To Believe or Not to Believe that Is the Question! - Hebrews 3:14-19

"We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed ? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief."
Hebrews 3:14-19

Moses continues with the theme that a hard heart is an unbelieving heart. He starts out with a statement that can be easily misunderstood. Lets be honest, when you look at verse 14 it seems to indicate that we need to hold on to our faith till the end if we want share in Christ. Yet I do not believe that is what the verse is talking about. For one, as I blogged earlier this week, there are too many places in the Scriptures where God has clearly stated that our salvation is by His grace and He keeps us by His power till the end. Second, look at the verse a little closer. The verse does not say we are going to share in Christ if... It says we have come to share in Christ if... In other words, those who genuinely have placed their faith in Christ presently have come to share in Christ, and those who genuinely share in Christ will hold confidently to the faith! Again life is a test to see if faith is genuine! You can say you believe in Christ and even make steps that look like you believe in Christ, but what happens when your tested? Is your faith proved genuine or was it a false faith? The author's point is that a hard heart is an unbelieving heart, so he is imploring the reader to genuinely believe!

God's people were an example of this. Moses led them out of Egypt and they saw the incredible miracles of God, yet they rebelled and sinned constantly against the God that they witnessed firsthand. Why did they rebel? They had a hard heart which is an unbelieving heart! And they did not enter the the promise land. It is not a coincidence that the two spies that came back from their mission to scout out the promise land were the only ones in that generation to enter the land. Why were they set apart? They came back and encouraged the people that God would give them victory and enable them to enter the land. Unfortunately, Ten others came back and said "no way!" The ten represented the condition of the people... hard hearted, that is to say that they did not genuinely believe in their God. They played the part of belief when God would make His presence and power obvious, but that was short lived because they did not genuinely believe.

I don't know where you are in life when it comes to Jesus Christ. Many people have a misconception that Christianity is all about following certain rules and living in such a way that God may somehow be pleased. That is not what I get when I read the Scriptures. The foundation for pleasing God is faith! As Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God..." What is it that you believe? Do you believe in Christ? Do you truly believe that He is the Son of the living God who, out of love, gave Himself up to take our punishment and give us His righteousness? He manifests His presence in us and is one day coming back for us. Do you believe? Be careful how you answer that question, because if you genuinely believe it will change your life!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think this is where the idea of "religion" clashes with the spiritual idea of Christianity. Like you said, a lot of people look at Christianity as a ritual that man is essentially in control of. They think that all we have to do is live by the law and God will be pleased and pour favor on us, but that isn't it. It's about consistently relying on God to direct us even when we're tired and frustrated and don't understand His plan. It's the idea of self-sufficiency that thwarts this. It's not necessarily about what we do for God or how well we do it. It's more about what we give up for Him. In giving up our own selfish desires, we prove that we are confident in Christ, that we believe He will sustain us. That is when we begin to do good for God's Kingdom. That is when we show that we truly believe.
October 6, 2011 at 1:19 PM
Jon Pickens said…
Yes! The Kingdom of God is alive in us when we allow the King to live through us. We see our lives as a conduit for God's Glory! This motivates us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God! Good observation Chelsea.
October 6, 2011 at 2:31 PM
David said…
Vs. 14-19

