve been told it is? This is common in school. Nowadays students know that they are not supposed to have their cell phones out in class - or at least normally they’re not allowed to - yet in nearly every class at least 1 student whips their phone out in order to send a text, get on snapchat/twitter or to change the song in their earbud that they also aren’t supposed to have out during class. Some teachers actually enforce this rule and punish the student. Most of the time the student is given a warning and upon a 2nd offense the phone is put on the desk of the teacher for the remainder of the class. Some teachers take this a bit more extreme and hold the phone until the end of the school day. But many teachers simply threaten to do something and never actually do anything about the cell phone! Students recognize this and they abuse the rules on a daily basis.

Many of you are no longer in school and you are in the workforce. You know that there are still people who try to take advantage of others and bend the rules in their favor. They test the limits in order to see if it is worth it to break a rule or if the punishment is actually going to be enforced upon them. Even for the “law-abiding” citizens out there, we know that we all have broken a law a time or two. Maybe you’re thinking that you’re the rare exception. You’ve never driven over the speed limit. You’ve never littered. You’ve never driven through a red light, even by a millisecond. You’ve never told a white lie. You’ve never gone fishing or hunting without a license. You’ve never cheated on an assignment. You’ve never streamed something illegally through your TV or computer.

We’re all guilty. The Bible declares that all have sinned. We’ve all fallen short. We deserve a punishment - but many people think that they can avoid the punishment! Perhaps some people think they are the exception to the rule. Part of that comes from our culture that fosters such an idea. Some parents have children and their child is the center of the universe from age 1 until age 18 and they go off to college and what do they think? They that they are the coolest thing since sliced bread and that the rules don’t apply to them.

In preparing this message I came across a story told by a reformation scholar, Heiko Oberman, who said this, “Young men will never understand (Martin) Luther,” he said, “because you go to bed every night confident you will wake up healthy in the morning. In Luther’s day, people thought that every day could be their last. They had no antibiotics. They didn’t have modern medicine. Sickness and death came swiftly.”

In generations past, there was a reality that each and every day could be their last. This is not meant to scare any one this morning, but many people nowadays have this feeling that they are absolutely invincible on this planet and that this is all that there is. If this worldwide pandemic has taught us anything it is that none of us are immune. We are all at risk of sickness and worse. Another reality that we must arrive at is that we are all sinners and that we deserve punishment by a holy God.

Our text today is a warning passage in Hebrews 3 that reminds us to Respond to the Lord, Be Faithful, and to understand the certainty of the world to come. We are “excuse-less” before God. As we touched on last week, consider Jesus Christ, respond to His truth and do not continue to live in open rebellion against God.

Hebrews 3:7–19 NASB95

7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. 10 “Therefore I was angry with this generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they did not know My ways’; 11 As I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” 12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15 while it is said, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.” 16 For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

Respond to the Lord (7-11)

The way that this passage of Scripture breaks down is in 2 distinct sections. First in verses 7-11 we see the preacher of Hebrews quote from Psalm 95:7-11 and then the second section in verses 12-19 expound upon that passage by showing the need to believe and have faith/allegiance to Jesus Christ and enter into the rest.

Listen to His voice (7)

The opening verse in this passage starts with a “therefore” that connects Hebrews 3:6 with the passage from Psalm 95. The preacher of Hebrews encourages his audience to hold fast and persevere because Jesus Christ is faithful and He is Lord! Therefore, because of what He has done, we are to hold fast and listen to His voice.

Listening - while important - is difficult, isn’t it? It is certainly much easier to talk and to think about our opinion/viewpoint than to listen to someone who we disagree with or someone who is telling us to do something. Maybe you’re even having trouble listening right now! It’s ok to struggle with this - we all do! With that said, we must understand the importance of slowing down and listening to Scripture. Romans 10 reminds us of the importance of listening

Romans 10:17 NKJV

17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Listening matters! There are so many distractions going on in our lives right now that it can be easy to listen to the wrong things but we know that ultimately what we need to be doing as Christians is to listen to the Holy Spirit. If you are not a Christian this morning, the greatest thing that you can do is open Scripture and respond to it. Our world is busy and our lives are very busy, but now we (more than ever for many of you) have an opportunity to be at home with our family members which might be more or less stressful than normal for your household, but we have the opportunity to help one another out in this regard. Psalm 46:10 reminds us to “Be still and know that I am God.” Friends, we need to be still right now. We need to take some time away from our devices, away from jobs and even away from others and listen to the Holy Spirit and read Scripture.

