Warning Against Unbelief

"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Acts 16:31

Do you believe in Jesus?

Today's text from Hebrews is a warning against unbelief. Specifically, unbelief in Jesus Christ…a denial that He is Savior AND Creator of the universe. This is drastically serious. In this Hebrews passage we receive two warnings about unbelief

What causes unbelief?

Hardening the heart.

 "So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So, I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest.’ “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”

Hebrews 3:7-15

Did you catch the warning? Impending danger lays behind unbelief in Jesus.

These Hebrew verses contain an "either or." Either we believe in Jesus OR we don't...and only Jesus can save us from the sin that so easily persistently threatens us. It is a hardened heart brings unbelief...Friend, you and I live in a world FILLED with heart hardeners! Open your eyes in the morning and the temptation begins. A hardened heart is a rebellious heart. This is a double warning about preventing rebellion against God.

How do we keep from hardened hearts?

The writer to the Hebrews tells us to encourage one another ...encourage one another to follow and believe in Jesus...DAILY!

Friend there are two warnings against hardening our hearts in this passage...a hardened heart happens quickly. Sin is the hardener. The world and its temptations the other part of the compound. It is a serious warning.

To prevent hardened hearts we are reminded here to encourage one another daily.

In conclusion, two of my favorite verses, may they encourage you today...

  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6