The Peril of Unbelief

Transcription

1 Hebrews Lesson 4 Home Study Questions The Peril of Unbelief Hebrews 3:7-19 Hebrews 3:7-19 sets forth the tremendous importance of our choices regarding obedience to God and caring for fellow Christians, choices that affect what is to come and how we let our past influence our present actions. Read through the entire passage before you begin your questions and observe the responsibility of choice. Days One and Two Hebrews 3:7-11 Look to the Past and Learn About Consequences 1. a. What do you see as significant in the author s words, So, as the Holy Spirit says? (See also John 16:13-15.) b. In 10 words or less, what is the message of Hebrews 3:7-11? 2. From the following passages, what characteristics are revealed about the Israelites during the Exodus period? a. Psalm 78:32-37 b. Amos 5: a. Moses recorded the history of the Exodus. The psalmist used it to exhort the people of his day. Later, the author of Hebrews used the psalmist s words to exhort the people of his day. What is the danger that faced the peoples of all these times?

2 36 Hebrews Lesson 4 Home Study Questions b. Note how that danger is present today. 4. a. Who is the speaker in 3:10? b. Explain to the best of your ability these phrases: 1) Their hearts are always going astray. 2) They have not known My ways. 3) They shall never enter My rest. 5. For further study: In your opinion, is there a difference between God s anger and human anger? Please explain. Day Three Hebrews 3:12-14 Look to the Present and Prevent Sorrow 6. Read 1 Peter 4:10-11; 2 Peter 1:5-8 with Hebrews 3:12. From these passages, what can a believer do to guard against turning away from the living God? 7. a. Read Ephesians 4:29-32 with Hebrews 3:13. From these verses, what can believers do in order to encourage and aid one another in the maturing of faith?

3 Home Study Questions Hebrews Lesson 4 37 b. For personal thought: Who has encouraged you in your faith? 8. What are the similarities between Hebrews 3:6 and 3:14? Day Four Hebrews 3:15-17 Let the Circumstances Be a Warning 9. a. Why do you think the author repeats the psalmist s words in Hebrews 3:7-8, 15? b. Summarize the historical situation the author is remembering. (See Numbers 13:26 14:24 for additional help.) 10. a. Read Hebrews 3: To whom do these questions refer? b. Considering all the miracles these people witnessed, why do you think they still rebelled? c. How would you relate these two Scripture passages to yourself?

4 38 Hebrews Lesson 4 Home Study Questions Day Five Hebrews 3:18-19 We See the Reason for Loss 11. Why did God withdraw the benefit of rest from a generation of Israelites? 12. a. How is unbelief fostered in our own time? b. Fill in the acrostic below with words that come to mind when you think of His rest (3:18). (For example, T might be Thankful.) R E S T 13. For personal thought: Has there been an occasion in your own life when a specific choice was pivotal in your spiritual or personal growth? How did your choice make a difference?.

5 Home Study Questions Hebrews Lesson 4 39 Apply What You Have Learned Choices are ever before us and have significant consequences. Will you choose to turn from unbelief and, instead, encourage faith in your own life and in the lives of others? Will you personally choose the way of obedience and go on to maturity? That is an important choice to make. Day Six: Class Notes