Some people are a little divisive about “listening to the Holy Spirit” because some people say that the Holy Spirit talks to them 24/7 and sometimes the Holy Spirit tells them to do things. Certainly there are times where we become convicted to act and help others, but we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will never contradict Scripture. So, if you’re wondering “how should I listen” during this time, pick up your Bible and dive in!

The preacher notes that the Holy Spirit speaks, this shares several pieces of truth with us:

The Holy Spirit speaks in Scripture

The Holy Spirit spoke through Scripture to the author’s original audience

The Holy Spirit speaks to people today - through Scripture!

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the Word of God is living and active, we must listen to it, as Hebrews 3:1 reminded us we must consider Jesus Christ. So, are you listening today? It is so easy in conversations to keep on talking and share what is going on in our lives and what we think and what we want, but how well do we do whenever it comes to listening? As you all have heard, God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason - we should listen more than we talk. This is easier said than done, but I encourage you during this season of life especially to open your Bible, do some deep studying and listen to Scripture. Every time we open up the Bible, the Holy Spirit speaks - don’t let your Bible sit on the shelf and collect dust.

Do not harden your heart (8)

The next thing we see from Psalm 95/Hebrews 3:8 is that we should not harden our hearts. The Lord tested the people of Israel in the wilderness (the day of trial in the wilderness) and they failed. We talked about this last week how the people of Israel witnessed the spectacular works of the Lord during the Exodus account left and right from miraculous deliverance to being fed from heaven to being led by a pillar of fire! Even though all of these incredible events happened, whenever push came to shove, they grumbled and hardened their hearts against God.

Have you ever been in a situation where you hardened your heart against someone else and no matter what they said or did, you were simply going to be mad at them because they had hurt you feelings? Maybe you have a justifiable reason for feeling that way, maybe you don’t but how does that situation normally play out in the future? You look back on that moment and you laugh or you feel embarrassed with your behavior. The people of Israel refused to trust and rely upon God - who had delivered them every step of the way, they hardened their heart against Him. Numbers 14 highlights this story in the history of Israel and it comes to a climax at the end of Numbers 14:22

Numbers 14:22 NASB95

22 “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice,

The people did not listen to God’s voice - they rebelled. Friends, don’t harden your heart against God. Listen to His voice and trust in Him.

Follow God’s ways, not yours (9-10)

The final couple of verses from Psalm 95 that the preacher quotes in Hebrews 3:9-11 finalize the ways that the Israelites went astray in the wilderness. The Israelites defied God time and time again (10 times according to Numbers 14:22). They went astray and they did what they wanted to do rather than following and trusting in the Lord. As a result, verse 11 states that they will not enter into the rest.

This is kind of a depressing passage to read about, but this period in Israel’s history is very depressing in general! The people did not obey the Lord and they were punished as a result. This was the way the Old Covenant worked, if you obeyed then you were blessed but if you disobeyed then you were cursed (Deuteronomy 28-29). Sadly, this was not a one time incident in the life of the Israelites because once they eventually entered into the land and conquered city after city, they once again disobeyed the Lord and as Judges 21 notes

Judges 21:25 NASB95

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

What a horrible way to live! We know that we are all sinners and that even if we have great ideas and are blessed with great leadership abilities, we will always make mistakes. If we do what is right in our own eyes then we will never have a set standard of what we should do. Thankfully, Scripture provides us with what we should do - we should follow God and His plan. Sometimes His plan looks crazy and requires suffering, but Romans 8 says

