CCF: Do Not Harden Your Heart, Live in Faith
Hebrews 3:7-19
(by Brother Angelo Sumayao)
The author of Hebrews gives the next warning to Christians. He uses the incident of Israel's failure to trust God, which resulted in their wandering the desert for forty years (Hebrews 3:7–11). Referencing Psalm 95 with context taken from Numbers chapters 13 and 14, describing how Israel came to the border of the Promised Land and then lost faith. Instead of trusting God for victory, they doubted that they could defeat the "giants" of Canaan. As a result, God disciplined the nation of Israel. All but a tiny remnant of that nation would wander the desert until they died, never seeing the ultimate victory God had offered.
The Bible considers the heart to be the hub of human personality, producing the things we would ordinarily ascribe to the “mind.” Some products of the heart include Grief (John 14:1), Desires (Matthew 5:28), Joy (Ephesians 5:19), Understanding (Isaiah 6:10, Matthew 13:15), Thoughts and reasoning (Genesis 6:5, Hebrews 4:12), and Faith and belief (Hebrews 3:12, Romans 10:10). A hardened heart according to Mark 8:17-19, is a spiritual heart condition as an inability to see, understand, hear, and remember which resulted in God’s wrath.
Two lessons we can pick up from verses 7-11,
(1) A redeemed person/people may lose their blessings because of disobedience,
(2) The wrath of God towards his children is no less than his wrath on unbelievers. God disciplines those he loves.
Moving on to verses 12-15, the application of the Psalm is made explicit. The Israelites' lack of trust caused them to fall away from God, and this resulted in discipline. The author of Hebrews is warning the Christians who read these words not to make the same mistake, not to have an unbelieving heart. Verse 13 is a warning to Christian believers not to allow stubbornness, sin, or a lack of faith to rob them of God's promised blessings. Sin deceives us by exaggerating the blessing and hiding the consequences.
Moving on to verses 12-15, the application of the Psalm is made explicit. The Israelites' lack of trust caused them to fall away from God, and this resulted in discipline. The author of Hebrews is warning the Christians who read these words not to make the same mistake, not to have an unbelieving heart. Verse 13 is a warning to Christian believers not to allow stubbornness, sin, or a lack of faith to rob them of God's promised blessings. Sin deceives us by exaggerating the blessing and hiding the consequences.
One key to avoiding this pitfall is the influence of other Christian believers. Having a meaningful, personal relationship with other Christians means "watching each other's back." God designs us to be part of a small group of believers who encourage one another and eventually start our own discipleship group. In verse 14, the writer of Hebrews is warning Christians not to forfeit their spiritual blessings by failing to "hold fast" their faith and obedience to God. Can we live in faith? Living in faith means trusting the Lord unconditionally.
In closing, verse 19 says “And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.” Israel’s lack of faith when they saw the "giants" of Canaan made it impossible for them to see the Promised land and claim God’s blessings. In order to avoid this, Hebrews 3 reminds us not to harden our hearts and to live in faith.
In closing, verse 19 says “And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.” Israel’s lack of faith when they saw the "giants" of Canaan made it impossible for them to see the Promised land and claim God’s blessings. In order to avoid this, Hebrews 3 reminds us not to harden our hearts and to live in faith.
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Transcribed for CCF Singapore by:
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