Keeping the Faith
Hebrews 3:12-19
We need to focus on keeping the faith. We cannot allow ourselves to be lulled to sleep.
SLIDE #1
Introduction
• It is so good to be with my church family today! AMEN!
• Last week we examined how Jesus is superior to all and how we have to be able to trust and embrace that fact.
• Understanding who Jesus is will help keep us focused on Him. If we doubt the supremacy of Christ, we can be quickly drawn off the path to following Him.
• Today we are going to build on the Supremacy of Christ and take it to a little bit of a deeper level.
• Today we are going to be in Hebrews 3:12-19 as we dive into a message entitled, Keeping the Faith. If we were to build on an analogy from last week, I could have entitled the message, STAYING ON THE PATH.
• When you embark on a journey, and you know where you are going, you know why you are going, there is another step in the journey.
• In our journey of faith, once we have embraced the supremacy of Christ, there is something vital for us to be able to complete our journey of faith, we have to stay on the path, we have to keep the faith.
• What happens, let’s say when you head off for a trip to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play baseball, but part of the way to St. Louis, you take a turn, and you start heading to Topeka, Kansas?
• Where will you end up? TOPEKA! When you get to TOPEKA, will you wonder why you are not in St. Louis?
• When you end up in Topeka, will you spend your time in Topeka scratching your head, wondering why you are not in St. Louis because, after all, you intended to be in St. Louis.
• Or let’s say on that same trip to get to St. Louis, you stop in Oklahoma City for the night, but then you stay in Oklahoma City. Will you wonder why you are in Oklahoma City because you intended to be in St. Louis.
• You are not in St. Louis because you stopped BEFORE you reached your intended destination.
• Sadly, these two scenarios can play themselves out this way in our journey of faith.
• Today we will examine some things that keeping the faith should lead one to do.
• Let’s turn to Hebrews 3:12
SLIDE #2
Bible Verse
Hebrews 3:12 (CSB)
12Watch out, brothers and sisters, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
SLIDE #3
Lead in
Keeping the faith should lead one to…
1. I. Guard one’s heart against unbelief.
Explanation
• At the beginning of chapter 3, as well as the verses leading up to our text today, the Hebrew writer first begins the section with the plea to consider Jesus.
• He talks about how Jesus was faithful to His mission and calling; Then, the next few verses are a warning against unbelief.
• Now we are given some steps to help keep us off the path of unbelief.
• Staying on the right path, keeping the faith does not happen by accident. In verse 12, we are encouraged to watch out. Many versions translate this present tense imperative as take care, see to it.
• All of the versions give the idea of guarding, being on the lookout for something that is trying to invade your heart to take it captive.
• We have to be diligent in guarding our hearts and minds in Christ. The path to unbelief is usually a slow drift.
• Over time we have let our guard down, and we allow things to come into our heart and mind that will slowly infiltrate our thinking and worldview.
• Think about some of the social issues we deal with now. Look at the issue of the redefinition of marriage. That did not happen overnight; it was a slow drift toward where we are as a country today.
• The connection between Hebrews 3:6b and 3:12 is quite natural if we read the lengthy quotation from Psalm 95 as a parenthetical comment.
• This passage is an illustrative, historical reminder of the obstinate Israelites who died in the desert and were denied entrance to the land God had promised them.
• The readers are urged to hold on to their courage and hope as members of the household of God. They cannot turn their backs on Christ in unbelief, for turning away from Christ is falling away from God (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of Hebrews (Vol. 15, p. 93). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
• The example of the experience of the rebellious Israelites must serve as a warning that should not be taken lightly. Christians must thoroughly examine themselves and one another to see whether anyone has a sinful, unbelieving heart.
• The author of Hebrews knows from the Bible that falling away from God finds its origins in unbelief. Unbelief opens the door for Satan to come in and start messing with your mind.
• The heart equates to what one is thinking when’s thoughts become evil when one permits unbelief to be the guiding and controlling idea heart.
SLIDE #4
Bible Verse
Proverbs 4:23 (CSB)
23Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.
Explanation
• Once we allow an unbelieving heart to rule our life, rebellion takes place followed by falling away.
• This verse is not a question of having questions for God or questions about your faith. It is about letting them rule your heart, or not being willing to accept the answers.
• For instance, those who deny God can do miracles, they will write off any miracles in the Bible.
SLIDE #5
Bible Verse
Philippians 4:6-7 (CSB)
6Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Explanation
• When we have peace with God, that peace will help guard our hearts and minds.
• It is like having peace with your spouse. When you have a peaceful relationship, that peace will guard your heart and mind when things come up in the relationship.
• That peace pushes aside doubt!
• Let’s look at verse 13!
SLIDE #6
Bible Verse
Hebrews 3:13 (CSB)
13But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today , so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.
