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Reading Hebrews 3:12-19 where the preacher exposits Psalm 95 and warns the hearers not to fall into sin and unbelief, but hold fast to Jesus Christ until the end. Visit wwutt.com for all our videos!
The things that were written down for us in the Old Testament and even in the New Testament, these things are spoken to us so that we may learn and we may hold fast to Jesus Christ and not let go when we understand the text.
This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible study in the Word of God that we may comprehend with all the saints how wide, how high, and how deep is the love of Christ. Tell all your friends about our ministry at www .wtt .com.
Here once again is Pastor Gabe.
Thank you, Becky. So we come back to our study of Hebrews chapter 3, and we're in that last third of the chapter today, verses 12 to 19, which I'll be reading from the Legacy Standard Bible. This is the Word of the Lord.
See to it, brothers, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me.
For who provoked him when they had heard? Indeed did not all those who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? And with whom was he angry for 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 were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. So this is the start of the exposition of Psalm 95.
That was the portion that we read from verses 7 through 11 yesterday, the latter half of Psalm 95. And here in verse 12, we get to the exposition of that, meaning that the preacher here is exposing the meaning of Psalm 95 and giving it application.
And that's going to continue on into chapter four as well. We'll still see references to Psalm 95 and their explanation. This is exposition, exposing the meaning of the text, as said in Nehemiah 8, 8, that the priests in Israel read the law to the people and gave the sense.
So they didn't just read it aloud to them, but help them to understand what it means. And so the preacher is doing here with an exposition of Psalm 95. Remember what we read yesterday in Psalm 95. The children of Israel were rescued out of slavery in Egypt.
They saw the miraculous wonders of God. They saw the plagues that he afflicted Egypt with. They were rescued through the Red Sea. They came into the wilderness and were fed with manna and their thirst was quenched with water from the rock.
They were guided by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And when they set up the tabernacle and the presence of God came into that place, the cloud or the pillar of fire descended upon the center of the tabernacle.
They heard the voice of God booming from Mount Sinai when he gave them the Ten Commandments. Millions of Israelites, over a million and a half Israelites that were there at the base of Mount Sinai to hear the voice of God and aloud they heard the Ten Commandments given to them.
They saw the lightning and heard the peals of thunder and were terrified. And yet, though they saw these miraculous things that we would have loved to have seen with our own eyes, they did not believe.
Their hearts were hardened and they grumbled and complained against God. And so, as is said there in verse 11, I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. And so now this warning is being given to the church.
See to it, brothers, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God, but encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Recognize that there were people hearing this sermon who saw miracles themselves. They saw, even with their own eyes, the Word of God confirmed by miraculous signs and wonders. Going back to chapter 2, verses 3 and 4, where this warning is given, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
That salvation, first spoken by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will.
So the people in the church had seen miraculous signs, just like the Israelites had seen. How would they escape judgment if they were to reject the gospel that had been spoken to them? Or even for a season had appeared to obey it for a time, but then they fell away.
They will fall under the judgment of God. So see to it, brothers, that there not be any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. Now you and I have never seen these miraculous signs.
No one has ever come to you doing any kind of miracle comparable to what we see in the book of Acts. They may even call themselves an apostle. They may claim to have the ability to perform miracles, but they're liars.
No one has ever done that in our modern day. God had a time and a place in which he was doing those miracles to affirm the authenticity of the gospel. But that is a work that is not continuing to be done in the present.
You and I have not seen those miracles, but we have still heard the word of God fully confirmed. Again, I believe I mentioned this yesterday, second Peter chapter one, that we have the prophetic word.
That's what we have right in front of us here that we are reading. We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed. We can go all the way back to the Old Testament. It's the prophetic word more fully confirmed because Christ has been here.
He has died. There were people who saw him. They testified of these things, the gospel that they proclaim that Jesus commissioned them to go out and preach. It was authenticated by signs and wonders. Those signs and wonders were witnessed and verified, and all of these things were written down and now compiled for us by eyewitness accounts, verified by miracles.
We have it right here for us in the Bible, all 66 books. This is the word of God. This is sufficient for us to know God's word, his plan, to know his son, to know his will. We know these things when we read the Bible.
This is God's word more fully confirmed for us. We don't need anything else. So how will we escape, you and I, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away.
My word will never pass away. That's still the case. The Bible has endured for 2 ,000 years. It's not going anywhere. All the skeptics will die. The Bible will continue on just as Jesus said that it would.