6 40 Hebrews Lesson 4 Commentary Day Seven The Peril of Unbelief Hebrews 3:7-19 The author of the letter to the Hebrews wants to stir his readers and encourage them to persevere in their faith. He does not want them to make the same mistakes their countrymen repeatedly made in the past. If they do repeat those mistakes, he warns, they will miss a special blessing that God has prepared for them. I. A Warning From Scripture and History (Hebrews 3:7-11) While Moses was faithful to God, not all who left Egypt with him continued to follow his example. Their own faithfulness, or lack of it, determined their destiny. Because of indifference and unbelief, these uncommitted followers lost their opportunity for spiritual blessing. This use of the Israelites as an example was meant to warn the readers of Hebrews that unbelief leads to disobedience, to falling away from the faith, and to the loss of God s rest. So (3:7) connects with the previous words: we are His house if we hold on (3:6). The admonition that they should faithfully remain in God s household is not completed until verse 12, where they are told to see to it that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart. Intervening are the words from Psalm 95:7-11, introduced here as a statement of the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 3:7-11). The use of the present tense says emphasizes the current importance of the peril of disobedience. Today (3:7) reminds readers that they live daily in an era of grace a time in which the Son speaks for the Father, and that it is a day that will last only until God s appointed time of judgment. Thus, if you hear His voice (the Greek word means if you hear even the sound of His voice), listen! The psalm in the original Hebrew takes the form of a wish. The plea is strong; at God s slightest urging, yield. Do not ignore the speaker, do not harden your hearts (3:8). In Scripture, the heart signifies the essential self the mind, emotions, and will. The revelation of God s Son is aimed at the heart of people. Refusal to listen leads to deliberate sin. While the ears may hear the voice, the mind does not accept it, nor does the heart respond to it. Refusing God s grace produces hardness of heart. The frightening truth is that the constant rejection of God s voice and grace may result in a habit of resistance that cannot be broken. Verses 3:7-8 imply that the process of a hardening heart is the result of man s own doing; however, the do not indicates hope. Their fate is not sealed; it can be avoided. The writer gives two historical illustrations of deliberate deafness. The quotation from Psalm 95:7-11 deals with situations in which the Israelites rebelled against God in the desert. Their continual disobedience caused God to declare that they would never enter His rest. One incident occurred at the beginning of the 40 years spent in the desert,

7 Commentary Hebrews Lesson 4 41 when there was no water. Israel responded poorly to the crisis (Exodus 17:1-7). The narrative ends with he called the place Massah [testing] and Meribah [quarreling] because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord. In the psalm, the NIV uses Meribah and Massah, but in Hebrews 3:8, where the psalm is quoted, rebellion and testing are used. The difference is explained by our author s dependency on the Septuagint translation, where these names are always stated as rebellion and testing. The reason the Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the desert is alluded to by the psalmist: They shall never enter My rest (Psalm 95:11). This declaration was made when the 12 spies returned from investigating the land God had promised to the Jews (Numbers 14:1-25). Ten spies emphasized the land s deficiencies and dangerous inhabitants; Caleb and Joshua praised the land and Israel s ability under God to overcome their enemies. The people chose to hear and believe the discouraging report and murmured against Moses and Aaron. This process of their hearts hardening was caused by their deliberate disbelief in God. Although His benevolence surrounded their desert life in the daily supply of manna, protection from desert heat, and the assurance of God s leading and presence in the pillar of fire, still God s chosen people continued to rebel. Even at the close of their 40-year sojourn, they rebelled again concerning their water supply (Numbers 20:13). Their displeasure with God s purposes and procedures had become habitual and their hardened hearts could no longer hear. Israel ignored God s goodness while longing for things that would not satisfy. The readers of the book of Hebrews are provided a vivid historical example to learn from, if they will. Think about how these illustrations from the desert experience demonstrate a spiritual law: Those who continually, deliberately reject God s gentler influences will finally be unmoved by even His mightiest miracles. Hardness of heart deadens the intellect as well as the spirit. All this is pertinent to us. Even though our circumstances differ, we are subject to the same tendency toward doubting and discontent that afflicted the Israelites. When conditions confront us that seem contrary to God s goodness, we, too, grumble and complain that He is not treating us fairly. We must turn instantly to God in contrition, for even if it does not destroy our faith, a spirit of doubt and discontent produces unhappiness and non-productivity. The first step away from God results in only a slight separation from Him. Each successive step, however, increases not just separation but a sense of alienation and the difficulty of returning to Him. Israel saw God s works and experienced His goodness for 40 years. The greatest blessing God had for Israel, her own land His place of rest was withheld from the generation that refused to enter it through faith. Their attitude of persistent disobedience toward God determined His attitude toward them: I was angry with that generation (Hebrews 3:10). God felt angry, provoked, grieved; He expressed holy displeasure toward people united in unbelief and disobedience.

