The Perils of Unbelief Hebrews 3:7-19

Why is it that we as people have so much trouble heeding warnings? The Perils of Unbelief Why is it that we as people have so much trouble heeding warnings?

The Perils of Unbelief Sometimes, it may be because we misunderstand Illustration of English Zoo

The Perils of Unbelief Perhaps most often, the problem is not due to a misunderstanding, but ignoring the warning Example What do you do when you see the sign posted saying: “Do not touch, Wet Paint”?

The Perils of Unbelief Perhaps most often, the problem is not due to a misunderstanding, but ignoring the warning Example What do you do when you see the sign posted saying: “Do not touch, Wet Paint”? If you are like me, your may feel compelled to see if it is still wet

The Perils of Unbelief Not paying attention to warnings can be a dangerous thing Illustration of Mt. St. Helens

The Perils of Unbelief Not paying attention to warnings can be a dangerous thing Illustration of Mt. St. Helens They had failed to heed warnings, and they died needlessly

The Perils of Unbelief In this lesson, we are going to look at the second warning found in the letter to the Hebrews The first warning was in Hebrews 2:1-4 Pointed out the danger of drifting from what we had heard

The Perils of Unbelief The second warning Our danger today is not giving in to pressure to return to some previously held belief

The Perils of Unbelief The second warning Our danger today is not giving in to pressure to return to some previously held belief Our temptation today is to live lives that are essentially no different than the non- Christians around us

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning First, we are given a warning to hear “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice.’” (v7) “Today” is emphatic

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning “Today” God is speaking through someone greater than Moses, and today God expects us to respond The writer of Hebrews is reminding us that Scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit – it is authoritative - and has a relevant message and demands a present hearing

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning The author knew that the human tendency to delay – to procrastinate especially with spiritual matters So, he repeats “Today” three times v 7, 13, & 14 “Today” indicates urgency

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning “Today” does not refer to a 24 hour day, but rather it means “now” The time to respond to God is always, NOW

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning The problem begins when we hear the Word of God, feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and tell ourselves that we need to take action

The Perils of Unbelief But, we do nothing The Second Warning The problem begins when we hear the Word of God, feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit and tell ourselves that we need to take action But, we do nothing

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning We tend to procrastinate with the most important issues of life The warning that runs throughout this section of the letter is that if we fail to follow through when challenged by the Word of God, we face the inevitable hardening that occurs when we hear and fail to respond The heart gets harder every time we say “no” to Jesus or to any part of His truth or will

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning If we are tempted to put off our spiritual need – this text warns us of the danger of foolish choices and encourages us not to miss out on what God has for us – not to make light of each spiritual opportunity He sets before us Illustration of D. L. Moody

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning The text then gives us an admonition – an example to pay attention to Hebrews 3:8-11 quotes Psalm 95, contrasting the Hebrew people, Israel, with Moses’ faithfulness Let’s look at the example

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning In the entire history of the earth, no migration of any people started so well, and with such great expectations as Israel’s exodus from Egypt After being in slavery in Egypt for 430 years, God led them out with a mighty hand Moses, God’s spokesman told Pharaoh: “Let my people go”

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning After a series of deadly plagues, culminating in the death of every first born child among the Egyptians, Pharaoh finally relents As soon as Israel stepped into the wilderness to begin the journey to the Promised Land, God provided an pillar of a cloud to lead them by day, and a pillar of fire to lead by night And, when Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued them, Israel watched in amazement as God opened the Red Sea and allowed them to cross over on dry land

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning Yet, no sooner had they celebrated the victory over the Lord’s mighty deliverance, than they began to complain About the manna, so God gave them meat About the water, so God gave them water The peak of their unbelief provoked the Lord when they got to the edge of the promised land Twelve spies were sent to the Promised Land, and returned with a report, 10 negative, only Joshua and Caleb were positive, urging the people to go up at once and take the land

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning When the Israelites refused to obey the Lord, He pronounced judgment on them “Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:10-11)

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning Just as during the plagues the Egyptians got over their fear of God, the Israelites quickly got over their trust of God Their unbelief cost them everything As a result, they missed out on the blessings of God here and now and eternally

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning The generation of Israel that came out of Egypt doubted God, and because of their doubt they never entered the land of Canaan Note this: When they left Sinai, an eleven day journey would have gotten the Israelites to the Promised Land They wandered in the wilderness because they did not have faith to enter the Promised Land

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning Canaan does not represent heaven It represents the place of spiritual blessing and victory The Israelites believed God enough to come out of Egypt, but not enough to enter Canaan They did not believe God enough to enter into the Land of Promise

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning The rebellious generation of Israel that died in the wilderness (and us?) is cited to the Hebrew believers in the New Testament days as a warning not to repeat their sin They did not have the faith to trust God for the future Hebrews is speaking to those who have had an exodus in their life, but have not entered into the blessings of the Christian life

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning They doubt God, and as a result they are having a wilderness experience Without a personal acquaintance with the Word of God, being a church member is like wearing a yoke, being pressured to give money and having to do certain things Everything is a duty instead of a drawing to the wonderful person of Christ

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning The author of Hebrews follows the example for us to heed by giving us instructions to implement (v 12-15) First, personally, we are to guard our hearts – “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you and evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the Living God.” (3:12) The warning is to guard our hearts because there is the danger in each of our lives of turning away from what we know to be the truth

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning What is an “evil, unbelieving heart”? A heart that stands off from God A heart that does not believe God A heart that will not trust God A heart that will not follow God

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning The second instruction the author of Hebrews gives us is a corporate responsibility – “exhort one another every day” (v 13) The root meaning of the word “exhort” has to do with coming alongside to give help Its meaning can be illustrated in picturing someone running alongside a long-distance runner and exhorting him to finish the course in the face of his fatigue and exhaustion

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning We need the encouragement of other believers because sin is deceitful It looks good and promises much But it enslaves and leaves broken It devastates families, shatters lives, and ruins our testimony

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning And, it hardens a person The more a person sins, the easier it is for them to continue to sin We need others to warn us when we are in trouble

The Perils of Unbelief The Second Warning Think about how different the story of the Israelites in the wilderness might have been? What if they had shown a daily concern to promote among themselves an abiding faith in God instead of mutually inciting discontent by murmuring and unbelief? As a church today, we have the option of encouraging each other in our walk with the Lord, or carrying tales and murmuring about injustices

The Perils of Unbelief One commentator said this: “The problem today is that so many people when asked about faith point to their ‘exodus’ – when they began with Christ. They can wax eloquently about their experience. How dare anyone question that. They ‘went forward’ – they left Egypt – they were baptized and identified with God’s people – they visibly drank from the same rock (Christ) – they used the same redemptive vocabulary with the same pious inflections. But troubles came and they turned away. Their ‘exodus’ is a convenient memory. But to trust God now? That is a problem, for their faith is dead.”

If our hearts have become so hardened The Perils of Unbelief If our hearts have become so hardened so that we expect nothing from God, and attempt nothing for God, then our belief is more in our heads than in our hearts

What are we going to do today? Are we going to listen and act? The Perils of Unbelief What are we going to do today? Are we going to listen and act?