The Warning (Keep the Faith, Part 3)

 

Lesson Four

The Warning

Hebrews 3:7-11

 

Theme: Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is our Model of fidelity and is infinitely Superior to Moses. Therefore, hold firmly to your faith in Christ, God’s faithful Apostle and High Priest.

 

Reflection

Begin your study by sharing thoughts on this question.

 Think of a time when a Christian friend encouraged your faith. What did this person do to help you?

 

Bible Reading

Read carefully and thoughtfully Hebrews 3:1–19.

5.  What is the overall scope of this warning section in the chapter? (Heb. 3:7-19)

 

I.                 In the first exhortation (Heb. 2:1–4), the writer pointed out the danger of drifting from the Word because of neglect. In this exhortation, he explains the danger of doubting and disbelieving the Word because of hardness of heart. It is important that we understand the background of this section, which is the Exodus of Israel from Egypt and their experiences of unbelief in the wilderness.

II.               To begin with, we must understand that there are spiritual lessons in the geography of Israel’s experiences. The nation’s bondage in Egypt is an illustration of a sinner’s bondage in this world. Much as Israel was delivered from Egypt by the blood of lambs and the power of God, so a sinner who believes on Christ is delivered from the bondage of sin (Col. 1:13–14). Jesus Christ is “the Lamb of God” whose death and resurrection have made our deliverance from sin a reality.

III.             It was not God’s will that Israel remain either in Egypt or in the wilderness. His desire was that the people enter their glorious inheritance in the land of Canaan. But when Israel got to the border of their inheritance, they delayed because they doubted the promise of God (Num. 13–14). “We are not able” wept the ten spies and the people. “We are able with God’s help!” said Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. Because the people went backward in unbelief instead of forward by faith, they missed their inheritance and died in the wilderness. It was the new generation that possessed the land and entered into their rest.

IV.            What does Canaan represent to us as Christians today? It represents our spiritual inheritance in Christ (Eph. 1:3, 11, 15–23). It is unfortunate that some of our hymns and Gospel songs use Canaan as a picture of heaven, and “crossing the Jordan” as a picture of death. Since Canaan was a place of battles, and even of defeats, it is not a good illustration of heaven! Israel had to cross the river by faith (a picture of the believer as he dies to self and the world, Rom. 6) and claim the inheritance by faith. They had to “step out by faith” (Josh. 1:3) and claim the land for themselves, just as believers today must do.

V.              Now we can understand what the wilderness wanderings represent: the experiences of believers who will not claim their spiritual inheritance in Christ, who doubt God’s Word and live in restless unbelief. To be sure, God is with them, as He was with Israel; but they do not enjoy the fullness of God’s blessing. They are “out of Egypt” but they are not yet “in Canaan.”

6.  What warning does the Holy Spirit give to us? (Heb. 3:7-11)

To drive home God’s call to faithfulness and to warn of the consequences of stubborn disbelief, the classic failure of Israel at Kadesh Barnea which led to their 40-year detour in the wilderness is presented. That generation of Israel that came out of Egypt doubted God; therefore, they never entered the land of Canaan. Paul quotes from Psalm 95:7–11, which records God’s response to Israel’s tragic spiritual condition.

 

I.                 The Spirit’s Warning Issues a Command (3:7-8a).

a.      “Hear His Voice,” whenever God speaks, we should be swift to hear. To doubt His word is to call Him a liar and to incur His wrath.

b.      Israel put God to the test—“temptation in the wilderness”—by asking, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” (Ex. 17:7)  Instead of trusting God in the midst of adverse circumstances, they demanded that He show His hand in order to demonstrate to them that He was in their midst to help them.

c.      The phrase “harden not your hearts,” forbids the continuance of an action already going on. These Hebrews were already hardening their hearts. Paul exhorts them to stop doing so.

d.      In view of the fact that Messiah is better than the prophets, the angels, and Moses, the warning is, not to harden their hearts in renouncing their professed faith in Messiah and returning to the sacrifices. —Wuest, Kenneth S.

II.               The Spirit’s Warning Illustrates a Calamity (3:8b-9).

a.      The “provocation in the day of temptation” refers to the murmuring of Israel against the Lord at Rephidim because of the lack of water (Ex 17:1–7).

b.      God had delivered His people from Egypt and had cared for them, revealing His power in many signs and wonders (Heb. 3:9). Israel saw all of this and benefited from it!

c.      But the experience did not bring them closer to God or make them trust Him more. This is an extraordinary calamity! All that God did for them did not benefit them spiritually. In fact, just the opposite took place: they hardened their hearts against God! They put God to the test—“proved”—and He did not fail them; yet they failed Him.

