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Turning Away from God
Introduction:
God’s people were led out of Egyptian captivity by the hand of God.
But something happened on the way to the Promised Land.
Hebrews 3:7-11
Their hearts were hardened and they turned away from
God. One can fall away today as they did. The Hebrew writer
continues on in the next three verses and tells us how to avoid this
great tragedy.
Text:
Hebrews 3:12-14
Body:
I.
Take Care
(Verse
12)
·
The Greek word: “blepo” [present tense] means make a habit,
constantly observing with a view to avoid. Be continually on your
guard.
Examples of what displeased God:
I Corinthians 10:5-12
·
Your salvation needs all of your thought and care. Don’t trifle
with it. Consider your ways. Haggai
1:5-6
·
The believer can become an unbeliever. Evil thoughts are actively
harmful and destructive. Jeremiah
17:9-10,
Mark 7:21-23
·
“Unbelieving”: Lack of faith Hebrews
10:38-39
The pressure of circumstances may drive
you into an unbelieving state of mind. This may also happen when
you associate with those who doubt God’s Word.
“Heart”: Intellect, Emotions,
Will
Luke 6:45
·
“Depart”: Fall
away
Turning away from God to any degree is very dangerous.
Luke 8:13, I Timothy 4:1
II.
Exhort One Another
(Verse
13)
·
“Exhort”: Urge, Warn Hebrews
10:24-25
There must be mutual exhortation
and encouragement. We must love each other enough to warn of
forsaking God.
·
“Still called today” – Don’t put off warning others. Take advantage
of today.
II Corinthians 6:1-2
·
“Be hardened” – deaf and blind to sin Become insensitive to sin.
It isn’t as painful as it used to be. A dangerous condition is
arteriosclerosis (hardening of arteries). The same Greek word:
skleruno is used in the text. If the truth of God’s Word
doesn’t move you as it once did or if God’s love doesn’t motivate
you as it once did, you may have become hardened.
Romans 2:4-5
·
“Deceitfulness of sin” Sin may mislead the mind; lead it away from
the truth; cause it to believe what is false. If sin was not such a
pleasure, it would not be such a problem. Moses chose to suffer
affliction with the people of God.
Hebrews 11:25
Sin seduces by arousing desire or hope. It entices by being
beautiful or attractive. It uses false appearances, lying promises,
and fatal traps.
Romans 7:11
III.
Remain Firm to the End (Verse
14)
“Partakers”: Sharers in Christ, Participators, Comrades Hebrews
3:1
“If”: Conditional
I Corinthians 15:1-2
Only persevering
faith is saving faith.
II Peter 2:20-21
We must try and bring back those who have strayed.
James 5:19-20
“Hold our confidence”: Assurance, Foundation
We need a solid, unshakeable
confidence in Christ. “Firm to the
end”: Fixed, Stable, Sure Hebrews
10:2
Conclusion:
Yes, if we are not careful, we can develop an evil heart of
unbelief. But by following these steps, we can remain faithful to
the end.
Bobby
Stafford
January 20, 2013
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