Is there any good reason to walk away from Jesus?

October 27, 2013 Evening:

Title: Playing Unbelief

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 40:1-4 – I waited patiently for the Lord

Gospel Passage: Mark 14:1-2 – They were seeking to arrest Him by stealth

Sermon Text: Hebrews 3:12-19 – Unbelief in the wilderness generation

Sermon Point: Follow Jesus in His faith.
[12] Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. [13] But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

There is a possibility that even those who truly profess faith in Christ can have an evil, unbelieving heart. That is shocking. This does not mean that God has utterly abandoned them or that they will never recover and be found to persevere. It does mean that that they can fall away from vital fellowship with the living God.

We don't have to put up with this. As long as it is still called “today,” we can exhort our own souls and exhort one another. The Lord may use that exhortation to break through the hardened wall of sin. Sin deceives us. The truth will set us free.

[14] For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

When we wander from the Lord, we need to find Him again. We need to find our original confidence in Christ and in what He has done for us. When we recover that confidence, let's hold on to it firmly until the end of our lives or even to the end of this present age.

Why would anyone ever walk away from their original confidence in Christ? People may not appreciate the constraints that come in a life of surrender to Christ. They may become wearied in the struggle to obey. They might also be discouraged in their souls by heartbreaking disappointments. In all of these sad situations, running away from Jesus will not be a wise pathway.

[15] As it is said,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
[16] For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? [17] And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? [18] And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? [19] So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

To illustrate this point, consider the wilderness generation. They did not appreciate the constraints inherent in following a pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness. They became weary of the journey and found obedience to the Lord an unwanted struggle. They saw loved ones and friends die as a result of their disobedience and it was more than they felt that they could bear. They were toying with death.

So they hardened their hearts, refused to hear God's voice, and rebelled against their only hope. This pathway led to death. God would not let them enter His land of rest because of their unbelief. But now Jesus has faced down constraints, weariness, and disappointment for us, and has won for us a permanent peace and rest. His victory enlivens us in our journey toward heaven. We can follow Him in His faith.