10/4/19
Tom Lowe
Lesson #13 [C3b]: Warning Against Unbelief (HEBREWS 3:12–4:2)
Scripture: Hebrews 3:12-4:2 (NIV)
Warning Against Unbelief (3:12-4:2)
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion” (Num. 12:7).
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.
Introduction
The writer [The Holy Spirit is the author.] wants his friends to see that these verses besides being a commentary on Hebrews is also a commentary on the passage cited from Psalm 95.
As the commentary unfolds it becomes clear that the writer interpreted Psalm 95:7-11 in terms of the account of Israel at Kadesh-Barnea as recorded in Numbers 13-14. It is striking that in 3:1-6 there was a quotation from Numbers 12:7 (3:5a); now in 3:12-19 there are several allusions to Numbers 13-14. It seams evident that the writer had been concentrating his devotional reading on the book of Numbers at the time he prepared this sermon. He found in Numbers a record of the faithfulness of God to Israel in the wilderness.
Commentary 3:12-4:2
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
This warning is addressed to those having the same potential characteristics as the generation which perished in the wilderness without ever seeing the land of promise. They were unbelieving Jewish brethren who were in the company of the Holy brethren? “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest” (v. 3.1). They were given a warning to believe and be saved before it was too late. Paul suddenly got their attention when he accused them of having an “unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Everyone was born with such a heart?a sinful, unbelieving heart. In the case of these Hebrews, that evil manifested itself in disbelief of the gospel which moved them in the opposite way from God.
“See to it,” (take heed, that is, beware, look to it) denotes a strong demand and loud call for vigilance. For “unbelieving heart,” some have put froward heart, evil heart, wicked heart. It is the usual word used to express the quality of moral evil. Unbelief is itself a grievous departure from God. It was what we could call a great parent sin. Its presence indicates the root of all evil. Perfect unbelief is complete apostasy from the most high God. Jehovah, in the scripture is often called the living God, to distinguish Him from the gods of the heathen, who were dead men, or dead images, and can neither see, nor hear, nor help, nor save. The word rendered living is also rendered lively. If it is used this way, it indicates that God does not merely exist, but is the efficient agent, filling all things with His presence, making His power felt over all creatures, all events, all causes and all effects. This living God is Jesus Christ, who is the author of all life natural and spiritual (John 5: 19, 21, 25
The believers addressed in Hebrews needed to pay attention to the example of the disobedient Israelites. The hardships these Christians faced presented them with a moment of truth. Either they would trust God and endure in their confession of Jesus Christ or they would drift away from God. The longer they drifted, the harder their hearts would become toward the promises of God. The more their lives would exhibit evil and unbelief rather than devotion and faith.
This is the reason the writer implored his readers to watch out. They were in danger of provoking God’s wrath just as the Israelites had done. If God judged His rebellious people in Old Testament times, He also will judge disobedient people in New Testament times. The writer did not want his readers to take a foolish direction in their journey of faith. He wanted them to turn back to the truth. The Apostle James wrote, “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20, see note 1).
The same warning is relevant for believers today. We must not let unbelief have any place in our hearts. We may have to be especially alert in times of hardship. Those are the times when the Devil sows seeds of doubt in believers’ minds. If we keep growing in our devotion to Christ, those seeds will germinate. If we drift in our faith, those seeds of doubt can quickly spring up into weeds of disobedience.
What seeds of doubt has the Devil thrown at you in times of hardship? How do you resist those temptations?
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
The word translated here as “Encourage” always implies kindness, but does not forbid the greatest zeal. It has also been rendered beseech and comfort. This exhortation was meant to be issued daily because every time had its own trials and seductions, and no man knew when he or his brother would be called to endure the greatest temptations. The word here rendered “daily” is rendered continually in some of the other versions.
Both individual accountability and corporate responsibility are intended in this admonition. As long as the distressing days were upon them and they were tempted to return to the ineffective Levitical system they were to encourage one another to identify completely with Jesus Christ.
Repeated rejection of the gospel concerning Jesus results in a progressive hardening of the heart and will ultimately result in outright antagonism toward the gospel (see 6:4-6; 10:26-29; Acts 19:9).
“Deceitfulness” is sin that lies and deceives, using every sin in the book (see Rom. 7:11; 2 Thess. 2:10; James 1:14-16). The Hebrews deceived themselves with the reasoning that their rejection of Jesus Christ was being faithful to the older system. Their willingness to hang on to the Levitical system was really a rejection of the living Word (v. 12) of the “living God” (v. 12),” who through Christ had opened up a “new and living way”(10:20). Choosing the path of unbelief always leads to death (v. 17; 10:26-29; 2:14, 15; Jude 5).
14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
“We have come to share in Christ,” which is to say, we have been made partakers of Christ. The word which is here translated “share” is translated partakers in Hebrews 3:1. There men are said to share in the call of the gospel; and here, in the author of the gospel. Christ and His people are one as He and His Father are one. This union with Christ is more important than any other union that can be formed. It is as vital as that of the branch and the vine. Yet there is only one way of proving it beyond any doubt, and that is by persevering in holiness to the end of life.
The exhortation given here is similar to that in verse 6. It repeats the theme of perseverance.
15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
The quotation from Psalm 95:7, 8 is repeated (See v.7). The first quotation was followed with exposition emphasizing “today” and the urgency that word conveys. This second quotation is followed with exposition emphasizing the word “rebellion” (vv. 15, 16) and presenting the theme of obedience by means of its exact opposite, disobedience. Four different terms are employed to drive home the point of “rebellion”: “rebelled” (v. 16), “sinned” (v. 17), “those who disobeyed” (v. 18), and “unbelief” (v. 19). The writers exposition of Psalm 95:7-11 is summed up by the obvious conclusion that the Israelites who died in the wilderness were victims of their own unbelief (v. 19).
