Heb 3:12-19 Watch Out
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12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?
17 And with whom was he provoked 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 unable to enter because of unbelief.
It is very interesting to see the difference between how people respond to warnings in cars compared to warnings in airplanes. For cars, many simply ignore the warning signs. It drives me crazy, one time I was driving a friend’s car, and he said don’t worry about a little light that comes on, it’s nothing. As I was driving his car there was a warning sign that came up, I can tell you that was something pretty hard to ignore, besides the sign, there was an awful engine sound, it sounded like it was a cylinder misfiring, and on top of that the car often simply died when stopping at lights. I called my friend and warned him that he should look into this problem. Basically, he told that it was not a big deal, it was fine, just ignored it and it will be fine.
Compare that to how meticulous people are for the maintenance of airplanes. No one in a sane mind will say, the engine is misfiring, but I’ll just ignore the warning and fly anyways.
The reason people are a lot more careful with the warning signs in an airplane is that our very lives will depend on that airplane working properly. Because of that if there is a warning in an airplane, that problem will not just be ignored. It will be taken seriously, and it will be studied carefully. How much more seriously we should take when God gives us a warning that has eternal consequences for us?
We started the study of this warning when we studied v 7-11 which is a quotation from Psalm 95. Today we will continue the study of this warning by studying v12-19. In this section, the author of Hebrews makes a comment on the quote that we previously studied.
In these 8 verses, there are two commandments, which are found in v 12 and 13. God is warning us to watch out for our hearts and He commands us to encourage one another.
We are going to start in v 14 through 19 so we can study in depth the warning before we studied the commands in 12 and 13, to watch our hearts and encourage one another.
Why should we encourage one another and watch our hearts?
14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
The phrase “we have come to share in Christ” has the meaning that we have a personal interest in Christ. But furthermore, it means believers are partners with Christ.
That is referring back to Heb 1:9 where believers are mentioned as Christ’s companions, then in 2:12 Christ calls us His brothers and sisters. Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters because it is through His sacrifice that He made us clean and brought us into the family of God. Because of our redemption and adoption, we have come to share in Christ.
That’s no little thing. We know this but we can easily forget. What a privilege and honor to be brought into God’s family, with God our Father and Jesus our brother. The world will tell us every day that we are not important because we don’t fit in our world. Our identity is secure and grounded, we belong to Him, we are His and He is ours.
Continuing in v 14 we see the author gives the conditional clause, “if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end”
The wording of this condition is saying that as we continue in the faith is a demonstration that we truly are members of God’s family. The fact that we are holding on is not the security of our faith, but it is evidence that Christ is holding us in His hands.
If we hear this warning and dismiss it and not have any reverent fear that’s something serious and it begs us to consider if we are truly in Christ. However, if you hear these words and have a reverent fear, it is a sign that you love Christ and understand that it would be the worst thing ever to not be with Christ.
God is calling us to persevere to the end, it is our perseverance that will demonstrate that we are truly brothers and sisters of Christ. If we are truly partners with Christ we will confidently say: “You may have all this world, but give me Jesus” We will rather lose everything if it means gaining Christ. However, if you rather have anything and lose Christ you are not worthy of Him. If you know Him, you know that He is worthy of losing everything if necessary.
Then the author continues his admonition to us in v 15
15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Here the author repeats the warning in Psalm 95, do not harden your hearts but believe in what God said and what He promise. We can have complete assurance that whatever God said, it is coming to pass. Like Noah, God told him that he was going to bring judgment on all the earth and told him what to do. Noah believed in God and act trusting that what God said was going to pass. Noah walked with God, he trusted in God each day. He did not lean on his own understanding but trusted God with all his heart.
Contrary to the wilderness generation, who saw all the mighty works of God. But, over and over didn’t believe that God was going to provide for them. They didn’t believe that God was going to fulfill what He had promised, they hardened their hearts.
Then v 16-18 the author of Hebrews has a series of questions exploring the spiritual identity of the wilderness generation. It says:
16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?