And so we have this prophetic word that we continue to listen to and continue to proclaim, and it is by this word that we know the Savior. We put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Our sins are forgiven, and we have entrance into his eternal kingdom.
If we fall away from that word, if we deny and reject that word, we demonstrate that we never really had the word. It did not endure in us. It was not genuine or rooted in us. That's the parable of the sower in Matthew 13.
We did not genuinely believe it, and so therefore, a person who falls away demonstrates that they never really were of God. Now, as the preacher is speaking here, he's speaking into our humanity. He's not saying something ultimate.
He's not speaking as 1 John 2, 19 says, that if they went out from us, then they were never really of us. He is addressing his hearers that they would examine themselves and continue to hold fast to their faith.
If they truly have the Holy Spirit of God, they will be convicted, and they will hold fast to that which was preached to them. They will turn from sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. See to it that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
Now, when that is said, of course, the preacher is speaking to individuals, but there's also a body that is we are meant to keep one another in the path of righteousness. We are responsible for each other.
We are our brother's keeper. Consider the next verse, verse 13, but encourage one another day after day, encourage one another and not just checking each other on Sunday, but apparently day after day, as long as it is still called today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
You start going after sin and what is pleasurable in your flesh. You start envying the things the world has. You're tempted by that stuff and you go after that. Your heart will be hardened to the gospel.
Remember that the apostle Paul said in Galatians chapter five, that the works of the flesh are incompatible with the works of the spirit. You can be in the spirit or you can be in the flesh, but you cannot be both.
You start going after the works of your flesh and your heart is hardened to the work of the spirit. Do not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Now the first word comes in here in the preacher's exposition, the word today.
If you have an LSB or an NASB, the legacy Bible or the new American standard, that word is going to be in all caps because it is a reference to the very first word in the section of Psalm 95 that was quoted today.
If you hear his voice, that's in verse seven. So today is that word becomes the first word that receives the exposition here in this exposition of Psalm 95 today, as long as it is still called today, encourage one another in the hope of the gospel that we have heard.
Verse 14, for we have become partakers of Christ. If we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end. Remember once again, the argument that was presented at the beginning of the chapter is that Christ is the greater Moses.
Moses took care of those things that God entrusted Moses with, but Jesus is an even greater Moses in that he is the son who has been made head of the house that has been built by God. And so we have something even more sure, something even more guaranteed and verified that we can cling onto Christ.
We've become partakers with Christ. If we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, as Jesus had sent out his disciples in Matthew chapter 10, he said there, those who endure to the end will be saved.
You are certainly saved now, but the genuineness of that confession will be that you endure in it to the end. You can know for certain whether or not you're saved. The father doesn't want us to be in mystery that he loves us.
He wants us to know that he loves us. But if you were to fall away, if you were to not endure in your faith to the end, you don't get credit for running half the race. You have to make it to the finish line.
Hold on to Christ. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. Be partakers of Christ and hold fast your assurance firm until the end. Christ is our assurance, by the way, as we had read previously in verse 6.
He is our confidence and the boast of our hope. So then we get to the next part of the preacher's exposition here, verse 15. While it is said, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me.
You'll notice that's a repeat of exactly what we have in verses 7 and 8a. So you see the exposition that's happening here, right? Expository preaching is not just something that we do. There are biblical examples of this.
So in verse 16, the explanation is given to that section of scripture for who provoked him when they had heard, indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses do not harden your hearts when they provoked me?
Who was it who provoked God? It was the ones that Moses had led out of Egypt who were not grateful to God, but they grumbled in the wilderness. Verse 17, and with whom was he angry for 40 years? We have the reference to 40 years in verse 9.
With whom was God angry? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? It's those who didn't endure. They didn't make it to the promised land. They did not enter into God's rest, but they perished in the wilderness.
Even after God had cursed them to wander in the wilderness, even after his judgment fell on them in this way, because you've grumbled against me, you're not going to be allowed to enter into the promised land.
The generation that comes after you will enter, but you will not. And that was those 20 and younger, 40 years later, they would get to enter the promised land. And those who were born to them during that 40 years of wandering, but those that were older than 20, they were cursed to wander in the wilderness until they all died away, until they all perished.
And they did not get to see the promised land. Even after God had cursed them, they still didn't repent. They still did not rejoice in God. They continued to grumble for 40 years until they were all dead.
