Sermon
#18 Hebrews
Notes
Title: THE ISSUE IS UNBELIEF
Text: Hebrews 3:7-19
Readings: Buddy
Daugherty and Bobbie Estes
Subject: The Evil of Unbelief
Date: Tuesday Evening – May 2, 2000
Tape # V-81b
Introduction:
God
calls us to faith in Christ. Salvation is to be had only by trusting the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is not having trusted Christ that is saving faith, but
trusting him. Believers are sinners who trust Christ alone as their Lord and
Savior; and trusting him, we continue to trust him to the end. It is he who
endures to the end who shall be saved. The prize goes not to those who begin
the race, but to those who finish, “Looking
unto Jesus.”
Hebrews
3:7-19 "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To
day if ye will hear his voice, (8) Harden
not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the
wilderness: (9) When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. (10) Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They
do alway err in their heart; and they
have not known my ways. (11) So I
sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) (12) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. (13) But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest
any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (14) For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning
of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
(15) While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your
hearts, as in the provocation. (16) For
some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt
by Moses. (17) But with whom was he
grieved forty years? was it not with
them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? (18) And to whom sware he that they
should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? (19) So we see that they could not
enter in because of unbelief."
“Today”
– Today is the only day we have. Yesterday is gone. There is no promise of
tomorrow. Therefore, the Holy Spirit calls for us to hear his voice today, and
urges us not to do what we are most naturally prone to do. He says, “Today, If ye will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts!” Then he gives us the glaring example of those thousands,
multiplied thousands, who perished in the wilderness. They perished because
they would not hear his voice. They hardened their hearts in unbelief.
Therefore, they could not enter into the land of rest.
Turn
back to 1 Corinthians 10. I want us to begin reading at verse 6. I want you to
see that these things stand by divine appointment as examples to us, lest we
follow those unbelieving Jews who perished in the wilderness to hell.
1
Corinthians 10:6-15 "Now these things were our
examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also
lusted. (7) Neither be ye idolaters,
as were some of them; as it is
written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. (8) Neither let us commit fornication,
as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. (9) Neither let us tempt Christ, as
some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. (10) Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were
destroyed of the destroyer. (11) Now
all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (12) Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he
fall. (13) There hath no temptation
taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may
be able to bear it. (14) Wherefore,
my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
(15) I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say."
I
want to talk to you tonight about unbelief. I want you to see that the issue
between God and man is always unbelief. The difference between those that
perish and those who live is unbelief. It was unbelief which caused Israel to
perish in the wilderness; and if any of us perish under the wrath of God, if
any of us follow them to hell, it will be because of unbelief.
You
will not lift your finger in hell, shake at God and say, “I am lost because you
did not choose me. I am in hell because you did not predestinate me to
salvation. I am damned because of your decrees.” Oh, no! You will stick your
finger like a burning dagger into your on heart and confess to your everlasting
torment, “I am damned because I hardened my own heart, because I would not
repent, because I would not hear God speak, because I refused to believe God!”
I. In verses 7-11 the Holy
Spirit holds a lost nation before us as an example of unbelief.
Hebrews
3:7-11 "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To
day if ye will hear his voice, (8) Harden
not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the
wilderness: (9) When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. (10) Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They
do alway err in their heart; and they
have not known my ways. (11) So I
sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)"
This is a direct
quotation from Psalm 95:7-11.
Psalms
95:7-11 "For he is our God; and we are the
people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his
voice, (8) Harden not your heart, as
in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the
wilderness: (9) When your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
(10) Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is
a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: (11) Unto whom I sware in my wrath that
they should not enter into my rest."
These Israelites were
professed to be God's people. Yet, they were a nation of rebels, murmuring unbelievers.
A. They refused hear the voice
of God as spoke to them by his servant Moses. How much greater shall the punishment of hell be for those who have
refused to hear God speak by his Son! God speaks to us by his Son. He
says, “This is my beloved Son, hear ye
him” (Heb 1:1-2).
B. Those Jews who followed Moses out of Egypt hardened
their hearts.
All our hearts are hardened
by sin, hardened in spiritual death and blindness. But this speaks of an
acquired, voluntary hardness of heart, a hardeness that comes through rejection
of truth, light and warnings, a hardness which is the result of a deliberate
continuance in sin (Matt. 11:20-24; Pro. 29:1).
Proverbs
29:1 "He, that being often reproved hardeneth
his neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy."
Matthew
11:20-24 "Then began he to upbraid the cities
wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: (21) Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto
thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done
in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. (22) But I say unto you, It shall be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. (23) And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works,
which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day. (24) But I say unto
you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of
judgment, than for thee."
C. In stubborn, insulting unbelief, the sons and
daughters of Abraham despised the goodness and mercy of God.
They tempted God to wrath,
provoked him to anger, tried his patience, and spitefully trampled under their
feet his longsuffering through their complaints, murmurings and rebellion, even
though they had seen his goodness, provisions, protection and miracles for
forty years. Horrible as their crimes
were, how much greater is the guilt of sinners who despise the gospel and
trample under their feet the blood of Christ!
Hebrews
10:26-31 "For if we sin wilfully after that we
have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins, (27) But a certain fearful
looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the
adversaries. (28) He that despised
Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: (29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood
of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done
despite unto the Spirit of grace? (30) For
we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth
unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge
his people. (31) It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Proverbs
1:23-33 "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will
pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. (24) Because I have called, and ye
refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of
my reproof: (26) I also will laugh at
your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; (27) When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction
cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. (28) Then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: (29) For that they hated knowledge, and
did not choose the fear of the LORD: (30)
They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. (31) Therefore shall they eat of the
fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. (32) For the turning away of the simple
shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. (33) But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall
dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."