III.             The Spirit’s Warning Illuminates a Condition (3:10).

God’s keen displeasure with Israel in the wilderness brought forth this stern denunciation. He accused them of a perpetual proneness to wander away from Him, and of a willful ignorance of His ways. —MacDonald, William; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary

a.      They Consistently Erred in Heart (Heb. 3:10).

                                                    i.     The heart of every problem is a problem in the heart. The people of Israel (except Moses, Joshua, and Caleb) erred in their hearts (Heb. 3:10).

1.      Their hearts wandered from God and His Word.

2.      They also had evil hearts of unbelief (Heb. 3:12); they did not believe that God would give them victory in Canaan. They had seen God perform great signs in Egypt. Yet they doubted He was adequate for the challenge of Canaan.

                                                  ii.     When a person has an erring heart and a disbelieving heart, the result will also be a hard heart. (Wiersbe, W. W. 1996, c1989. The Bible Exposition Commentary)

1.      This is a heart that is insensitive to the Word and work of God. So hard was the heart of Israel that the people even wanted to return to Egypt! Imagine wanting to exchange their freedom under God for slavery in Egypt!

2.      Of course, all this history spoke to the hearts of the readers of this letter because they were in danger of “going back” themselves.

                                                 iii.     Why was God grieved? (Heb. 3:10, 17)

1.      God was grieved according to Hebrews 3:9, which says, “When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.” But, why was He grieved? The two words “tempted” and “prove” hold the reason why God was so grieved with Israel. According to Wuest, “tempted” means “to put to the test to see what good or evil may be in a person.”  The nation of Israel was in affect saying ‘Can He provide and protect as He said?’  The people kept ‘testing’ God!  Then the word “prove” means “to put to the test for the purpose of approving the person if he meets the test.”  Israel was saying, ‘Is He really God?’ They were demanding more proof while ignoring a mountain of evidence. This is continuous unbelief. This is what grieved the heart of Jehovah. But note also what Carson said, Those who left Egypt with Moses had God’s words of promise and warning ringing in their ears, but they hardened their hearts and would not respond with faith and obedience. Rebellion and testing are translations of the Hebrew names Meribah and Massah (Ex. 17:1–7; cf. Nu. 20:1–13). At the beginning and end of their desert wanderings, the Israelites showed themselves to be particularly unbelieving at these places. They tested and tried God in the sense that they went as far as they could in provoking him to judge them (9). –Carson, D. A.1994. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition

2.      The latter phrase of verse 9 says, “and saw my works forty years.”  This affords us the third reason why God was grieved with Israel. The forty-year period in the wilderness was an expression of God’s anger with that generation, but it was also an opportunity for them to experience his gracious ways, again and again (10). Since they refused to repent and trust him, he declared on oath in his anger that such people could not enter his rest in the land that he had promised to their forefathers as an inheritance (11; cf. Nu. 14). That privilege would only be extended to their children. –Carson, D. A.1994. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition

3.      Israel’s behavior can only be described as continuous rebellion and unbelief. This grieved God greatly because He had given them so much evidence to persuade them to trust and obey Him implicitly. Although God had miraculously rescued them from Egypt and had demonstrated his power and care over his people, the people disobeyed God, complained against him, and refused to take possession of the land God had given them. They tested him, tried him, and saw him work both for and against them during their forty years of wandering. They tested his patience and challenged his authority. Despite seeing God's works for forty years, the people continually rebelled against him. –The Life Application Commentary Series copyright (C) 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000

4.      God’s keen displeasure with Israel in the wilderness brought forth this stern denunciation. He accused them of a perpetual proneness to wander away from Him, and of a willful ignorance of His ways. –MacDonald, W. 1997, c1995. Believer's Bible Commentary

5.      Wuest highlights the fact that their proneness to was due to their general ignorance of God—they had little experience with Him and His ways because they neglected Him.

6.      God was offended at the actions of Israel. … Israel was led astray with respect to the heart, the seat of one’s personal character and of one’s moral and spiritual life. The Hebrew has it, “They are a people of wanderers in heart.” … Israel’s ignorance of the ways of Jehovah preceded and was the cause of their being led astray. Their ignorance was due to their neglect of Jehovah, for the knowledge they lacked was experiential knowledge which was to be acquired through experience with the ways and character of God. –Wuest, K. S. 1997, c1984. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament

b.      They were Ignorant of God’s Way (Heb. 3:10b).

