Hebrews 3:7-8
Dear Unbeliever
Outline:
I. \\#1:1-3\\ Meet the New Speaker
II. \\#1:4-8:6\\ The New Is Better
A. \\#1:4-14\\ Jesus Was MADE Better than the Angels
1. \\#1:4\\ With a better NAME.
2. \\#1:5\\ With a better RELATIONSHIP.
3. \\#1:6\\ With WORSHIP, even from the angels.
4. \\#1:7-8\\ With a SCEPTER and a THRONE.
5. \\#1:9\\ With a better ANOINTING.
6. \\#1:13\\ With a better POSITION.
7. \\#2:5\\ With a KINGDOM.
B. \\#2:1-4\\ Sermon: Listen to the New Spokesman
C. \\#2:5-8\\ Jesus Was MADE Better than the Angels
D. \\#2:5-18\\ Jesus Was Honored Because:
1. \\#2:5-8\\ Jesus was born, honored because He was THE
Man.
a. He was a Man who had the RIGHT to reclaim the
Dominion.
b. He was THE Man who COULD reclaim the Dominion.
2. \\#2:9\\ Jesus died, honored because He paid the debt.
3. \\#2:10-11\\ Jesus suffered, honored because He made one
both the sanctified and the Sanctifier one.
4. \\#2:14-18\\ Jesus became the Comforter, honored because
He took on Him the nature of mankind.
E. \\#3:1-6\\ Jesus Better than Moses
F. \\#3:7-4:13\\ Sermon: What You Need to DO.
1. \\#3:7-12\\ Dear Unbeliever
2. \\#3:13-4:13\\ Dear Believer
Have you ever wanted to write a letter the doubters and skeptics?
That is essentially what the writer of Hebrews did, with one
exception. He wrote this book to the Hebrew doubters and skeptics.
It is not written to doubters at large but Hebrew doubters. It is
not written to American skeptics but Hebrew skeptics. Notice what he
said to them into tonight’s text.
Heb 3:7 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:
Take note of the first word in \\#7\\, "Wherefore." After spending
just a few verses to again prove that Jesus is better, the writer
returned to exhorting his readers to settle their doubt and to trust
wholeheartedly in Jesus.
So far, the writer has proven Jesus better in two areas. (1) Chapters
one and two, Jesus is better than the angels. (2) Hebrew 3:1-6,
Jesus is better than Moses. It matters not who or what Jesus is
compared to, He will always come out the better for Jesus is better.
The second session of exhorting the readers to settle their doubt for
Jesus begins at Heb 3:7 and continues through to Hebrews 4:13. In
this section, the writer gave five suggestions or commands, either
way you want to take them. The five divide into two groups. Two of
them are what the doubters need to so. Three of them are what the
believers need to do.
We will only look at the first two tonight.
I. \\#3:8\\ Dear unbeliever, "Harden Not Your Hearts"
A. In modern English that means "Don’t get stubborn."
1. That is the basic meaning, but I believe the writer has a
bit more in mind.
2. I believe he meant that they should not get foolishly
stubborn.
a. I get that more for the example the writer gave than
the word he used.
b. The example he gave was the children of Israel
refusing to enter the Promised Land.
c. They had seen 10 plagues, the parting of the Red Sea,
manna come from heaven, water come from a rock, fire
come from heaven, the ground open up and swallow the
rebellious, and they were led by a cloud by day and
a pillar of fire by night (just to name a few)!
d. And they still refused to believe God.
e. That is not just stubbornness.
f. That is foolish stubbornness.
B. Stubbornness is a product of pride.
1. I suppose every human being has some pride, even the best
of Christians.
2. But we need to understand that pride can buckle the most
virtuous Christian.
a. That is the reason both the Old and New Testaments
give so many warnings about pride.
b. Verses:
Proverbs 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh
shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Galatians 6:3 For if a man think himself to be
something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth
himself.
3. Not only can pride buckle the Christian, it can embolden
the foolish.
a. I have never seen a time when foolish stubbornness is
so common.
b. We are an extremely divided nation and world, divided
by more things now than during the Civil War!
(1) We are divided politically, medically,
religiously, economically, and environmentally.
(2) It is so easy to get swept up on one side or the
the other and have very little reason for doing
so.
(3) But worse, people on one side tend to be blind to
any truth on the other side.
(4) That is foolish stubbornness.
(5) Such stubbornness has been around as long as sin;
but when it comes to truth about Jesus, it is
eternally deadly.
C. \\#8-9\\ Look at what foolish stubbornness has done to past
generations.
Heb 3:8 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.
1. \\#8\\ The writer says don’t let what happened to the
Israelites in the wilderness happen to you.
2. \\#9\\ What did that generation do? They tempted God,
tested (proved) God, and then they got taught by God
(saw God’s works).
a. \\#9\\ They tempted God.