The admonition “Do not harden your hearts” [see introduction] means do not provoke God, that is, they angered God as it is expressed in Ps. 106:32; they insulted Him, refused to believe in the Lord, they chose to listen to human voices of despair rather than listening to the voice of God, and the outcome was that they provoked Him to punish them.
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?
The writer is calling on the Hebrews to not follow the example of unbelief set by their wicked ancestors, but instead, they are to follow those of their fathers in the wilderness who believed God, were picked by God to be leaders, and were good men. To intimate to the Hebrews that all their fathers in the wilderness were unbelievers and terribly provoking to God would have been not only harsh, but untrue. The verse asserts no such thing, but denies it, and calls on the Hebrews to remember the good example of their pious ancestors, and not to follow those who were wicked. In this striking way the writer brings the tragic sequence of events at Kadesh-Barnea before his friends who were in danger of emulating the hardened hearts exhibited by the Israelites.
17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?
Paul is not detracting from the good name of their pious ancestors, but only warning them not to imitate the bad example of their unbelieving fathers. The verse is parallel to 1 Cor. 10:5-11, which explains some things in this verse and context. God was not well pleased with many of them. He was angry with them for their sins the entire 40 years that Israel was in the wilderness.
18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?
This verse also is uniformly put into the questioning form by the various versions. It closely limits the judicial deaths of the wilderness to such as provoked God by refusing to trust or obey Him. I say judicial deaths for we have no authority for saying that no Israelite for 40 years died of old age or otherwise than by marked judgments, acts of terrible severity for particular sins.
19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
This was the form of depravity that this people took. It is commonly the case where God’s will is known and men’s hearts not made submissive to it, that everything in moral character takes the form of infidelity, which is simply another name for unfaithfulness.
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
The context of this “promise” is defined as “entering His rest.” This is the rest which God gives; therefore, it is called “My rest” in Psalm 95:11 and here it is called “His rest.” For believers, God’s rest includes His peace, confidence and salvation, reliance on His strength, and assurance of a future heavenly home (Matt. 11:29). The phrase “fallen short” could be translated “lest you think you have come to late to enter into the rest of God” (12:15). With reverential fear, all are to examine their own spiritual condition (1 Cor. 10:12; 2 Cor. 13:5) and to actively press for commitment on the part of others (Jude 23).
The Scripture is the Word of God; it is the mind of the Holy Spirit; it is divinely inspired. David spoke the mind of God; so did the writers of both Testaments. What God promised to do through the prophets He has fulfilled by the entrance of Jesus into human history. This pattern is found in the Gospels, in the Letters, and in Revelation as well. In Hebrews, however, a different pattern emerges: promise?promise renewed?with the fulfillment yet deferred. What God promised to do through the prophets He has reaffirmed by the renewal of the Word of promise, providing greater assurances that ultimately fulfillment is certain. But in the present time the position of faith is to live in terms of the promises of God. We can identify with what occurred at Kadesh because, like Israel, we live on the basis of the Divine Word of promise.
In this context the focus of the promise is entrance into God’s rest. What, precisely, does rest imply? Whenever there is reference to the promise of rest in the books of Deuteronomy or Joshua, rest implies the settlement of Canaan. It anticipates rest from the hardships of pilgrimage, from hostility, and from the insecurity and instability of life in the desert through settlement in the land.
In Psalm 95, however, the concept of rest clearly refers to a future reality promised to the people of God. It is in reference to a future rest that the warning is sounded, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts,” as did those Israelites who were not permitted to enter into the rest of Canaan. The renewal of the expectation of entering into God’s rest in Psalm 95 indicates that the conquest and settlement of Canaan did not exhaust the intention of the promise. God has a future rest for His people.
2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. [Some manuscripts have “because those who heard did not combine it with faith.”]
Having more knowledge of God’s Word is not sufficient. It must be appropriated by saving faith. Later in the epistle a much longer exposition will take up this topic of faith (10:19- 12:29). The writer’s point of comparison is that like the Jews that left Egypt (3:16-19), his generation had also received God’s message through the preaching of the gospel; they had been evangelized.
The Holy Ghost is God, so Paul intends for us to understand, when he cites his authority as decisive in religion (v. 7). He is the author of all scripture. Many parts of the Bible declare Him to be God; “The God of Israel said;” “God spake by the mouth of David;” “God spake by the prophets,” (2 Sam. 23:2).
Special notes and Scripture
[1} Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth,.... Either from Christ, who is the truth, by departing from Him, forsaking His ways, His worship, and His ordinances; or from the Scriptures of truth, not speaking according to them, and embracing notions that are contrary to them; or from the Gospel, the word of truth, from the doctrine of faith, and from uprightness of life and conversation, after having made a profession of Christianity; for this is to be understood of one who has embraced the Christian religion, become a member of a church, and has walked in the path of truth and holiness, but now has fallen into error, either in principle, or in practice, or both.
“and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death.”
“And shall hide a multitude of sins;” either "his own", as some versions read; and then the sense is, he shall be blessed with a discovery and application of the forgiveness of all his sins, though they have been many and great; or rather the sins of the person converted. Sin is only covered by the blood and righteousness of Christ; and therefore, it is so covered that they can not be seen by the eye of spiteful justice. Those persons whose sins are covered are fair and just, without fault and irreproachable in the sight of God. Their sins are covered, they are blotted out like a thick cloud, for God forgives all trespasses, for Christ's sake; and the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin.