8 42 Hebrews Lesson 4 Commentary Observe that a generation of people thought with one mind. All too often sin is a corporate behavior. Together, we stand or fall. Together, we are the house of God. It is the church as a whole that must guard the individual against unbelief and must shelter the great truths shared in Christ (3:13-14). Individual responsibility to God is never denied, but corporate responsibility must not be neglected or ignored. Overemphasis on either is unbalanced truth. You and I are responsible; the church is responsible. Individually or corporately, we must not provoke God. Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways (3:10). The intellectual knowledge of what God requires is not denied here; what is denied is Israel s glad acceptance of God s leadership. The quotation from Psalm 95 continues, So I declared on oath in My anger (3:11). God s anger here is a response to continued disobedience. Man s disobedience was the cause; God s oath, the result. Allusions to God s oath are found in Numbers 14:28-30; 32:13. They shall never enter My rest (Hebrews 3:11) is the primary reference to the land of Canaan from which the first generation in the desert had been excluded. Yet, even after Joshua led a new generation of believing Israelites into the Promised Land, they never fully enjoyed rest. The readers of Scripture in succeeding generations realize that a rest beyond Israel s experience of a particular land is promised, and they grapple with attaining that rest which is promised but not always experienced. In Moses time, a generation of Israelites was kept out of the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Centuries later, the psalmist urged the people to enter into God s promised rest. Now, long after the psalmist, the author of Hebrews also urges his readers to walk in faith lest they, too, be kept out of that promised rest. Note the true double meaning: Rest once meant only a place; now it also means an experience. God invites us to share with Him daily in fellowship and peace, and then finally in a place heaven itself. Think about how many references to the Exodus are found in the New Testament. Several passages refer to Christ s redemptive work and to our lives as believers in terms of a new exodus. Paul writes, For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed, and Peter reminds us that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Corinthians 5:7b; 1 Peter 1:19). In 1 Corinthians 10:2-4, the church in the world is said to be like the Israelites in the desert. The Israelites were promised a land where, if they obeyed God, they would be safe from their enemies. But we of the New Testament era have a different hope (Hebrews 13:14). Rather than escaping the desert, the church is called to be in the desert of this world. Our offered rest is spiritual. Like the Israelites, we, too, are on a pilgrimage. Our journey is a path of spiritual growth, and we are to work as we journey. We are God s means of proclaiming the good news to those who do not know Him, who wander in the desert and see no way out. We are trailblazers. We have found the way to the place of rest, and we are to lead others to it. The way to the Father and to His place of rest is through the Son.