                                                    i.     In spite of God’s works and loving patience the Israelites failed to understand the ways He would have had them go to reach His Canaan rest (Ex 18:20).

1.      Yes, the forty-year period in the wilderness was an expression of God’s anger with that generation, but it was also an opportunity for them to experience his gracious ways, again and again.

2.      Instead they challenged God’s sovereign authority by their rebellion in the wilderness (Num 20).They cared not to take God’s road! 

                                                  ii.     Are we any better? Obedience from the heart goes beyond merely receiving instructions. One must respond to God’s wisdom with complete surrender and compliance.  That generation of Israelites perished because they willfully rebelled in spite of a full revelation at Mount Sinai.

                                                 iii.     When one despises the preachers of the gospel they are at the same time despising the message of Christ. Christ continued to speak through his apostles, and buy his Spirit. The general rule is that we should diligently attend unto him, and we are not to refuse any who speak unto us in the name and authority of Christ. This may be applied to all the faithful preachers of the gospel, but they may be despised in this world.

IV.            The Spirit’s Warning Issues a Condemnation (3:11).

a.      God’s judgment fell on Israel in the wilderness at Kadesh Barnea. That entire generation was condemned to die, and only the new generation would enter the land.

b.      God said, “They shall not enter into My rest” (Heb. 3:11).

c.      Dr. Newell made the following observations regarding this same matter.

                                                    i.     The wicked say to God, “We desire not the knowledge of Thy ways” (Job 21:14). The angel said to Daniel, “The people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”  Since not knowing God’s ways is shown as the vital lack in Israel of old, and assured their failing to enter God’s rest, let us ask How shall we know the ways of God?  Mark it well: do as Moses did.  Ask and seek to have His ways shown to you.  Or, with David, plead Psalm 27:11, and the like. We must know our God and His ways. Otherwise, we shall be mere “professing” Christians.

                                                  ii.     From all of these observations regarding the text, it can be concluded men dislike the ways of God because of ignorance, like of experience, spiritual laziness, and they simply did not pursue a knowledge of Jehovah and His ways.  Therefore, despite the abundance of evidence presented by God, Israel still did not know His ways.

Response 

Use these questions to share more deeply with each other.

 

 

11.  Why should believers distinguish between faith and feelings?

 

 

Question 7. Be careful to maintain balance here. It's easy to get into a gender-related discussion about emotions. Because a person is emotional doesn't mean his/her faith is not real. Faith can lead to emotion. It just can't be based on emotion.

 

 

 

12.  How can you determine if your faith is real?

 

 

Question 8. Read James 2:14–17 (read through verse 26 if you don't mind a longer passage). Discuss current examples of faith without works.

 

 

 

13.  What can you do to ensure that your faith will endure?

 

Prayer

 

Father, we ask you to deepen our faith in you. Give us the strength to withstand temptation, overcome doubt, and remain loyal to you. At the end of our lives, may we hear your words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

 

Journaling

 

Take a few moments to record your personal insights from this lesson.

 

 

What steps can I take this week to strengthen my faith in God?

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Questions

 

 

14.  How can you avoid hardening your heart against God?

 

 

 

15.  What is the danger for Christians who neglect the fellowship of other believers?

 

 

Question 11. If you can, offer some examples of how your own life is different in proportion to the time you spend in fellowship with believers.

 

 

 

16.  What Christian friend can you encourage in spiritual matters? How?

 

For more Bible passages about remaining faithful, see Deuteronomy 11:13–18; 1 Samuel 12:24; 2 Samuel 22:26; 1 Kings 2:3,4; 2 Chronicles 19:9; Psalm 97:10; Proverbs 28:20; Matthew 25:19–23; 1 Corinthians 4:2; 10:12, 13; 3 John 3–5; Revelation 2:10; 17:14.

To complete the book of Hebrews during this twelve-part study, read Hebrews 3:1–19.

 

God's Superior Messenger (Part 4)

 

Lesson Two

God’s Superior Messenger

Heb. 2:1-4

 

Theme: Christ is Superior to the Angels as God’s Spokesman and Revealer (1:4). Therefore, we must seriously listen to Him, carefully obey His counsel, and diligently nurture the great salvation we have in Him.

Lesson:

An Admonition: Heed Christ’s Word and Don’t Drift away from Him (Heb. 2:1–4).

                                                    i.     This admonition encourages us to pay attention to God’s Word spoken through Christ and to obey it (Heb. 2:1, 3). God does not sit idly by and permit His children to rebel against Him. He will continue to speak and, when necessary, He chastens His own.

