Hebrews 3:12-14

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.  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.  For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Even as believers we run the risk of allowing our hearts to slip into a state of unbelief and sin.  We must be intentional about preventing sin and persevering in the faith.  There are some key steps we can take that will allow us to stand firm for the long haul.

AVOID EVIL UNBELIEF: The author is speaking to brothers in this passage, so these are presumed to be believers.  However, they still run the risk of falling away from God because of an evil, unbelieving heart.  In times of persecution and suffering in a sin-cursed world, we can run the risk of doubting or questioning God. This lack of faith is not only displeasing to God, but it is dangerous to us and damaging to the body of Christ. When professing believers become angry with God because of undesired circumstances, it becomes difficult to discern where they stand spiritually.  Whether they are actually saved is difficult to determine for the church, the world, and even themselves.  Only the Lord knows the condition of their heart.  In the face of persistent sin and unbelief, other believers must take the steps of biblical discipline and begin to treat them as unbelievers.

ADOMINISH ONE ANOTHER: It is often difficult for us to see our own unbelief and even our own sinful attitudes and actions.  Other believers are vital to us at those times as they are called to admonish us.  The walk of faith in Christ is meant to be done in step with other believers.  We cannot walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord by ourselves.  We need other people to confront, correct, and continually strengthen us.  We must also faithfully minister to the people the Lord places in our lives in a similar way.  This mutual encouragement and admonishment is vital to building a strong faith and strengthening the church.  We need to speak and listen to one another in humility.  We need to keep short accounts with each other so there is not time for a hardened heart to develop.  Most of us don’t like confrontation so it is easy for us to try to avoid confronting others and too often we do not respond correctly when others confront us.

AFFIRM YOUR FAITH: The rich reward of sharing in fellowship with Christ far outweigh the passing pleasure of sin.  New believers are usually zealous in their faith and have great confidence in God’s power and love even during great tribulation.  With time, that zeal can wears thin, and doubts can creep in that rob us of our joy, effectiveness, and even of our assurance of salvation.  We must be intentional about affirming our faith on a daily, if not hourly basis.  A constant reminder of God’s enduring love, faithfulness, holiness, justice, sovereignty, mercy, grace… will help us to stand firm and strengthen our faith.  

APPLICATION: Beware of the risks the evil unbelief present to each and every one of us.  Never think that we are immune from this kind of temptation.  Be faithful to confront brothers and sisters in whom we detect unbelief and sin.  Humbly and gratefully accept the admonishment of others as a gift from God.  Constantly remember the attributes of God and praise Him for His glory and grace.