It is glory. When we ask God to show us his glory - we open a new door and cross a threshold. Moses was one brilliant sheep watcher yet a pretty bad lawyer (Paul). Both, the Hebrew, and the cross eyed, hooked nose, crooked legged Jewie Jew has seen the same glory. Tell me what the difference’s are between the incidents and then we can move on to heavy, weighted, discussions of purity. What can I give you apart from Christ that the law has not made perfect? Maybe it’s a damn good thing we are all partakers in His way. Religion is so vast that no vessel would harbor her beside’s God. Take the Shroud of Turin for example: I love the line that’s drawn in science from the little three letter word why; however, this clothe set’s a milestone for a imprint unexplainable by man. How much faith does it take to believe it is from Christ? The image on this clothe which you probably seen indicates the javelin was after He died. The details are numerous so I don’t want to bore you with his blood. The holy grail is another topic of interest in God’s harbor. Somebody once told my Mother that there are many ways to Jesus but one way to God. Now listen to the words of Josephus: “Now there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the gentiles. He was the Christ when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him.” - God did (Psalm 22). 1Corinthians gives a brief account of the Israelites and was talking to the church of Corinth known for its theater, Aphrodite, and one thousand beautiful prostitutes similar to Las Vegas but not Atlantic City. So again, what can I give you that the law has not made perfect?
October 7, 2011 at 12:10 AM
David said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
October 7, 2011 at 12:45 AM
David said…
Have you ever sinned after partaking in Christ? Upon divorcing my ex-wife I thought it be a good idea to get a lap dance at bare exposure. This woman was down right beautiful and stunning. Long blonde hair, perky, curvy, and cute feet. Really, I hope your smiling because it gets better from here I promise I write 100% honest. Anyway, to make a long story short she came over to me and sat down on my lap naked put her arms around me and asked, “you here on business or pleasure”? I replied, “business”. So I was not the fornicators in the wilderness (reason for Levitical law) I was no better than the church of Corinth. She continued to stay on my lap and then said, “you don’t seem like the type of person who comes to these places David”. I told her the truth, I usually don’t. So we went to the leather seat they set you on while they dance for you privately. After that ten minutes of talent, I went on to the next club. Drinking, and watching the booty trying to remember what a good relationship was really like. Ironic isn’t it? We didn’t even get to the verse that talks about how the word is living and active! I didn’t feel bad about it or horrified - I was left empty. Ironically, I hope she’s doing well and it was her words that spoke to me most. Someday our paths might cross and it might be before the next wedding; however, we will be non-nude. You remember Kurt Cobain the artist? He had two women he loved named Courtney Love & Courtney Cox - he really did have a hard time separating too….. So you see, we can’t fall out of grace but glory outshines all our sin.
October 7, 2011 at 12:49 AM
Jon Pickens said…
Dave, even in our darker moments, God's power to keep us shines! It is easy for us to head down the path of self-destruction, but praise our great God that He does not let go! Thanks for being authentic.
October 7, 2011 at 7:55 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hebrews 1:3-14 (Relate)

When forming the Big Idea of a passage, I try to determine what question is the author addressing. Is he addressing a who, what, when, where, why, or how question. Here is a simple way to find the Big Idea... Subject (what question) plus the Compliment (the answer to that question) equals the Big Idea. What we are looking for is the main point, so its important not to get caught up with the little things, though there is much we can learn about God in the little things. Big Idea: Subject... The author is trying to convince the audience that the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant. As a matter of fact, we will find that he is trying to convince them that the New Covenant, of which Jesus is the author, has replaced the Old Covenant. He begins with the superiority of the Son. The Son is the author of this New Covenant and the fulfillment of the Old Covenant, therefore the New is validated by the author Himself. A Jewish person held a high view of angels since they believe...
Read more

Reasons I Believe Intro: Faith and Pre-Assumptions

  Faith is an interesting word. The very nature of the word conveys the idea of trusting that what a particular source says is right. The source of that trust can be a personal experience, a religious text, or patterns that you observe in life. When one chooses to believe what they have determined to be facts, then that too is an act of faith. Faith is trusting a source. The source of my faith is ultimately the Christian Bible. There are reasons for this, and I will tease these reasons out over the next several weeks through this blog, but I say this now as an example that faith requires a source. The difference between faith and opinion is that faith is based on what a trusted source says, and opinions seem to have their roots in one’s own thoughts. We all have opinions; however, my faith is built on a trusted source. Instead of speculating, I draw upon the wisdom of what this trusted source says about a subject. Why am I writing about this? I wanted to take about seven ...
Read more

Navigating a Culture of "Pride" as a Christian

 June has been known as Pride Month ever since President Bill Clinton announced it back in 1999, and it has gained more and more steam since, particularly in the last 5 years.  It has made its way into small towns, into schools, and into the faith community as well.  In many ways it has become the loudest voice of the culture we live in, especially in the month of June.  It is a topic all over social media, the film industry, and media itself.  The agenda to normalize issues such as homosexuality and gender identity is pervasive.  You can hardly watch a series on main stream television, much less cable tv, without being confronted with these issues.  Some of the most prominent influences and influencers are now targeting children as their primary audience.  All of this has quickly shaped our culture, and anyone who thinks that the bombardment of these influences do not really have an effect on people, I would challenge them to learn about marketin...
Read more