9 Commentary Hebrews Lesson 4 43 Jesus said, No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). He is the Passover Lamb and the way that leads to rest. II. Consequences of Unbelief (Hebrews 3:12-19) Having quoted from Psalm 95, the author now applies the text to his own readers. The words see to it (Hebrews 3:12) suggest anxiety over the spiritual condition of those to whom he writes. There are many parallels between the condition of the Israelites and that of the Hebrew Christians. Both had splendid leaders Moses and Jesus; both came out of bondage to Egypt or to sin; both had witnessed mighty wonders of God miracles of Jehovah or of Jesus. Both had been given great promises a bountiful land and a bountiful salvation; both had wonderful guidance the pillar by day and night and the indwelling Holy Spirit. The peril of the Israelites was their unbelief that caused them to fall by the wayside. Similarly, the letter to the Hebrews warned that their generation would also fall if they failed to press on, for perseverance is the evidence of established faith. The writer does not say that unbelief has already sprung up, but he evidently sees tendencies toward it. Therefore, with the aid of key words from the psalm, he shows that unbelief and turning away with a hardened heart (3:8) must not be allowed. The danger of abandoning faith in Jesus for a return to traditional Judaism has already been presented (chapters 1 2). Here, the difficulties besetting Hebrew Christians are mixed: intellectual problems stemming from Christ s teaching that ran counter to traditional Judaism, the breaking of ties with non-christian Jews, and the pressure of persecution. Nonetheless, to be swayed by these fears put them in danger. In 3:12, we would expect the author to use the Greek verb form that suggests probability or possibility. That way the verse would read, Be alert, that none may develop a sinful, unbelieving heart. The writer, however, selects a future tense: See to it... that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns. He presents a future fact rather than possibility, signaling great urgency. He is emphatic yet hopeful. Relaxation of belief will lead to apostasy, but the choice to prevent that is presently before the people. From chapter to chapter, the urging to strong faith while it is still possible leaps off the page. The graver danger of turn[ing] away from the living God (3:12) is more than a possibility, but not a fact not yet. The danger stated literally is to apostasize, to grow faithless, to deliberately rebel against God the final act of unbelief. To depart from Christ or lose hold on Him is to fall away from the living God. Chapters 1 and 2 of Hebrews are examples of an all-out effort to show the full expression of God in Jesus the Savior. He must be the complete focus of faith (3:1). In the Old Testament the phrase the living God occurs often, especially when emphasizing the dynamic character of the Creator in contrast to the emptiness of idols. Here, however, the words point to the power of God, who will not overlook rebellion.

10 44 Hebrews Lesson 4 Commentary In 3:13, the author has a strong sense of the mutual encouragement Christians can give to each other. The strong must help the weak and encourage one another daily. It is not only difficult to live the Christian life alone, it is virtually forbidden. The greater the peril of the individual, the greater must be the watchful care of the church. The author talks about today to emphasize the fact that they still have the chance to do what is right, for they live in the day of grace. He is concerned, too, that they realize the opportunity will not last forever. It will end for all of them at Christ s return or for each of them at their own death. In the phrase so that none of you may be hardened by sin s deceitfulness, hardened is presented in a passive voice that means to be acted upon. This warns the listener against the insidious approaches of sin. If one is not on guard, he may be tricked by Satan s ploys and subtly led, without resistance, to unbelief. Think about how the phrases a sinful, unbelieving heart (3:12) and sin s deceitfulness (3:13) link sin and unbelief. One produces the other, and they feed on each other. We must heed the warning and see to it that none of us has an unbelieving heart or is hardened by sin s deceitfulness. Our responsibility is also not just for ourselves. We must encourage one another today, for tomorrow may be too late. To encourage means to inspire with spirit or confidence, to stimulate by help or approval. Our actions, not just our words, should inspire and encourage others. Fellowship among believers should be marked by a spirit of encouragement. As Paul described it, Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up (Romans 15:2). If we earnestly try to keep our own hearts right before God and encourage others in their efforts to do so, we can impede the vicious cycle of an unbelieving heart and the deceitfulness of sin. Notice how Hebrews 3:14 repeats the message of verse 6 in a slightly different form. In verse 6 believers are described as being His house, while in verse 14 they have come to share in Christ. Courage and... hope (3:6) become the confidence we had since first believing. These verses cause us to remember that while salvation is God s work, not ours, we are nevertheless given responsibility just as the privileges of adult life bring responsibilities unknown to children. Sharing in Christ is not a passive state; it is a privilege attended by God-appointed and God-empowered activities of faith. Paradoxically, Christian growth is the product of two concurrent forces: God working in us to will and to act according to His good purposes, and man working out his own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13). The author s concern for the Christian s steadfastness is underscored by his use again of the expression if we hold (Hebrews 3:14). By repeating the words of Psalm 95:8, Hebrews 3:15 emphasizes the need for keeping faith intact throughout life. The writer then shows the guilt and punishment of the ancient Israelites (3:16). Their sin of unbelief led to disobedience and final exclusion from the Promised Land. The readers are therefore exhorted to guard against unbelief, because it was for this that their fathers were judged.