Now, look at verse
10 …
Hebrews
3:10 "Wherefore I was grieved with that
generation, and said, They do alway err in their
heart; and they have not known my ways."
D. God was grieved with them.
What a revelation this is of
God’s kindness, tenderness, and mercy. Judgment is his strange work. Mercy is
his delight. Therefore we read, “I was
grieved with them.”
This is speaking after the
manner of men, giving human qualities to God to tell us that God was weary of
them, displeased with them and angry with them. Therefore, he firmly declared
that they could not enter into the land of Canaan (called God's 'rest' because
he promised it and gave it to Israel).
Now, read verses 12-13.
Hebrews
3:12-13 "Wherefore… -- Take heed, brethren, lest
there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living
God. (13) But exhort one another
daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin."
II. Here we are warned not to follow
Israel’s example of unbelief.
“Take heed, brethren.” This
warning is written to us as a caution lest we follow the same path and miss the
blessed rest of Christ and his salvation. Unbelief was the first sin of man and
is the mother all sin.
A. Unbelief makes the Word unprofitable (1 John 5:10-13).
1 John
5:10-13 "He that believeth on the Son of God
hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar;
because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. (11) And this is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (13) These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
B. Unbelief shuts sinners out from the mercies of
Christ
(Mark 16:16)
Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
C. Unbelief causes many finally to depart from Christ.
D. Unbelief closes the door of prayer (Heb. 11:6; James 1:6).
Hebrews
11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
James
1:6 "But let him ask in faith,
nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with
the wind and tossed."
E.. Unbelief
is the mother of idolatry and sets up other gods, such as reason, human wisdom
and human philosophy (1 John 5:20-21).
1 John
5:20-21 "And we know that the Son of God is
come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true,
and we are in him that is true, even in
his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (21) Little children, keep yourselves
from idols. Amen."
F. Because we are so naturally inclined to unbelief, we
are encouraged to encourage one another to steadfast faith in Christ (v. 13).
We are to encourage one
another, exhort one another, instruct and teach one another while the time of
life lasts and while the grace of God is available. How can we do this? It is to be done “daily”.
1. By worshipping, praying and
praising God together (Heb. 10:24-25).
Hebrews
10:24-25 "And let us consider one another to
provoke unto love and to good works: (25)
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching."
2. By teaching, preaching and
studying the Scriptures (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Tim. 3:14-17).
2 Timothy
3:14-17 "But continue thou in the things which
thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; (15) And that from a child thou
hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
(16) All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be
perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
1 Peter 2:2 "As newborn babes, desire the sincere
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby."
3. By talking to one another
about the things of God and less about foolish things.
4. By warning one another when
we see signs of indifference and worldliness.
III. In verse 14 we are plainly told that only
those who persevere and continue in the faith of the gospel are true believers.
Hebrews
3:14 "For we are made partakers of Christ, if
we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end."
We are truly partakers of
Christ only if we continue in him, continue believing him. No one is saved, no
one is in Christ by a temporary faith. All temporary faith is false faith.
There are many, many
examples throughout the New Testament of false faith, a faith that is not
saving faith (John 2:23-25; 6:26; Acts 8:13, 18-21).
Saving faith is a God-given
faith. If my faith is genuine, it continues and grows in strength and
confidence (Col. 1:21-23; Heb. 10:38-39).
Colossians
1:21-23 "And you, that were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled (22) In
the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and
unreproveable in his sight: (23) If
ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard,
and which was preached to every
creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister."
Hebrews
10:38-39 "Now the just shall live by faith: but
if any man draw back, my soul shall
have no pleasure in him. (39) But we
are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul."
Verse 15 is a deliberate,
inspired repetition of verse 7 and 8. By this repetition, the Holy Spirit is
pressing the urgency of this matter of perseverance.
Hebrews
3:15 "While it is said, To day if ye will
hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation."
We must never presume upon
God’s goodness and grace, but ever continue seeking Christ.
Philippians
3:13-14 "Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (14) I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
Now, read verses
16-19.
Hebrews
3:16-19 "For some, when they had heard, did
provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. (17) But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned,
whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
(18) And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to
them that believed not? (19) So we
see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."
In
verses 16-18 we are given answers to three questions leading up to the
nineteenth verse. These verses explain why the Jews were shut out of the land
of promise and stand as a stern warning to us in this day of mercy and grace.
A. Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious and
provoked the Lord God? Was it not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? (v. 16)
Hebrews 3:16 "For some, when they had heard, did
provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses."
B. With whom was the Lord God irritated and provoked
and grieved for forty years? Was it not
with those who sinned, murmuring and rebelling against God’s goodness and
providence, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? (v. 17)
Hebrews
3:17 "But with whom was he grieved forty
years? was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?"
C. To whom did God swear that they could not enter into
his rest, but to those who heard to his Word and believed him not?
What a solemn warning to us
who are favored with a clearer revelation of his grace in Christ! Though they
had many evidences of God's goodness and much light and truth, they did not
believe.
Hebrews
2:1-3 "Therefore we ought to give the more
earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. (2) For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; (3) How shall we escape, if we neglect
so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him."
D. Verse 19 gives us the conclusion of the whole matter. Read it with care, and lay
it to heart.
Hebrews
3:19 "So we see that they could not enter in
because of unbelief."
They were not able to enter
into his rest because of unbelief. They were not willing to believe God, to
trust God, to rely on God. Unbelief shut them out; and unbelief will shut us
out as well, if we believe not the gospel. Salvation is to be had only by faith
in Christ (Rom. 4:20-5:1).
Romans
4:20-25 "He staggered not at the promise of God
through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (21) And being fully persuaded that,
what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (22) And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. (23) Now it was not written for his
sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
(24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him
that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
(25) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our
justification."
Romans 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."