There’s a whole book in the New Testament written to people who are tempted to turn away from Christ. The original readers of Hebrews were Jewish people that either simply followed Jesus because of His popularity or fully embraced Jesus Christ personally. Their faith in Christ ostracized them from their families. Some of them lost their jobs. Most of them lost their status in the community, and life got real tough for a follower of Christ, some lost their lives because they believed in Jesus.
As a result, some of them seriously considered setting their faith in Christ aside and returning to the Jewish religious system. They wanted to leave this new way of life in Christ and go back to the way they used to live.
The purpose for the book of Hebrews was for them, and to anyone who is tempted to turn away from Christ. In Hebrews chapter 3 the message is to encourage people when they are tempted to turn away from Christ.
Hebrews chapter 3, starts with “Therefore” – the word therefore serves as a conclusive phrase, because Jesus is God in chapters 1 & 2, because Jesus came as the kings of Kings and the Messiah, the Savior.
Hebrews 3:1-2 “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.”
When any of us are tempted to turn away we need to be reminded that…
Jesus Christ is faithful! He is willing and able to help His people. Readers are to consider Jesus very carefully.
Since, Jesus represents God to us (chapter 1). Jesus is the High Priest – represents us before God (chapter 2). And Jesus is faithful to carry out the duties assigned to Him (in this chapter 3).
Like Moses, Jesus was also sent to the nation of Israel as their mediator. Though they are reminded how much greater Jesus is. Moses came to the aid of the people and freed them from bondage but Jesus is even more in that He is God who is forever faithful.
First they are told that Jesus is God who built the “house”; Moses was just a stone in the “house”, so to speak. Jesus is the Creator. Moses was a servant IN God’s house. Jesus is a Son OVER God’s house.
The readers are reminded that Jesus is so much more faithful than Moses, notice verses 3 and 4…
Hebrews 3:3-4 “For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.”
When entering a house with servants, a person can tell the difference between the servants and the son. The servants would be busy or waiting to serve, while the son would be talking or enjoying the home.
Second, they are told that Jesus is the fulfillment of Moses testimony.
Hebrews 3:5-6a “And Moses indeed was faithful as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house,”
The word “house” is used seven times in this chapter not as a physical structure but as a generic term for God’s people.
Both Moses and Jesus were appointed to lead God’s people. However, Jesus is both the builder and the beneficiary of the house. He is much greater than Moses, who was highly esteemed by the Jewish people.
Moses faithfully carried out His duties as a servant in God’s house. Notice his task at the end of verse 5, to point to “the things that were to be spoken after”. Moses ministry was pointing to Jesus and His coming. I have a couple of verses where Jesus told this to the Jewish people:
Luke 24:44 “Then Jesus said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Yet the last part of verse 6 has a great encouragement for those who believe.
Hebrews 3:6b “whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”
Do you see it? A believer is a part of HIS household just like Moses was. But we must hold fast with confidence; however at times it will be tough, but Jesus always keeps His promises.
When a person is tempted to turn away 1st of all, we need to be reminded of Jesus’ faithfulness as our mediator and high priest to come to our aid. Then 2nd…
BELIEVE WITH YOUR ALL.
Examine yourself to make sure you are truly trusting Christ. Check to make sure you have faith in the Lord. Don’t be like the Israelites of old, who didn’t really believe God.
Hebrews 3:7-11 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore, I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ So, I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ “
This quote from Psalm 95, urges us to “bow down… before the Lord [their] Maker”, and “not harden [their] hearts” like Israel did in the wilderness. God had set them free from Egypt with 10 plagues. He parted the Red Sea for them. He provided water from the rock and manna from heaven. He led them with a pillar of cloud during the day and protected them with a pillar of fire at night.
Day after day, God demonstrated His ability to care for them; but when they came to the threshold of the Promised Land, They refused to go in. They refused to believe IN THEIR HEART that God would give them the land. Despite all of the miracles they had witnessed, AND they refused to believe God.
God made the Israelites wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that whole generation died off. As a result, none of them, except Joshua and Caleb, were able to see the Promised Land. As a result, none of them were able to enter “God’s Rest” as it says here in verse 11. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who truly believed God for everything. The rest of the people refused to believe God’s Word, so God turned them away and they never saw the land of His rest.
The message of Hebrews chapter 3 tells us that it’s not wise to be like those Israelites of old.
Instead we need to examine our own heart. Check and make sure we fully believe Jesus who purged our sins (Hebrews 1:3).
Hebrews 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;
Unbelief causes people to “fall away”, literally to apostatize. Unbelief causes people to not believe God’s Word. On the other hand, the true believer does NOT fall away.
Now, we shouldn’t obsess over a segment of a person’s life in which they have a lapse, fall down or struggle to faithfully live in the Christian life. But a person needs to examine their faith confession.
How does a person examine their heart to make sure that are a true believer in Jesus Christ, the Living God?
Well, it’s not enough just to say you are a Christian. It’s not enough just to hang out with some Christians in church. It’s not enough even to do what Christians do. In fact, that is the example of the Israelites of old. They clung to their past ways and did not want to trust God’s Word.
The Bible says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe IN YOUR HEART that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
John Wesley left England as a missionary to the colony of Georgia. He came to be a pastor to the settlers and to preach the Gospel to the Native Americans, but he returned to England as a miserable failure. Later, he confessed that he went to save his own soul. He was looking for salvation in religious activity, but it didn’t work.
