HEBREWS: THE INFINITE SUPREMACY AND SUFFICIENCY OF JESUS CHRIST

IV. The Disaster Of Not Living By Faith

(Hebrews 3:7-19)

I. Introduction

A. We live in an era of great need for an encouraging word amid man's discouraging spiritual failure, so a word from God on the infinite supremacy and sufficiency of His Son Jesus Christ is both desirable and fitting.

B. The Epistle to the Hebrews provides it, and Hebrews 3:7-19 gives a warning and an encouragement to live by faith in Christ or suffer disastrous failure in the Christian life (as follows):

II. The Disaster Of Not Living By Faith, Hebrews 3:7-19.

A. The readers of Hebrews were in danger of going back into a Judaistic cult that likely idealized Israel's wilderness wanderings in the Exodus (Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 779).

B. Thus, between Hebrews 3:6 that briefly introduces Christ's high priestly ministry and Hebrews 4:14 that resumes that same theme is a prolonged section that admonishes Christian readers to live by faith in Christ.

C. Hebrews 3:7-19 provides a great warning against failing as Christians to rely on Christ as our High Priest, a warning that utilizes a great tragic example in Israel's wilderness experience in the Exodus (as follows):

1. The author at Hebrews 3:7-11 referred to Psalm 95:7-11 that called the people of Israel who were in the Promised Land not to harden their hearts like the people of Israel did in the wilderness during the Exodus.

2. The people of Israel who came out of Egypt had provoked God, failing to trust and obey Him ten times for various issues in their journey out of Egypt (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Numbers 14:22):

a. They failed to trust God's deliverance from Pharaoh's army at the Red Sea, Exodus 14:11-12, Ibid.

b. They failed to trust God's provision of a drinkable water supply at Marah, Exodus 15:23-24; Ibid.

c. They failed to trust God's provision of food in the wilderness of Sin, Exodus 16:2; Ibid.

d. They failed to trust and obey God in His way of providing manna for the Sabbath Day, Ex. 16:20, 27; Ibid.

e. They failed to trust God's provision of water at Rephidim, Exodus 17:1-3; Ibid.

f. They failed to keep hold of God as their Lord, turning instead to worship a golden calf, Exodus 32:7; Ibid.

g. They failed to trust God in simply complaining about their circumstances at Taberah, Numbers 11:1; Ibid.

h. The mixed multitude in their midst complained about God's provision of manna, Numbers 11:4; Ibid.

i. They failed to trust God's provision of future victory with the report of the spies, Numbers 14:1-23; Ibid.

3. Thus, God had sworn in His wrath that that generation in Israel would not enter the "rest" of the Promised Land, that they would instead die out in the wilderness, Hebrews 3:11 with Numbers 14:22-33.

4. Accordingly, the author of Hebrews warned his Christian readers that they themselves needed to take heed from this tragic history, that they needed to avoid an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, Jesus Christ only to reenter a Judaistic cult, Hebrews 3:12.

5. The readers were then to urge each other to trust and obey Christ while it was still called "Today," that is, while they still had opportunity to repent before God's discipline fell. The "Today" refers to the "Today" in Psalm 95:7b where the generation in the Promised Land needed to trust God to avoid His discipline in contrast to the fate of Israel's faithless generation in the wilderness! (Hebrews 3:13a) Even Christians can become so hardened by the deceitfulness of sin that they fail to trust God and are disciplined, Heb. 3:13b.

6. We believers are made partakers of Christ in His ministry as High Priest, but only as we hold steadfast our confidence in Him instead of failing to live by faith in Him and thus be divinely disciplined, Heb. 3:14-15.

7. In Hebrews 3:16-19, the author of Hebrews repeated the warning of the bad example of Israel's generation in the wilderness, warning his readers about their own similar severe discipline from the Lord were they to fail to trust and obey Christ as their High Priest by returning to a Judaistic cult.

Lesson: Believers in Christ in the Church are just as responsible before God to live by faith in Christ's provisions as an interceding High Priest as was Israel's generation in the wilderness. Failure to do so can lead to a hardening of the heart that brings on just as severe divine discipline in the Church era! Accordingly, we believers in Christ must urge one another to live by faith in and to obey our Great High Priest Jesus for blessing today!

Application: (1) May we trust our Great High Priest Jesus for His help with things like threatening foes and our need for water, food, victory over foes and being content with His livelihood provisions lest we like Israel in the wilderness become hardened in unbelief and experience God's severe discipline! (2) If we have sinned in this regard, may we confess it and turn from it while we have opportunity to avoid God's discipline and be blessed.