SLIDE #7
Lead in
Keeping the faith should lead one to…
2. II. Encourage others to keep the faith.
Explanation
• What is one of the reasons it is essential for Christians to come together for worship? Why is it important for Christians to spend time with each other, to invest in one another’s lives?
• We are called to be encouragers of each other. Life gets tough; situations that happen in life can cause one to start doubting their faith.
• Notice the verse tells us to encourage one another daily; this implies we have a connection daily.
• In our busy society, with the advent of social media as well as the new Faithlife Platforms that we will be unveiling, it makes it easier to stay connected to one another.
• You know something. This bothers me. When I hurt one of my brothers or sisters in Christ, it tears me up inside.
• I have done that more than I care to count. Rarely if ever, it is intentional. It is usually something stupid I said or did out of ignorance or a lack of awareness.
• I want you to know if I have ever been a discouragement to you, and I find out, I am devastated by my hurtful words or actions.
• I take each one of you seriously; I take who you are in Christ to me seriously.
• I believe, for the most part, all of us do.
• But here is what happens.
• When we are not focused on encouraging one another, sin can take root in my heart when you hurt me. Then once that happens, nothing you do will be seen by me in a good light.
• Satan will find that crack in my relationship, and he will drive a splitting wedge between us to split us even further apart.
• If you have ever split wood, you know what I am speaking of. You cut the wood to size, then the larger pieces, you look for the weak spot and place your wedge in the split, and you swing away with your mallet until the wood is split.
• Don’t believe me, take a second to think about the last interaction you had with a person you struggle with loving?
• We have to be one who encourages others, and the mission is urgent.
• The word today adds urgency to the command. Today doesn’t last forever. The present opportunity to be an encouragement will not last forever.
• If your spouse does not get along with someone, encourage them to change their heart.
• When you see a brother or sister, or you KNOW of a brother or sister in Christ who is struggling, do not kick them when they are down, ENCOURAGE them!
• When you see someone who is about to walk off the path, ENCOURAGE THEM to get back on the trail!
• We are called to encourage so that one will not be hardened by sins deception.
• When on’s heart is hardened, their spiritual sensitivities are dulled.
• Before hardening happens, much encouragement is needed to gain the upper hand on sin.
• Since deceptive, it tricks us; sin also promises more than it can perform.
• The adverse effects are not always seen it once. It is attractive on the outside yet corrupt on the inside.
• My Professor Gareth Reese offered a quote in his commentary on Hebrew.
SLIDE #8
Quote
All of satan’s worms have hooks in them.
George Mark Elliott, Hebrew Commentary, Gareth Reese
Explanation
• Let us love one another enough to be encouragers, not discouragers!
• Let turn to verses 14-19.
SLIDE #9
Bible Verse
Hebrews 3:14-19 (CSB)
14For we have become participants in Christ if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start.
15As it is said: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
16For who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it all who came out of Egypt under Moses?
17With whom was God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
18And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, if not to those who disobeyed?
19So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
SLIDE #10
Lead in
Keeping the faith should lead one to…
3. III. Keep the faith until the end!
Explanation
• I am going to focus mainly on verse 14 because the rest of the text punctuates what is said.
• Remember my opening comments about taking a trip to St. Louis and deciding to stop in Oklahoma City, and then wonder why you did not make it to St. Louis?
• If I stop or get off the path before I get to St. Louis, I would miss my ballgame because I did not finish my trip.
• We all have to understand that our journey of faith is leading us to the path of Heaven through Jesus Christ!
• Verse 14 gives a reason why the daily encouragement of the brothers to be faithful so important.
• If we quit the race before it is over, or if we stopped the journey before it is complete, we will not make it to where we were headed.
• Continuing in the beautiful partnership of Christ that began in the past is qualified or conditional.
• The reality we are to cling to is the reality of the profession of faith we made in Jesus when we were baptized into Christ.
• We must hold fast to this assurance until the end if we’re going to be partakers in Jesus.
• This is the conditional part of salvation; salvation is tied to being faithful to Jesus until the end, nit a one time profession of faith.
• Verses 15-19 talk about how the Israelites who were promised entrance into the Promised Land, but they hardened their hearts.
• They forfeited their entrance into the Promised Land because THEY hardened their heart against God.
• Their exclusion from the Promised Land was not the fault of circumstances over which they had no control, nor was it due to God’s anger.
• They simply failed to meet the conditions God had revealed were his expectations.
• What was called disobedience in verse 18 is called unbelief and verse 19.
• This is the testimony of the Old Testament that disobedience because of unbelief was the reason they were excluded from the Promised Land.
• There is eternal rest in people who, through unbelief abandoned Christianity, will find themselves excluded from that rest just as surely as Israel was excluded from the promised land.
Conclusion
• We have to finish the race. WE need to know why we need to finish the race.
• I hope one day I can say this about myself!
SLIDE #11
Bible Verse
2 Timothy 4:7-8 (CSB)
7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved his appearing.
Application
• Never quit. guard your heart, encourage others!