On the evening of May 24, 1738, Wesley went to a society that met on Aldersgate Street in London. There, someone was reading Martin Luther’s preface to his commentary on Romans, where Luther describes how a person can find righteousness not in religious activity, but through faith in Christ.
As John Wesley listened, he felt his own “heart strangely warmed.” He realized that he was trying to get to heaven by his own efforts; and for the first time, He put his trust in Christ alone for his salvation. (T. T. Crabtree, 1985 Zondervan Pastoral Manual, p. 121)
When we depend on Jesus Christ to save us that means we are not depending on any other religious activity, like a baptism, a prayer, or attending or joining a church. Christian faith means a person depends on Jesus Christ, who died for our sin and rose again. This is an important issue to settle. Otherwise, when the going gets tough like the Israelites in the desert, you’ll give up; you’ll turn away.
When we are at the place where it might be tempting, 1st, Believe Jesus is faithful; 2nd, truly trust Christ with all your heart; and 3rd…
THEN FOLLOW CHRIST WITH OTHER BELIEVERS.
Get help and encouragement from others who are following Jesus. Find strength and grace to keep on going with others who are on the same path.
Hebrews 3:13 “but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Exhort one another, or better, encourage one another. Literally, come along side and help one another. Do what you can to keep each other on the right path away from the deceitfulness of sin.
Max Lucado participated in a Summer Camp where 400 students make the fourteen-thousand-foot climb up Colorado’s Mount Chrysolite.
On one of those trips, somewhere around 4,000 feet, a camper named Matthew decided to call it quits. Lucado coaxed him, begged him, and negotiated a plan with him: thirty steps of walking, sixty seconds of resting. Finally, they stood within a thousand feet of the peak, but the last stretch of the trail rose up as straight as a fireman’s ladder.
So they got serious. Two other campers came up beside Matt, each taking an arm. Lucado pushed from the rear, and they all but dragged Matt past the timberline and to the awesome view at the top.
That’s when they heard the applause. The rest of the 400 campers on the crest of Mount Chrysolite gave Matt a standing ovation. As Lucado slumped down to rest, a thought steamrolled his way: That’s a perfect picture of God’s plan. Do all you can to encourage one another until the end. (Max Lucado, “Push Each Other to the Top,” Men of Integrity, March/April 2010; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s what the church is all about. It is NOT a collection of super-saints on display for all to see. It is a group of fellow-sojourners, doing all they can to push each other, to help each other become all that God has called us to be. When one of us feels like quitting, there are others to come along side us and help, to push us if need be, so we don’t give up until we reach the peaks of heaven.
If you’re struggling with your faith, that’s NOT the time to stay away from the church; that’s the time to get close to God’s people, to be encouraged to keep going.
Max Lucado put it this way: “Questions can make hermits out of us, driving us into hiding. Yet the cave has no answers. The Holy Spirit distributes the ability to take courage through community; he dissipates doubts through fellowship. (Max Lucado, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear, Thomas Nelson, 2009, p. 144; www.PreachingToday.com)
It’s never a good thing to turn away from God or His true people. When we are struggling that is the time to get together find encouragement in one another.
Why? Because even in your struggles, we are partnered with Christ! We are designed to share the load together, not when we are apart!
Hebrews 3:14 “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,”
This is not something that happens in the future “if we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” This is something that has already happened for every believer. “We HAVE come to share in Christ.” That is to say, the moment we put our faith in Christ, we became a partner with Christ with the result that we are still partners!
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 11: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden in light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Now, a yoke is literally a wooden bar that joins two animals at the neck, so they can effectively work together in pulling a plow or some other heavy object. Jesus uses that illustration to describe those who come to Him. They are in the same yoke. That is best to say, they are in partnership, which makes burdens light.
A New Testament scholar and author J. Dwight Pentecost was visiting people from his Sunday school class that lived in a rural area. He saw a team of oxen; one huge ox in the same yoke as a tiny bullock. That ox towered over the little bullock that was sharing the work with him. Pentecost wondered how two such unequal animals could work together.
The Christian farmer told him, “I want you to notice something. The large ox is pulling all the weight. That little bullock is being broken in to the yoke, but he is not actually pulling any weight.” In the normal yoke, the load is equally distributed between the two that are yoked together. But when we are yoked with Jesus Christ, he bears the load, and we who are yoked with him share in the joy and the accomplishment of the labor but without the burden of the yoke. (J. Dwight Pentecost, “The Yoke of Jesus”, DTS Voice, October 1, 2013; https://voice.dts.edu/article/the-yoke-of-jesus-j-dwight-pentecost/)
The yoke sharing with others is God’s design for this life on earth. We as brothers and sisters can encourage one another, because we partner with Christ!
A believer will make it! Since we believe Him and that’s the way God designed us to “hold your original confidence firm to the end”. An unbeliever will lose their confidence and give up.
Hebrews 3:15-18 “while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
Unbelief kept them from the Promised Land. Unbelief kept them from persevering to the end. But those who truly believe in the Lord will persevere!
The message to the wavering persecuted Jewish people and us, is that we are to encourage one another, because a believer who trusts Christ is a partner with Christ and you will persevere! Oh, you might get discouraged along the way. You might have some doubts every once in a while. And you might even stumble and fall, but your faith in Christ will get you up again and again and sustain you until the end.
But when we are tempted to turn away, trust Christ; trust Him with your all, and be and find encouragement in other believers.
That’s God’s plan of letting faith keep you faithful to Him. He is always faithful to you!