17 And with whom was he provoked 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?
Who was this wilderness generation? They were the people that were set free from slavery in Egypt, they could have boasted of their relationship with God. They had seen with their eyes the mighty works of God in Egypt in all the plagues, then how amazingly they left with their hands full of gifts from the Egyptians. With their feet they cross the red sea as in dry land, they saw God’s judgment on Pharaoh’s army as they tried to cross the sea. They were covered by the cloud that gave them shade during the day and warmth during the night. With their mouths, they ate the mana that God provided.
Externally they had confidence in their relationship with God. They experienced with their eyes, hands, feet, and mouths, but where was their heart? Many today may have confidence in external things, lifetime church attendance, community service, a good reputation in society, well-behaved children, and serving in the church.
But all of these external things don’t necessarily show what is inside the heart. They didn’t watch out for their hearts, they sought external things as a confirmation of their faith, instead of relying on a soft heart that listens and obeys God. God has no delight in sacrifice, He is not pleased with burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. (Psalm 51:16-17) God looks at our hearts and no one has to tell God, He knows our hearts from afar.
The question for us is what is in our hearts?
For the wilderness generation, verses 17-18 describe what was in their hearts. They provoked God for forty years by not listening over and over, they sinned and received their punishment, they were not allowed to enter the promised land and they died in the wilderness. It describes their hearts as sinful, in rebellion, and disobedient. Their hearts provoked God for forty years.
Then in v 19, the author gives a summary of the spiritual condition of the wilderness generation’s heart. It says:
19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Here the author of Hebrews is saying that the wilderness generation received this punishment because of unbelief. It was because they did not believe in what God has said, that was the root of their disobedience. It starts in the heart and how we respond to God that matters the most, everything else will flow from our hearts.
Considering this serious warning, what should we do? God gives us two commandments in v12 and 13. Let’s look first at v12 which focuses on our heart.
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
V12 starts with the commandment, which is a warning it says take care. Other translations translate this commandment as: “Beware, Watch out, Take care, See to it, be careful, watch your steps.”
At first, if we consider the context of the readers, we might say that’s kind of hard words for them. Believers at the time of this letter were facing persecution for being followers of Christ. Not only they were looked down upon by others, but they were viewed as the problem of society. The world saw that getting rid of Christians was the solution to their world. Being a Christian was against the law, you would be a law-breaker for following Christ.
If you didn’t want to worship the many gods that society worshipped at that time. There was one way to escape this judgment, to become a Jew. If you would take the OT as the only word of God, follow Moses and the law given by God to the Israelites, you would be safe. We see here why it was important to the author of Hebrews to start chapter 3 by comparing Jesus to Moses, showing that Jesus is much greater. Now the author gives this warning because there were serious consequences for not listening to Moses, how much greater punishment if we don’t listen to Jesus?
Because of the seriousness of the consequence, there is a sharp warning to watch out for our hearts, that we don’t have an evil, unbelieving heart.
We have seen what this evil, unbelieving heart looks like in the description that the author of Hebrews gives in v 14-16, the disobedient, rebellious, and sinful hearts.
As the author gives us such a strong warning, he calls us brothers and sisters. There are two things we can observe from the fact that he calls us brothers. First, the author is not coming down on us in a domineering position, but in a humble manner he is giving us a strong warning. Second, when he calls us brothers and sisters, he is reminding us of our family ties with Jesus, that through the blood of Jesus we are part of God’s family because we are God’s children He disciplines us, warns us, and calls us to persevere, command us to be so focus on Jesus that we are obsessed with Jesus. The antidote for this evil, unbelieving heart was already given to us in verse 1, to consider attentively to Jesus, think about Jesus, fix your thoughts on Jesus, take a good hard look at Jesus, to be obsessed with Jesus.
The commandment is for each of us to have a look in our hearts. No one can tell what is in your heart or your mind. We need to ask God to search our minds and hearts and show us if there is any hint of unbelief.
