First, faith is the one thing that is essential in relating to God.
Second, faith relates us to the invisible, eternal world.
Third, faith is in the heart, whereas hope is in the mind.
Fourth, faith is the only basis of righteous living.
I’m going to deal with the opposite of faith, that is unbelief.
Hebrews 3: 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.” 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
The whole theme of this passage is a warning against the dangers of unbelief. The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 95.
And so, we see they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Therefore, let us fear, lest, while a promise remains of entering his rest, any of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have good news preached to us, just as they also. But the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
Today if you hear his voice, the central issue, the thing among which everything revolves, is hearing or not hearing God’s voice.
The key to faith is hearing God’s voice. The reason for unbelief is not hearing God’s voice. Then it goes on, Verse 8, do not harden your hearts. So, the result of not hearing God’s voice is a hardening of our hearts in unbelief.
And then we see that in verse 10, therefore I was angry with this generation. Unbelief makes God angry. It provokes him to wrath. And in verse 12, The writer of Hebrews says to us, take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart.
In other words, all this applies to us. We’re not exempt from these dangers. We need these warnings.
And then it says also, an evil, unbelieving heart. Bear in mind that an unbelieving heart is an evil heart. It causes us to fall away from the living God.
And then in verse 13- but encourage one another day after day. So, we have an obligation to encourage one another to go on believing and to be continually warning one another against the dangers of unbelief, watching, lest anyone fail and fall into the same example of unbelief.
And then in verse 15, we notice the repetition of the word today, which goes like a theme through these words.
Today means now. It’s dangerous to postpone our response. The longer we put off listening and obeying, the harder it becomes to do.
One of the remarkable things about Abraham was that whenever God spoke to him, he obeyed promptly. It’s much easier to obey promptly than to obey after a long interval. So, remember the message is today, Verses 16 and 17, we see again, unbelief provokes God and makes him angry. He was angry with a whole generation because they didn’t believe him. And then verse 19 So we see that they, (Israel), were not able to enter their inheritance because of unbelief.
The one basic cause that kept Israel from their God-given inheritance was unbelief. The same cause will keep us from our inheritance today.
Chapter 4, verse 1, let us fear. The writer of Hebrews applies it to us today. He says, let’s take heed to this lesson. Let’s not be careless or slack or indifferent. Let us fear.
And then he says in verse 2 the word preached did not profit them because it was not combined with faith.
In other words, it takes faith to bring out the benefits of God’s word in our life. You could say that faith is like a catalyst. When it’s there, it releases the benefits of God’s Word into our life, but when it’s not there, we don’t receive the benefits of God’s Word.
God’s Word can come to us, but it doesn’t do us good. It doesn’t accomplish God’s purposes of blessing because it’s not combined with faith.
It takes faith to make the Word of God do its work in our lives.
For we who have believed, enter that rest. True faith brings us into rest. Do you have that rest of faith as I speak to you now?
Have you met those conditions, or are you in danger of being like those Israelites who didn’t hear God’s voice, who hardened their heart, and because of their unbelief, they missed all that God had for them?
What A tragedy if that should happen to you and me today. And yet the writer of Hebrews makes it very clear that it can happen, and indeed that it will happen if we don’t take care, if we’re not diligent.
Verse 11, the practical application. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience.
When you find a therefore in the Bible, you want to find out what it’s there for. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. The point of the therefore is, let’s not go astray the same way as the Israelites did in the Old Testament.
Let’s guard ourselves against unbelief. Let’s be very diligent. Let’s apply ourselves to walking in faith, protecting our faith, cultivating our faith, strengthening one another’s faith, encouraging one another.
Let’s not make the same terrible and tragic error that Israel made through unbelief. Unbelief ultimately always leads to disobedience.
In the end of chapter 3 it says they couldn’t enter because of unbelief. But in chapter 4 it says they fell because of disobedience. Theres a direct connection between unbelief and disobedience.
We need to realize the importance of hearing and obeying God’s voice. This is the main theme of scripture.
Exodus 15, 26, the Lord said to Israel, if you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord, then do what is right in his sight and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians, for I the Lord am your healer.
I would say that’s the basic requirement for knowing the Lord as your healer. It’s giving earnest heed to his voice.
Deuteronomy 28 verses 1 and 2, Now it shall be if you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you today. The Lord your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you will obey the Lord your God.
What’s the key to all the blessings? If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord.
John 10:27, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
What’s the mark of being a follower of Jesus? What’s the distinctive and basic requirement? It’s hearing his voice. Only if we hear his voice can we follow him. So, remember, faith comes by hearing the voice of the Lord.