(1) To tempt means they attempted to see if God
really meant what He said.
(2) The word "tempt" literally means to scrutinize,
to assay, to determine the quality of by
examination.
(3) The only way they had to examine God was to do
different things in front of Him to see what He
would do.
(a) That would not have been so bad had they
chosen to do holy works, but they chose to
do sinful works to see how God would
respond.
(b) Friend, that’s like standing in front of a
moving train to see how it feels.
(c) There is no upside to it!
(4) Their examination of God followed three
escalating series of actions.
(a) It started with internal doubt.
i. Those people were consumed with unholy
"What if"s and unwise "Might be"s.
ii. God gave mankind a curious, searching,
inquisitive mind, but when our mind
starts taking us away from God instead
of toward Him, we’d better shut it
down.
iii. If somehow, doubt were our only
problem, we might be okay.
iv. But of course, the examination
escalated.
(b) It grows into external vocalization.
i. That is what all the murmuring and
complaining was about on that first
year and half before they ever arrived
at Jordan and sent out the twelve
spies.
https://theoldtestamenttimeline.com/in-the-wilderness/
ii. The people were encouraging one another
in doubt!
iii. There are two reasons we complain and
murmur:
aa. We are filled with doubt.
bb. We want to fill others with
doubt.
(c) Then the examination moved on to
disobedience.
i. Small acts at first—if you call sin
small.
aa. Criticizing - "What have you done?
Why have you brought us out here,
to die?
bb. Demanding - "We have had enough of
this manna. We want meat!"
cc. Rebelling - "We are just as holy
and capable of hearing God as
you, Mr. Moses."
ii. But again, things escalated.
b. \\#9\\ They "tested God."
(1) The word "proved" means to test, but it was
obviously more than what they were doing.
(2) Let’s use a word we might use, "They PUSHED God."
(3) They did that several times, but the two main
times were when they made the golden calf and
when they refused to enter into the Promised
Land.
(a) They had tempted God often enough and,
although some of the results had been
pretty painful, they felt like they would
be safe enough.
(b) So they refused to go into the Promised
Land.
(c) After all, what was God going to do that He
had not already done to them?
(4) Question: What lead these people to think they
could tempt and prove God in this fashion and
get by with it?
(a) Answer: They hardened their hearts.
(b) They doubted God and become foolishly
stubborn about it.
(c) The writer says to his generation, "Do not
harden your hearts like they did!"
c. \\#9\\ So God taught them—for the next 40 years God
taught them.
(1) \\#10\\ That generation grieved God in that they
never knew God or His ways.
Heb 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.
(a) In the Old Testament, God referred to the
Jews as His wife.
(b) If the Jews are God’s wife, then the wedding
ceremony took place on Mount Sinai after
God and Israel eloped together.
(c) And this wilderness journey was their honey-
moon.
i. This was the time when God wanted
Israel to get to know Him.
ii. He grieved because that generation
never did.
(2) \\#11\\ They never entered into God’s rest.
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall
not enter into my rest.)
(a) Would there have been some battles if they
believed and followed God?
i. Probably. The next generation fought
for five years to defeat those who
possessed their land.
ii. But there would have also been great
victories and eventually the land
would have been theirs.
(b) I don’t know how bad things God in the
wilderness.
i. I know God kept them alive in the
wilderness, met their basic needs,
protected them from enemy nations,
and so forth.
ii. But I am not thinking anyone out there
ever confused that trip with a rest,
a vacation.
(c) That generation wandered in the wilderness
until they all died.
II. \\#3:12\\ Dear unbeliever, "Take Heed."
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in
any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God.
A. "Take heed" here means we should look and learn.
1. It is a different Greek word than the one used in
\\#Hebrews 2:1\\, but it has close to the same meaning.
2. Perhaps the writer selected a different word to capture
their attention.
a. \\#Heb 2:1\\ The word for heed means listen and obey.
b. \\#Heb 3:12\\ The word for heed means Look and learn.
B. In both cases, the lesson he wanted the people to learn was
the same.
1. What is it? That your unbelief will take you away from
God.
2. As the writer said in Hebrews 2:1, there is a pull that
takes us away from God.
a. We called it a current there.
b. He does not elaborate on it here, he just restates the
danger.
(1) Disbelief is a dingy called Doubt being pulled
down river by the devil and our sinful nature.
(2) You cannot stay in the ship of doubt and remain
where you were with God.
(3) No matter who is doing the pulling, doubt will
always pull us away from God.
C. What is the remedy?
1. The only permanent remedy is to trust Jesus and settle
the matter.
a. This is what God, the writer of Hebrews, and I want
you to do tonight.
b. Settle your doubts, trust Jesus with all of your
heart, and live for Him.
2. But that will have to be your decision as it was the
decision of the readers of this book.
3. While some thinking about it, the writer gave the
believers three things they needed to do.
4. We will look at those next week.
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