Psalm 139 is interesting it starts by saying:
O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
Then it ends by asking God “ 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
First, the psalmist recognizes that God knows him and his heart and every thought and every word even before we speak. Then the psalmist prays, asking God to search his heart and mind, to show if there is anything in him that grieves God. Then he ends by asking God to lead him in righteousness.
Considering this warning here in Heb 3, this is something that we should do. God already knows us completely, the problem is that we can be unaware of the depravity of our own hearts and minds.
What will be the consequence if we let just a little bit of sin control our hearts? Our hearts will grow more and more callous to God, to a point where our hearts are hard and unresponsive to God, which will lead us to fall away from the living God.
Therefore, we need to watch out for our hearts, examine our hearts and ask God to show us if there is anything in us that displeases Him. Then listen to Him and obey God promptly.
The warning continues in v13 by giving us another commandment, it says:
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
The commandment here is that we will be exhorting one another every day. About half the translations will translate this verb as encourage and the other half as exhort. These two words, exhort and encourage are very similar, exhorting is to strongly encourage, to urge someone to do something.
The author of Hebrews gives us a similar commandment later in this letter when he commands us to stir up one another and encourage one another.
Heb 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
But how are we to exhort, and encourage one another?
It is not by looking at others in the church and pointing fingers, questioning their Christian walk. But it is out of love for others, encouraging them to continue following Christ.
More specifically we encourage one another when we share what God is doing in our lives, whether be an answer to prayer or sharing something that we learned in our study of Scripture. It is making a priority to meet together on Sunday to worship Jesus. It is praying together and sharing a meal together. It is singing together and declaring as a body our devotion and affection for Jesus.
The best example of exhorting was a few weeks ago when Chuck and Kaye came on Wednesday night service and share with us their long battle with cancer and the progress of chemotherapy, how they are holding on as they continue on this suffering road. I know it was not the easiest thing for them to share, but it was a huge encouragement to everyone who heard because they are living testimonies of God’s grace in their lives and for our church.
Encouraging is pushing one another as we race together with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder, and perfector of our faith.
But why should we encourage one another? So that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
This means we need each other. You need the body of Christ. Because we are not yet completely separated from sin, our hearts are prone to wander, Aquinas said that “the world, the flesh, and the devil are relentless enemies of the soul” Meaning our enemies don’t rest or take a break, therefore we need one another.
I’m sure you have heard this story before, but it is fitting here because of our need to encourage one another. No one can walk the Christian walk on their own, we need one another.
“The story is told of a man named John who had once been faithful to attend his church regularly, but had grown lackadaisical recently. The Pastor knew that he hadn't seen the gentleman in a while, so he went for a visit.
John greeted the Pastor and welcomed him in, directing him to the chair beside the fireplace. He asked the Pastor what brought him to visit, but the Pastor didn't say a word... .he simply grabbed the fireplace tongs, picked up a hot coal from the fire, and set it away from the fire, out on the fireplace. Both men then watched the coal.
While the fire roared on, the coal which had been red hot began to lose it's heat. It gradually lost it's red color, and then cooled off so that it became cool to the touch. The Pastor picked up the coal, and handed it to John for a moment... neither man said a word.
Then the Pastor reached out and took the coal back from John, and returned it to the roaring fire... and in just a few short moments, the coal once again glowed red hot, as the pile of flaming coals caused it to heat up again.
The Pastor then got to his feet, put his hat on, and shook John's hand. At that point, John looked at the Pastor with tears in his eyes, and told him "Thank you for coming, Pastor, and I'll be back in church this coming Sunday!"
When we don’t fellowship with other believers and don’t worship Jesus together, slowly and unnoticeably to us we will give in to our flesh, the world, and the devil. When we are alone we are easily deceived, we need to encourage one another so we are not deceived by sin.
My prayer is for all of us to be in fire for the Lord. To be so passionate about Jesus that we are obsessed with Jesus. That our delight in joy is only the Lord. This will only happen if watch our hearts and together encourage one another.