Romans 8:28 NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

You have a choice today - either trust in yourself or trust in the Lord. While trusting in yourself might make you feel good and in control, every time someone does that in Scripture it leads to something bad. David trusted in his flesh and it got a soldier and a baby killed. Moses trusted in his flesh and it got him punished by not being able to enter the promised land. Peter trusted in his flesh and sliced the ear off of a Roman soldier. The Bible does a fantastic job of showcasing the mistakes of all the Biblical figures with the exception of one: Jesus Christ! Church, trust in Him today! Don’t be like the foolish Israelites who saw God do all of these things and ultimately reject to follow Him and place your allegiance in Him whenever you’re on the front door of the promised land.

Be Faithful (12-19)

Instead of trusting in yourself, be faithful and trust in the Lord!

The second set of this passage helps to demonstrate how God’s people should not fall into unbelief - my copy of God’s Word has this subsection titled, “The Peril of Unbelief” - just as the preacher of Hebrews warns his audience not to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, we too should endure in our faith and enter into the rest.

Do not fall away - Do encourage one another (12-13)

Verses 12-13 contrast different types of hearts out there. We can either fall away, or we can encourage one another to stand firm day in and day out.

If you were to go to the doctor for a routine physical exam and the doctor found something concerning regarding your heart - something serious enough that your life was possibly in danger - and recommended that you not go home but instead immediately go to the ER, how would you respond? You’d probably be shocked initially, but you’d likely follow the doctor’s advice and get things checked out because your life is potentially in danger! The preacher of Hebrews in verse 12 notes that we need to do a diagnostic check on our heart. Not our physical heart, but our spiritual heart. Are we falling away from the living God? The generation in the wilderness abandoned God and Joshua reminded the people not to do this in Numbers 14:9

Numbers 14:9 NASB95

9 “Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”

The preacher of Hebrews reminded his audience to not fall away from the living God. What does it look like to fall away? It is not a passive thing - rather it is deliberate disobedience as David Allen notes in his commentary on Hebrews. So do you fully believe in God? We are tempted to trust in ourselves rather than in the Lord - this was true of the Israelites 4000 years ago, it was true of this audience 2000 years ago and it is true today. As the hymns says, “Prone to wonder, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” Because we are prone to do what is right in our own eyes, because we can fall into the trap of unbelief, we need to check our hearts right now!

The great thing about the church - universal - is that we have brothers and sisters who encourage us in this journey! So just as you’d follow the doctor’s orders regarding your heart, you’d better follow God’s orders for your heart as well! One of the ways that we do this is we encourage one another along the way so that no one will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. We talked about this a couple of months ago regarding Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. There are some situations in life where we are living life and we have a splinter in our eye that we are oblivious to - just as there are some teenage boys out there who think that they smell fine when in actuality you can smell them a mile away! But we all have splinters in our lives and we need one another to help us out in removing them. This is part of Christian community! Some people say it’s judgmental - but that’s not the purpose behind it. It’s to encourage one another in difficult times so that we would not continue to give in to sin and potentially have our hearts hardened.

Ask yourself, “How can I encourage someone today?” It will likely take your outside your comfort zone, and it might sound like it is something so miniscule that it doesn’t really even matter, but sometimes the littlest things make the biggest of differences in our lives.

Do not harden your heart - Do hold fast (14-17)

Whenever things get tough, it can be easy to complain a little bit, can’t it? If you’ve ever seen the movie, “Remember the Titans” then you remember how the team constantly had to play against not only the opposing team but often the officials too because they did not officiate fairly more times than not. Eventually the defensive coordinator had had enough and he got into it with one of the officials and said that if the referee didn’t call the game fairly then he would expose the racism that existed in the hearts of many Americans in the 1970s. The coach returned to his defensive players and said that they were not going to give in, but that they were going to hold their ground and continue to stand firm despite the unfair circumstances! This rallied the team together and they united with one another, black and white. Even in a difficult situation, they held fast and persevered.

