Hebrews 3:12-19 The Sin of Unbelief

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.  As has just been said: 

“Today, if you hear his voice,

    do not harden your hearts

    as you did in the rebellion.” 

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?  And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?  And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrew 3:12-19 NIV)

The warning to the readers of Hebrews is to hold onto their faith firmly to the very end. The Israelites gratefully followed Moses out of Egypt. They received and experienced deliverance from bondage. But as soon as things seemed insurmountable, they believed the lie rather than God.

Remember that Satan’s goal is to destroy. He is the father of lies. He is cunning and subtle, rarely conspicuous. When things get tough in your life, he will begin to whisper lies in your ears. Don’t believe the lies. Remember God’s faithfulness. Remember His power and majesty. Remember that our loving Father is the one in charge. He is ALWAYS good and only wants the very best for you. Don’t accept anything less.

The Israelites were not allowed to see the Promised Land because of their rebellious, unbelieving hearts. John warned against unbelief in his gospel:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.  And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. (John 3:16-19)

Many could recite John 3:16 by heart, but most have never read the verses that follow. If we believe in the Son, we receive eternal life. But anyone who does NOT believe is judged, or condemned, already. Jesus was sent to the world, but most of the world has rejected Him.

The author of Hebrews is reminding us that we have been brought into the light. We have been saved from our sin. Stay in that light. Walk in that light. And shine that light in the darkness! The desert is no match for the Promised Land! Don’t turn back! There is a danger, as we get older, to take for granted this matchless grace, and to forget that we have been SAVED. Don’t forget! Hold firmly to the very end!