11 Commentary Hebrews Lesson 4 45 In the final paragraph, by the use of a series of questions, the author analyzes rebellion, retribution, and the reason for both. First, Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? (3:16). The second question in verse 16 actually answers the first. Who rebelled? Those who saw and enjoyed God s miraculous deliverance and provision. The yet-unstated application (chapter 4) is clear. Behind these words is the implication that the readers, with a greater leader than Moses, with better promises, and with a better land before them, might also fail if they turn from God s salvation. One notes an ascending scale in the indictment brought against the people of Israel. In 3:17, it is stated that their unbelief and disobedience provoked the Lord to anger. During the 40 years of desert life, there was continued stubbornness (see Numbers 14:22, 27). Here, the unwritten question, based on the history of Israel s Exodus, is: If in 40 years they did not turn from sin, would they ever? Exodus and Numbers 14 and 25 detail a fixed habit of rebellion. Punishment came not from fate, or accident, or the whim of God, but as a holy vindication of God s moral character and His authority over the people. The Israelites were not kept out of the Promised Land because of intellectual limitations or emotional instabilities; it was because of their disobedience brought on by unbelief (3:18). With the words So we see (3:19), the author begins to come to the inevitable conclusion from the facts illustrated in Numbers 14. Following this, the statement they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief is made after a skillful presentation of Scripture, history, and logical argument. It was impossible for the Israelites to enter God s rest because they rejected its very requirements love and obedience. When God urged them to go into their Promised Land, their place of rest, they stubbornly refused; when God therefore said they could not go in, they argued and wanted what they were denied. In Numbers 14:39-45, we see that Moses warned them that because they had turned away from God, they should not try to go in, for God would not go with them. Nevertheless, in their presumption, they went (Numbers 14:44) and were defeated by a coalition of Amalekites and Canaanites. When they could enter, they would not, and when they would enter, they could not. The last statement in chapter 3 that Israel failed to enter the land because of unbelief furnishes the connecting link with chapter 4 of Hebrews. As he had earlier, the author stresses to the readers the serious need to apply this lesson to themselves.

12 46 Hebrews Lesson 4 Commentary Personalize this lesson. Is it possible that any of us might decide that this passage has nothing to say to us because we have matured in the faith? This strong warning against sin and unbelief was not written to new Christians, for later the author says, in fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers (5:12). Evidently we never reach a place in our pilgrimage where the danger of veering from the path is no longer present. This letter like 1 and 2 Corinthians was written primarily to reprove and redirect Christians who had deviated from the truth, were tolerating sin, or were about to drift away (2:1). Scripture writers are consistent in their message: In spite of spiritual growth, there is no final attainment while we live in this physical life. We must continually maintain a close and trusting relationship with the Lord. If we begin to neglect the reading and study of the Bible, if we decide we have already heard everything we need to know, we put ourselves at risk. God gives grace and light and leading on a daily basis. Like manna, we must gather them fresh every day. Moreover, we must always be prepared for the rigors of opposition. Peter gave sound advice: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith (1 Peter 5:8-9). The early church fathers spoke of the world, the flesh, and the devil the three forces that stand in opposition to our obedience, forces that threaten to deceive us into sinning. But God is able to keep us from stumbling, falling, or drifting away if we will turn to Him and hold on (Hebrews 3:6, 14). To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24-25) Review: The Peril of Unbelief 14. Share with your Core Group the point from this lesson that held the greatest interest for you. Tell why that point impressed you. 15. a. Do you feel the things we are to do and not to do in Hebrews 3:12-13 are primarily the responsibility of the corporate body of Christ, the individual believer, or both? Why? b. What is one thing you feel you can and should assume as a personal responsibility?