Verses 14-17 of Hebrews 3 remind us that we are to hold fast to our faith. Notice how verse 14 highlights this relationship, though, “We have become partakers of Christ, IF we hold fast.” Do you see the responsibility in the second half of this verse? This is part of the 2nd warning passage in Hebrews. We share as partakers in Christ - this is completed, Jesus Christ won the victory and He is reigning right now. We are supposed to continue in fellowship with Him now. In this verse people are divided again on the issue of someone losing their salvation - many people believe that someone can genuinely be saved and lose it while others believe that once someone is justified they are always justified. Verse 14 reminds us that there is confidence because our assurance is firm until the end - so long as we exercise our faith in Christ.

So, are you holding fast? Are you living for Jesus Christ today, or are you simply living for yourself? We are commanded to persevere and hold on to the truth found in places like Philippians 1

Philippians 1:6 NASB95

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

God’s got this, church! We are responsible for our actions and holding fast rather than hardening our heart as the Israelites did. Verse 16 notes that the Israelites provoked God. They heard from Him. They saw Him do great and mighty things. Yet, they did not believe. The Israelites did a great number of things wrong during their time in the wilderness, but the greatest sin was unbelief. Friends, I don’t know where you’re at right now. I don’t know your past or what you’re struggling with right now, but I do know this: regardless of your past sins and life, there is forgiveness at the cross of Christ for all who repent and believe. Believe in Him today!

Do not be disobedient - Do enter the rest (18-19)

The final warning is again regarding those who disobey. Verse 18 notes that those who disobey would not enter the rest. The focus of this verse is not specifically on the unbelief but rather on the disobedient aspect as verse 19 illustrates.

Just as the Israelites who disobeyed and did not believe were not able to enter into the rest, there is a parallel for us today. Those who sin, disobey and do not believe in Jesus Christ will not enter into His rest. However, those who sin, obey Scripture and believe in Jesus Christ will enter into His rest. What does this rest look like? Hebrews 4 helps us better see this answer, but the rest is much more than simply a location. The Israelites were told to enter into the “Promised land” and Joshua helped lead them there but Jesus Christ leads us into the rest which is something beyond.

How many of you are professional Sunday afternoon nappers? You’re probably thinking that I’m way too young to be taking naps, but my roommate in college and I truly perfected the art of nap-taking and we would sometimes nap for hours and hours after our afternoon classes. Flash forward to now and the Sunday afternoon nap is a wonderful hour of rest. You might even look forward to that time more than I because of children or busy work schedules or a whole host of other reasons, but we all acknowledge gladly that naps are glorious things that give us rest. As great as a nap is, as great as it feels to have you battery “recharged” - the rest talked about in Hebrews is infinitely better than even the best nap you’ve ever had! The rest offered in Hebrews is better than even the greatest vacation you’ve imagined, this rest is all about trust and pledging allegiance to Jesus Christ who already won for us the victory.

Conclusion

You don’t have to worry about if your good works outweigh your bad or if you might lose your salvation by doing something wrong or saying something bad - you can have assurance today in Jesus Christ who defeated sin and death and did all the “work” that is necessary for our atonement. Trust in Him today and enter into the rest.

We are excuse-less before a holy God as Romans 1:18-21 remind us. We have all fallen short. We have all seen the glory and presence of God. As a result of this and as a result of our disobedience, we deserve destruction and punishment - however the Biblical story is not just one of justice but it is also one of grace. The incredible news of the Bible is that Jesus Christ died the death that you and I deserve and offers us eternal glory and life. He offers us peace and rest unlike anything this world knows - how do you enter that rest? By believing and being obedient. By confessing your sins, believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ and that this is all a gift of grace that you and I could never deserve or earn on our own!

Don’t follow the example of the Israelites in the wilderness who failed to enter the rest and hardened their hearts against God. Instead, listen to God’s voice. Open up your Bible. Check your heart. Encourage one another in this journey and build one another up rather than tear one another down. Go to war with your sin and persevere in good times and in bad times.listen to God’s voice. Open up your Bible. Check your heart. Encourage one another in this journey and build one another up rather than tear one another down. Go to war with your sin and persevere in good times and in bad times.