1.     The admonition is written to believers, because the writer includes himself when he writes “we” (2:1, 3). The danger here is that of neglecting our salvation.

a.      Neglect (2:3) means to be careless of or make light of.  It is to be inattentive or show no regard for Christ and His great salvation.  It is an act of ignoring Christ and NT truth!

b.     The words “if we neglect” refer to believers neglecting spiritual graces (Heb. 10:25), and allowing themselves to drift by New Testament truths while tempted to go back to OT temple worship and sacrifices.

c.      Please note that the author did not write “rejecting” but “neglecting” (vs. 2:3) He is not encouraging sinners to become Christians; rather, he is encouraging Christians to pay attention to the great salvation we have received from the Lord.

2.     This is significant because the author warned these believers, including himself, about neglecting salvation and losing out on the opportunity to reign with Christ (see Phil. 2:12, 13). The great salvation, the same as mentioned in 1:14, cannot be a reference merely to justification because this salvation was first . . . spoken by the Lord (Heb. 2:3). Justification was spoken of in the Old Testament (see Gen. 15:6); but it was the Lord who first spoke of His followers inheriting His kingdom and reigning with Him (see v. 10; Luke 12:31, 32; 22:29, 30).

3.     Christ and His teaching require our complete commitment and adherence!

                                                  ii.     This admonition encourages us to guard against the possibility of drifting from the Lord (Heb. 2:1). Because of the greatness of the Giver and because of the greatness of His gift, we who have heard the gospel must give more serious attention to it.

1.     There is always the danger of drifting away from Christ and slipping back into an anemic form of Christianity. This means drifting into apostasy!

2.     “Lest at any time we should let them slip” (Heb. 2:1) basically signifies allowing ourselves to gradually slip away from NT teaching and truth.  We can drift away from the Lord!

a.      A boat might drift and be carried downstream past safe harbor if the crew members neglect to watch their position. Just as a boat can drift away, so a Christian can drift away from Christ. We are encouraged to pay far more careful attention so as not to lose our bearings. To what are we to pay attention? “To the things which we have heard,” referring to the full message of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. We must consider our ways—examine ourselves for drifting—and act on what we have heard.

b.     Such careful attention requires work, but this labor keeps us from drifting away from Christ. Too many people have a casual attitude toward Christian truth today. Do we pay as close attention to Christian truth as we do to our LES each month, our stocks, or the sports results?

c.      Drifting is always easier than maintaining the same position. Christians today also have subtle influences that could cause us to drift from Christ. We must pay careful attention to our faith and be prepared against temptations. We might think we are well anchored in our faith, but a hidden, slow-moving current of temptation or harmful attitudes could carry us away from shore without our even noticing it. Such change happens gradually and undetected. This message of Hebrews is appropriate for Christians today: Pay attention!

3.     Later (Heb. 6:19), the writer uses the illustration of an anchor to show how confident we can be in the promises of God. More spiritual problems are caused by neglect than perhaps by any other failure on our part.

a.      The book of Hebrews calls us to pay attention to the truth we have heard so that we won’t drift away into false teachings.

b.     How do Christians drift away?

                                                                                                                i.     We may become careless or complacent in our devotion to Christ.

                                                                                                              ii.     We may backslide into sin we formerly had rejected.

                                                                                                            iii.     We may compromise our morals and disobey Christ’s teaching.

                                                                                                            iv.     We may neglect Christian service and thus become inactive Christians.

c.      The currents of temptation pull strongly at Christians. In order to resist, we must pay attention to Christ. Listening to him means not merely hearing, but also obeying and taking action on what God calls us to do (see James 1:22-25). We must listen carefully and be ready to carry out his instructions. Don’t become a drifter. –The Life Application Commentary Series 

4.     We neglect God’s Word, prayer, worship with God’s people (see Heb. 10:25), and other opportunities for spiritual growth, and as a result, we start to drift. The anchor does not move; we do.

                                                iii.     This admonition encourages us to avoid the penalty for spiritual neglect and indifference (Heb 2:3).  You see, if disobedience to a revelation transmitted by angels was severely punished, indifference to the salvation brought by Christ receives even greater punishment.

1.     If the people who heard the message delivered through angels (Old Covenant) were justly punished when they disobeyed the Law, how can NT believers expect to escape punishment when we neglect the even greater message delivered through the greatest Messenger, the Son?

a.      We cannot suppose there would be no penalties for infractions against the New Covenant (Heb. 10:25-31). If we lose sight of the ultimate victory and deliverance that was promised to us in connection with the Son’s own final victory, we should expect retribution (Heb. 12:25). The nature of the punishment is not spell out, but it would be unwarranted to think he was talking about hell.

b.     But, still how much greater responsibility do we have today who have received the Word from the Son of God!

c.      In Hebrews 2:2, “transgression” refers to sins of commission, while “disobedience” suggests sins of omission.

