Daily Bread 2010 - Hebrews 3
Warning Against Unbelief
7So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
10That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.'
11So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' "
12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
Whereas last chapter the warning was against not paying attention to the message which led to drifting away, in this chapter the warning is against unbelief. The OT precedent was the Israelites who because of their unbelief wandered in the desert for 40 years, even after Moses had performed several signs before Pharoah to lead them out of Egypt.
Specifically he quotes the Holy Spirit as saying, “If today you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.” The emphasis is on today, as it is human nature to procrastinate and think, “I will get to it tomorrow”. That is also why in verse it says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today.”
There is also the sense that we can turn away from Christ even as believers, which will entail bad consequences for us. The author goes as far as to say, “We have come to share in Christ, if we hold firmly til the end the confidence we had at first.” This would imply we wouldn’t share in Christ, if we didn’t hold firmly to the end. Does this mean we can lose our salvation through unbelief? There is lots of debate about this as there are passages that seem to say we can’t like Philippians 1:6 which says, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” And also Jesus himself says in John 18:9, “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
So while this is debated the bottom line is having a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from God is a not a good thing. And it also underscores that we need to encourage one another and warn one another, when we see a brother or sister being hardened toward God. So Today, if you hear God’s voice listen to it! Don’t wait until tomorrow to have confidence and trust God’s voice. Let others encourage you and invite them to speak truth into your life so you will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
This is not just advice for the new Christian but for all of us, as each day we have the opportunity to trust in God. We never arrive and each day we have a choice to trust and have confidence, or to choose the opposite. We know this is God’s desire for us and He is the one willing to work in and through us according to His good purpose that He has had for us since the beginning of Creation by His grace in His Son.
So, Jesus help us to maintain a believing heart. As we hear your voice may we not put off tomorrow what we can do today. Soften our hearts by the encouragement of brothers and sisters you have called us to walk alongside in the journey of faith in Your name, Amen.
7So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
9where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
10That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.'
11So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' "
12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
Whereas last chapter the warning was against not paying attention to the message which led to drifting away, in this chapter the warning is against unbelief. The OT precedent was the Israelites who because of their unbelief wandered in the desert for 40 years, even after Moses had performed several signs before Pharoah to lead them out of Egypt.
Specifically he quotes the Holy Spirit as saying, “If today you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.” The emphasis is on today, as it is human nature to procrastinate and think, “I will get to it tomorrow”. That is also why in verse it says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today.”
There is also the sense that we can turn away from Christ even as believers, which will entail bad consequences for us. The author goes as far as to say, “We have come to share in Christ, if we hold firmly til the end the confidence we had at first.” This would imply we wouldn’t share in Christ, if we didn’t hold firmly to the end. Does this mean we can lose our salvation through unbelief? There is lots of debate about this as there are passages that seem to say we can’t like Philippians 1:6 which says, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” And also Jesus himself says in John 18:9, “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”
So while this is debated the bottom line is having a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from God is a not a good thing. And it also underscores that we need to encourage one another and warn one another, when we see a brother or sister being hardened toward God. So Today, if you hear God’s voice listen to it! Don’t wait until tomorrow to have confidence and trust God’s voice. Let others encourage you and invite them to speak truth into your life so you will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
This is not just advice for the new Christian but for all of us, as each day we have the opportunity to trust in God. We never arrive and each day we have a choice to trust and have confidence, or to choose the opposite. We know this is God’s desire for us and He is the one willing to work in and through us according to His good purpose that He has had for us since the beginning of Creation by His grace in His Son.
So, Jesus help us to maintain a believing heart. As we hear your voice may we not put off tomorrow what we can do today. Soften our hearts by the encouragement of brothers and sisters you have called us to walk alongside in the journey of faith in Your name, Amen.
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