Hebrews 3

12 The Hebrews to whom this letter was written were about to fall into temptation, just as those rebellious Jews in the desert had fallen into temptation. Therefore, the writer gives these Hebrews a warning: Do not be like those Jews in the desert who fell into sin, who rebelled against God, and who stopped trusting in Him (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-5).

Those ancient Jews who opposed Moses and who stopped believing in God did not get to enter the land—the rest—that God had promised to Abraham’s descendants. It is possible that this same thing could happen to us. If we, having once “believed,” then leave our faith and begin to oppose Christ, we too will not get to enter our rest, which is heaven.

13 We need to encourage one another daily to stand firm in the faith. When we try to follow Christ by ourselves, it is very easy to fall into temptation, to become discouraged, to turn back. But by joining together and encouraging one another, we can together go forward in the faith (see Hebrews 10:25).

Therefore, let us encourage one another, as long as it is called Today. Today the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. Today, therefore, let us listen, because tomorrow the opportunity to hear may not come again. But let us remember that, today also, Satan is trying to lead us into temptation. Satan is trying to harden our hearts by sin’s deceitfulness. Today we are in a struggle between spirit and flesh (Gal-atians 5:17). There is no rest today. Only “tomorrow” will our rest come—if we stand firm.

What is sin’s deceitfulness? It is sin in disguise. When Satan tempts us to commit a particular sin, he will say to us: “That’s not really a sin.” He deceives us. And when we begin to commit this disguised sin, we become even more deceived, even more blind. And as we continue to sin, our hearts become hardened. Therefore, we must encourage and admonish one another daily, so that we will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (see 2 Timothy 4:2).

14 Here the writer again warns us to hold firmly … the confidence (faith) we had at first. He warns us to stand firm till the end (see Mark 13:13 and comment). If we remain firm in our faith and do not turn back, we will get to share in Christ—that is, we will be given a share in His glory and in His inheritance (Romans 8:17).

15-16 The writer again quotes from Psalm 95:7-8. Those ancient Jews who heard and rebelled (verse 16) against God had seen God’s mighty works and miracles. Through Moses, God had led the Jews out of EGYPT in a miraculous way. Nevertheless, they rebelled against God and stopped believing in Him.

17 God became angry with those Jews, because they had disobeyed Him. All those who opposed Him fell (died) in the desert (Numbers 14:27,29-30).

18-19 Because of the Jews’ unbelief (verse 19), they were not allowed to enter into God’s rest, that is, into the land (Israel) which God had promised to give them (see Hebrews 4:6 and comment). From this we can see that unbelief is the primary or root sin of man.⁴ The reason is because unbelief cuts us offfrom God’s power to save us and make us holy. Without faith, we have no power to overcome sin.

Let these above verses, then, serve as a warning for us today. Just as those ancient Jews had seen God’s power and glory, so we too have seen the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have begun to follow Him. Now perhaps some trial or temptation has fallen upon us, such as happened to those ancient Jews. By this our faith is being tested. Brothers and sisters, let us not be like those ancient Jews who fell away and stopped believing! There is one thing that will prevent us from entering our rest—and that one thing is unbelief. See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God (verse 12).