Verse 18, and to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we've had three questions here, and these questions are meant to be self-reflective, that those who are listening would likewise examine themselves.
Verse 16, who provoked him when they had heard? Verse 17, with whom was he angry for 40 years? Verse 18, to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest? And we have the answers given to those questions.
It's those who came out of Egypt. It's those who sinned whose corpses fell in the wilderness. It's those who were disobedient. So that the hearers, so that the Christians, the church, the professing believers who are hearing this preacher's message that they would likewise examine themselves.
Am I being obedient? Am I enduring to the end? Have I, the statement that's coming up in Hebrews 12, 2, have I put off every sin and every weight that entangles and fixed my eyes on Jesus, who is the author and the perfecter of my faith?
Have I done that? Or am I still being tempted by the ways of this world, the passions of my flesh, the schemes of Satan? Those things look more attractive to me. Like in my mind, there's this war. I want the things of Christ, but I also want the things of this world.
Then are you sure you're really affixed to Christ? Are you sure that you are really, as said in verse 14, partakers of Christ? Are you sure? So look at verse 19. So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
How sure are you of Christ? Is he sufficient? Or are you still looking for something else to try to fill in a blank that has not quite been filled? Christ just isn't enough to fill that blank, that hole in my life.
I need to find something else in order to fill it. And if that's the case, then you may be perishing in unbelief instead of being among those who are saved. 1 Corinthians 1 .18, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.
But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. My friends, if Jesus is not enough for you, if you have to find something else to truly find contentment and fulfillment, then the message of the cross is actually foolishness to you.
You don't have to be among those people who say, oh, that's ridiculous. I can't believe there are people that believe that silly stuff. It could very well be in your conscience and in your actions that Christ is not enough.
And so you have to have this other thing. And if that's you, then the message of the cross is foolishness to you. Because the fact that Jesus died for you, rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God, is interceding for you on your behalf, has guaranteed a place for you.
As he said to his disciples, I have gone to prepare a place for you. There is a rich inheritance for us in heaven above. Doesn't matter what happens to us on earth, we don't care. Our life is hidden with Christ in God, and when Christ, who is our life, appears, then we will also appear with him in glory.
As said in Colossians 3, 3, and 4, if that's not good news to you, if that's not enough for you, then the message of his cross and what he accomplished there is actually foolishness to you. So we must examine ourselves, that we would not perish in unbelief.
And we see all the time, we witness all kinds of examples of people who were high profile individuals who claimed to be followers of Christ for a time, but after a while they fell away. And then there are those who, they'll still claim to be Christians, but they've deconstructed their faith.
That's a Marxist term, by the way. They've deconstructed their faith and made it something that's not actually the Christian faith. So they'll say that they're a follower of Jesus, but they're not really following Jesus.
These are people my heart trembles for, because they have either left the faith, that faith that was once proclaimed to them, that they once said that they believed, they have left it, or they have twisted it into something that is more friendly or palatable to the world or their own selfish desires, and now they will not enter into Christ's rest.
Instead, they will perish under his wrath. Verse 11, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. If Christ's rest is not good news to you now, then it's not your guarantee for eternity. Let me finish with this.
Let me close with these words from Jesus. In Matthew 11, beginning in verse 25, at that time Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in your sight. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him.
Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Rest. From your works, your works cannot attain righteousness. Righteousness has been given to us by Christ. By faith in him, we are clothed in his righteousness. Rest in him. Rest. From trying to please the world, from trying to please men or have the things that the world has, and apparently I have to do this in order to be as satisfied in the world as these people and these commercial advertisements that look at how happy they are.
I need to have that stuff in order to be satisfied. Your satisfaction is in Christ. Rest. Rest. From being afraid of the devil and his schemes and the consequences of sin and what will happen to you when you die, you do not need to fret.
Our confidence is Christ, who conquered death, and we will have everlasting life if you believe in him. Enter into his rest. Heavenly Father, give us stillness in our souls that can come only by confidence that we have in the gospel that has been proclaimed to us.
That Jesus lived, he died, he rose again from the dead, he ascended into heaven. He is our advocate before the Father, speaking favorably of us before God so that our hearts do not condemn us because we know Christ does not condemn us.
Romans 8 .1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And with the promises of the gospel, we can rest. Thank you for your goodness and your grace to us. Hold us fast to you until the day of Christ.
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.
On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an Old Testament study, When We Understand the Text.