2.     The story is told of the pastor who preached a series of sermons on “the sins of the saints.” He was reprimanded by a member of the church. “After all,” said the member, “sin in the life of a Christian is different from sin in the lives of other people.”

“Yes,” replied the pastor, “it’s worse!”

3.     We have the idea that believers today “under grace” can escape the chastening hand of God that was so evident “under Law.” But to whom much is given, much shall be required (Luke 12:48).

                                                iv.     This admonition includes supernatural testimonies to confirm that the Gospel preached by Christ and the apostles was authentic (Heb. 2:3-4). 

1.     Not only have we received the Word directly from the Lord, the Son of God, but that Word has been confirmed.

a.       God Himself authenticated the message by signs and wonders, and with various miracles (Heb. 2:4).

                                                                                                                i.     Signs were those miracles of the Lord and of the apostles which signified spiritual truths. For example, the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1–14) formed the basis of the discourse on the Bread of Life which followed (John 6:25–59).

                                                                                                              ii.     Wonders were miracles which were intended to arouse amazement in the spectators; the raising of Lazarus illustrates this (John 11:1–44). The apostle in Acts 3 also.

                                                                                                            iii.     Miracles were any displays of supernatural power which contravened the laws of nature. These miracles were performed by the Apostles (see Mark 16:17–20; Acts 2:43).  The miracles witnessed to and confirmed the Word was true.

b.     Gifts of the Holy Spirit were special abilities given to believers to speak and act in ways that were completely beyond their natural abilities so that they may minister in the church (1Cor. 12; Eph. 4:11). The words according to His own will indicate that these miraculous powers are given out by the Holy Spirit as He chooses. They are sovereign gifts of God. They cannot be demanded by men, or claimed in answer to prayer, because God has never promised them to all.

2.     The purpose of all these miracles was to attest to the truth of the gospel, especially to the Jewish people, who traditionally asked for some sign before they would believe.

a.      There is some evidence that the need of confirmatory miracles ceased when the NT became available in written form. But it is impossible to prove conclusively that the Holy Spirit never duplicates these miracles in other ages.  

b.     Today we have the completed Word of God; so there is no need for these apostolic miracles. God now bears witness through His Spirit using the Word (Rom. 8:16; 1 John 5:1–13).

3.     Too many Christians today take the Word of God for granted and neglect it. In my pastoral ministry, I have discovered that neglect of the Word of God and prayer, publicly and privately, is the cause of most “spiritual drifting.” I need not multiply examples because every believer knows that this is true. He has either experienced this “drifting” or has seen it in the lives of others.

 

b.     The next time you sing “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” recall that the composer, Robert Robinson, was converted under the mighty preaching of George Whitefield, but that later he drifted from the Lord, He had been greatly used as a pastor, but neglect of spiritual things led him astray. In an attempt to find peace, he began to travel. During one of his journeys, he met a young woman who was evidently very spiritually minded.

“What do you think of this hymn I have been reading?” she asked Robinson, handing him the book. It was his own hymn! He tried to avoid her question, but it was hopeless, for the Lord was speaking to him. Finally, he broke down and confessed who he was and how he had been living away from the Lord.

“But these ‘streams of mercy’ are still flowing,” the woman assured him; and through her encouragement, Robinson was restored to fellowship with the Lord.

 

c.      It is easy to drift with the current, but it is difficult to return against the stream. Our salvation is a “great salvation,” purchased at a great price. It brings with it great promises and blessings, and it leads to a great inheritance in glory. How can we neglect it?

 

Inspiration

The basic theme of Hebrews is found in the word better, describing the superiority of Christ in His person and work (1:4; 6:9; 7:7, 19, 22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:16, 35, 40; 12:24). In Christ we have something far better than any religion could ever muster.  The words perfect and heavenly are also prominent. Christ offers us a better revelation, position, priesthood, covenant, sacrifice, principle, and power. Hebrews develops this theme to prevent them from giving up the substance for the shadow by abandoning Christianity and retreating into the old Jewish system. This letter is also written to exhort us to become mature in Christ and to put away our spiritual dullness and degeneration. Thus, it stresses doctrine, particularly Christology (the study of Christ) and soteriology (the study of salvation).